Terms & Conditions

Terms and Conditions of Use and Related Services

Effective Date - March 25, 2008.

Welcome to independentnews.com. This web site (“Site”) is operated by Inland Valley Publishing Co. (“IVPC”). Each time you access or use this Site and any service offered through the Site, you represent and warrant that you have read, understand and agree to abide by the “Terms” of this “Agreement.” If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not access or use this Site.

IVPC may change these Terms from time to time without prior notice to you, so check back periodically and look for the latest version (“Effective Date”), which will apply immediately upon posting to the Site.

This Site is administered from within the United States and is intended for use by persons residing lawfully in the U.S. who are 13 years of age and older. If you are not 13 years of age or older, please do not access and use this Site. If you are between 13 and 18 years of age, please do not submit to this Site any personally identifiable information without the consent of your parent or legal guardian. You must be 18 years of age or older to submit a classified advertisement.

Wherever you are located, you are solely responsible for compliance with any local laws applicable to your access and use of this Site from your location.

Other terms: Certain features and services accessible through this Site may be governed by separate or additional terms and conditions, such the sale of goods and services, promotional contests, games and sweepstakes. By accessing, using or otherwise participating in any such features and services, you agree to be bound by the applicable terms and conditions as posted or otherwise provided in connection with the features and services, including those of third party service providers.

USER INFORMATION

To use certain features and services of this Site, you may need to provide contact and other information (“User Information”). When providing User Information, you agree to provide current, accurate and complete User Information.

PRIVACY POLICY

IVPC respects the privacy of Site users. Please see our Privacy Policy to learn more about IVPC’s Privacy Policy and practices. By accessing or using this Site, you consent to the transfer and processing of User Information in the United States . By providing User Information via this Site, you agree to IVPC’s use of your contact information and email address to contact you regarding your use of the Site and Site features and services.

LIMITED LICENSE

Subject to your compliance with these Terms, IVPC grants to you a personal, non-transferable, limited, non-exclusive license to access and use the Site and its contents for the purposes for which the Site is intended to be offered by IVPC, as determined by it in IVPC’s sole discretion, and for no other purposes.

You may not sublicense this Agreement or sublicense any right granted to you under these Terms. In connection with the exercise of the limited license granted to you herein, you may view, copy, store, and print portions of the Site Content (as defined below) for your personal and non-commercial, educational or informational use only.

This license is revocable at any time without notice and with or without cause stated.

Except as expressly set forth herein, IVPC and its licensors do not grant you any rights or licenses other than the license to access and use only the Site, the Site Content (as defined below) and services as set forth in these Terms. All rights and licenses not expressly granted herein are reserved to IVPC and its licensors. Unless explicitly stated herein, nothing in these Terms shall be construed as conferring any license whatsoever to intellectual property rights.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Except as otherwise indicated herein, all content on this Site, including without limitation, the Site names, mark, logos and all designs, text, graphics, pictures, photos, trade dress, sounds, video, articles, messages, information, data, databases, software, source code, files, and the selection and arrangement thereof, (individually and collectively, the “Site Content”) is the proprietary and exclusive property of Inland Valley Publishing Co., or its licensors, and is protected by U.S. and International copyright laws. Copyright © 2008 Inland Valley Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.

Third party product names, company names and related images and text are property of their respective owners, used here for informational and educational reference only. Specific reference to any third party products, services, processes or other information, by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, supplier or otherwise does not constitute or imply an endorsement, sponsorship or other affiliation with IVPC.

You may not copy or otherwise reproduce, distribute, transmit, publicly display or perform, modify, adapt, reformat, frame, deep-link to, translate, reverse engineer, create derivative works or uses of the Site or the Site Content, or otherwise commercially exploit any of the Site Content, in whole or in part, except as expressly provided in these Terms and in compliance with the intended functionality of the Site, as determined by IVPC’s in its sole discretion, or by applicable law pertaining to the fair use of copyrighted works.

You may not remove or modify any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices that have been placed on the Site or in the Site Content or any other material or content accessible via the Site.

Any displays or printouts of the Site or Site Content that do not contain an original proprietary notice of the Site must be marked "Copyright 2008 Inland Valley Publishing Co. All rights reserved," or with other visible proprietary notice pertinent to the displayed or printed Site Content.

Unauthorized access and/or use of the Site or Site Content may also violate applicable state, federal and international laws, including without limitation, laws pertaining to the protection of copyrights, trademarks, misappropriation of trade secrets, and electronic communications.

“The Independent,” “The Independent Newspaper and Magazine,” “Inland Valley Publishing Co.” and other designations of origin of IVPC goods and services, including without limitation, logos, graphics, designs, icons, animations, sounds, colors and combinations thereof (the “Trade Dress”) are trade names, service marks and trademarks (“Trademarks”) of IVPC. Except as permitted by law governing the fair use of names and marks, neither you nor any third party may use or register the Trademarks in connection with any product or service or web site (including domain names) in any manner without the prior written permission of IVPC.

USER CONDUCT

IVPC prohibits certain conduct or content that interferes or detracts from the use and enjoyment of the Site. Accordingly, you agree not to directly or indirectly post, upload, transmit, distribute, share, store, create or otherwise publish content on the Site that:

  • Infringes, misappropriates or violates the intellectual property, publicity, privacy or other rights of any person or entity;
  • Is false, deceitful or misleading in any way;
  • Would, in the sole judgment of IVPC, constitute, encourage, solicit or provide instructions for unlawful or illegal conduct or activity of any kind;
  • Is unlawful, defamatory, libelous, vulgar, obscene, abusive, harassing, threatening, harmful, inflammatory, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, indecent, lewd, suggestive, pornographic or sexually explicit in nature, fraudulent, hateful or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
  • Discloses any third party personal information, including, without limitation, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, social security numbers, credit card numbers or financial account numbers;
  • Impersonates any person or entity, or otherwise misrepresents your affiliation with or endorsement by any person or entity;
  • Seeks or encourages the exploitation of minors (i.e., a person under the age of 18 or other age of majority as determined by applicable law) or the disclosure of the personal information of minors;
  • In the sole judgment of IVPC, is objectionable or which restricts or inhibits any other person from using or enjoying the Site, or which may expose IVPC, its affiliates or users to any harm or liability of any type;
  • Constitutes junk mail, spam, chain letters, or any other form of non-personal commercial solicitation, except as may be expressly authorized and permitted by these Terms;
  • In the sole judgment of IVPC, is irrelevant or immaterial to the Site, any specific part of the Site, or the subject matter for which the Site is intended by IVPC; and/or
  • Contains software viruses, worms, defects, Trojan horses or any other computer code, files, programs or destructive devices designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment, or use the Site in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the Site or its intended function.

In addition, you represent and warrant that you shall not directly or indirectly use or attempt to use the Site (or Site Content) or encourage others to use or attempt to use the Site (or Site Content) to:

  • Abuse, harass, threaten, malign, defame or intimidate a person or group of persons using the Site or anyone affiliated with the Site;
  • Harvest User Content (as defined below) or collect email addresses or other information of other users from the Site by any means for any commercial, unlawful or other purpose prohibited by these Terms;
  • Create or transmit unwanted electronic communications such as "spam" to other users of the Site, or otherwise interfere with other users’ enjoyment of the Site;
  • Deceive or otherwise mislead users to view your postings;
  • Automatically redirect users to other domains;
  • Take any action that would restrict user viewings of the Site Content or your postings to the Site, except as provided for by the Site’s privacy preference options;
  • Use or attempt to use the Site to gain unauthorized access to or control of any computer, computer network, passwords, encryption codes, or other third party content and information;
  • Use or attempt to use the Site to store, display, or transmit, illegal, threatening, obscene or otherwise immoral or scandalous content and material;
  • Use any device, software or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Site or networks connected to the Site, or otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site or other networks connected to the Site;
  • Use any data mining, robot, spider, site search/retrieval application or similar data gathering or extraction methods;
  • Access, retrieve or index any portion of the Site for purposes of constructing or populating any database or any compilation of Site Content;
  • Solicit anyone for unlawful or immoral purposes;
  • Solicit personal information from a minor (i.e., a person under the age of 18 or other age of majority as determined by your local law);
  • Use the Site for posting content or materials on the behalf of someone else (No posting agents or services are permitted except with the express written permission of IVPC); and/or
  • Use the Site for any purpose other than the purposes intended by IVPC.

OWNERSHIP, RIGHTS AND LICENSE TO USER CONTENT

For purposes of these Terms:

“User Content” means any individual and separate message, data, text, information, including but not limited to reviews, ratings, advertisements, obituaries, bulletins, mailbox postings, screen names, links, images, graphics, photos, profiles, music, sounds, other audio, video, code and links that are submitted, posted, published and/or displayed on the Site, or transmitted to others via the Site, by you or other users. For purposes of clarification, User Content does NOT include Submissions (as defined herein below) and compilations of User Content, including derivatives thereof.

“Submission(s)” means any question, comment, suggestion, idea, feedback or other information provided by you to IVPC about the operation or features of the Site (existing or prospective) or the offerings of services by IVPC.

IVPC does not claim ownership of individual User Content.

IVPC claims sole ownership and all right, title and interest in the compilations of User Content, all Submissions and all content not defined herein as individual User Content, including all derivatives thereof and all copyrights pertaining thereto. Accordingly, all content and Submissions not defined as User Content shall be the sole property of IVPC, its successors and assigns, and you hereby assign and transfer to IVPC all right, title and interest that you may have or acquire in any compilation of User Content, any Submission and/or all other content (not herein defined as User Content), including without limitation, all derivatives thereof, and all copyrights pertaining thereto. You agree to execute and provided any such further documents, testimony and evidence as IVPC may reasonably require to perfect, evidence, record or register IVPC’s sole ownership and rights in and to content and Submissions not defined herein as User Content.

By uploading, posting, publishing or displaying User Content to any part of the Site or by transmitting User Content via the Site, you grant to IVPC and its successors and assigns an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty free, worldwide right and license to store, use, reproduce, digitally perform, publicly perform, publicly display, publish, modify, adapt, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part), prepare derivative works, compilations and databases, and to distribute or transmit any of the aforesaid in any media, now known or hereafter devised, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing, in whole or in part, all without monetary payment or other consideration of any kind to you, your heir or any third party.

With the exception of non-public personally identifiable information, you acknowledge and agree that all User Content is non-confidential and may be indexed by online search engines (e.g., AOL Search, Alta Vista, Google, Yahoo! and many others) and displayed on third party sites in response to online search engine queries.

Without limiting the foregoing, IVPC reserves the right in its sole judgment to use or not use the User Content as it deems appropriate, including, without limitation, deleting, editing, modifying, rejecting, or refusing to post, publish or transmit the User Content, in whole or in part. Any use of a User Content does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of IVPC or its affiliates.

In addition to the above license, you grant IVPC an irrevocable right and license to use your name, screen name, screen image, photo, video, face, likeness and other biographical information (as submitted to the Site) in connection with providing public notice of attribution of authorship or origin of the User Content provided by you. You agree, however, that IVPC shall have no duty or obligation to attribute authorship to you (or comply with other “rights of publicity” demands) and you hereby waive, agree not to enforce and release IVPC and its successors and assigns from any and all claims arising from or related to any rights of publicity or other moral rights in the User Content, including but not limited to the rights of attribution and integrity and/or destruction of User Content.

you further acknowledge and agree that neither IVPC, nor its successors or assigns, are under any obligation to pay for any User Content or to provide you the opportunity to edit, delete or otherwise modify User Content once it has been submitted to the Site.

The provisions of this section and license granted herein to IVPC shall survive the termination of your license to access and use the Site.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR USER CONTENT AND USER INTERACTIONS

It is the sole responsibility of each user to ensure that he or she owns or has all rights, title and permissions necessary to upload, post, publish or display User Content to the Site, or transmit User Content via the Site. By uploading, storing, posting, or publishing User Content to the Site, or transmitting User Content via the Site, you represent and warrant that you have all rights, title and permissions necessary to do so and that doing so does not violate any third-party right or license.

IVPC does not regularly and systematically monitor User Content posted on the Site or transmitted via the Site. IVPC does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, integrity or quality of User Content. You understand that by using the Site, you may be exposed to User Content that you or others may feel is offensive, inappropriate, indecent, obscene, unlawful or otherwise objectionable. While we encourage and accept comments and constructive criticism, IVPC accepts no responsibility and assumes no liability of any kind arising from or related to the display, use, reliance upon, loss or damage of any kind, arising from or related to User Content. You agree to assume all risks associated with the viewing or use of User Content and/or reliance on any User Content.

IVPC is not liable for any statements, representations or warranties of User Content. Although IVPC has no obligation to screen, edit, monitor, refuse, or remove any of the User Content posted to or distributed through the Site, IVPC reserves the right in its sole discretion to screen, edit, monitor, refuse, or remove and/or permanently delete any User Content at any time and for any reason, with or without notice.

IVPC is not responsible for the loss or damage to any User Content.

IVPC does not control the actions of any user of the Site. You are solely responsible and liable for your interactions with other users of the Site. IVPC reserves the right, but has no obligation to monitor disputes between you and other users.

IVPC further reserves the right to take any and all action it deems, in its sole judgment, necessary and appropriate to protect the integrity, reputation and goal of the Site, IVPC and its users, without notice or liability to any party, whether or not involved in any dispute.

PROFESSIONAL ADVICE

This Site and its content and information are provided for general information and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended and shall not be construed as providing professional advice of any kind with regard to your particular circumstances. If you have a question or concern about a specific term, condition or other potential legal issue, please seek the advice and counsel of a licensed professional in your area for your particular circumstances. Thank you.

INDEMNITY

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless IVPC and its affiliates, and each of their directors, officers, members, managers, employees and agents, from and against any loss, liability, claim, demand, damages, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees and litigation expenses, arising out of or in connection with any User Content that you upload, post, display, transmit or otherwise share on or through the Site, and/or your access or use of the Site, and/or your conduct in connection with the Site or with other users of the Site, and/or any violation of this Terms or of any law or the rights of any person or entity by you or anyone using your account or User ID or password. This indemnity obligation shall survive the termination of your license to access and use the Site.

COPYRIGHT COMPLAINTS – “DMCA” NOTICE

If you believe that any content or material on the Site infringes any copyright owned or controlled by you, please send written notice titled “Infringement Notification” to our Designated Agent, as set forth in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA):

Designated Agent for Receiving Notification of Claimed Infringement:

Service Provider: www.independentnews.com

David Lowell
Associate Publisher
Inland Valley Publishing Co.
2250 First Street
Livermore, CA 94550

Phone (925) 447-8700
Fax (925) 447-0212
Email: Contact@IndependentNews.com

To be valid under the DMCA, your notice must be in writing and include the following information:

(a) A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;

(b) Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;

(c) Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;

(d) Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;

(e) A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and

(f) A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

This information is neither intended nor should not be construed as legal advice. For further details on the information required for valid notifications under the DMCA, see 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3).

UNDER FEDERAL LAW, IF YOU KNOWINGLY MISREPRESENT THAT ONLINE CONTENT OR MATERIAL IS INFRINGING YOUR COPYRIGHTS, YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR PERJURY AND CIVIL PENALTIES, INCLUDING MONETARY DAMAGES, COURT COSTS, AND ATTORNEYS’ FEES INCURRED BY US, ANY COPYRIGHT OWNER, OR ANY COPYRIGHT OWNER’S LICENSEE THAT IS INJURED AS A RESULT OF RELIANCE UPON YOUR MISREPRESENTATION.

This information is provided exclusively for notifying IVPC that content or material(s) on the Site or transmitted via the Site may be in violation of your copyright(s). IVPC does not respond to other inquiries using this process. See “Contact Us” below for all such other inquiries.

INFRINGER POLICY

In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and other applicable law, it is the policy of IVPC, at its sole discretion and without prior notice, to terminate users who are deemed or suspected by IVPC to be repeat infringers. IVPC, at its sole discretion, may also limit access to the Site and/or terminate access and use by any user who infringes any intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement.

USER AND OTHER THIRD PARTY SITES, CONTENTS AND TRANSACTIONS

The Site may contain advertisements and links to other web sites ("Third Party Sites") and content or materials originating from third parties, including but not limited to other Site users ("Third Party Content"). Such advertisements and links are provided as a convenience to users of the Site only, and do not imply approval, endorsement or any sponsorship or affiliation. your use of Third-Party Sites and Third-Party Content is entirely at your own risk. IVPC is not responsible for Third Party Sites, Links or Third Party Content, including but not limited to availability, accuracy and/or completeness. Our Terms and policies no longer apply after you leave our Site, so be careful out there!

Information pertaining to user and other third party services, products and links may appear on the Site. In addition, user and other third party advertisements and promotions may appear on the Site. If you enter into correspondence or engage in a transaction with another user or other third party in connection with your use of the Site, such activity is solely between you and the applicable third party. Any terms, conditions, warranties or representations related to such activity are solely between you and the relevant third party. IVPC shall have no liability, obligation or responsibility for the result of any third party activity or the result of user or other third-party advertisements on our Site. you acknowledge and agree that IVPC is not responsible or liable for any action or inaction of any user or other third party to a transaction, for any failure to perform, to pay any amounts due, or to deliver any merchandise or services as promised, or for any claim or liability arising from or related to any user or other third-party transaction.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

User Content constituting a classified ad is processed and handled by a third party advertising company, Verican, Inc., and are subject to Verican, Inc.’s applicable Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Do not submit a classified ad if you do not agree to these additional terms and privacy policy.

EQUAL HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

All real estate advertisements on the Site are subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it unlawful to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.

All employment advertisements on the Site are subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under Title VII, it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency or labor organization to print or publish or cause to be printed or published any notice or advertisement relating to employment indicating any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination, based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,

except that such a notice or advertisement may indicate a preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination based on religion, sex, or national origin when religion, sex, or national origin is a bona fide

occupational qualification for employment.

State law may also forbid discrimination based on these factors and others.

IVPC will not knowingly accept any advertisements that are in violation of the law.

To complain of housing discrimination, contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.

Phone: (800) 669-9777. For the hearing impaired, please call TTY (800) 927-9275.

Email: fheo_webmanager@hud.gov

To complain of employment discrimination, contact the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Phone: (800) 669-4000. For the hearing impaired, please call (800) 669-6820.

Email: info@eeoc.gov. Please include your zip code and/or city and state so that your email will be sent to the appropriate office.

TERMINATION OR MODIFICATION

Nothing herein warrants or guarantees the uninterrupted or continued operation of the Site or any particular portion, feature or service of the Site. IVPC (and its successors and assigns) reserves the right at its sole discretion at any time to take the following action(s):

(a) Change, modify, suspend or discontinue all or any aspect of the Site temporarily or permanently;

(b) Impose limits on the usage of the Site; and/or

(c) Block or prevent the future access to or use of all or any portion of the Site, or otherwise terminate licenses to use the Site or any portion thereof.

Any such action(s) may be taken with or without prior notice to you, for any reason, including but not limited a violation of these Terms. IVPC is not obligated to provide to you any period in which to cure an actual or suspected breach of these Terms, and IVPC shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with these Terms and any remedial action taken by IVPC as a result thereof. Any remedial action taken by IVPC shall be in addition and without limitation to any other legal or equitable remedy that may be available to IVPC. (In addition, see IVPC’s “Infringer Policy” regarding the termination of users who infringe the intellectual property rights of others).

DISCLAIMER OF REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

THE SITE, SITE CONTENT, USER CONTENT AND THIRD PARTY CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, IVPC DISCLAIMS ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. IVPC DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT ANY SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE OR RESULTS FROM THE USE OF THE SITE OR SITE CONTENT, THAT THE SITE CONTENT IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE, CURRENT, RELIABLE, ERROR-FREE, FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL ELEMENTS.

ALL ACCESS AND USE OF THE SITE, THE SITE SOFTWARE, THE SITE CONTENT, USER CONTENT AND THIRD PARTY CONTENT IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.

YOU SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION IN ACCESSING, VIEWING AND DOWNLOADING CONTENT AND SOFTWARE FROM THE INTERNET AND USE INDUSTRY STANDARD SECURITY AND PROTECTION SOFTWARE TO GUARD AGAINST ONLINE RISKS. YOU AGREE TO ACCEPT FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL LIABILITY, DAMAGES AND OTHER HARM AND LOSSES THAT MAY RESULT FROM YOUR ACCESS AND USE OF THE SITE, SITE CONTENT, USER CONTENT, THIRD PARTY CONTENT OR OTHER CONTENT AND MATERIALS MADE ACCESSIBLE OR AVAILABLE VIA THE SITE.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE ABOVE, IVPC ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMMUNICATIONS LINE FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO, OR ALTERATION OF, YOUR COMMUNICATIONS OR USER CONTENT. IVPC IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY TECHNICAL MALFUNCTION OR OTHER PROBLEMS OF ANY TELEPHONE NETWORK OR SERVICE, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, SERVERS OR PROVIDERS, COMPUTER OR MOBILE PHONE EQUIPMENT, SOFTWARE, FAILURE OF EMAIL OR PLAYERS ON ACCOUNT OF TECHNICAL PROBLEMS OR TRAFFIC CONGESTION ON THE INTERNET OR AT ANY SITE OR COMBINATION THEREOF, INCLUDING INJURY OR DAMAGE TO YOUR OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON'S COMPUTER, MOBILE PHONE, OR OTHER HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE, RELATED TO OR RESULTING FROM USING OR DOWNLOADING CONTENT AND MATERIALS IN CONNECTION WITH THE WEB AND/OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL IVPC BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE, INCLUDING ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE TO ANY USER CONTENT OR PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH, RESULTING FROM ANYONE'S USE OF THE SITE, SITE CONTENT, USER CONTENT OR THIRD PARTY CONTENT POSTED ON OR THROUGH THE SITE OR TRANSMITTED TO OTHER USERS, OR ANY INTERACTIONS BETWEEN USERS OF THE SITE, WHETHER ONLINE OR OFFLINE.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

IVPC accepts no responsibility or liability for any User Content or Third Party Content uploaded, stored, posted or otherwise published or transmitted via the Site by you or any third party, or for any loss or damage thereto or liability arising from or related to User Content and/or Third Party Content, including but not limited to liability for any mistakes, defamation, slander, libel, omissions, falsehoods, obscenity, pornography or profanity.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NEITHER IVPC NOR ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS SHALL BE LIABLE UNDER ANY THEORY OF LAW FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF USE, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF GOODWILL OR OTHER INTANGIBLES, LOSS OF PROFITS OR LOSS OF DATA, WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED IN ANY WAY TO THE USE OF THE SITE, SITE CONTENT, USER CONTENT, THIRD PARTY CONTENT OR THE MATERIALS CONTAINED IN OR ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THE SITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY DAMAGES CAUSED BY OR RESULTING FROM THE RELIANCE ON ANY SITE CONTENT OR OTHER INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM THE SITE OR ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THE SITE, OR THAT RESULT FROM MISTAKES, ERRORS, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, DELETION OF FILES OR EMAIL, DEFECTS, VIRUSES, DELAYS IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION OR ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, WHETHER OR NOT RESULTING FROM ACTS OF GOD, COMMUNICATIONS FAILURE, THEFT, DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO IVPC’S RECORDS, PROGRAMS OR SERVICES, EVEN IF IVPC IS AWARE OR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY HEREIN, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF IVPC, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, WARRANTY, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, WHETHER ACTIVE, PASSIVE OR IMPUTED), PRODUCT LIABILITY, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE USE OF THE SITE OR ANY CONTENT EXCEED THE LESSER OF: (1) ANY COMPENSATION PAID BY YOU, IF ANY, TO IVPC FOR ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE SITE (FOR ANY PURPOSE AT ANY TIME) OR ANY CONTENT OR MATERIALS MADE AVAILABLE VIA THE SITE; OR (2) ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100.00).

The limitations of liability set forth in this section shall survive the termination of your license to access and use the Site.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

YOU AND IVPC AGREE THAT THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE FORUM AND REMEDY FOR ANY AND ALL DISPUTES AND CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, THE ACCESS AND USE OF THE SITE OR ANY SITE CONTENT SHALL BE FINAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION, except:

(a) To the extent that you or IVPC asserts a claim for violation of an intellectual property or other proprietary right or a violation of these Terms pertaining to user conduct, then the parties acknowledge that arbitration is not an adequate remedy at law and that injunctive or other appropriate relief may be sought in a court of competent jurisdiction; and

(b) No disputes or claims relating to any third party transactions arising from or related to the use of the Site must be arbitrated.

Arbitration under this Agreement shall be conducted before a retired judge with “JAMS” (see http:/www.jamsadr.com), under its then-existing Rules and Procedures. The arbitration shall be held in the City of San Francisco, California. The arbitrator's award shall be binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, NO ARBITRATION OR CLAIM UNDER THESE TERMS OF USE SHALL BE JOINED TO ANY OTHER ARBITRATION OR CLAIM, INCLUDING ANY ARBITRATION OR CLAIM INVOLVING ANY OTHER CURRENT OR FORMER USER OF THE SITE, AND NO CLASS ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS SHALL BE PERMITTED.

In no event shall any claim, action or proceeding by you arising from or related in any way to these Terms or the use of the Site, Site Content, User Content or other content and materials made accessible or available via the Site, be instituted more than one (1) year after the cause of action arises.

You and IVPC agree that the prevailing party in any action to resolve a dispute between the parties will be entitled to an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs (including consultant and expert witness fees) incurred in the action.

The provisions of this section shall survive the termination of your license to access and use the Site.

MISCELLANEOUS

These Terms and the resolution of any dispute between you and IVPC will be governed by the laws of the State of California , without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You and IVPC each agree to personal jurisdiction by, and venue in the state and federal courts of, the State of California , City of San Francisco . If you are located outside the United States , your access to and use of this Site is voluntary and done at your own risk, and subject to compliance with all local laws pertaining to you. In no event shall IVPC or its affiliates be responsible for compliance with your local laws, or liable for the failure to so comply. No Site Content may be downloaded or otherwise exported by a User in violation of any U.S. export control law, regulation or restriction. The application of the United Nations Convention on the International Sales of Goods shall not apply and its application is hereby expressly excluded.

No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment is created as a result of these Terms, and you do not have any authority of any kind to bind IVPC or its affiliates in any respect whatsoever. IVPC may provide you with notices, including those regarding changes to the Terms, by email, regular mail or postings on the Site.

These Terms contain the entire agreement between you and IVPC regarding the use of the Site, the Site Content, User Content or other content and materials made accessible or available via the Site. These Terms may not be modified except in writing by IVPC. These Terms supersede any prior agreements between you and IVPC relating to the use of the Site, Site Content, User Content or other content and materials made accessible or available via the Site.

The failure of IVPC to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms shall not constitute a waiver of the right or provision. The failure of either party to exercise any right provided for herein shall not be deemed a waiver of any further rights hereunder.

Legal Notices: You consent and agree to receive legal notices from us electronically to the last known email addresses provided by you and/or by the prominent posting of legal notices on independentnews.com, and that any such electronic notice satisfies any legal requirement that a legal notice be in writing. You may withdraw this consent to the receipt of electronic notices by notifying IVPC and terminating all use of this Site, its content and services.

If any provision of the Terms shall be deemed unlawful, void, or otherwise unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the Terms shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable.

These Terms are not assignable or transferable by you except with the prior written consent of IVPC.

The section titles are for convenience only and shall not be used to construe or interpret these Terms.

The provisions of this section shall survive the termination of your license to access and use the Site.

CONTACT US

Except at provided above for copyright complaints, please direct inquiries or comments concerning these Terms to Contact@IndependentNews.com.

Thank you for visiting www.independentnews.com!

 
© Copyright 2009 The Independent, All rights reserved.