TERMS OF USE AND PRIVACY POLICY
1) Acceptance of Terms and Conditions of Use. These Terms and Conditions of Use constitute an Agreement (the “Agreement”) between Heidi Meinzer (also the “Owner”) and the user (“you”). It is your responsibility to read this Agreement carefully before using this blog (“Site”). By using this Site, you agree to abide by the conditions of this Agreement. This Agreement includes any guidelines or rules posted and updated on the Site by the Owner from time to time.
2) Content. This Web site is owned by Heidi Meinzer. All text, posts, graphics, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, trademarks, logos, sounds, music, artwork and computer code (collectively, “Content”), including but not limited to the design, structure, selection, coordination, expression, “look and feel” and arrangement of such Content, on the Site is owned, controlled and licensed by or to Heidi Meinzer, and is protected by trade dress, copyright, patent and trademark laws, and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws. Except as expressly provided in these Terms of Use, no part of the Site and no Content may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, publicly displayed, encoded, translated, transmitted or distributed in any way, including mirroring, to any other computer, server, web site or other medium for publication or distribution or for any commercial enterprise, without Heidi Meinzer’s express prior written consent. Heidi Meinzer does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other information displayed or distributed through the Site. You acknowledge that any reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement, memorandum, or information shall be at your sole risk. Heidi Meinzer reserves the right, in her sole discretion, to correct any errors or omissions in any portion of the Site. Heidi Meinzer does not and cannot review all materials posted to the Site by users, and she is not responsible for any such materials posted by users. However, she reserves the right at all times to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any law, regulation or government request, or to edit, refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, that in her sole discretion is objectionable or in violation of these Terms of Use. All registered trademarks, trademarks and service marks that may be used on the coupons, rebates or other promotional material featured on the Site to identify the products and services of other companies are the property of their respective owners. Heidi Meinzer makes no claims to these trademarks, trademarks and service marks. Heidi Meinzer reserves the right to add additional trademarks, trademarks and service marks that identify products and services featured on the Site “
3) Permitted Uses. You are granted a non-exclusive, non-transferrable, revocable license to: (a) access and use this Site strictly in accordance with this Agreement; (b) use this Site solely for personal, non-commercial purposes; and (c) print discrete information from the Site solely for personal, non-commercial purposes, provided that you respect all copyright and other intellectual property rights.
4) Restrictions on Use/Copyright. Your use of the Site and its Content is governed by this Agreement and all relevant laws, including applicable patent, copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws. You are prohibited from modifying, copying, republishing, using, distributing, selling, renting or leasing, using, creating derivative works from, or otherwise making available in any form this Site, the Content, or any part of the Site, except as allowed explicitly in this Agreement. You do not acquire ownership rights to Site, its Content, or information, documents or other materials viewed through this Site. Posting of information or materials does not constitute a waiver of any rights in the Site, its Content, or the posted information and materials.
5) Your Submissions and Use of Information. The Owner reserves the right, and you authorize the Owner, to the use and assignment of all information related to your use of the Site and all information you have provided in any manner consistent with this Site’s Privacy Policy. All remarks, suggestions, ideas, graphics, photographs, videos, stories, documents, data, feedback related to the Site and/or its Contents or other information that you submit to this Site (collectively, “Submission”) shall be deemed to be property of the Owner. The Owner is not required to treat any Submission as confidential, and is free to reproduce, use, disclose, display, create derivative works and distribute the Submissions to others, and to authorize others to do the same. The Owner is free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques contained in the Submissions for any purpose whatsoever, including developing, manufacturing and marketing products, services and other items incorporating the Submissions. The Owner will incur no liability as a result of any similarities that may appear in any products, services or operations. The Owner is entitled to use Submissions for any commercial or other purpose, without compensation to you or to any other person sending the Submission. You are responsible for the information and materials in your Submissions, and you, not the Owner, have full responsibility for the message, including its legality, reliability, appropriateness, originality, copyright and compliance with all relevant laws.
6) Forms and Documents. The Owner may make available through the Site sample and actual forms, business documents, and other information (“Documents”). All Documents are provided on a non-exclusive license, for your personal one-time use in strict compliance with this Agreement, without any right to re-license, sublicense, distribute, assign or transfer that license. The Documents are only samples and may not be applicable to your particular situation.
7) Disclaimer. This Site is for educational purposes only, to give you general information and a general understanding of the law. This Site does not provide specific legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship exists based on your use of this Site. This Site is not a substitute for seeking competent advice from a competent attorney in your jurisdiction for your specific situation. You are solely responsible for the choices you make and any advice you choose to follow.
8) Disclaimer of Warranties. THE USE OF THIS SITE AND ITS CONTENTS AND DOCUMENTS IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. THIS SITE AND ITS CONTENTS AND DOCUMENTS ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. THE OWNER EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE AND ITS CONTENTS AND DOCUMENTS, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTCULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE SITE AND ITS CONTENTS AND DOCUMENTS MAY CONTAIN BUGS, ERRORS, PROBLEMS OR OTHER LIMITATIONS, AND THE OWNER MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE SITE AND ANY THE CONTENTS AND DOCUMENTS WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, CURRENT, ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR ERROR FREE, OR THAT THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED BY USE OF THE SITE OR ITS CONTENTS AND DOCUMENTS WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY REGARDING ANY DEFECT OR DISSATISFACTION WITH THIS SITE, ITS CONTENTS AND DOCUMENTS IS TO CEASE USING THE SITE.
9) Limitation of Liability. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE OWNER SHALL NOT BE LIABILE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTIAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA LOSS OR OTHER LOSSES OR DAMAGES, EVEN IF THE OWNER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THE DAMAGES, RESULTING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE OR ITS CONTENTS AND DOCUMENTS; ANY LINK PROVIDED ON THE SITE, OR ANY MATTER OTHERWISE RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR ITS CONTENTS. THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS FUNDAMENTAL TO THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN THE OWNER AND YOU, AND THIS SITE, THE CONTENTS AND DOCUMENTS WOULD NOT BE PROVIDED WITHOUT THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.
10) Responsibility for Submissions. You are responsible for all of your Submissions that you upload, post, email or otherwise transmit to the Site. You must comply with all third party rights regarding all of your Submissions, and shall not download, post, email or otherwise transmit Submissions in violation of any third party’s rights. You warrant that the owner of any and all Submissions has expressly granted the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, create derivative works from, distribute and display the Submission(s) in whole or in part, and to incorporate the Submission(s) in other works in any form, media or technology now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist in the Submission(s).
11) Prohibited Conduct. The Site may now, or in the future, provide users with the opportunity to submit, post and/or exchange information, data, text, software, music, photographs, graphics or artwork, video, audio, messages or other materials, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted. You agree that you have read and are familiar with these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy. Please note that messages from users who violate the Terms of Use and/or Privacy Policy may be blocked. Users who violate the Terms of Use and/or Privacy Policy may also be sent a warning, and if necessary, will be banned from further posting. You understand and agree that all text, graphics, software, music, sound, photographs, videos, messages, posts, data, information, or other materials (collectively, the “User-Generated Content”) is the sole responsibility of the person with whom the Content originated. Thus, you are responsible for all Content that you disseminate or transmit through or by means of the Site. You agree not to:
- post, disseminate, or transmit any User-Generated Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, tortuous, libelous, vulgar, obscene, sexually explicit, profane, hateful, racial, ethnic, discriminatory, invasive of another’s privacy or otherwise objectionable material of any kind, including material that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, harmful, tortious, libelous, or invasive of another’s privacy;
- post, disseminate, or transmit any User-Generated Content that infringes or violates any party’s copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent, or other proprietary right, including, but not limited to, using third-party copyrighted materials without appropriate permission or attribution, using third-party trademarks without appropriate permission or attribution, and using or distributing third-party information (whether or not protected as a trade secret) in violation of a duty of confidentiality;
- post, disseminate, or transmit any worms, viruses, or other harmful, disruptive, or destructive files, code, or programs;
- impersonate any person or entity; falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity; intentionally omit, delete, forge, or misrepresent transmission information, including headers, return mailing, and Internet protocol addresses; or otherwise manipulate identifiers to disguise the origin of any User-Generated Content transmitted through the Site;
- post, disseminate, or transmit any User-Generated Content you do not have the right to post, disseminate, or transmit;
- interfere with, disrupt, or harm in any way the Site or servers or networks connected to the Site, including uploading, posting or otherwise transmitting software viruses or any code, file, program or other media designed or known to disable, interrupt or limit the functionality of any computer hardware or software, or any telecommunication equipment or facilities;
- use the Site for any illegal purpose, in violation of any applicable laws or regulations or in violation of the rules of any other website’s providers, websites, or the like; or
- violate any applicable local, state, national, foreign or international law or regulation, intentionally or unintentionally (collectively referred to “Prohibited Conduct”).
The Owner is not responsible or liable to you or any third party or any user of the Site for any Prohibited Conduct by your or any third party or any use of the Site. You may not collect or store personal data of other Site users without the prior, express, written permission of the user. You may not intentionally disrupt or interfere with the Site or its Contents, whether directly or indirectly, in any manner that may adversely affect the Owner, this Site, or any user of the Site.
12) Unlawful Activity. The Owner reserves the right to investigate complaints or reported violations of this Agreement, and to take any actions the Owner deems appropriate, including reporting any suspected unlawful activity to law enforcement officials, regulators or other third parties and disclosing information necessary or appropriate to these persons and entities regarding your identifying information, profile, email address, usage, usage history, Submissions, IP addresses, traffic information and payment history and information.
13) Interactive Material. The Owner may now or in the future maintain social networking groups through LinkedIn®, Facebook®, Twitter® or other social networking Web sites. (“Social Networking Groups”). Portions of the Social Networking Groups may allow users to post their own material. The materials posted by users do not necessarily reflect the views of the Owner. By posting materials to the Social Networking Groups, you represent that you have all necessary rights in and to such materials, and that such materials will not infringe on any personal or proprietary rights of any third parties, nor will such materials be harmful, defamatory, unlawful, threatening, obscene, lewd, lascivious, harassing, or otherwise objectionable. You also represent that any materials you post to the Social Networking Groups do not violate any provision in this Terms of Use or the policies of LinkedIn®, Facebook®, Twitter® or any social networking site to which the material is posted. The Owner reserves the right, at her sole discretion, to review, edit, or delete any material posted by users on the Social Networking Groups that the Owner for any reason whatsoever determines may be harmful, defamatory, unlawful, threatening, obscene, lewd, lascivious, harassing, potentially in violation of any party’s rights, or otherwise objectionable. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, THE OWNER EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY MATERIAL COMMUNICATED BY THIRD PARTIES THROUGH THIS SITE OR THROUGH THE SOCIAL NETWORKING GROUPS. By posting materials to the Social Networking Groups, you authorize the Owner to use, and authorize others to use, any such materials in any manner or medium, so long as such use is not in violation of LinkedIn®, Facebook®, Twitter®, or any other social networking policies. You may not advertise or solicit on the Social Networking Groups without the Owner’s prior express written permission.
14) Disclaimer of Content. The Owner does not represent or warrant that the Site or its Content or Documents will be error free, free of viruses or other harmful components, or that defects will be corrected. The Owner does not represent or warrant that the Contents, the Documents or any other information on the Site will be correct, accurate, timely, or otherwise reliable. The Owner reserves the right to make changes to the features, functionality or Content of the Site at any time, and the right to edit or delete any information, Content, Documents or other materials on the Site. The Owner assumes no responsibility to screen or review Content, Documents Submissions or any information that is originated by parties other than the Owner. The Owner has the right, but not the obligation, to review, refuse, monitor, edit, delete or remove any Content, Documents and Submissions available on the Site.
15) Links to this Site. You may provide links to this Site, provided that: (a) you appropriately credit the Owner, (b) your site does not engage in any unlawful, illegal or pornographic activities and (c) you discontinue linking to the Site immediately if the Owner so requests.
16) Linking to Other Sites. This Site contains links to other sites. The Owner is not responsible for the content, information, accuracy or opinions expressed in those sites, and the Owner does not monitor, investigate or check those sites for accuracy or completeness. Including links a site does not imply that the Owner approves of or endorses the site. Your use of any linked site is solely at your own risk, and is subject to the terms, conditions and privacy policy of that site.
17) Nontransferability. Your right to use this Site and its Contents and Documents is not transferable or assignable. Any password or right given to you to obtain information or documents is not transferable or assignable.
18) Privacy Policy. The Owner does not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to others. The Owner may provide aggregate statistics about customers, sales, traffic patterns, and related site information to reputable third-party vendors, but these statistics will not include personally identifying information. This Site is a WordPress blog, and more information about WordPress’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy may be found at http://en.wordpress.com/tos/ and http://automattic.com/privacy/.
19) Termination and Modifications. The Owner may, in her sole discretion, terminate your use of the Site at anytime. The Owner may change these terms and conditions at any time and such changes will be effective immediately upon posting. You are responsible for checking these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy, and your continued use of the Site will be deemed acceptance of any modified terms and conditions. If you do not agree to the modified terms and conditions, you should discontinue use of the Site.
20) Indemnity. By accessing or using this website, you agree to indemnify, defend and hold the Owner, the Owner’s partners, agents, affiliates, officers, directors, members, employees, subcontractors, successors, assigns, third party supplies of information and documents, attorneys, advisers, and product and service providers harmless from any liability, loss, claim, third party claim, action, demand or expense, including reasonable attorney’s fees, resulting from, or alleged to have resulted from, your use of this Site and/or its Contents, and/or from your violation of this Agreement or use of this Site or its Contents.
21) Attorneys’ Fees. You acknowledge and agree that, should you violate this Agreement, the Owner shall be entitled to seek all legal remedies available, including but not limited to reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
22) Intellectual Property Policy. The reserves the right to terminate this Agreement in appropriate circumstances if you infringe upon the Owner’s intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights of any third party. The Owner respects the intellectual property of others. However, if you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please file a notice of infringement with the Owner via info@petlawblog.com, which operates as the Owner’s designated agent for notice of alleged copyright infringement in connection with this Site pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(2). Any notice of infringement must comply with the requirements of Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, a text of which can be found at the United States Copyright Office Website.
23) Miscellaneous. This Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement between you and the Owner, and governs your use of this Site. You may also be subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use third party content or links available through this Site. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision will not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this Agreement, which will remain in full force and effect. This Agreement shall be treated as if it were executed and performed in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and construed in accordance with the laws of Virginia. You agree that this Agreement, and any dispute arising from or in any way related to this Agreement and/or your use of the Site and/or its Contents and Documents (“Dispute”), will be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, without respect to conflicts of laws provisions, and that venue with respect to any Dispute will rest exclusively in the state and federal courts within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Notwithstanding applicable statutes of limitation, any cause of action related to this Agreement, the Site, or its Contents or Documents must be instituted within one (1) year after the cause of action arose, or be forever waived and barred. To the extent that anything in or associated with this Site is in conflict with this Agreement, this Agreement shall take precedence. In the event that any portion of these Terms of Use is held to be unenforceable, the unenforceable portion shall be construed in accordance with applicable law as nearly as possible to reflect the original intention and the remainder of the provisions shall remain in full force and effect. The Owner’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision. The section titles of this Agreement are merely for convenience and have no effect on the substantive meaning of this Agreement.
DISCLAIMER: CASE RESULTS DEPEND UPON A VARIETY OF FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE. CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTY OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE UNDERTAKEN BY A LAWYER.
Companion Animal Law Blog 