| |
BABBLEBEE INTERNET SERVICES
TERMS OF SERVICE
(LAST UPDATED 12/16/04) |
| BABBLEBEE, INC. PROVIDES THIS SITE AND ALL RELATED SERVICES SUBJECT TO YOUR COMPLIANCE WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET FOR BELOW. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION CAREFULLY. |
| |
| 1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS OF SERVICE |
Welcome to the babblebee.com website (the "Service") provided to you by BabbleBee Inc. "BabbleBee". By using this service, you agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions of use of the Service, and any changes or modifications to the Terms of Service made and published online by BabbleBee from time to time without notice to you (herein collectively referred to as the "Terms of Service"). If you have any questions on the Terms of Service, please send an email to our Customer Service Department at cs@babblebee.com.
THESE TERMS OF SERVICE GIVE THE USERS (AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH 2 HEREOF) CERTAIN RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES. SHOULD ANY USER DISAGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS, THEY MUST IMMEDIATELY DISCONTINUE USE OF THE SERVICE. BY COMPLETING THE REGISTRATION PROCESS/FORM, AND CLICKING ON THE "I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE FOREGOING TERMS OF SERVICE…" CHECKBOX, EACH USER AGREES TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, ALONG WITH ANY CHANGES TO THE TERMS OF SERVICE SUBSEQUENTLY MADE BY BABBLEBEE, AND AGREES TO REGULARLY REVIEW THESE TERMS OF SERVICE TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE INFORMED OF ANY MODIFICATIONS AND ADHERE TO ANY SUCH MODIFICATIONS. WE MAY AMEND THE TERMS OF SERVICE AT ANY TIME BY POSTING THE AMENDED TERMS ON OUR SITE. THE AMENDED TERMS SHALL AUTOMATICALLY BE EFFECTIVE 30 DAYS AFTER THEY ARE INITIALLY POSTED ON OUR SITE. YOU CAN READ THE MOST CURRENT VERSION OF THE TERMS OF SERVICE AT ANY TIME AT www.babblebee.com.
YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT THESE TERMS OF SERVICE FORM A LEGALLY BINDING CONTRACT BETWEEN YOU AND BABBLEBEE, AND THAT THIS AGREEMENT CONSTITUTES "A WRITING SIGNED BY YOU" UNDER ANY APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION. ANY RIGHTS NOT EXPRESSLY GRANTED HEREIN ARE RESERVED BY BABBLEBEE. |
| |
| 2. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICE |
BabbleBee offers a variety of products and services designed to help business professionals grow their business. All such services available from BabbleBee and through its website, www.babblebee.com, are referred to as the "Service" within this agreement. Any Service users, are referred to as "Users" within this agreement. Any and all changes made to the Service, including without limitation the addition of new features to the Service, shall be subject to the Terms of Service.
In order to use the Service, you must obtain access to the World Wide Web and provide all equipment necessary to make such connection to the Web including a computer, modem or other access device. User may only access the Service through the interface provided by BabbleBee, generally accessible worldwide. However, access may not be available to all Users in all locations and BabbleBee reserves the right to limit access to the Service by any User. While limited free support is provided, you acknowledge and understand that BabbleBee is not required to provide any free assistance, including any technical or customer support, in connection with the Service and that your use of the Service is entirely at your own risk. |
| |
| 3. BABBLEBEE IS A SERVICE PROVIDER |
| BabbleBee acts as service provider by creating, hosting, maintaining and providing our Service to you via the internet. BabbleBee does not control all of the information, data, text, photographs, graphics, messages, or other materials ("Content") posted via the Service and, as such, does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of such Content. You understand that by using the Service, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive or objectionable. Under no circumstances will BabbleBee be liable in any way for any Content, including, but not limited to, for any errors or omissions in any Content, or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via the Service. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such content. |
| |
| 4. ELIGIBILITY |
| In order to use the Service, you must register for a User account. Users may only hold one account. Our Service is only available to individuals or businesses that can form legally binding contracts under applicable law. Without limiting the foregoing, our Service is not available to minors (under 18), persons who are suspended from our Service, or to persons who present an unacceptable level of credit risk. |
| |
| 5. USER REGISTRATION, PASSWORD AND SECURITY |
In order to use the Service, you are required to complete a registration form containing personal information, including but not limited to, your first and last name, your e-mail address, and a user name and a password. If you decide to purchase the Services of BabbleBee, you will also be required to provide billing, credit card and payment information, as well as agree to pay any and all applicable fees. You agree to provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself (including your email address which will be used by BabbleBee as the primary method of communication to the User), as submitted in any registration form on the Service and to maintain up-to-date information which is true, accurate, current and complete at all times by making changes, additions or deletions to your User profile, as required. If any information provided is not true, accurate, current or complete, or BabbleBee has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or complete, then BabbleBee shall have the right to suspend or terminate your right to use the Service and refuse to provide any current or future Service to you. All amounts paid in advance to BabbleBee are non-refundable.
You acknowledge that BabbleBee reserves the right to refuse to grant you a user name: (a) that is already in use, (b) that may be illegal, (c) that may be protected by trade-mark or other proprietary interest, (d) that is determined by BabbleBee, in its sole discretion, to be obscene or profane, (e) that was registered to avoid purchasing incremental storage space or activity, (f) that was registered without the intent to use, (g) that was registered with the intent of impersonating another party, (h) that is otherwise determined by BabbleBee, in its sole discretion, to be inappropriate. You agree to be responsible for all acts and omissions that occur in connection with your password. You agree to keep your password confidential and to notify BabbleBee immediately if you believe that the security of your password has been compromised. You acknowledge that BabbleBee does not protect any User from the unauthorized use of his/her/its password and BabbleBee shall not be held liable for any loss that a User may incur as a result of someone else using their password or account, either with or without their knowledge.
The User will notify BabbleBee immediately of any known or suspected unauthorized use, activities or disclosure of the Service, or any other breach of security. BabbleBee will not be liable for any failure by any User to comply with this section 5. |
| |
| 6. WEB COPYRIGHT INFORMATION |
| All pages within this Internet site ("Site") are the property of BabbleBee and/or its affiliates. No portion of the materials on these pages may be reprinted or republished in any form without the express written permission of BabbleBee. |
| |
| 7. TRADEMARK NOTICE |
| "BabbleBee", the BabbleBee logo, and "Where the Buzz is About Your Business", are trademarks and service marks of BabbleBee. All other trademarks, service marks, and logos used in this Site are the trademarks, service marks or logos of their respective owners. |
| |
| 8. ACCEPTABLE USES |
You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, other automatic device, or manual process to monitor or copy our web pages or the content contained herein without our prior expressed written permission. You agree that you will not use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the BabbleBee site or any activities conducted on our site. You agree that you will not take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure.
Some of the information on our site is proprietary or is licensed to BabbleBee by our users or third parties. You agree that you will not copy, reproduce, alter, modify, create derivative works, publicly display or frame any content from our website without the prior expressed written permission of BabbleBee or the appropriate third party.
You represent, warrant, covenant and agree that you will not: |
(a) |
use the Service for illegal purposes; |
(b) |
upload, post, publish, transmit, or otherwise make available any (i) Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party; (ii) Content that violates or infringes in any way upon the rights of others, including Content which is inaccurate, false, hateful, threatening, abusive, offensive, harassing, unlawful, defamatory, libelous, tortuous, slanderous, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, vulgar, obscene, profane, or is racially, ethnically or is otherwise objectionable; (iii) Content that is pornographic, sexually explicit or contains nudity; (iv) Content that you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships; (v) unauthorized or unsolicited advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail", "spam", "chain letters", "pyramid schemes" or any other solicitation to other Users except in those areas of the Service that may be designated for such purposes; (vi) Content which contains software, software viruses, including Trojan horses, bots, worms or other harmful or destructive components or features designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software, hardware or telecommunications equipment; (vii) Content that consists of links to other websites that contain Content not in compliance with the Terms of Service; or (viii) Content that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally distributed in such manner; |
(c) |
engage in conduct which in BabbleBee's sole discretion restricts or inhibits any other user from using or enjoying the Service; |
(d) |
create a false identity for the purpose of misleading others, impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity; |
(e) |
harm minors in any way; |
(f) |
forge or otherwise manipulate uniform resource locators or other identifiers to disguise the origin of any Content transmitted through the Service, to acquire unauthorized access to restricted areas of the Service, or for any other purposes; |
(g) |
interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers or networks connected to the Service, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Service; |
(h) |
use meta tag searches or any automated queries of any sort on the Service; |
(i) |
disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, cause a screen to scroll faster than the other users of the Service are able to type or otherwise act in a manner that adversely affects the ability of other users to engage in real-time exchanges; |
(j) |
violate any applicable local, provincial, state, national, or international law or any regulations having the force of law; |
(k) |
collect or store personal data about other Users; |
(l) |
stalk or otherwise harass another User; or |
(m) |
promote or provide instructions, information or advice about illegal activities, promoting physical harm or personal injury against any individual or group.
Should you be found to be in violation of any of paragraph 8 herein, your Service may be terminated immediately, without notice to you, in accordance with paragraph 15 herein. |
|
| |
| 9. COMPLIANCE WITH ALL LAWS |
| You agree that you will not intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, and any regulations having the force of law. |
| |
| 10. MODIFICATIONS TO THE SERVICE |
| BabbleBee reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Service (or any part of the Service) with or without notice. You agree that BabbleBee shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Service. |
| |
| 11. NO RESALE OF SERVICE |
| You agree not to resell, reproduce, sell or exploit, for any commercial purposes, the Service or any portion thereof or use of or access to the Service without the prior written consent of BabbleBee. |
| |
| 12. ASSIGNABILITY |
| You may not transfer any rights or obligations under these Terms of Service without the prior written consent of BabbleBee. BabbleBee reserves the right to transfer this agreement or any right or obligation under this Agreement without your consent. |
| |
| 13. STORAGE, RESOURCES AND BACKUP |
You acknowledge and agree that BabbleBee shall not be responsible for the deletion, miscommunication or the failure to store any Content on the Service. BabbleBee may establish limitations on the amount of memory, disk space, activity, bandwidth or any other resource available on the Service.
BabbleBee shall not be liable for any failure to backup or restore such Content, nor shall it be liable for any for interruptions, delays, unavailability, or suspensions of access to the Service, for whatever reason and however caused. |
| |
| 14. THIRD PARY LINKS |
| This Service may contain links to other Internet sites or resources ("Third Party Sites"). Such links may have been provided by BabbleBee, or third parties. Since these Third Party Sites are not under the control of BabbleBee, you acknowledge and agree that BabbleBee shall not be responsible for the availability of the Third Party Sites nor is it responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products or other materials located on or through any Third Party Site. Links provided to Third Party Sites do not represent endorsements of any information, products or services on such sites, and no information on such sites has been approved or endorsed by BabbleBee. Under no circumstances shall BabbleBee be held responsible or liable for any loss or damages caused or alleged to have been caused by use of or reliance on any content, goods, or services available on such Third Party Sites. Any concerns that you may have regarding any Third Party Sites should be directed to its respective site administrator or Webmaster. |
| |
| 15. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS |
| You acknowledge and agree that Content, including but not limited to, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, or other materials contained in advertisements or information presented to you through the Service or advertisers is protected by copyrights, trademarks, service-marks, patents or other laws governing intellectual property and proprietary rights. Except as expressly authorized by BabbleBee, you agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based upon the Service in whole or in part. Content received through the Service may be displayed, reformatted, and printed by you for your personal, non-commercial use only. You agree not to modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, sell or distribute in any way, Content available through the Service, the rights of which you do not already own. |
| |
| 16. TERMINATION |
You may terminate your account at any time by notifying BabbleBee in writing by e-mailing our Customer Service Department at cs@BabbleBee.com.
You agree that BabbleBee may, under certain circumstance and without prior notice, immediately terminate your BabbleBee account, and access to the Service. Cause for such termination shall include, but not be limited to, a) a determination by BabbleBee that you have violated or are threatening to violate the Terms of Service or any other published policy of BabbleBee or its Third Party Providers, (b) a determination by BabbleBee that you have accessed or are attempting to access any part of the Service without authorization, (c) requests by law enforcement or other government agencies, (d) discontinuance or material modification to the Service (or any part of the Service), (e) unexpected technical or security issues or problems, and (f) extended periods of inactivity. You agree that all terminations for cause shall be made in BabbleBee's sole discretion and that BabbleBee shall not be liable to you or any third-party for any termination of your account, any associated email address, or access to the Service.
A termination, pursuant to the Terms of Service, may be made without notice and will be effective immediately. Upon termination: (i) BabbleBee may remove the User from its servers and destroy all the User's Content; and (ii) where applicable, any and all remaining fees payable for the Service will become due and payable immediately by User.
In no event will any fees or amounts paid in advance for any Service become refundable upon termination of the Service in accordance with the terms of the Terms of Service.
Where a User's access to the Service is terminated pursuant to the Terms of Service, such User shall be prohibited from re-registering for, or continuing to use, the Service in any manner and/or for any reason whatsoever. |
| |
| 17. INDEMNIFICATION |
| You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless BabbleBee and its subsidiaries and affiliates and their respective directors, officers, shareholders, employees, agents, clients and contractors from and against any loss, claim, demand, cost and expense (including reasonable legal fees) asserted by any third party due or arising from or in connection with your use of or conduct on the Service, your connection to the Service, your content that you submit, post, transmit, view, or make available through the service, your violation of the Terms of Service, or your violation of any rights of another User. BabbleBee reserves the right to assume the exclusive defence and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, which shall not excuse your indemnity obligations. |
| |
| 18. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES |
YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT THE SERVICE AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS AND THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. BABBLEBEE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR OTHER VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS.
BABBLEBEE, ITS AFFILIATES, AND ITS SPONSORS ARE NEITHER RESPONSIBLE NOR LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO THE SITE.
BABBLEBEE MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE. BABBLEBEE DOES NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICE, THAT THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM SUCH USE WILL BE RELIABLE OR ACCURATE OR THAT THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS. BABBLEBEE MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT DEFECTS ON ITS SITE WILL BE CORRECTED OR THAT THE SERVER THAT MAKES THE SITE AVAILABLE WILL BE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.
YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT ANY OF THE MATERIAL AND/OR OTHER DATA DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF SERVICE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOADING OF SUCH MATERIAL OR DATA.
NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM BABBLEBEE OR ANY SERVICE PROVIDER CUSTOMER OR THROUGH THE SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE. |
| |
| 19. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY |
YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT IN NO EVENT SHALL BABBLEBEE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA, CONTENT OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF BABBLEBEE OR THE SERVICE PROVIDER CUSTOMER HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM (I) THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO DELETION OR LOSS OF CONTENT, DEFECTS OR DELAYS IN TRANSMISSION, OR ANY FAILURE OF A SERVER, OR THE INTERNET), (II) THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS AND SERVICES RESULTING FROM THE COST OF ANY GOODS, DATA, INFORMATION OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR MESSAGES RECEIVED OR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE, (III) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA, (IV) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICE OR, (V) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SERVICE.
IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE SERVICE, THE MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THE SERVICE, OR WITH ANY OF THE TERMS OF SERVICE, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USE OF THE SERVICE. |
| |
| 20. EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS |
| SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES AND THEREFORE SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS IN SECTIONS 17 AND 18 MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. |
| |
| 21. MISCELLANEOUS |
The failure of BabbleBee to exercise its rights or insist upon the performance of the user's obligation hereunder shall not constitute a waiver or relinquishment of those or any other rights under these Terms of Service.
The Terms of Service are entered into in the State of Illinois and shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, exclusive of its choice of law rules. Each party to this Agreement submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the County of Cook in the State of Illinois, and waives any jurisdictional, venue, or inconvenient forum objections to such courts. In any action to enforce this Agreement, the prevailing party will be entitled to costs and attorney's fees. In the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement are held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be unenforceable, such provisions shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that this Agreement shall otherwise remain in full force and effect.
Section headings in the Terms of Service are for convenience and have no legal or contractual effect.
You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to the use of the Service or the Terms of Service must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever banned.
The Terms of Service constitute the entire agreement between the parties hereto pertaining to the subject matter hereof, and all written or oral agreements heretofore existing between the parties hereto are expressly cancelled. BabbleBee may modify the Terms of Service by posting notice of such modification. |
| |
| 22. NOTICE |
| Notices may be sent to you or you may send notices to BabbleBee via either e-mail or regular mail. The Service may also provide notification of any changes to the Terms of Service or other matters pertaining to the Service by displaying notices or links to notices generally on the Service. |
| |
| 23. USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION AND PRIVACY |
| You acknowledge that if you register with BabbleBee, BabbleBee may disclose to third parties certain information from registration or other related data regarding the Users in an aggregated form, provided such information will not provide personal identifying information about you except if authorized by you or if BabbleBee believes, in good faith, that disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with the law, legal process, to enforce the Terms of Service or to protect itself, the Users or others. In addition, due to the nature of the Internet and other factors, privacy in your communications cannot be assured and this should always be considered when deciding to transmit confidential or other information through the Service. For additional information relating to the privacy policy of BabbleBee, please refer to the policy at www.babblebee.com. |
| |
| 24. CONTENT SUBMITTED TO BABBLEBEE |
| Some Content available on the Service is provided by Users of the Service who are independent of BabbleBee. Accordingly, BabbleBee does not claim ownership of the Content you place on our Site. Except as may otherwise be provided in a separate written agreement between you and BabbleBee, by submitting Content to BabbleBee for inclusion in a networking hive, online directory, or any other Site offering, you grant BabbleBee the royalty-free, world-wide and non-exclusive licence to display, distribute, sublicense, reproduce, modify, adapt and publish your Content solely for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting your business on the Service. You also grant BabbleBee the right to authorize the downloading and/or printing in whole or in part of any Content that you have submitted to the Service, by all other Site visitors for their personal and non-commercial use. |
| |
| 25. REPRESENTATIONS OF SUBSCRIBING USER |
| By registering and accepting these Terms of Service, the User, on behalf of him/herself, hereby represents, warrants and covenants to BabbleBee that: (a) she/he has the legal capacity to subscribe and accept the Terms of Service as well as be bound by its content; (b) he/she is at least 18 (eighteen) years of age, or at least 13 (thirteen) years of age and has parental permission to establish subscription, become a User and be bound by the Terms of Service (this 13 year old age restriction has been established to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998); (c) to regularly review these Terms of Service and, in the event of any change in them, continue to be bound by them or else immediately discontinue the use of the Service. |
| |
| 26. VIOLATIONS |
| Please report any violations of the Terms of Service by e-mail to our Customer Service department at cs@BabbleBee.com. |
| |
|
|
