Terms and Conditions of Use

Last modified: December 6, 2012 (view archived versions)

Welcome to www.newsinc.com, the online portal for News Distribution Network, Inc. (“NDN”). Please read the following Terms and Conditions of Use (these “Terms of Use”) carefully before using the site (each website owned or operated by NDN, including www.politicaliq.com, our control room features and our widget gallery, are referred to herein as “NDN Sites”). By visiting any NDN Site, using content or tools available on NDN Sites or participating in any of the interactive activities offered on any NDN Site (such content, tools and interactive activities are referred to as “Services”), whether as a content provider, publisher, advertiser or end-user, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use unless you have entered into a contract directly with NDN that supersedes these terms. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, you should immediately stop accessing or using any NDN Site or Service.

Please note that we may modify these Terms of Use without further notice. We will post any changes to these Terms of Use as soon as they go into effect, without prior notice to users of NDN Sites or Services. Any such changes are effective as of the date such changes are posted. Therefore, please continue to periodically review the Terms of Use when using NDN Sites or Services. By continuing to access and use any NDN Site or Service after the Terms of Use have been modified, you will have agreed to such modifications. Complying with these Terms of Use grants you a personal, non-commercial, non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited privilege to access and use NDN Sites and Services on the terms provided herein. You may not transfer, sublicense or sell this limited right to access and use the NDN Sites or Services.

1. Conditions and Restrictions on Use

Use of any NDN Site or Service is subject to compliance with these Terms of Use. You agree to comply with all procedures, rules and policies established by NDN, and all federal, state, and local laws and regulations that apply to your use of NDN Sites and Services.

NDN has no obligation to monitor the use of NDN Sites or Services, but it reserves the right to do so. If, as a result of such monitoring or otherwise, NDN determines, in its sole discretion, that you have not complied with these Terms of Use, NDN has the right to immediately terminate your access to NDN Sites, your use of the Services and to delete any information you have submitted.

2. Registration and Passwords

Registration is not required to browse www.newsinc.com. However, certain Services offered on NDN Sites, including the ability to provide content, customize your viewing page, build collections of content, create widgets and otherwise publish content made available through NDN Sites, and other personalized features, may require you to submit certain personal information, such as your name, birthdate and email address. When you submit such information on any NDN Site you represent that you are at least 13 years of age and that you have the authority to register with such site. When you register we may assign you a login ID/user name and request that you choose a password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login ID/user name and password.

3. User Content and User Conduct

Through the use of the Services, users may communicate with one another, submit information or content to be viewed by or shared with other users, or have access to information or content for publication on such user’s site. Any communication and/or submission(s) made on any NDN Site, including, but not limited to, any notes, reviews, bulletin board postings, ideas, suggestions, concepts, artwork, photographs and sound and video files data, text, messages, files, images, videos, audiovisual works, musical compositions (including lyrics), sound recordings, postings, your and/or other persons' names, likenesses, voices, usernames, profiles, actions, appearances, performances and/or other biographical information or material, and any other materials, as well as links to data, text, files, images, photographs, videos, audiovisual works, musical compositions (including lyrics), sound recordings, postings, your and/or other persons' names, likenesses, voices, usernames, profiles, actions, appearances, performances and other biographical information or material, web pages and any other materials (collectively, “User Content”) shall create a license to NDN for the User Content. By communicating or submitting User Content, you hereby grant NDN, without restriction and without the requirement of any permission from or payment to you or to any other person or entity, a perpetual, non-exclusive, irrevocable, fully-paid, royalty-free, sub-licensable and transferable worldwide license to use, re-use, reproduce, transmit, print, publish, display, exhibit, distribute, re-distribute, copy, host, store, cache, archive, index, categorize, comment on, broadcast, stream, edit, alter, modify, adapt, translate, create derivative works based upon and publicly perform such User Content, in whole or in part, in all media formats and channels now known or hereafter devised (including, without limitation, on NDN Sites, on third-party websites, on our broadcast and cable networks and stations, on mobile applications, and on our broadband and wireless platforms, products and services) for any and all purposes including, without limitation, news, advertising, promotional, marketing, publicity, trade or commercial purposes, all without further notice to you and with or without attribution. Your User Content will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary with respect to you. NDN shall be entitled to edit, move, or delete such User Content as NDN sees fit, and NDN shall have no obligation to use material submitted or make it available on any NDN Site.

NDN will not be liable in any way in connection with your User Content or use of the Services, including, but not limited to, any loss or damages of any kind as a result of your User Content or use of the Services.

Your User Content must strictly conform to the following guidelines:

• Your User Content must originate with you and be accurate and current, and you must have all requisite rights to use the User Content as set forth herein. Your User Content must not infringe any third-party rights, including, but not limited to, copyright, trademark, publicity, or privacy rights.
• Your User Content must not be unlawful, fraudulent, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, harassing, abusive, threatening, racially offensive, offensively directed towards people based on their gender or sexual orientation, or be otherwise objectionable. NDN will determine in its sole discretion whether User Content does or does not constitute objectionable material, and reserves the right to remove, alter, or otherwise modify such User Content, along with any and all other remedies provided in these Terms of Use or under law.
• Your User Content must not attempt to impersonate another user or person, and may not collect, use or disclose personally identifiable information.
• Your User Content must not use NDN Sites or Services to advocate or offer instructions as to illegal activities or to violate any applicable laws.
• You may not post User Content if you are under the age of 13.
• Your User Content must not be harmful to minors in any way.
• Your User Content must not advertise or solicit funds.
• Your User Content must not solicit passwords or personal identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes.
• Your User Content must not involve the transmission of “junk mail” or “chain letters” or unsolicited mass mailing.

Without limiting any other provision in these Terms of Use, you may not use the Services to do the following or assist others to do the following:

• Frame or display the Services in connection with an unauthorized logo or mark, or do anything that could falsely suggest a relationship between the Services and any third party or potentially deprive us of revenue (including, without limitation, revenue from advertising, branding, or promotional activities).
• Transmit files that contain viruses, spyware, adware, or other harmful code.
• Advertise or promote goods or services without our permission (including, without limitation, sending spam).
• Engage in unauthorized spidering, “scraping,” or harvesting content, contact or other personal information, or use any other unauthorized automated means to compile information.
• Defeat any access controls, access any portion of the Services that we have not authorized you to access (including password-protected areas), link to password-protected areas, attempt to access or use another user’s account or information, or allow anyone else to use your account or access credentials.

You agree not to access the Services using any interface other than ours. We may deny permission to link to the Services for any reason in our sole discretion. You further agree that you will not circumvent our security features, corrupt any content or files on or obtained from any NDN Site, interfere with or in any way disrupt our service or servers, or networks connected to our service or servers, or otherwise violate any applicable law or regulation or these Terms of Use.

Your User Content or conduct must not be in violation of the guidelines set forth in these Terms of Use. Any such violation shall be a material breach of these Terms of Use. NDN will remove from any NDN Site without prior notice any User Content that violates any provision of these Terms of Use and will cooperate fully with any law enforcement officials and/or agencies in the investigation of any violations. In addition, NDN may immediately and without prior notice terminate the right to access or use NDN Sites or Services of any user who violates these Terms of Use. By accessing any NDN Site or using the Services, you agree that you will remove User Content, cease using the Services, or take such other action as is necessary or appropriate to comply with any request by NDN to address objectionable activities. Notwithstanding any other provision of these Terms of Use, we may seek injunctive or other equitable relief from any court of competent jurisdiction.

By your acceptance of these Terms of Use, you acknowledge that NDN has obligations to third parties, including content providers and publishers, with respect to the foregoing matters, and any damages incurred by NDN or such third parties with respect thereto are the obligation of the user.

4. Unsolicited Submissions

In an effort to avoid the possibility for future misunderstandings, NDN’s policy does not allow us to accept or consider unsolicited creative ideas, suggestions or materials. Do not send any unsolicited materials such as ideas, concepts, pitches, suggestions, stories, screenplays, treatments, formats, artwork, photographs, drawings, videos, audiovisual works, musical compositions (including lyrics), sound recordings, program formats, characterizations and/or other similar materials (“Unsolicited Submissions”). NDN’s policy is to delete any Unsolicited Submission without reading it or forwarding it to any NDN staff. Any similarity between an Unsolicited Submission and any elements in any NDN creative work, including, without limitation, any film, series, story, title or concept, would be purely coincidental. If any Unsolicited Submissions are sent to NDN, they shall become the property of NDN and shall be treated as User Content.

5. Downloading Material from NDN Sites

You are permitted to download, copy, duplicate or otherwise replicate content available on any NDN Site or through the use of the Services only if the materials specifically indicate they are available to download for your personal use. Note that most of our content is not available for download. You must not remove any notices, logos or other intellectual property, or credits on the downloaded materials or delete, add, or otherwise modify the content of any such downloaded materials, unless you have prior written permission from the content owner to do so.

6. Ownership of Materials on NDN Sites

NDN Sites and all the materials published or otherwise incorporated on the sites (“Content”), such as text, button icons, interfaces, images, software, illustrations, video clips, audio clips, advertisements, and other video and audio files are owned exclusively by NDN or by others that have licensed their materials to NDN. The Content is therefore protected by copyright and/or trade secrets laws, or by other proprietary rights or laws. You may not copy, download, upload, modify, reproduce, transmit, delete, add to, distribute in any way, or otherwise use for any purpose any of the Content except as stated in these Terms of Use, or without the prior written consent of the owners of the Content.

In addition, any of the trade names, trademarks, service marks and logos (collectively referred to as “Trademarks”) that appear on NDN Sites are owned by NDN or others that have licensed their use to us. Trademarks will occasionally be added to NDN Sites. These may not be used in any manner without the prior written consent of their respective owners.

You are expressly prohibited from creating works or materials that derive from or are based on the Content or Trademarks. No rights, titles or interests in the Content or Trademarks are transferred to you through your use of NDN Sites or Services. Your right to display or use the Content is limited to the right to view the Content on NDN Sites or third-party websites and you are not permitted to copy, alter, edit or reproduce the Content.

7. Partner Sites / Linked Sites

NDN Sites and Services may provide links to other websites for your convenience and enjoyment. Please note that if you access other websites through such links you do so at your sole risk. NDN does not review, endorse, or control any content, advertising, products, services, or other materials on or available through those sites, nor is it responsible for any viruses, trojan horses, or other items of a potentially destructive nature that they may contain. Your correspondence or business dealings with advertisers, partners, or other third parties through any NDN Site or Service, including payment for and delivery of goods or services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties, or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such third parties. You agree that NDN and NDN Sites will not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort arising out of any such dealings or as a result of the link to their sites on any NDN Site.

Any website that hyperlinks to any NDN Site or utilizes Services must not (a) create a frame or browser or border environment around the Site; (b) imply that NDN or any Content provider has endorsed or is sponsoring the website; (c) contain content that could be construed as distasteful, offensive, or objectionable, or otherwise be in violation of these Terms of Use; (d) use any Trademarks or any Content unless specifically approved by NDN; and (e) present any false or misleading information regarding NDN or its products, Services or NDN Sites.

8. NDN Intellectual Property

Nothing within these Terms of Use or any NDN Site shall be construed as conferring a license of or to any of our or any third party's intellectual property rights, whether by estoppel, implication, waiver, or otherwise. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you acknowledge and agree that certain content available through and used to operate NDN Sites and Services is protected by copyright, trademark, patent, or other proprietary rights by us and our content providers, licensors and service providers. You agree not to modify, copy, alter, or deface any of the Content, trademarks, service marks, or other intellectual property made available by us in connection with any NDN Site or Service. You agree not to use any of the trademarks or service marks or other content accessible through any NDN Site or Service for any purpose other than the purpose for which such content is made available to you. You agree not to defame or disparage us, our trademarks or service marks, or any aspect of any NDN Site or Service. You agree not to adapt, translate, modify, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any NDN Site or Service, or any software or programs used in connection with any NDN Site or Service. Our graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts and service names are trademarks, service marks or trade dress of NDN. Our service marks, trademarks and trade dress may not be used, including as part of domain names, in connection with any product or service in any manner that is likely to cause confusion and may not be copied, imitated, or used, in whole or in part, without our express prior written permission.

9. Disclaimer

Your use of NDN Sites and Services is at your own risk. Except to the extent these Terms of Use bind you to the terms set forth herein, nothing on NDN Sites shall be deemed to create any contract between NDN and you or to give you any rights against NDN for damages of any kind, whether direct, indirect, consequential or otherwise.

NDN IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR USE OF ANY CONTENT FOUND ON OR THROUGH ANY NDN SITE OR SERVICE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ADVERTISING AND LINKS. BY USING ANY NDN SITE OR SERVICE YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT SUCH USE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. YOU AGREE THAT THE CONTENT AND SERVICES ARE OFFERED “AS IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

NONE OF NDN, NDN’S SITES OR ANY OF ITS PUBLISHERS’ RESPECTIVE VENDORS, AGENTS, LICENSEES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS AND EMPLOYEES, SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INJURIES, ACTIONS, CLAIMS, LIABILITIES, DAMAGES, LOSSES, COSTS OR EXPENSES, INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES, ARISING AS A RESULT OF YOUR OR YOUR CHILD’S USE OF NDN SITES OR SERVICES. NDN MAKES NO GUARANTEE OF AVAILABILITY OF SERVICE AND IT RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND, WITHDRAW, CHANGE OR DISCONTINUE ANY FUNCTIONALITY OR FEATURE OF NDN SITES OR SERVICES. NDN WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (EVEN IF SUCH DAMAGES ARE FORESEEABLE OR IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OR HAVE CONSTRUCTIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES).

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT IF YOU INCUR ANY DAMAGES THAT ARISE OUT OF NDNS’ ACTS OR OMISSIONS, THE DAMAGES, IF ANY, ARE NOT IRREPARABLE AND ARE NOT SUFFICIENT TO ENTITLE YOU TO AN INJUNCTION OR OTHER EQUITABLE RELIEF RESTRICTING EXPLOITATION OF ANY WEBSITE, PROPERTY, PRODUCT OR OTHER AUDIO/VISUAL CONTENT OWNED OR CONTROLLED BY NDN, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE SERVICES (INCLUDING THOSE INCORPORATING USER CONTENT).

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

NDN reserves the right to monitor User Content by those who use NDN Sites and Services, but it is not obliged to do so. NDN disclaims any responsibility for the Content submitted by users on or through any area of NDN Sites including, without limitation, chat areas, bulletin boards, and email. NDN cannot and does not seek to limit the opinions and views of our users and such opinions and views, therefore, should not be taken to represent those of NDN.

NDN does not represent that the Content, Services and features on or offered through NDN Sites are appropriate or available for use in all countries.

NDN Sites and/or Services may be temporarily unavailable from time to time for maintenance or other reasons. NDN 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. NDN is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of email or players on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the internet or at any website or combination thereof, including injury or damage to your or to any other person’s computer related to or resulting from participating or downloading materials in connection with any NDN Site or Service. Under no circumstances will we 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 any NDN Site or Service, any user content or third-party content posted on or through any NDN Site or made available through a Service or transmitted to users, or any interactions between users of any NDN Site or Service, whether online or offline. In no event shall NDN be liable to users or anyone else for any decision or action taken by them in reliance on information available on any NDN Site or Service.

NDN reserves the right to terminate the license granted in these Terms of Use and/or refuse service to you at any time without notice for any reason. NDN may provide information concerning you and your activities to comply with applicable laws or respond to a court order, subpoena, or other lawful requests, or if we believe doing so would protect your safety or that of another person or protect the security of NDN Sites or Services, or as otherwise described in our Privacy Policy.

10. Infringement, Regulatory or Other Legal Complaints

NDN is committed to respecting the intellectual property rights of others. We will cooperate with any law enforcement authorities and comply with any judicial order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity of anyone downloading or posting materials, or otherwise using a NDN Site or Service in violation of applicable laws. If you believe that your proprietary rights, including copyright, have been infringed by any Content posted on any NDN Site or available through a Service, or if you have any other legal complaints, please notify NDN at info@newsinc.com or via mail to News Distribution Network, Inc., Attn: General Counsel, 3445 Peachtree Rd. NE, Suite 1000, Atlanta, GA 30326.

Regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, you must file any claim or action related to use of the Service or these Terms of Use within one year after such claim or action accrued. Otherwise, you will waive the claim or action.

If NDN receives such notice it will promptly respond to, remove, or disable access to, the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of any infringing activity. When notifying NDN of any claimed infringement, you must provide the following information:

• a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner whose work you claim has been infringed;
• a description of the work you claim has been infringed;
• a description of the work you claim to be infringing as well as information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material;
• your address, telephone number and email address;
• a statement of your 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
• a statement that the information in the notice 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.

11. Indemnification

You agree to fully indemnify and hold harmless NDN and its parent or subsidiary companies, successors, and assigns and the officers, directors, shareholders, vendors, partners, contractors, agents, licensors, employees or other representatives of each, from and against any and all claims and expenses (including attorney’s fees) arising out of or in connection with your use or misuse of NDN Sites and Services, including, but not limited to in connection with the Content, any violation of any laws, rules or regulations, any User Content, or any violation of these Terms of Use (collectively, “Claims”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, NDN may assume the defense of any Claim, at your expense, and you agree to cooperate fully in said defense. NDN may settle or otherwise compromise any Claims without your consent, however you shall not settle any Claim without the express written consent of NDN.

12. Privacy

Any personal or other information submitted by you and all other User Content to any NDN Sites is subject to our Privacy Policy.

13. Miscellaneous

You are solely responsible for compliance with all applicable laws of any applicable jurisdictions with respect to your use of NDN Sites and Services. If any part or portions of these Terms of Use shall be declared invalid, void or unenforceable, the remaining Terms of Use shall remain in full force and effect and shall be interpreted as closely as possible to the manner in which they were written. Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision in these Terms of Use will not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any dispute arises between you and NDN regarding these Terms of Use, the dispute will be governed by the laws of the State of Georgia and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Fulton County. These Terms of Use set forth the entire agreement regarding all of the matters contained herein and should supersede all prior agreements or negotiations concerning the subject matter of these Terms of Use.