TERMS OF SERVICE

Terms of Use

Welcome to The Reporters Inc. (www.thereporters.org). Please read these terms of

service carefully. They contain important information regarding your legal rights,

remedies and obligations, including how the content you provide can be used, and how

disputes will be resolved.

1. REVISION DATE

These Terms of Service were last revised on November 1, 2014.

2. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS

The Reporters Inc. provides this website (the “Service”) to you subject to the following

Terms of Service (“TOS”). By using The Reporters Inc. site (the “Site”), and in exchange

for The Reporters Inc.’s agreement to provide the Service to you, you agree to be bound

by the TOS. The TOS may be revised from time to time without notice to you other than

appearing on the Site. If we do this, we will indicate at the beginning of the TOS when

they were last revised. It is your responsibility to regularly check the Site and to review

the TOS. Your continued use of the Site constitutes your agreement to all revisions to the

TOS. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any new features that augment or enhance the

current Service shall also be subject to the TOS.

You must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to use the Service. Any registration by, use

of, or access to the Site by anyone under 13 is unauthorized, unlicensed and in violation

of these TOS. By using the Service or the Site, you represent and warrant that you are 13

or older.

The Reporters Inc. reserves the right to refuse service to anyone without notice, at any

time and for any reason.

3. PROVISION AND MODIFICATION OF SERVICE

The Reporters Inc. includes software, services and content in order to facilitate and

enhance the Service and the Site. However, much of the content of the Site—including

the contents of specific postings—is provided by and is the responsibility of users who

submit content to the Service or post content on the Site or its Members. The Reporters

Inc. takes no responsibility for such content. The Reporters Inc. merely provides access

to such content as a service to you.You understand and agree that the Service and the Site are provided to you on an AS IS

and AS AVAILABLE basis. The Reporters Inc. disclaims all responsibility and liability

for the availability, timeliness, security or reliability of the Service or any feature or

software included in the Service. The Reporters Inc. disclaims all responsibility or

liability for the acts or omissions of third parties, including its Members, whose services,

software, content, or advertising may be utilized in connection with the Service or appear

on the Site.

The Reporters Inc. reserves the right at any time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or

permanently, the Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice. The Service also

may be subject to interruptions, caused by The Reporters Inc. or others. You agree that

The Reporters Inc. will not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification,

suspension, interruption or discontinuance of the Service.

4. CONDITIONS ON USE OF THE SERVICE AND THE SITE

The Reporters Inc. grants you permission to access and use the Service and the Site as set

forth in these TOS, and in exchange you agree as follows:

• You will access and use the Service and the Site solely for your own personal,

noncommercial use;

• You will not use Service or the Site in any illegal manner or for any illegal purpose, in

any other manner that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the Service or

the Site, or in any manner inconsistent with these TOS;

• You will not defeat or interfere with any security feature of the Service or the Site, or

attempt to do so;

• You will not alter or modify any content or component of the Service or the Site, other

than content you have submitted to or posted on the Site;

• You will not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade, resell or exploit, for any

commercial purpose, any content, component or use of or any access to the

Service or the Site, without the prior written permission of The Reporters Inc.,

except for content you have submitted to or posted on the Site, or content with

respect to which you have the prior written permission of the owner;

• You will not use any automated system, software, or device to generate and send

unsolicited communications to or through the Service or the Site;

• You will not collect or harvest any personally identifiable information, including

without limitation account names or e-mail addresses, from the Service or the

Site, nor use the communication systems provided by the Service or the Site for

purposes of sending any commercial solicitation;• You will not upload, post, transmit, share or otherwise make available any material that

contains software viruses or any other computer code designed to interfere with

the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications

equipment; and

• You will not harass or intimidate any other user of the Service or the Site.

5. YOUR CONDUCT AND USE OF THE SERVICE AND THE SITE

You are responsible for your (and anyone using your account’s) use of the Service and the

Site.

You acknowledge that you are solely responsible for the content you provide (including

your name, image, and likeness), text, photos, video, music, messages, comments, notes,

advertisements, listings, links, and other content that you post, publish, upload, or display

on the Site, or transmit to or share with others using the Service (collectively “User

Content”), and for the consequences of posting, publishing, uploading or displaying any

User Content.

You understand and agree that any User Content you submit to The Reporters Inc. or post

on the Site is intended to and generally will be made public, and that once made public

User Content cannot be made private again. You consent to the public dissemination of

all information you submit or post using the Service or the Site.

You agree that you will not use the Service or the Site to post, transmit, or share User

Content that you did not create or that you do not have permission to post. You affirm

that you own or have all intellectual property rights (including without limitation

copyright and trademark rights), licenses, and permissions to the User Content you

provide that are needed to use and to authorize The Reporters Inc. to use that User

Content in the manner described in these TOS. By submitting or posting User Content,

you warrant that it does not infringe any intellectual property rights of another person.

You agree that you will not use the Service or the Site to post, transmit, or share child

pornography. The use of Service or the Site to publish or transmit child pornography will

not be tolerated. If identified, it will be reported to law enforcement authorities, and will

result in termination of your account.

You agree that you will not use the Service or the Site to post, transmit, or share User

Content that is obscene, defamatory or invasive of the privacy of another person,

graphically violent, physically threatening, intended for any illegal purpose, or otherwise

inappropriate on a site intended for a general audience. By submitting or posting User

Content, you warrant that it is not obscene, defamatory or invasive of the privacy of any

other person, or otherwise illegal.

You understand that The Reporters Inc. does not promise that User Content you submit toThe Reporters Inc. or post on the Site will be maintained by The Reporters Inc. You are

solely responsible for creating backup copies of and replacing any User Content you

submit to The Reporters Inc. or post on the Site, at your own cost and expense. You agree

that The Reporters Inc. has no responsibility or liability for the deletion of, or the failure

to store or to transmit, any User Content or other communications provided using the

Service. The Reporters Inc. retains the right to create limits on use and storage at its sole

discretion, at any time, with or without notice.

6. RIGHTS TO AND USE OF THE CONTENT ON THE SITE

Except for User Content, all content and components of the Service and the Site (“The

Reporters Inc. Content”), including without limitation, the software, text, photos, video

and audio content, graphics, interactive features and advertisements, and all trademarks,

service marks and logos contained therein, are owned by or licensed to The Reporters

Inc., subject to copyrights or other intellectual property rights held by others pursuant to

law. The Reporters Inc. reserves all rights to The Reporters Inc. Content, User Content,

and any other component or content of the Service or the Site not expressly granted to

you by these TOS.

By submitting or posting User Content using the Service or the Site, you grant to The

Reporters Inc. an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid,

worldwide license to: (1) use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat,

translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute the User Content in or through any

medium now known or hereafter invented, for any purpose; (2) to prepare derivative

works using the User Content, or to incorporate it into other works, for any purpose; and

(3) to grant and authorize sublicenses of any or all of the foregoing rights.

You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove

your User Content, the User Content will no longer appear on the Site.

However, you acknowledge that The Reporters Inc. may retain archived copies of your

User Content, and that The Reporters Inc. will retain the rights to the content granted by

these TOS.

The Reporters Inc. does not assert any ownership over your User Content; rather, as

between The Reporters Inc. and you, subject to the rights granted to us in these TOS, you

retain full ownership of all of your User Content and any intellectual property rights or

other proprietary rights associated with your User Content.

The Reporters Inc. may obtain and exercise intellectual property rights over compilations,

collective works, or derivative works that incorporate User Content you have provided. In

that case, the rights The Reporters Inc. obtains will apply only to the compilation,

collective work, or derivative work; as between The Reporters Inc. and you, subject to

the rights granted to us in these TOS, you will retain full ownership of and rights to your

User Content.

When you post User Content to the Site, you also authorize and direct us to make suchcopies thereof as we deem necessary in order to facilitate the posting, maintenance, and

storage of the User Content on the Site.

7. OBJECTIONABLE OR INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT

By its very nature, the Site may include offensive, harmful, inaccurate or otherwise

offensive or objectionable material. In some cases, the Site may include content that has

been mislabeled or is otherwise deceptive. Please use caution and common sense and

exercise proper judgment when using the The Reporters Inc. Site. The Reporters Inc.

does not endorse, support, represent or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability

of any content appearing on the Site. The Reporters Inc. does not endorse any opinions

expressed via the Service. You acknowledge that any reliance on material appearing on

the Site will be at your own risk.

The Reporters Inc. will not routinely review or revise content submitted using the Service

or posted on the Site. However, The Reporters Inc. may read any such content, and The

Reporters Inc. reserves the right to refuse to distribute any such content, to remove any

content from the Site, or to edit such content, in it sole discretion.

If you find content appearing on the Site that you believe violates these TOS, or that is

offensive or otherwise objectionable, you may inform The Reporters Inc. by sending an

email to info@thereporters.org. The Reporters Inc. will review your message and the

content to which you object (assuming it is still on the Site). The Reporters Inc. may

remove the content if, in The Reporters Inc.’s judgment, it is inappropriate. However,

please understand that deciding whether content is inappropriate is a judgment call, and

that The Reporters Inc.is not legally responsible for content that it does not originate.

Neither is The Reporters Inc. legally responsible for keeping content that it deems

inappropriate off of the Site. If content you have submitted is not published or is

removed, please review these TOS and understand that the value of The Reporters Inc. is,

to a large extent, based on providing an experience that is both enlightening and pleasant

for the people who use the Site.

The Reporters Inc. may also elect to make certain content available only to registered

users of the Service or the Site who expressly confirm that they are adults who wish to

have access to the content. If the Service requires you to provide this confirmation, you

agree that in doing so you consent to the receipt of any such information, and you release

The Reporters Inc. from any claims based on the receipt or distribution of such

information.

The Reporters Inc. also reserves the right to access, read, preserve, and disclose any

information as it reasonably believes is necessary to do any of the following: (1) satisfy

any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request; (2) enforce these

TOS, including investigation of potential violations hereof; (3) detect, prevent, or

otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues; (4) respond to user support requests;

or (5) protect the rights, property or safety of The Reporters Inc., its users and the public.You agree that The Reporters Inc. will not be liable for exercising or failing to exercise

any of these rights.

8. USE, PROMOTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF CONTENT BY THE

REPORTERS INC.

You understand and agree that you will receive no compensation from The Reporters Inc.

for any User Content you submit to The Reporters Inc. or post on the Site. You

understand and agree that User Content you submit to The Reporters Inc. or post on the

Site may be organized, arranged, formatted, categorized, designated, displayed, and

edited as The Reporters Inc. determines, in its sole discretion. In particular:

• INN editors or automated functions of the Service may include User Content you

submit in various locations on the Site, and/or may (or may not) apply certain

designations to your User Content, such as topic labels, tags, comments, forum

posts and others.

• The Reporters Inc. editors may (or may not) modify User Content you submit as

follows: (1) editing existing headlines or adding headlines to the content; (2)

creating and adding brief summaries of the content; or (3) editing the text or other

elements of the content.

By submitting User Content to The Reporters Inc. or posting it on the Site, you agree as

follows:

• The Reporters Inc., in its discretion, may place your User Content in a location or

locations of its choosing on the Site, and may apply designations currently

existing or created in the future to your User Content. You will have no claim for

compensation or any other remedy based on the location or designation of User

Content you submit.

• The Reporters Inc., in its discretion, may Promote your User Content to the The

Reporters Inc. Site, and may make copies of your User Content as necessary to do

so. These TOS will apply to User Content that is Promoted to the The Reporters

Inc. Site. You will have no claim for compensation or any other remedy based on

the Promotion of User Content you submit.

• The Reporters Inc., in its discretion, may modify your User Content as described in

these TOS. The Reporters Inc. will not be responsible for any claims arising from

modifications that do not substantially change the meaning of the content, add

new and different meanings, or result in the addition of new material that give rise

to a claim.

9. ADVERTISINGAdvertising served by The Reporters Inc. itself or by The Reporters Inc. in cooperation

with third party advertising programs (“The Reporters Inc. Advertising”), may appear on

the Site. You understand and agree that all revenue resulting from Advertising will be

paid exclusively to The Reporters Inc., and that The Reporters Inc. you have no right to

or interest in any such revenue.

You understand that The Reporters Inc. is not responsible for the textual, visual, or

technological features or content of advertisements that appear on the Site, other than

advertisements created and served directly by The Reporters Inc. (if any). By using the

Service, you relieve The Reporters Inc. from any and all liability in connection with any

The Reporters Inc.

Advertising that may appear on the Site.

10. OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

The Reporters Inc., www.thereporters.org, and other The Reporters Inc. logos and

product and service names are trademarks of The Reporters Inc. All other trademarks

appearing on the Site are trademarks of their respective owners and our reference to them

does not imply or indicate any approval or endorsement by their owners unless such

approval or endorsement is expressly made. The Reporters Inc. is a blogging and social

networking site and service. References to other names and trademarks are necessary in

the course of providing information and commentary about the subjects addressed on the

Site.

11. SPONSORS, ADVERTISERS AND THIRD PARTIES

The Site may contain links to sponsor, advertiser, or other third party websites that are

not owned or controlled by The Reporters Inc. Inclusion of, linking to or permitting the

use or installation of any third party site, applications, software, content or advertising

does not imply approval or endorsement thereof by The Reporters Inc. The Reporters Inc.

has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or

practices of any third parties. By using the Service, you relieve The Reporters Inc. from

any and all liability arising from your use of any third-party website.

Your correspondence or dealings with, or participation in promotions of, sponsors,

advertisers, or other third parties found on or through the Service, are solely between you

and such third parties. You agree that The Reporters Inc. shall not be responsible or liable

for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings or as the

result of the presence of such sponsors, third parties or advertisers on the Service.

12. PRIVACY

The Reporters Inc. respects your privacy. The Reporters Inc.’s Privacy Policy explains

how we collect, use, and disclose information about you.

13. COPYRIGHTThe Reporters Inc. respects the intellectual property rights of others. We prohibit users

from uploading, posting or otherwise transmitting materials that violate the intellectual

property rights of others. When we receive notification of alleged copyright infringement

that complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. 512, the “DMCA”),

we promptly remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material. We also

terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.

If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof and you believe that any content on The

Reporters Inc. infringes upon your copyrights, please send our Agent for Notice a

notification with all of the following information:

• identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple

copyrighted works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of

such works;

• identification of the claimed infringing material and information reasonably sufficient

to permit us to locate the material on the Service;

• information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you, such as an address,

telephone number, and, if available, an e-mail address;

• 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

notification is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act

on the copyright owner’s behalf; and your physical or electronic signature.

• Please send all of the above information to our Agent for Notice at

info@thereporters.org.

14. TERMINATION

The Reporters Inc. may, in its sole discretion, terminate your access or delete any content

or information that you have posted on the Site, and/or prohibit you from using or

accessing the Service or the Site, at any time, with or without notice, for any reason,

including but not limited to violation of these TOS.

15. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:

YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICE IS

PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. THE REPORTERS

INC. EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHEREXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED

WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR

PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

In particular, and without limitation, The Reporters Inc. makes no warranty that: (1) the

Service or the Site will meet your requirements; (2) the Service or the Site will be

uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free; (3) the results that may be obtained from the

use of the Service or the Site will be accurate or reliable; (4) the quality of any products,

services, information, or other material purchased or obtained by you through the Service

or the Site will meet your expectations; (5) any errors in the components or contents of

the Service or the Site will be corrected; or (6) or that the Site or the Service are free of

viruses or other harmful components.

No advice or information, oral or written, obtained by you from The Reporters Inc., shall

create any warranty not expressly stated in these TOS.

16. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE REPORTERS INC.

SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,

CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT

LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR

OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF THE REPORTERS INC. HAS BEEN

ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM THE

USE OF OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE OR THE SITE

In particular, and without limitation, The Reporters Inc. will have no liability for damages

arising from: (1) accessing, downloading, or otherwise obtaining any content or

component of the service or the site, even if it results in the inadvertent transfer of

harmful computer code, such as viruses, malware, or spyware; (2) unauthorized access to

or disclosure or alteration of your transmissions or data; (3) statements or conduct of any

third party on the service; or (4) as otherwise provided in these TOS.

17. EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN

WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR

INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF

THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY AND DAMAGES MAY NOT APPLY

TO YOU.

INDEMNIFICATION

You agree to hold harmless and indemnify The Reporters Inc., and its subsidiaries,

affiliates, officers, agents, and employees from and against any third-party claim arising

from or in any way related to your (or anyone using your account’s) use of the Service orthe Site, including any liability or expense arising from all claims, losses, damages

(actual and consequential), suits, judgments, litigation costs and attorneys’ fees, of every

kind and nature. The Reporters Inc. will make reasonable efforts to provide you with

written notice of any such claim, suit or action, but the failure of The Reporters Inc. to

provide such notice will not relieve you of these obligations.

18. GENERAL SEVERABILITY

If any provision of these TOS is found invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be

enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the other provisions of the TOS will

remain in force.

CHOICE OF LAW AND VENUE

The agreement created by these TOS, and any dispute arising from or relating to these

TOS or the provision or use of the Service or the Site, will be governed by the laws of the

State of Minnesota, without giving effect to its conflict of laws provisions. The parties

hereby expressly waive trial by jury in any action, proceeding or counterclaim brought by

either of the parties against the other on any matters whatsoever arising out of or related

to these TOS or the provision or use of the Service or the Site (“Claim”). The parties

agree to submit any Claim to binding arbitration, to be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In the event any Claim is mutually agreed by the parties or deemed by a court not to be

subject to arbitration, it will be submitted to the state or federal courts sitting in

Minnesota, and the parties agree that they are and will be subject to the personal

jurisdiction of those courts.

NON-WAIVER

The failure of The Reporters Inc. to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the TOS

shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of the TOS 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 TOS remain in full force and effect.

LIMITATION OF LEGAL ACTIONS

You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of

action arising out of or related to use of the TOS, or the provision or use of the Service or

the Site, must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be

forever barred.

ENTIRE AGREEMENT

These TOS, together with The Reporters Inc.’s Privacy Policy constitute the entire

agreement between you and The Reporters Inc. and governs your use of the Service,

superseding any prior agreements between you and The Reporters Inc. You also may besubject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use or purchase

certain other services from/with The Reporters Inc., affiliate services, third-party content

or third-party software.

I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, AND I AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THEM.

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