PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE

(Last revised July 2013)

These Terms of Use describe the terms and conditions under which you, the user, are granted the right to use the websites operated by The News-Gazette, Inc. (the “Company”), and certain of the Company’s subsidiaries, including this website (the “Website” or “Websites”).

USER AGREEMENT

BY USING THIS WEBSITE YOU REPRESENT YOU ARE OF LEGAL AGE AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF USE, AND ANY SUBSEQUENT MODIFICATIONS, AND THE OTHER POLICIES POSTED ON THE WEBSITE. Your use of this Website is contingent on the foregoing agreement, and if you do not agree, you must cease using the Website. Changes to the Terms of Use policy will be incorporated into these Terms of Use from time-to-time.  It is your responsibility to review these Terms of Use prior to each use of the Website. By continuing to use the Website, you agree to any such changes.

WEBSITE AND CONTENT

We may change, suspend or discontinue availability of any aspect of the Website at any time. We will change content frequently and in our discretion. We may also impose limits, registration requirements or fees on certain features or services or restrict your access to parts or the entire Website without notice or liability.

In addition, the Website contains links to other Internet sites, resources, and sponsors or advertisers on the Website. We are not responsible for the availability of these outside resources, or their contents, and accordingly, you should direct any concerns regarding any link or other website to the site administrator or webmaster of such site.

Copyright

All content on the Website is protected by copyright, and owned or controlled by Company, or the party accredited as the owner or provider of the content, such as The Associated Press. All content of the Websites is copyrighted by the Company as a collective work under U.S. copyright laws. You must abide by all copyright notices, information, or restrictions contained in any content accessed through the Website.

By using this Website, you agree you will cooperate promptly and completely with any reasonable request by the Company related to an investigation or infringement of copyright or other proprietary right.

Personal Non-Commercial Use

This Website is for your personal and noncommercial use only. Any other use of the content is prohibited without prior written permission from the Publisher of the Company (click here to access our reprint permission form) or the copyright owner identified in the copyright notice in the content. Company cannot grant permission to reuse or republish content from any other information provider.

Unless otherwise prohibited under these Terms of Use, you are permitted to create hyperlinks to the content on the Website (including “deep linking” to articles or pages within site), provided that (1) the hyperlink text accurately describes the content as it appears on the Website, (2) no “scraping” of the content by any means (i.e., extracting content from the Website and reformatting it, aggregating it with other content or redistributing it other than in its complete originally displayed format), (3) under no circumstances may you "frame" the Website or any of its content or copy portions of the Website to a server, except as part of an Internet service provider's incidental caching of pages and (4) each page within the Website must be displayed in full (including all trademarks, branding, advertising and promotional materials), unaltered without any accompanying frame, border, margin, design, branding, trademark, advertising or promotional materials not originally displayed on the page within the Website. We reserve the right at any time in our sole discretion to revoke this permission generally, or your right to use specific links. If you have any questions regarding these linking policies you may contact us, or if you wish to link in a manner not authorized in these Terms of Use, you must get our prior written permission.

Advertisements/Search Engines

The Website may link to other sites operated by third parties. The inclusion of any link to such sites does not imply endorsement or recommendation by the Website, or by Company or its affiliates of these sites, but is for your reference and convenience only. We are not responsible for the content or accuracy of any off-site pages or any other sites linked to the Website. Linking to any other off-site pages or other sites is at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use of those sites.

The Website also contains advertisements by third parties. Unless otherwise specifically stated on the Website, we do not endorse or make any representation or recommendation regarding the quality, or accuracy of any products or services featured in, or linked to any advertisement that appears on the Website.

Commercial Transactions

Certain portions of the Website may act as a venue to allow anyone to offer, sell, and buy items from one other, such as the Classified section. The Website has no control over the quality, safety or legality of the items advertised, the truth or accuracy of the posts, the ability of sellers to sell items or the ability of buyers to pay for items. We cannot ensure that a buyer or seller will actually complete a transaction.

The Website allows you to purchase products, certificates, and a subscription. Deal certificates from our Deal of the Day program are good for services at third party businesses. We do not claim responsibility for the quality, accuracy, timeliness, or reliability of said services. Any information provided during the transaction process may be stored in compliance with the State of Illinois laws governing said transactions.

When you enter into a transaction, you agree to be financially responsible for all purchases made through the Website.

USER CREATED CONTENT

Submissions

You must be at least 13 years old to contribute content to this Website.

Through your submission of any materials of any kind (whether text, photos, video or other content), you grant to Company and its affiliates the irrevocable, nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up, transferable and sub licensable right and license to host, index, cache, tag, encode, use, copy, modify, adapt, transmit, excerpt, remove, publish, distribute, publicly display and perform, and create derivative works of, in each case in any media now or hereafter known and in any manner for any non-commercial or commercial purpose (collectively “Use”) the content submitted by you with no monetary compensation at any time. By making any submission, you waive any moral rights you may have if the materials are changed in a manner not agreeable to you. Company has no obligation to provide attribution for any content you post. If you do not agree to these terms, do not submit any content.

Nothing in these Terms of Use prohibits you from redistributing or selling your original content to other parties.

You are solely responsible for all content that you post, email or otherwise make available through the Website. For all content provided by you, you agree to indemnify Company and its affiliates as provided in Legal Terms below.

Content Submission Rules and Restrictions

By submitting any content, you represent and warrant that: (i) you either own the content or have all necessary rights to use and submit it; (ii) all information you provide is true, accurate and complete, and does not violate these Terms of Use or the terms of any third party license; and, (iii) the content will not cause injury, embarrassment or harm to any person or entity.

You agree to obtain written consent from any persons shown in any photo or video you post on the Website. You further agree to obtain all necessary consents from persons identified in or implicated by your submission.  If a minor is identified in a photo or video you submit on the Website, you must obtain consent from the minor’s parent or legal guardian, as appropriate.

You agree not to submit any content in any interactive areas including but not limited to forums, chat rooms, discussion boards, emails or otherwise that:

• is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, grossly inflammatory, false, misleading, fraudulent, inaccurate, unfair or otherwise illegal; contains photographs or illustrations in poor taste;
• is threatening, abusive or disruptive to other users (including without limitation repetitive, meaningless messages, personal attacks, content constituting spam, etc.)
• abuses or discriminates on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, etc. , or refers to such matters in any manner prohibited by law;
• infringes any party’s intellectual property rights, including without limitation copyrights and trademarks, including but not limited to plagiarism;
• impersonates another person or misquotes another person;
• violates or inappropriately encourages the violation of any municipal, state, federal or international law, rule, regulation or ordinance or violates any party’s rights; offers, promotes or advertises any goods or services or solicits any funds or consideration, except in areas of the Website specifically designated for such purpose; or
• violates any right of the Website or any third party.

You also agree not to contact any users of the Website (including through off-line communication) for the purpose of threatening, harassing or abusing them due to their content submissions on the Website.

You are solely responsible for the content you submit. Company does not and cannot review every submission made and is not responsible for the content of any submissions. However, content that is deemed inappropriate or in violation of these Terms of Use, in Company’s sole discretion, will be removed from public view. You may contact us if you disagree with any removal; however, all decisions regarding content and compliance with these Terms of Use will be determined by Company in its sole discretion. If you disagree with these conditions, do not submit any content.

Company does not control and is not responsible for content made available through the Website by its users. Company cannot and does not monitor all of the material posted or transmitted to the Website. We reserve the right to delete any postings at any time for any reason, but we have no obligation to remove or review any such content.

In content posted by users for other readers, we strongly discourage the divulging of personal information, including telephone number(s), street addresses, URLs or email addresses, which can be used to identify or locate you. If you do provide this information on the Website or to a third party who you met through the Website, it is at your sole risk. In addition, if you choose to submit content to the Website in an area that requires that your real identity be disclosed, you do so at your sole risk and liability.

False Identity

You may not submit content under another person’s name. 

“Sock puppets” are not permitted (i.e., using a fake or alternate identity to post content for a deceptive purpose, such as without limitation, praising a person or company without disclosing an underlying affiliation with that person or company).  

We reserve the right to include your real name on your internet postings if required through registration or otherwise provided to us, or when republishing your material in a printed edition of one of our publications.

Company does not warrant or claim to have verified the identity of any user. There may be users who participate under a false identity.

PRIVACY

For information on our privacy policies regarding personal information gathered on the Website, please see our Privacy Policy.

WEBSITE REGISTRATION

Registration

Some areas of the Website may require registration in order to gain access or submit content.  It is your responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of your password, if one is established. You are entirely responsible for any and all activities that occur on this Website under your account, and you agree to notify Company immediately of any known or suspected unauthorized use of your account, including loss, theft or unauthorized disclosure of your password.

Termination

You agree that at our sole discretion, and in our sole judgment, we or our agent may terminate your account at any time with or without cause.

Termination of a user’s account may include any of the following actions:

• A complete deletion (non recoverable) from all files, databases and any and all storage mechanism of the user’s files, uploads, content, and personally identifiable information. In such a case, neither Company nor its affiliates, partners or vendors have any obligation to retrieve or restore deleted data, or otherwise make good in any fashion the loss of such data.
• User data, including without limitation submitted content, errant code or personal information, may also be hidden from public view, but not destroyed. In such a case, neither Company nor its affiliates, partners or vendors are under any obligation to retrieve or restore such data.

Users who are terminated are prohibited from creating new accounts without prior written consent of Company. Users who are terminated may apply for a new account, and Company will determine in its sole discretion whether to reinstate.

LEGAL TERMS

No Representations or Warranties as to Website

THE WEBSITE AND ALL CONTENT PROVIDED BY COMPANY OR ITS AFFILIATES, OR ITS THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS IS DISTRIBUTED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. COMPANY AND ITS AFFILIATES MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT OPERATION OF THE WEBSITE (OR SERVICES OR PRODUCTS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE) WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE AND DO NOT PROVIDE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE USE, SUFFICIENCY OR ACCURACY OF ANY CONTENT. ALL WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS, INDEMNITIES AND GUARANTEES AS TO PRODUCTS AND SERVICES PROVIDED BY COMPANY AND ITS AFFILIATES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARISING BY LAW, CUSTOM, PRIOR ORAL OR WRITTEN STATEMENTS BY COMPANY, ITS AFFILIATES, ITS AGENTS OR OTHERWISE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, TITLE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT) ARE HEREBY OVERRIDDEN, EXCLUDED AND DISCLAIMED.

Limitation of Liability

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL COMPANY OR ITS AFFILIATES (OR THEIR DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS) BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PERSON FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, OR LOST PROFITS OR LOST DATA, WHETHER FORESEEABLE OR UNFORESEEABLE, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, ANY APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WEBSITE, OR ANY OF THE WEBSITE CONTENT OR OTHER MATERIALS ON, ACCESSED THROUGH OR DOWNLOADED FROM THE WEBSITE. IN ADDITION, AND NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, COMPANY AND ITS AFFILIATES’ LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER, AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION, WILL AT ALL TIMES BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID, IF ANY, BY YOU FOR THE WEBSITE PRODUCT OR SERVICE ACCESSED BY YOU, BUT IN NO CASE WILL SUCH LIABILITY TO YOU EXCEED $1000. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IF NO FEES ARE PAID BY YOU FOR THE WEBSITE, YOU SHALL BE LIMITED TO INJUNCTIVE RELIEF ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE PERMITTED BY LAW, AND SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO DAMAGES OF ANY KIND FROM COMPANY OR ITS AFFILIATES, REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE OF ACTION.

CERTAIN STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.

Indemnity

You agree at your expense to indemnify and hold harmless, Company and its affiliates and each of their respective partners, suppliers, licensors, officers, directors, shareholders, employees, representatives, contractors and agents, from any and all claims, suits, actions and investigations, and any costs, expenses, liabilities or damages therefrom (including attorneys' fees and court costs) arising from or relating to any allegation regarding: (a) your use of the Website; (b) the Website’s or Company or its affiliates’ use of any content or information you provide, as long as our use is not inconsistent with these Terms of Use; (c) information or material posted or transmitted through your registration account or user ID, even if not posted by you; and, (d) any violation of these Terms of Use by you (collectively “Claims”).

Company reserves the right to select counsel and conduct the defense or settlement of any such Claim, which shall not relieve you of your obligation to indemnify as provided above.

Governing Law and Venue

The agreement regarding these Terms of Use has been made in and shall be construed and enforced in accordance with Illinois law, without regard to its principles of the conflicts of law. Any action to enforce this agreement shall be brought in the federal or state courts located in Champaign County, Illinois and you hereby waive any objections to such action. Any cause of action you may have with respect to the Website or these Terms of Use must be commenced within one year after the claim or cause of action arises or such claim or cause of action is barred.

Severability and Waiver

If any provision of these Terms of Use is found to be invalid by any court having competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use, which shall remain in full force and effect. No waiver of these Terms of Use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or any other term or condition.

Copyright Violations

Users are prohibited from uploading, posting or otherwise transmitting on the Website any materials that violate another party's intellectual property rights. When we receive proper notification of alleged copyright infringement, we promptly remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material and terminate the accounts of repeat infringers. If you believe that any material on the Website infringes upon any copyright which you own or control, please notify us.

FEEDBACK

Any questions or comments you have about news-gazette.com can be sent to the Site by submitting them through our feedback form.  We read all comments sent to us and try to respond to as many of them as possible.

News-Gazette.com offices are located at The News-Gazette, 15 Main St., Champaign, IL 61820.  The phone number is 217-351-5252.

Last revised July 2013