TERMS OF USE AND DISCUSSION AND SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
OF
CHINA NEWS DIGEST INTERNATIONAL, INC
I. Terms of Use in General:
A. Welcome to the China News Digest International, Inc. (“CND”) websites *.cnd.org and *.hxwk.org (the “Site”), where * may be “www” or any other alphanumerical strings, and the services CND offers through the Site (the “Services”), including discussion forums and postings of submissions. Please read these Terms of Use (“TOU”) as they govern your access and use of the Site as a contributor (“Writer”) or consumer of content on the Site (“Reader”). Writer and Reader may also be referred to as “you” and “End User.” These TOU are a legal contract (the “Agreement”) between you and CND (“we” or “us”), so it is important that you review them carefully before using the Site. These TOU may have changed since your last visit to the Site. By using the Site, you indicate your acceptance of these TOU. If you do not accept these TOU, then do NOT use this Site.
B. CND’s Site allows threaded discussion groups, bulletin boards and chat rooms (“CND Forum”), feedback comments to CND and real-time interaction among the End Users. “Messages” which appear on the Site may be in the form of opinions, advice, statements, information or other content. Unless CND is specifically identified as the Author of a Message, which will be indicated by having CND entered as the Author’s Username, the responsibility for any messages posted or transmitted by any End User on this Site resides solely with the Author.
II. Discussion and Submission Guidelines for All End Users:
A. Except when express consent is obtained from CND or except as explicitly permitted on the Site’s robots.txt, End User agrees to manually visit or submit to the Site and not to use any automatic downloading/submission software to visit the Site.
B. As an End User, you represent that you have read and agree to abide by the following Discussion and Submission Guidelines (the “Guidelines”), and that by making a submission, you are consenting to its display and publication by CND on the Site. We may change or modify the Guidelines at any time.
C. By submitting content, you are consenting to these Guidelines:
1. You agree NOT to submit inappropriate content. Inappropriate content includes any content that: infringes upon or violates the copyrights, trademarks, trade secret, right of privacy, right of publicity, moral rights or any other intellectual property right of any person; is libelous or defamatory; is obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit, or vulgar; violates a person’s right to privacy or publicity; violates any local, state or federal law, law of another country or international law; contains or advocates illegal or violent acts; degrades others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or other classification; is predatory, hateful, or intended to intimidate or harass, or contains derogatory name-calling; is a duplicate or repost of something you’ve already posted on the Site; contains advertising or a solicitation of any kind without express consent of CND; misrepresents your identity or affiliation; impersonates others; is in poor taste or is otherwise objectionable.
2. You agree that you are fully responsible for the content that you submit. You will promptly remove any content that you have posted should you discover that it violates these Guidelines or that it is otherwise inappropriate. You will indemnify CND and its directors, managers, and volunteers from and against losses, expenses, damages, and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from any claim brought by any third party relating to content you have posted.
3. You understand and agree that we are not responsible for any End User submitted content. You further understand that we have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor submissions and we may remove content that we deem inappropriate for any reason whatsoever without consent. We further reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to remove an End User’s privilege to post content on the Site. We may reject or remove any comment at any time, with or without notice to you.
4. You certify that you are at least 13 years of age. If you are under the age of 13, please do not submit any content to us. If you are under the age of 18 but at least 13 years of age, you may submit content only with the permission of, and under the supervision of, a parent or legal guardian. If you are a parent or legal guardian agreeing to these rules for the benefit of an individual between the ages of 13 and 18, please be advised that you are fully responsible for his or her submissions and any legal liability that he or she may incur.
5. You certify that you have the permission of others who have contributed to or are featured in any content that you submit. In addition, if there are any individuals under the age of 18 in any photos, video, or other content that you submit, you agree to obtain the written permission of each such individual’s parent or legal guardian prior to submitting the content.
6. You acknowledge and agree that any use and/or reliance on any information obtained through the Site’s interactive forums is at your own risk. We are not in any manner endorsing the content of the interactive forums and cannot and will not vouch for its reliability.
7. For any content that you submit, you give us permission to use such content. Except as otherwise provided herein, you hereby grant to CND a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, and fully sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, incorporate into other works, distribute, perform, display, and otherwise exploit such content, in whole or in part in any form, media or technology now known or later developed.
8. You acknowledge and agree that the fact that any particular content is posted on or transmitted using the Site does not mean that CND has endorsed that content in any way or verified the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of the content.
9. You agree that CND does not sponsor or endorse any third-party content or links (“Linked Sites”) appearing on the Site. The Site may contain links to the Linked Sites of other resources and businesses. CND does not endorse, sponsor, recommend, or otherwise accept responsibility for any Linked Sites. In addition, Linked Sites are not under the control of CND, and CND is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of the Linked Sites.
III. Compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”)
A. CND respects the intellectual property rights of others. In accordance with the DMCA, CND will respond expeditiously to claims of copyright infringement on the Site if submitted to CND’s Copyright Agent as described below. Upon receipt of a notice alleging copyright infringement, CND will take whatever action it deems appropriate within its sole discretion, including removal of the allegedly infringing material and termination of access for repeat infringers of copyright protected content.
B. If you believe in good faith that your copyrighted work has been reproduced on the Site without your permission in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide all of the following information to the designated Copyright Agent:
1. A description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;
2. A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Site;
3. An address, telephone number, and email address where we can contact you and, if different, an email address where the alleged infringing party, if not CND, can contact you;
4. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner or other intellectual property rights owner, by its agent, or by law;
5. A statement by you under penalty of perjury that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or are authorized to act on the owner’s behalf;
6. Your electronic or physical signature.
C. CND may request additional information before removing any allegedly infringing material. In the event CND removes the allegedly infringing materials, CND will immediately notify the person responsible for posting such materials that CND removed or disabled access to the materials. CND may also provide the responsible person with your email address so that the person may respond to your allegations.
D. Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 512(c) of the DMCA, CND’s designated Copyright Agent is:
CND manager
China News Digest International
P.O.Box 10111
Gaithersburg, MD 20898
(301)963-1699
cnd-manager@cnd.org
IV. CND’s Right to Monitor the CND Forum and Content on the Site
You understand and agree that CND has no obligation to monitor the CND Forum. However, CND reserves the right at all times to edit, refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, that in CND’s sole discretion are objectionable or in violation of these TOU and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy a governmental request.
V. Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability
The site is provided “as is.” We do not warrant that the site will be uninterrupted or error-free. There may be delays, omissions, interruptions, and inaccuracies in the content available through the site. CND disclaims to the maximum extent permitted by law any and all such representations and warranties. If you rely on the site and any materials made available through the site, you do so solely at your own risk.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, CND disclaims to the maximum extent permitted by law any and all (a) warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, (b) warranties against infringement of any third-party intellectual property or proprietary rights, (c) warranties relating to the transmission or delivery of the site, (d) warranties relating to the accuracy, reliability, correctness, timeliness or completeness of content made available on the site and (d) warranties otherwise relating to performance, nonperformance, or other acts or omissions by CND or any third party. Further, there is no warranty that the site will meet your needs or requirements or the needs or requirements of any other person.
CND makes no warranties or representations, express or implied (a) that the information provided through the site will be free from error, omission, interruption, defect, or delay in operation, or from technical inaccuracies or typographical errors, (b) that the site will be available at any particular time or location (c) that defects or errors in the site will be corrected, or (d) that the content on the site is free of viruses or other harmful components. Any content on the site is subject to change without notice, and CND disclaims all responsibility for the site. We reserve the right to correct any errors or omissions on the site.
In no event will CND or any party involved in creating, producing, or delivering the site be liable for any direct, incidental, consequential, indirect, special, or punitive damages arising out of your access, use, misuse, or inability to use the site or any linked sites, or in connection with any failure of performance, error, transmission, computer virus, or line or system failure. These limitations apply whether the alleged liability is based on contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or any other basis, even CND has been advised of the possibility of such damage. Because some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, CND’s liability in such jurisdictions shall be limited to the extent permitted by law.
VI. Governing Law, Jurisdiction and Venue
Any action arising from or related to your use of the Site will be governed by the substantive laws of the State of Maryland, USA, without reference to the choice of law rules thereof. You agree that any action will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Maryland. You hereby submit yourself to the personal jurisdiction and venue of such courts.
VII. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold CND and its directors, managers, and volunteers harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your breach of these TOU, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.
VIII. No Partnership
You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and CND as a result of these TOU or your access to and use of the Site.
IX. Termination
CND may terminate the Agreement under the TOU for any reason at any time. CND reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to and use of the Site, with or without prior notice. Otherwise applicable sections of the TOU shall survive termination. In addition to any termination rights, we reserve the right to enforce and prosecute any violations of these TOU.
X. No Waiver
The failure of CND to enforce any provisions of the TOU or to respond to a breach by you or other parties shall not in any way waive its rights to enforce subsequently any terms or conditions of the TOU or to act with respect with similar breaches.
XI. Entire Agreement.
Unless otherwise specified herein, the TOU constitute the entire agreement between you and CND and govern your use of the Site. If any portion of the TOU is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intention of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.