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Terms of Use

Terms and Conditions of Use (Revised 7/31/12)

Media Law Resource Center (“MLRC”) provides users with a collection of public and subscription-based online resources (the “Service” or “website“) which may include electronic newsletters, a legal brief database, expert witness lists and other litigation resources, seminar materials, practice guides, event listings, member lists, videos and other resources and materials.  Use of the Service is subject to the following Terms of Service and any amendments thereto (the “Terms”).  By signing onto and using the site, you agree to be bound by the Terms.

The Terms may be changed in the future without further notice, and you are responsible for regularly reviewing the Terms.  Any such changes shall be applicable to all use and transactions after the change, and your continued use of the Service after any such changes constitutes your acceptance of the changes.  The Terms apply exclusively to your access to and use of this Service and do not alter in any way the terms or conditions of any other agreement you may have with MLRC for other products or services.

Notices to you may be made via either email or regular mail.  MLRC may also provide notices of changes to the Terms or other matters by displaying notices or links generally available to you on medialaw.org.

These Terms shall apply to all use of the Service, regardless of the actual URL or link used to access the Service.

No Attorney-Client Relationship

The material on any page of the website is NOT legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client or any other relationship between the user and MLRC.  Users should contact an attorney in their jurisdiction for legal advice applicable to their particular situation.

Member Registration and Access

If you are affiliated with an MLRC member firm in good standing and wish to access a members-only area of medialaw.org, you will be assigned a user name and password in order to access the Service.  You agree to provide us with true, accurate, complete and updated registration information.  You are responsible for safeguarding the confidentiality of your password(s) and user name(s), and are solely liable for any use or misuse of your account or of the website resulting from any third party using your password or user name.  You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account, user name, or password, or of any other breach of security.  You agree not to share members-only materials, including but not limited to, newletters, committee reports, the MediaLawDaily, and other members-only documents outside of your firm.

We reserve the right to access the Service using your user name and password for site maintanance, repair, testing and similar purposes. We also reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to deny access to the website or any portion thereof to any user without notice.

Privacy Policy

Subscribers to the website should refer to our Privacy Statement for information about how we collect and use information.  By accepting the Terms, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in the manners described in our Privacy Statement, which is incorporated into the Terms by this reference.  As more fully discussed in the Privacy Statement, you agree that we may share personally identifiable information about our users with third parties, including: (1) with your consent or as otherwise stated in this Privacy Statement; (2) when we have a good faith belief it is necessary pursuant to a subpoena or other judicial or administrative order; (3) where required by law; or (4) at our sole discretion, where we deem necessary to respond to claims, to protect the safety of any individual or the public, or to protect the rights or property of MLRC or any third party.

Proprietary Rights

The Service is protected to the maximum extent permitted by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws and international treaties.  You acknowledge and agree that all information displayed or transmitted on the Service, including but not limited to articles and reports, bulletins, legal surveys, legal briefs, expert witness lists, jury instructions and manuals, legal arguments, seminar materials, practice guides, other publications, , images, videos and the like (collectively the “Content”) is protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws and by international conventions.  You further agree not to modify, copy, create derivative works from, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, sell or distribute any aspect of the site or the Service, including but not limited to Content available through the Service, in violation of applicable copyright and other intellectual property laws, and agree to abide by any and all copyright notices displayed on the Service.  You may not copy or distribute any Content received through the website outside of your firm without the authorization of the Content owner.

MLRC, Media Law Resource Center, MLRC Media Law Resource Center, MediaLawLetter and the MLRC logo are trademarks registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Canada Trademark Office, and/or the European Union.  You agree not to display or use these marks in any manner without MLRC’s prior permission.

By submitting Content that is protected by copyright to any public or member-restricted area of the Service, you automatically grant (or represent and warrant that the owner of such Content has expressly granted) to MLRC, our successors and assigns, an irrevocable, perpetual, fully paid and royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide right and license to use, copy, modify, adapt, publish, create derivative works from or incorporate into other works, distribute, perform, display and sublicense such Content in any form, media or technology now known or later developed.  You also grant us the right to authorize downloading of such Content by end users for their personal use.

Copyright Policy & Copyright Agent

We may remove content that appears to infringe the copyright or other intellectual property rights of others.  In addition, we may terminate the accounts of users who appear to infringe the copyright or other intellectual property rights of others.  If MLRC learns that a user has submitted infringing material on more than one occasion, it is MLRC’s policy to terminate the account in appropriate circumstances.

If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, please provide MLRC’s Agent For Notice of claims of copyright or other intellectual property infringement (“Copyright Agent”) with the following Notice:

  • Your address, telephone number, and email address;
  • Your physical or electronic signature;
  • Identification of the copyrighted work of other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;
  • Identification of the material on MediaLaw.org that you claim is infringing, with enough detail that we may locate it on the website;
  • A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
  • A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your Notice is accurate and that you are the owner of the copyright interest involved or are authorized to act on behalf of that owner.

Our Copyright Agent can be reached electronically at: copyright@medialaw.org or by mail at: Sandra Baron, MLRC, 520 Eighth Ave., North Tower, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10018

MLRC’s Agent will forward this information to the alleged infringer.

Content

You understand that all Content posted on, transmitted through or linked from the Service is the sole responsibility of the person from whom such Content originated.  In addition, you agree that you are solely responsible for actions, communications and Content undertaken or transmitted under your account.  You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, that you may not rely on said Content, and that under no circumstances will MLRC be liable in any way for any Content or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed or otherwise made available via the Service.

At our sole discretion and option, we reserve the right but not the obligation to pre-screen, edit, or control the Content on the website.  Such pre-screening, editing or control does not constitute waiver of MLRC’s immunity as an “interactive computer service provider” under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (47 USC § 230).  MLRC is not the “information content provider” for any material submitted on the MLRC website by any user.

Job Board

While MLRC may provide a section of the website for members to post job listings, such listings are submitted by and are the responsibility of the user(s) who post them, not MLRC.  MLRC makes no warranty that any jobs posted on the website are actually available, and recommends contacting the employer directly.  Federal and state legislation prohibits discrimination of the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation and veteran status.

Linking

We make no claim or representation regarding, and accept no responsibility for, the quality, content, nature or reliability of sites accessible by hyperlink from this Web site, or sites linking to this Web site. The linked sites are not under our control. We provide these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply affiliation, endorsement, or adoption by us of the site or any information contained therein. When leaving the MediaLaw.org website, you should be aware that our terms and policies no longer govern, and, therefore, you should review the applicable terms and policies, including privacy and data gathering practices, of that site.

Conduct

You shall not transmit to this website any Content which: (a) is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive, harassing, or threatening; or harms minors in any way; (b) that harasses, degrades, intimidates or is hateful toward an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, or disability; (c) that impersonates any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a MLRC employee, or falsely states or otherwise misrepresents your affiliation with a person or entity; (d) that includes personal or identifying information about another person without that person’s explicit consent; (e) contains viruses or other contaminating or destructive features; (f) violates the rights of others, such as Content which infringes any copyright, trademark, patent, or trade secret, or violates any right of privacy or publicity; (g) that constitutes or contains “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or unsolicited commercial email; (h) that employs misleading email addresses, or forged headers or otherwise manipulated identifiers in order to disguise the origin of Content transmitted through the Service; or (i) otherwise violates any applicable law or regulation.  In posting and/or transmitting Content to MediaLaw.org, you acknowledge that Content uploaded to the website is available globally, and you agree to comply in all respects with all applicable U.S. export regulations, rules and laws.

Termination

Notwithstanding any of these Terms, we reserve the right, without notice and in our sole discretion, to terminate your use of this Service, and to block or prevent future access to and use of this Service.  Cause for such termination shall include, but not be limited to, (a) breaches or violations of the Terms and Conditions or other incorporated agreements or guidelines, (b) requests by law enforcement or other government agencies, (c) a request by you (self-initiated account deletions), (d) discontinuance or material modification to the Service (or any part thereof), and (e) unexpected technical issues or problems.  Should you object to any Terms of the Service or become dissatisfied with the Service in any way, your only recourse is to immediately discontinue your use of the Service and terminate your account.  You agree that we are not liable to you or any third party for any termination of your account of or access to the Service.

Disclaimer of Warranties

YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE MEDIALAW.ORG SITE AND THE INFORMATION, SERVICES AND MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH IT ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND.  ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY WARRANTIES OF TITLE, THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF PROPRIETARY RIGHTS, ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

MLRC TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY AND ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR ANY CONTENT UPLOADED OR OTHERWISE TRANSMITTED BY YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY, OR FOR ANY MISTAKES, DEFAMATION, OMISSIONS, FALSEHOODS, OBSCENITY, PORNOGRAPHY OR PROFANITY YOU MAY ENCOUNTER.  THE CONTENT PROVIDED ON THIS SITE SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE AND IS PROVIDED ONLY AS A SERVICE TO USERS.  MLRC CANNOT AND DOES NOT GUARANTY THAT THE CONTENT IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR RELEVANT TO YOUR JURISDICTION.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, MLRC DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES FOR THE SECURITY, RELIABILITY, AND ACCURACY OF THE MLRC SITE AND THE SERVICE.  TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, MLRC DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES FOR OTHER SERVICES OR MATERIALS RECEIVED THROUGH THE MLRC  SITE OR SERVICE, OR ACCESSED THROUGH ANY LINKS ON THE MLRC  SITE.  TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, MLRC DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES THAT THIS SITE, ITS SERVERS, OR EMAIL SENT FROM MEDIALAW.ORG ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.  YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE USE OF THIS SITE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES.  IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Limitation on Liability

THE INFORMATION, SERVICES AND OTHER MATERIAL INCLUDED IN OR AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICE MAY NOT BE COMPLETE, MAY INCLUDE INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS, AND MAY ALSO BE MODIFIED OR DELETED FROM TIME TO TIME.  UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL MLRC BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (EVEN IF MLRC HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM ANY ASPECT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, WHETHER THE DAMAGES ARISE FROM USE OR MISUSE OF THE SERVICE, FROM INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, OR FROM THE INTERRUPTION, SUSPENSION, MODIFICATION, ALTERATION, OR TERMINATION OF THE SERVICE.  SUCH LIMITATION SHALL ALSO APPLY WITH RESPECT TO DAMAGES INCURRED BY REASON OF OTHER SERVICES OR PRODUCTS RECEIVED THROUGH OR ADVERTISED IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICE OR ANY LINKS ON THE MEDIALAW.ORG SITE, AS WELL AS BY REASON OF ANY INFORMATION OR ADVICE RECEIVED THROUGH OR ADVERTISED IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICE OR ANY LINKS ON THE MEDIALAW.ORG SITE.  THESE LIMITATIONS SHALL APPLY TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN DAMAGES.  IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS, SOME OF THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, release, discharge and hold harmless us, our subsidiaries, affiliates, representatives, officers, service providers, employees, and agents from any and all liability for any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made or incurred by any third party arising out of or relating to your use of this site, any Content you submit, post or make available through the Service, your violation of the Terms, your violation of any rights of a third party, or your violation of applicable U.S. export regulations, rules and laws.  These obligations will survive any termination of the Terms.

Change in ownership

The Terms will inure to the benefit of us and our successors and assigns.  The terms of this Section will survive any termination of the Terms.

General

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and MLRC and govern your use of the Service.  The Terms and the relationship between you and MLRC shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York without regard to its conflict of law provisions.  You and MLRC agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within the borough of Manhattan in the City of New York, in the State of New York.  The failure of MLRC to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.  If any provision of the Terms and Conditions is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Terms remain in full force and effect.

The headings in the Terms are for the purpose of convenience only, and have no legal or contractual significance.

No agency, partnership, joint venture, employment or franchise relationship is intended or created by the Terms or by use of the Service.  You may not assign this agreement, by operation of law or otherwise, without our written consent.