Neowin™ - Online Community - TERMS AND CONDITIONS
These terms and conditions (“Terms”) govern our relationship with users of Neowin’s website at www.neowin.net (“Site”), including, without limitation, each registered user or account holder (“you”) who uses this website. By using or accessing this website, you agree to these Terms, including, without, limitation, all of the responsibilities and obligations detailed below. These Terms form a legal agreement between you and Neowin, LLC (“Neowin”, “we” and “our”). Your use of the Site shall be deemed your unconditional acceptance of the current version of these Terms. You hereby agree as follows:
1. Welcome to Neowin. Welcome to Neowin’s online community, including bulletin boards, public forums and/or chat rooms. These Terms may be updated by us from time to time without notice to you. You can review the most current version of these Terms at any time at: www.neowin.net/terms. The online Neowin community currently affords users who have valid accounts to participate in, post and/or review online chat, posts, blogs, news, press releases and other online content. The Neowin online community is regularly expanded and updated by Neowin, and is subject to change at any time without notice to you. You are responsible for providing and maintaining all necessary equipment and internet service (at your sole cost) to use Neowin’s online community and your account. The quality and speed of your hardware and internet connection will affect your use and enjoyment of the online content.
2. Online Content. You understand that all information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages or other materials (“Content”), whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, are the sole responsibility of the person from which such Content originated. This means that you, and not Neowin, are entirely responsible for all Content that you upload, post, publish or otherwise transmit via the internet to any location on the Neowin Site. Neowin does not control the Content posted on the Neowin Site by any users whatsoever, and therefore Neowin does not guarantee or take responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, or quality of any such Content. You understand that by using the Neowin Site, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent, or objectionable, and that you do so at your own risk.
3. Member Conduct. Individuals under the age of 13 years old may not use the online community within the Site. You agree to not use the Site to:
a. Upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, pornographic, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
b. Harm or threaten harm to minors in any way;
c. Impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a Neowin officer, director, member, manager, employee, agent, forum leader, guide, moderator or host, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
d. Upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that you do not have a right to upload, post or transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements);
e. Upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that infringes upon any patent, trademark, service mark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any other party;
f. Upload, post or otherwise transmit any material that contains a software virus, a Trojan horse, spyware, malware, or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
g. Interfere with or disrupt the Site or servers or networks connected to them, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies, rules or regulations of networks connected to them;
h. Intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law or treaty, including, but not limited to, regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any rules of any national or other securities exchange, including, without limitation, the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, or the NASDAQ, and any regulations having the force of law;
i. Stalk or otherwise harass or threaten the safety of another person;
j. Make malicious personal attacks, defamatory statements, or other behavior deemed unacceptable by Neowin’s administrators;
k. Collect or store personal data about other users;
l. Promote or provide instructional information about illegal activities, promote physical harm or injury against any group or individual, or promote any act of cruelty to animals (including, without limitation, providing instructions on how to commit acts of terrorism, how to assemble bombs, grenades, and other weapons, and creating “Crush” sites);
m. Publish or post any advertisement for any products or services (as all advertising on the Site is governed by separate advertising contracts with Neowin);
n. Interfere with another person’s use or enjoyment of the Site; or
o. Promote or advertise sexually explicit or pornographic materials or websites.
4. Confidentiality; Security; and Privacy Policy. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your Neowin account. You should not reveal your account or login information to anyone else or use anyone else’s account or login information. You are entirely responsible for all activities that occur on or through your account, and you agree to immediately notify Neowin of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security. Neowin shall not be responsible for any losses arising out of the unauthorized use of your account. Your account should not be used by anyone other than you, and any Content transmitted to Neowin or posted or published within the Site through your account will be attributed to you. Except as otherwise expressly provided for in these Terms, the Site is subject to Neowin’s Privacy Policy posted at www.neowin.net/privacy, which is expressly incorporated into and made a part of these terms. If you have not already read Neowin’s Privacy Policy, you should do so now.
5. Ownership and Use of Your Content. Neowin does not claim ownership of the Content you transmit to Neowin or otherwise post or publish within the Site’s online community. However, Neowin has the right, and your transmission of Content to Neowin or through the Site’s online community shall be deemed your express consent, to quote, republish and/or reproduce in whole or part your Content (excluding non-public personal information concerning your account) for promotion of the Site. You acknowledge that you shall have no expectation of, or right to, privacy with respect to any Content that you post or publish within the Site. You further acknowledge that Neowin does not pre-screen any Content, including your own Content and the Content transmitted by other users. Neowin shall have the right (but not the obligation) in its sole discretion to refuse to publish any Content or to remove any Content that is transmitted within the Site’s online community. Without limiting the foregoing, Neowin shall have the sole and absolute right to remove, in whole or in part, any Content that violates these Terms or that is otherwise objectionable to Neowin. You acknowledge and agree that you must evaluate and bear all risks associated with the uploading, posting, transmission and/or use of your Content, including, without limitation, liability and claims related to issues of accuracy, completeness and infringement upon third party rights in or to the Content (including, without limitation, copyright infringement). You agree to abide by, adhere to and follow Neowin’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act Policy published by Neowin from time to time at www.neowin.net/dmca.
6. Indemnification. BY USING THE SITE, YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY, DEFEND AND HOLD HARMLESS NEOWIN, AND ITS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR SHAREHOLDERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, AND LICENSORS WITH RESPECT TO ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AND/OR ATTORNEY FEES INCURRED BY THEM, ARISING OUT OF YOUR BREACH OF THESE TERMS, YOUR USE OF THE SITE’S ONLINE COMMUNITY, OR ANY ACTION TAKEN BY ANY OF THEM AS PART OF AN INVESTIGATION OF A SUSPECTED VIOLATION OF THESE TERMS OR AS A RESULT OF ITS/THEIR FINDING OR DECISION THAT A VIOLATION HAS OCCURRED. THEREFORE, YOU CANNOT AND SHALL NOT SUE OR RECOVER ANY DAMAGES FROM NEOWIN, ITS AFFILIATES, AND/OR THEIR SHAREHOLDERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, AND LICENSORS AS A RESULT OF ITS DECISION TO REMOVE OR REFUSE TO POST OR PUBLISH ANY CONTENT, TO SUSPEND OR TERMINATE YOUR ACCESS TO THE SITE OR ITS ONLINE COMMUNITY, OR TO TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION DURING THE INVESTIGATION OF A SUSPECTED VIOLATION OR AS A RESULT OF NEOWIN’S CONCLUSION THAT A VIOLATION OF THESE TERMS HAS OCCURRED.
7. Additional Community Rules. You agree to abide by, adhere to, and follow the Neowin online community forum rules published by Neowin from time to time at www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?module=extras§ion=boardrules, and the Neowin internet relay client rules published by Neowin from time to time at www.neowin.net/ircrules. These additional rules are incorporated herein by reference and made a part of these Terms.
8. Modifications to the Site. Neowin reserves the right at any time and from time to time to temporarily or permanently modify, discontinue, suspend, cancel, upgrade, update, redesign, expand, curtail, alter and change the Site and any aspect of its online community with or without notice to you. You agree that Neowin shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any such action taken by Neowin.
9. Termination. Neowin, in its sole discretion, may terminate your account, access to the Site or any aspect of Neowin’s online community, or your use of the Site or any part of Neowin’s online community, and may remove and discard any Content uploaded, transmitted, posted or published within the Neowin online community or any other aspect of the Site, for any reason or no reason whatsoever, including, without limitation, for lack of use or if Neowin believes that you have violated or acted inconsistently with these Terms. Neowin may also in its sole discretion and at any time discontinue the Site or any feature of the Neowin online community, in whole or in part, with or without notice. You agree that any termination of access to your account and/or the Neowin online community under any provision of these Terms may be implemented without prior notice to you. Further, you agree that Neowin shall not be liable to you or any third party for any termination of your account or access to the Neowin online community.
10. Proprietary Rights to the Neowin Online Community. You acknowledge and agree that the Neowin online community services and the Neowin™ mark are the proprietary property and intellectual property of Neowin and/or its affiliate(s), and that such property is protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws, treaties and statutes. Except as otherwise expressly permitted in these Terms, you may not use, claim an ownership interest in, or sell or assign any interest in or rights to the aforementioned proprietary property or intellectual property of Neowin or its affiliate(s). Further, and without limitation of the foregoing, you shall have no right to, and must not, create any derivative works based upon the Neowin online community or any of the other aforementioned proprietary or intellectual property, in whole or in part.
11. Disclaimer of Warranties; and Limitation of Liability.
a. NEOWIN DOES NOT GUARANTEE, REPRESENT, OR WARRANT THAT YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR ITS NEOWIN ONLINE COMMUNITY WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, AND YOU AGREE THAT FROM TIME TO TIME NEOWIN MAY SUSPEND, LIMIT, OR REMOVE THE SITE OR ITS ONLINE COMMUNITY FOR INDEFINITE PERIODS OF TIME, OR TERMINATE THE SITE OR ITS ONLINE COMMUNITY AT ANY TIME, WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU. FURTHER, NEOWIN MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY TO YOU THAT: (A) THE SITE OR NEOWIN’S ONLINE COMMUNITY WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS; (B) THE SITE OR NEOWIN’S ONLINE COMMUNITY WILL BE SECURE; (C) THE QUALITY OF THE SITE OR NEOWIN’S ONLINE COMMUNITY WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS; OR (D) THE SITE OR NEOWIN’S ONLINE COMMUNITY WILL BE COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR PERSONAL COMPUTER SYSTEM, NETWORK AND/OR INTERNET CONNECTION.
b. YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SITE OR NEOWIN’S ONLINE COMMUNITY IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SITE AND NEOWIN’S ONLINE COMMUNITY ARE (EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE EXPRESSLY STATED BY NEOWIN) PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” FOR YOUR USE, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, THE ABOVE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
c. IN NO CASE SHALL NEOWIN, ITS AFFILIATES, OR ANY OF THEIR SHAREHOLDERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR NEOWIN’S ONLINE COMMUNITY OR FOR ANY OTHER CLAIM RELATED IN ANY WAY TO NEOWIN OR ITS SERVICES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY CONTENT, OR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF ANY CONTENT UPLOADED, POSTED, PUBLISHED, TRANSMITTED, OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE VIA THE NEOWIN ONLINE COMMUNITY, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THEIR POSSIBILITY. BECAUSE SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATES OR JURISDICTIONS, NEOWIN’S LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
d. NEOWIN WILL USE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO PROTECT PERSONAL INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY YOU IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR ACCOUNT FOR THE NEOWIN ONLINE COMMUNITY, BUT YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOUR SUBMISSION OF SUCH INFORMATION IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK, AND NEOWIN HEREBY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OR LIABILITY RELATING TO SUCH INFORMATION IN ANY WAY.
e. NEOWIN DOES NOT REPRESENT OR GUARANTEE THAT ITS ONLINE COMMUNITY WILL BE FREE FROM LOSS, CORRUPTION, ATTACK, VIRUSES, INTERFERENCE, HACKING, OR OTHER SECURITY INTRUSION, AND NEOWIN DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY RELATING THERETO.
12. Storage Limitations. Neowin shall have no responsibility for the deletion or failure to store or maintain any Content transmitted to or uploaded, posted or published within the Neowin online community. Neowin has set no fixed upper limit on the number or posts, blogs, messages or other items of Content a user may send or receive through the Neowin online Community or the amount of storage space used for such Content. However, Neowin retains the right, at its sole discretion, to impose any such limitations and to determine whether or not a user’s conduct is consistent with these Terms and, in turn, may limit, suspend or terminate a user’s access to and/or use of the Neowin online community and/or the user’s account if Neowin believes that a user’s conduct is inconsistent with or in violation of these Terms.
13. Territory. The Neowin Online Community is available to you in the United States of America, its territories, and possessions, the United Kingdom and throughout the European Union nations, and in such other regions and countries offered by Neowin from time to time. However, Neowin may limit this territory at any time in its sole discretion. You agree not to use or attempt to use the Neowin Online Community from outside of the available territory, and that Neowin may use technologies to verify your compliance.
14. Reporting of Violations. You may report any third party violations of these Terms to Neowin via e-mail at: legal@neowin.net.
15. Changes; Modifications; and Supplements. Neowin reserves the right, at any time and from time to time, to update, revise, change, supplement, and otherwise modify these Terms and to impose new or additional rules, policies, terms, and/or conditions on your use of the Site, including the Neowin Online Community. Such updates, revisions, supplements, modifications, and additional rules, policies, terms, and conditions (collectively referred to in these Terms as “Additional Terms”) will be effective immediately and incorporated into these Terms. Your continued use of the Site, including, without limitation, the Neowin online community, shall be deemed to constitute your acceptance of any and all such Additional Terms. All Additional Terms are hereby incorporated into these Terms by this reference. Further, Neowin reserves the right, at any time and from time to time, to change, alter, update, replace, expand, limit, terminate or otherwise modify the Neowin online community without notice to you.
16. Notices. Neowin may send you notice with respect to the Neowin online community or your account by sending an email message to the email address listed on your account as part of your contact information. All such notices shall become effective immediately.
17. How to Contact Neowin. If you need to contact Neowin with respect to the Neowin online community or these Terms, you must refer to the contact information posted on the Site at www.neowin.net/contact. Any written inquiries intended for postal delivery to Neowin should be sent to Neowin at the following address: c/o Stardock Corporation, 15090 Beck Rd., Plymouth, MI 48170, USA.
18. Governing Law and Jurisdiction. These Terms and your use of the Site shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Michigan, notwithstanding any conflict of laws principles or doctrines. Your use of the Neowin online community may also be subject to other local, state, national, or international laws. You knowingly, voluntarily and expressly agree, to the maximum extent permitted by law, that the sole and exclusive jurisdiction and venue for any claim, suit or dispute with Neowin and/or its parent or affiliates or that in any way relate to your use of the Neowin online community or the provisions of these Terms shall be in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, situated in Detroit, Michigan, or in the State Courts for the State of Michigan located in Oakland County, Michigan, USA.
19. Enforcement of These Terms. Neowin reserves the right to take any steps or course of action it believes are reasonably necessary or appropriate to enforce and/or verify compliance with any part of these Terms (including but not limited to Neowin’s right to cooperate with any legal process relating to your use of its online community and/or a third party claim that your use of its online community is unlawful and/or infringes such third party’s rights). You agree that Neowin has the right, without liability to you, to disclose any of your account information to law enforcement authorities, government officials, and/or a third party, as Neowin believes is reasonably necessary or appropriate to enforce and/or verify compliance with any part of these Terms (including but not limited to Neowin’s right to cooperate with any legal process relating to your use of its online community and/or a third party claim that your use of its online community is unlawful and/or infringes such third party’s rights).
20. Claims Limitation. To the maximum extent permitted by law, you expressly, knowingly and voluntarily agree that any and all lawsuits, causes of action and/or claims against Neowin and/or its affiliates and agents shall be forever waived, barred and released unless properly brought and filed in a court of competent jurisdiction within one (1) year from the date upon which said lawsuit, cause of action or claim accrued.
21. Miscellaneous. These Terms constitute the entire and integrated agreement between you and Neowin with respect to your use of Neowin’s online community and the subject matter hereof, and these Terms supersede and replace any and all prior agreements between you and Neowin (if any) with respect to the Neowin online community and said subject matter. If any part of these Terms are held invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties (or stricken, if not possible), and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect. Neowin’s failure to enforce any right, remedy or provisions in these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such provision, or any other provision of these Terms. Neowin shall not be responsible for failures to fulfill any obligations due to causes beyond its control.
Last updated: November 25, 2013