ePals Terms of Use

 

I. PROHIBITED TYPES OF CONTENT AND ACTIVITIES

II. USE OF CONTENT

III. PRIVACY POLICY

IV. PERSONAL INFORMATION, USER CONTENT AND CONFIDENTIALITY

V. LINKING TO THIS WEB SITE

VI. CHANGES TO THESE TERMS OF USE AND/OR EPALS PRODUCTS OR SERVICES

VII. THIRD PARTY SITES; ADVERTISERS

VIII. USE OF SOFTWARE

IX. WARRANTY DISCLAIMER

X. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

XI. INDEMNIFICATION.

XII. CHOICE OF LAW AND LOCATION FOR RESOLVING DISPUTES.

XIII. DISPUTE RESOLUTION

XIV. SEVERABILITY AND INTEGRATION

XV. TERMINATION.

 

 


EFFECTIVE DATE: MAY 30, 2007


Welcome to the Web sites owned and operated by ePals, Inc. and its affiliated entities ("ePals"). These Terms of Use ("Terms of Use" or "Agreement") apply to all sites owned or operated by ePals, Inc., including: www.epals.com, www.epalscorp.com. and www.In2books.com (collectively, "Sites"). When you visit any of these Sites, register as an ePals member, or otherwise use the products or services offered by ePals, including In2Books®, SchoolM@il™, SchoolBlog™, and the Global Community™ (collectively, "Products and Services"), you become a "User" for purposes of this Agreement and you agree to be bound by this Agreement and our Privacy Policy


PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE USING ePALS' PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OR ACCESSING THE CONTENT ON THIS WEBSITE. YOUR USE OF ePals' SITES OR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES SIGNIFIES THAT YOU AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING TERMS OF USE, YOU CONSENT TO THE INFORMATION COLLECTION PRACTICES DISCLOSED IN THE ePals PRIVACY POLICY, WHICH IS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE INTO THIS AGREEMENT, TO RECEIVE REQUIRED NOTICES, AND TO ENGAGE IN ELECTRONIC OR WRITTEN TRANSACTIONS WITH ePals.


In order to use ePals' Products and Services, you may be required to download software or content and/or agree to additional Terms and Conditions. Those additional Terms and Conditions are hereby incorporated by reference into this Agreement unless otherwise noted. In the event of a conflict between those additional Terms and Conditions and this Agreement, those additional Terms and Conditions shall govern.


I. PROHIBITED TYPES OF CONTENT AND ACTIVITIES


"Content" refers to all information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages, tags, or other materials - whether publicly posted or privately transmitted - provided by us and our licensors and displayed on the Sites.
Users of the Sites may be subject to international, federal, state and local laws, including but not limited to laws regulating the privacy and security of personal information (collectively, "Laws"). As a user you are solely responsible for your use of the Sites being in compliance with all applicable Laws. In addition, with respect to your use of the Sites and ePals' Products and Services, you agree that you will not submit or create Content that:

In addition, you may not:

ePals reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in ePals' sole discretion, violates these provisions, including but not limited to removing the offending Content, terminating the membership of such individuals, filing a lawsuit to seek civil remedies and reporting such individuals to law enforcement.
Except as otherwise required by law, ePals takes no responsibility for, and make no representations or warranties concerning, the privacy, confidentiality, or security or the accuracy of any information entered, disclosed, or transmitted to third parties through the Sites by users.

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II. USE OF CONTENT


Attributions: All copyright and other intellectual property rights in the Content on the Sites are owned by ePals, unless otherwise indicated. Such Content is protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other laws. ePals owns and retains all rights in ePals Content. ePals grants you a limited, revocable, nonsublicensable license to view or download a single copy of the ePals Content (excluding any software code) solely for your personal, noncommercial use if you include this copyright notice: "Copyright ePals, Inc. All Rights Reserved," as well as any and all other copyright and proprietary rights notices contained in the material. Otherwise, no ePals Content may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed.


Ownership of Copyrights, Trademarks, Patents and Trade Secrets: ePals Content is protected under U.S. and foreign copyright, trademark, patent and/or trade secret laws, with title to ePals Content held by ePals and/or its licensors. The Sites also contain Content owned by other copyright and trademark holders. Except for Content created solely by you ("User Content"), you may not copy, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, transmit, distribute, perform, display, or sell any Content that appears on, or is accessible through, the ePals Sites or use of ePals Products or Services.
The look and feel of our color combinations, button shapes, and other graphical elements on ePals are our trademarks. The names of and logos associated with ePals' Products and Services are owned by ePals and are protected by U.S. and foreign trademark laws.
You shall be solely responsible for any Content you submit and the consequences of posting or publishing such Content. With respect to any Content you submit, you affirm, represent and warrant that:

Any unauthorized use, modification or copying of ePals Content, or Content that constitutes the intellectual property of others, is a breach of this Agreement. The use of any Content on any other Web site or networked computer environment is expressly prohibited.
We do not claim ownership of any User Content you post; however, by posting or transmitting such User Content, you grant us, our affiliates, our successors, and others with whom we have agreements, a perpetual, transferable, royalty- free worldwide right to use, copy, display, perform, modify, distribute, adapt, aggregate, translate, reformat, sublicense, create compilations and collective works, prepare derivative works based upon, display publicly, perform publicly and otherwise exploit (including but not limited to over the Internet or any other uses or media)
Any and all intellectual property rights that are not expressly granted hereunder are reserved to ePals and its licensors.


Intellectual Property on Other Web Sites: We respect the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. Material available on or through other Web sites may be protected by copyright and the intellectual property laws of the United States and/or other countries. ePals has no responsibility for content on other Web sites. The terms of use of those Web sites, and not this Agreement, govern your use of that material.ePals' retains the right, in appropriate circumstances and in its sole discretion, to disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who infringe or repeatedly infringe ePals or others' copyrights or other intellectual property rights.


Reporting copyright infringement: If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide ePals' Copyright Agent with the following information:

Our Designated Copyright Agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement is:
Attn: General Counsel
Re: Copyright Claim
ePals, Inc.
13625-A Dulles Technology Drive
Herndon, Virginia 20171
Phone: 703-885-3400
Fax: 703-885-3490

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III. PRIVACY POLICY


I. PRIVACY NOTICE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 13

II. INFORMATION THAT WE COLLECT FROM INDIVIDUAL 13 YEARS OLD AND OVER

III. LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEB SITES

IV. COOKIES

V. SECURITY PRACTICES

VI. NOTICE OF CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

VII. FOR MORE INFORMATION


EFFECTIVE DATE: JUNE 6, 2007


    ePals, Inc. ("ePals") is committed to protecting the privacy of students, parents, and educators, while providing students and schools with a dynamic learning and teaching environment made possible by the Internet. This privacy policy addresses the online privacy practices of ePals.

    ePals offers the following products and services:
  • In2BooksŪ is a research-proven, curriculum-based product for classroom and home use. The program fosters reading, writing, and critical thinking skills across the curriculum. Through the pairing of learners with mentor pen pals, In2BooksŪ produces real dialogue and real learning.
  • ePals' SchoolMail™ is the leading school-safe email product, enabling learners around the world to connect and collaborate.

  • ePals' award-winning SchoolBlog™ product makes it easy to create and maintain safe blogs for schools and classrooms.

  • The ePals Global Community™ is the largest online community of K-12 learners, enabling more than 120,000 classrooms across 191 countries to safely connect, exchange ideas, and collaborate.

The privacy policy is divided into two sections - the first addressing information collected from users who are under 13 years of age; the second addressing information collected from all other users. While many of ePals' products and services are intended for students, these products and services also include significant involvement by parents, teachers, and other adults as well. This policy is applicable to all ePals products and services.

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I. PRIVACY NOTICE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 13

It is ePals' policy to limit the collection of personal information from children to only that which is necessary to obtain parental consent or to participate in an ePals program or activity after we have obtained parental consent. Children under 13 years old are not allowed to subscribe or create an account without a parent, guardian, or teacher's permission and in most cases the adult creates the account for the child.

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Parental Consent


We require a parent or guardian to consent before a child under the age of 13 can become a member of ePals or to use any of ePals products or services. In addition, during the registration process, we collect only enough personal information (i.e., parent's name and email address) necessary to obtain a parent's permission for his/her child to become a member of ePals.


For some ePals' products and services, teachers and school administrators may provide consent on behalf of parents. Parents should consult the school's Acceptable Use Policy for more information about the school's policies and practices for protecting children on the Internet.


Parents can provide consent by email, fax, or postal mail for their children to use the following ePals products and services: SchoolMail™, SchoolBlog™, and the Global Community™. Complete email instructions are provided in the parental consent form available at www.epals.com/privacy/forms.


To provide consent by fax or post, parents should fill out the parental consent form, sign it and either fax it toll free from North America to 1-888-201-2332 or mail it to:


ePals Legal Department
13625-A Dulles Technology Drive
Herndon, VA 20171
USA


If we receive consent from a parent, teacher or school administrator, an authorized ePals Administrator will activate the child's membership.


We will seek consent from parents for their children to use In2BooksŪ products and services through use of a credit card verification during the registration process, or parents will receive an email from ePals/In2BooksŪ asking for their consent. Parents will be asked to provide consent by email, or fax. If a parent provides email consent, ePals will follow up with a confirmatory email to the parent.

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What Information Do We Collect From Children?


For all ePals products and services (i.e., SchoolMail™, SchoolBlog™, In2BooksŪ, and the Global Community™): we may collect the following types of personally identifiable information directly from children: first name; last name; date of birth; email address; ePals email address; password; nickname; IP address; grade level; mailing address; and parent's name and email address. We may also generate a login ID for the child that is different than the child's actual name.


We may also passively collect any personally identifiable information that children choose to post on our online forums as well as cookies from children's computers. Click here for more about cookies


Non-Personally Identifiable Information: We may collect certain non-personally identifiable information from visitors to our site, such as the date and time of their visit, the type of browser used (e.g., Netscape, Internet Explorer), the type of operating system used (e.g., Windows 2000 or Mac OS), the ISP from which the visitor receives Internet access, and aggregate information regarding what pages users of the site access or visit.


We may also collect non-personally identifiable information from registered members (such as the member's favorite pet or favorite book) and match it to personally identifiable information (such as the member's name) in our database. Such combined information is kept in our internal database under the member's user name.

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How Do We Use the Information We Collect From Children?

We may use the personally identifiable information that we collect from a child to determine whether he or she is eligible to use our site, to obtain consent from his or her parent, teacher or school administrator for him or her to use the service, to provide an interactive online experience, to send newsletters, to make reading recommendations, to provide educational content that we believe that the child may be interested in or would benefit from, and to fulfill requests for products or services.


We may use non-personally identifiable information such as cookies and Web surfing habits associated with IP addresses to improve the design, content and performance of our site. We also may use this information in the aggregate to analyze site usage and the popularity of our Web pages.


We may also collect non-personally identifiable information from registered members (such as the member's favorite pet or favorite book) and match it to personally identifiable information (such as the member's name) in our database. Such combined information is kept in our internal database under the member's user name. We do not share such information with third parties, but we may use it for statistical purposes later, such as to say, 25 percent of In2BooksŪ third-graders have goldfish!

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Will ePals Share My Child's Personal Information with Third Parties?

Yes, but only in limited circumstances. We may disclose personally identifiable and/or non-personally identifiable (i.e., aggregate, anonymous) information obtained from children for educational research purposes. In addition, we may share such information with affiliates, trusted technology partners, and third party vendors who generate educational content, provide customer service or billing services, process parental consents, and/or monitor online forums and chatrooms. These third parties have agreed to maintain the confidentiality, security and integrity of personally identifiable information, and the information is not shared with any of these third party technology partners or vendors for their marketing purposes.


We may disclose personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable information in response to legal process--for example, in response to a court order or a subpoena. We also may disclose such information where we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations of our terms of use, or as otherwise required by law. In addition, we may transfer personally identifiable information if we are acquired by or merged with another company, or as part of a bankruptcy proceeding.


Here is how the consent process works:


  • For the ePals' Global Community™, SchoolMail™ , and SchoolBlog™ , teachers and/or school administrators will provide consent on behalf of the parents whose children attend school in those districts.

  • For In2BooksŪ programs, consent will be obtained from parents, who have been notified about our information collection practices, and parents will be required to use a credit card to register a child for the program, or parents will receive an email from ePals/In2BooksŪ asking for their consent. Parents will be asked to provide consent by email, or fax. If a parent provides email consent, ePals will follow up with a confirmatory email to the parent.

Please note that by their very nature email accounts, greeting cards, chatrooms, blogs, message boards, and other interactive services allow children to disclose personally identifiable information (such as their real names, addresses or phone numbers) about themselves or others. We strive to prevent children from disclosing personally identifiable information through our products and services. For example, we caution children not to disclose this information while using our products and services, and we endeavor to monitor our online forums and use filters, among other things, in order to prevent this information from appearing in public areas such as blogs and chatrooms on the sites when we see it. However, these methods are not foolproof, and children may nevertheless still sometimes disclose personally identifiable information with their correspondents (e.g., in their exchange of letters in the In2BooksŪ programs), and in our online forums. Parents and teachers should advise their children and students not to share any personally identifiable or contact information online, even if such personal information is provided in correspondence only between individuals.


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II. INFORMATION THAT WE COLLECT FROM INDIVIDUALS 13 YEARS OLD AND OVER

Our privacy practices for data that we collect online from individuals 13 years old and over are generally similar to those for information that we collect from users under 13 years old.

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What Information Do We Collect From Individuals 13 Years Old and Over?

For all ePals' products (i.e., SchoolMail™, SchoolBlog™, In2BooksŪ, and the Global Community™): We may collect personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable information including, but not limited to: first and last name, date of birth, credit card information, security question and answer, nickname, information related to hobbies and preferences, email address, unique login name and password, home street address and/or telephone number, grade level, school name and address, and school telephone number. We may also generate a unique login ID for use on the ePals site.


Teachers who register on our site may create and post an online profile, with fields for name, school name, school URL (optional), grade level taught, range of ages of students, languages spoken, total number of students in the class, any additional communication capabilities (optional), school street address, and a brief description of their class(es) for matching purposes. The profile can be viewed by any visitor to the site, though only registered ePals members can attempt to make contact with the teacher who created the profile. It is our policy not to create profiles for any user identified by our system as being under 13 years old or identified as a student.


We may allow ePals' members 13 years old and over to refer friends to the site. If this feature is used, we will ask the member for the friend's name and email address. ePals will automatically send the friend a one-time email inviting them to visit the site. If the recipient chooses not to register, he or she may contact ePals and ask us to remove his or her name and email address from our database.


Non-Personally Identifiable Information: We may use non-personally identifiable information that we collect from users over 13 years old to improve the design and content of our site and to enable us to personalize your Internet experience. We also may use this information in the aggregate to analyze site usage.


We may also collect non-personally identifiable information from registered members (such as the member's music tastes or hobbies) and match it to personally identifiable information (such as the member's name) in our database. Such combined information is kept in our internal database under the member's user name. We do not share such information with third parties, but we may use it for statistical purposes.

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How Do We Use Information that We Collect From Individuals Over the Age of 13?

We may use the personally identifiable information that we collect online from users over the age of 13 to obtain parental, teacher or school administrator consent for children to use the service, to provide an interactive online experience (including interactive features such as greeting cards and chatrooms), to send newsletters, to make reading recommendations, to facilitate collaborative projects, to provide educational content that we believe that the child may be interested in or would benefit from, and to collect, fulfill, and bill for books, products or services.

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Will ePals Share Teens' and Adults' Personal Information with Third Parties?

Yes, but only in limited circumstances. We may disclose personally identifiable and/or non-personally identifiable (i.e., aggregate, anonymous) information for educational research purposes. In addition, we may share such information with affiliates, trusted technology partners, and third party vendors who generate educational content, provide customer service or billing functions, process parental consents, and/or monitor online forums/chatrooms. These third parties have agreed to maintain the confidentiality, security and integrity of personally identifiable information.

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III. LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEB SITES

For the benefit of our members, our site links to other sites. We are not responsible for the data collection practices on those other sites. We advise you to carefully review those sites' privacy policies before submitting personal information there.

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IV. COOKIES

Cookies are small data files that a Web site writes to your computer hard drive for record-keeping purposes. Cookies identify you as a unique customer and store your personal preferences, as well as technical information (including click through and click stream data). Cookies can either be permanent (i.e., they remain on your computer until you delete them) or temporary (i.e., they last only until you close your browser).


We may write "cookies" to your computer, primarily to personalize the site and to make it easier to use during each session, for example by keeping track of your preferences, such as what language you use. We may also use cookies to record session information, record user-specific information on what pages users access or visit, alert visitors to new areas that we think might be of interest to them when they return to our site, record past activity at a site in order to provide better service when visitors return to our site, ensure that visitors are not repeatedly sent the same banner ads, or to customize site content based on visitors' browser type or other information that the visitor sends. If you choose to furnish the site with personally identifiable information, this information can be stored in or linked to other data stored in the cookies.


You may adjust your browser to reject cookies from us or from any other Web site. If you just wish to browse our site without logging in or registering as a member, you can set your browser not to accept cookies. Please consult the "Help" section of your browser for more information. However, there are certain features on our site that can be accessed only in conjunction with cookies or similar devices and you should be aware that disabling cookies or similar devices might prevent you from accessing some of those features.

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V. SECURITY PRACTICES

We strive to protect the confidentiality, security and integrity of the personal information we collect from children and adults. We have put in place physical, electronic and administrative procedures to safeguard and to help prevent unauthorized access to and maintain the security of personally identifiable information collected through this site. This information is maintained on secure servers and is accessible to authorized personnel only on a "need to know" basis.

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VI. NOTICE OF CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

If we make changes to this Policy, we will post the changes here with a new effective date at the top. Please check back to this page periodically and look at the effective date at the top of this privacy policy to see if it has changed so that you can always know what information we collect, how we use it, and to whom we disclose it.


If we intend to use or disclose members' personal information in a manner materially different from that stated at the time of collection we will notify members via email. Members age 13 and over will have a choice as to whether or not we can use their personal information in this different manner. If members opt out of receiving any communications from ePals, or have deleted/deactivated their account, then we will honor that request within a reasonable time.

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VII. FOR MORE INFORMATION

Please let us know if you have any questions or comments regarding our privacy policy. You can contact us at:

ePals Legal Department
13625-A Dulles Technology Drive
Herndon, VA 20171
Phone: (703) 885-3401
Contact ePals

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IV. PERSONAL INFORMATION, USER CONTENT AND CONFIDENTIALITY


Except as may be set forth in our Privacy Policy and/or a separate agreement with us, ePals is not responsible for the confidentiality of any information communicated to ePals and such information will be considered non-personal, non-confidential and non-proprietary. You agree that ePals may use anything you post or submit, including any feedback, information, ideas, concepts or inventions, for any purpose without limitation and without the need to compensate you. You agree not to take action against ePals, its owner, affiliates, or any of its officers, directors, employees or managers in relation to User Content or other materials you submit when visiting ePals Sites or using our Products and Services.


ePals offers educational or literacy programs such as the In2Books® Pen Pal program, which helps kids become better readers and thinkers in part through correspondence with adult pen pal mentors. If you register for any of our programs, you will be exposed to private and/or Confidential Information - such as the thoughts and writings between students and pen pals. You agree that you shall not - during the course of your participation in any ePals program or at any time thereafter - use, disclose or otherwise make available to any third party any Confidential Information, except as permitted below. For purposes of this Agreement, "Confidential Information" means i) all personal information of another participant in an ePals Program (including but not limited to students, other students, teachers, and other pen pals) and the contents of communications between users of ePals products, services and programs to which you were not a party and ii) any and all oral, written, electronic and/or tangible technical, financial, business and/or other information disclosed to you by ePals, a licensee of ePals (or a person under the direction of one of the foregoing) or learned by you from participating in the ePals program that is confidential, proprietary and/or not generally available outside of the Company.


You may only disclose Confidential Information in the following circumstances: 1) when required by a judicial order or decree or governmental law or regulation, but only after you have notified ePals reasonably in advance of such disclosure so that ePals can assert its interests; or 2) the information becomes generally available publicly without restriction and without breach of confidentiality obligations owed to ePals.

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V. LINKING TO THIS WEB SITE


You may include a link to an ePals site on another Web site so long as the link does not portray ePals in a false or misleading manner and does not appear on a Web site that is offensive, obscene or otherwise objectionable.


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VI. CHANGES TO THESE TERMS OF USE AND/OR EPALS PRODUCTS OR SERVICES


We may change these Terms of Use at any time. You can review the most current version of these terms by clicking on the "Terms of Use" link located at the bottom of our Web pages. You are responsible for checking these terms periodically for changes. If you continue to use ePals Products and Services after we post changes to these Terms of Use, you are signifying your acceptance of the new terms. We may discontinue or change any Product or Service at any time and without notice.

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VII. THIRD PARTY SITES; ADVERTISERS


ePals Sites may include links to third party Web sites. Some of these sites may contain materials that are objectionable, unlawful, or inaccurate. ePals does not endorse, and is not responsible or liable, for any content, advertising, products, services or other materials on or available from such sites. You acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible for any Content or other materials, or the privacy policies and practices of these third party sites. Further, any dealings that you have with advertisers found on ePals Sites are between you and the advertiser and you acknowledge and agree that we are not liable for any loss or claim you may have against an advertiser.


By using this Site, you expressly waive any rights, claims or liability against ePals from your use of any third-party website.

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VIII. USE OF SOFTWARE


We may make software, services, or other executables ("Software") available for you to download or use. Such Software will be subject to the terms of the license agreement that accompanies it. If there is no license agreement presented to you with the Software, then the following license, in addition to the other terms of these Terms of Use govern your use of such Software. We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited license to install the Software on any single computer. The Software is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws and treaties and is owned by us or our suppliers. You may not sell or redistribute the Software. You may not incorporate it or any portion of it into another product. You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software or otherwise attempt to derive the source code (except where expressly permitted by law, and then solely as permitted). You may not modify, adapt, or create derivative works from the Software in any way or remove proprietary notices in the Software. You agree to abide by all laws and regulations in effect regarding your use of the software. You may not authorize, assist, or post information calculated to enable any third party to do any of the things prohibited in this paragraph.


We may automatically check your version of the Software, update it to improve its performance and capabilities, or protect it from unauthorized use. You understand that if you shut down the Software during an automatic update or otherwise interfere with the installation of the update, the software may be damaged and/or cease to operate, and this may affect other software you have.


The Software is a "commercial item," as that term is defined in 48 C.F.R. 2.101, consisting of "commercial computer software" and "commercial computer software documentation," as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. 12.212 (Sept. 1995). Consistent with 48 C.F.R. 12.212 and 48 C.F.R. 27.405(b)(2) (June 1998) and 48 C.F.R. 227.7202, all U.S. Government end users acquire the Software with only those rights as set forth herein.


You agree to fully comply with all import and export laws, regulations, rules and orders of the United States, or any foreign government agency or authority, and that you will not directly or indirectly export, re-export, transfer and/or release the Software, related technology, or any product thereof, for any proscribed end-use, or to any proscribed country, entity or person (wherever located), without proper authorization from the U.S. and/or foreign government. You bear responsibility for and assume all expenses relating to your compliance with the described laws, regulations, rules and orders, and for obtaining all necessary authorizations and clearances. You further agree to assume responsibility for and bear all expenses relating to your compliance with the described laws, regulations, rules and orders, and obtaining all necessary authorizations and clearances.


If you access any ePals Site from outside the United States, you do so solely at your own risk, and you are responsible for compliance with the laws of the jurisdiction from which you access ePals.

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IX. WARRANTY DISCLAIMER


USE OF EPALS' SITES, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. ALL CONTENT AND PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, STATUTORY OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT OR NONMISAPPROPRIATION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OF A THIRD PARTY, TITLE, CUSTOM, TRADE, QUITE ENJOYMENT, ACCURACY OF INFORMATION CONTENT, OR SYSTEM INTEGRATION. ePALS ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR OR RELATING TO ANY DELAYS, FAILURES, INTERRUPTIONS, OR CORRUPTION OF ANY DATA OR OTHER MATERIAL OR INFORMATION TRANSMITTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF ePALS. ePALS DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF ePALS SITES OR ANY CONTENT IN TERMS OF CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE.


EPALS MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT USE OF THE WEB SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR TAKING ALL PRECAUTIONS NECESSARY TO ENSURE THAT ANY CONTENT YOU MAY OBTAIN FROM THE WEB SITE IS FREE OF VIRUSES AND ANY OTHER POTENTIALLY DESTRUCTIVE COMPUTER CODE.

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X. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY


UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL ePALS OR ANY OF ITS PARTNERS, AGENTS, AFFILIATES OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, OR USE OR ATTEMPTED USE OF THE ePals SITES, PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY HEREUNDER SHALL BE FOR YOU TO DISCONTINUE YOUR USE OF THE SITE(S).
BECAUSE SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATES OR JURISDICTIONS, OUR LIABILITY, AND THE LIABILITY OF OUR PARENT AND SUPPLIERS, SHALL BE LIMITED IN THOSE JURISDICTIONS TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

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XI. INDEMNIFICATION


You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless us, our parent and other affiliated companies, and our respective employees, contractors, officers, directors, and agents, from all liabilities, claims, and expenses, including attorneys' fees, that arise from your use or misuse of ePals Site(s), Products or Services. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to your indemnification, in which event you will cooperate with us in asserting any available defenses.

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XII. CHOICE OF LAW AND LOCATION FOR RESOLVING DISPUTES.


You agree that the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia govern this contract and any claim or dispute that you may have against us, without regard to its conflict of laws rules, and that the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods shall have no applicability. You further agree that any disputes or claims that you may have against us will be resolved by a court located in the Commonwealth of Virginia and you agree and submit to the exercise of personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purpose of litigating any such claim or action.


PLEASE NOTE THAT BY AGREEING TO THESE TERMS OF USE, YOU ARE: (1) WAIVING CLAIMS THAT YOU MIGHT OTHERWISE HAVE AGAINST US BASED ON THE LAWS OF OTHER JURISDICTIONS, INCLUDING YOUR OWN; (2) IRREVOCABLY CONSENTING TO THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF, AND VENUE IN, STATE OR FEDERAL COURTS IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA OVER ANY DISPUTES OR CLAIMS YOU HAVE WITH US; AND (3) SUBMITTING YOURSELF TO THE PERSONAL JURISDICTION OF COURTS LOCATED IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA FOR THE PURPOSE OF RESOLVING ANY SUCH DISPUTES OR CLAIMS.

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XIII. DISPUTE RESOLUTION


Any disputes and/or claims arising out of this Agreement and/or the use of the Sites and/or any products and services acquired under or relating to this Agreement shall be resolved exclusively through the use of binding arbitration. Such arbitration shall be subject to the Federal Arbitration Act and the rules of the American Arbitration Association which shall govern such arbitration and be conducted before a single arbitrator in Fairfax County, Virginia. Any claimants shall have their claims/disputes resolved on an individual basis. Class action arbitration is prohibited under this Agreement. Neither you nor we shall be entitled to join or consolidate claims in arbitration by or against other users or arbitrate any claims as a member of a class or in a private Attorney General capacity. Each party shall bear its own costs, including any attorneys' fees, associated with such arbitration.

Any award rendered in arbitration shall be final and binding, and may be enforced in any court having competent jurisdiction. In addition to any other remedies, we shall also have the right to seek injunctive relief outside of arbitration to protect our intellectual property rights.

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XIV. SEVERABILITY AND INTEGRATION


This contract and any supplemental terms, policies, rules and guidelines posted on ePals constitute the entire agreement between you and us and supersede all previous written or oral agreements. If any part of these Terms of Use 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 intentions of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.

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XV. TERMINATION.


You will automatically lose the right to use or access ePals Sites and Products and Services if you violate these Terms of Use or any published ePals policies. We also reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to terminate your access to all or part of an ePals Site, for any reason, with or without notice. If we do, you must immediately destroy any copies you have of ePals Content.
If you violate any of these Terms of Use, you are violating your Agreement with ePals and may be violating intellectual property, unfair competition and other laws.

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