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Terms of Use

Terms and Conditions for the Annenberg Public Policy Center Website

This website is the whole creation and product of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. While we strive to ensure the quality of its content, the Annenberg Public Policy Center makes no warranty, either expressed or implied, regarding the completeness, accuracy or currency of the information contained herein, nor its suitability for any particular purpose.

This site contains hypertext links to websites created for and controlled by other organizations. These links are provided for your convenience and are not intended as an endorsement by the Annenberg Public Policy Center or the University of Pennsylvania nor as a warranty of any information they contain.

1. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS

The Annenberg Public Policy Center welcomes you to its online community, which is provided as a service to you, subject to the following User Terms of Service (“TOS”). Use of the web site constitutes consent to these terms and conditions of service. In addition, when using the Annenberg Public Policy Center web site, you will be subject to any policies, guidelines or rules that are posted on the site. All such policies, guidelines and rules are hereby incorporated by reference into the TOS.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center reserves the right to change these terms of service at any time without notice to you. Any changes to this policy will be posted to this page as soon as reasonably possible, so please check this page periodically.

You further agree that, except as otherwise expressly provided in this TOS, there shall be no third party beneficiaries to this Agreement.

2. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICE

The Annenberg Public Policy Center provides access to a rich collection of resources about the center, research data, educational resources and an online community of contributors, who create content, read, edit, and share content with other Annenberg Public Policy Center website users, and well as other new services which from time to time may be added to the site (the “Service”). In addition, the Service may also include certain communications from The Annenberg Public Policy Center, such as service announcements and administrative messages.

By using the Service, you understand and agree that the Service is provided “AS-IS” and that The Annenberg Public Policy Center assumes no responsibility for the timeliness, deletion, mis-delivery or failure to store any user communications or personalization settings. You are responsible for obtaining access to the Service and that access may involve third party fees (such as Internet service provider or airtime charges). You are responsible for those fees.

3. THE ANNENBERG PUBLIC POLICY CENTER’S PRIVACY POLICY

The Annenberg Public Policy Center is concerned about the safety and privacy of all its users, particularly children. For this reason, you must be at least 13 years of age to access and view the Service. If you are under 13 years of age, please do not send any information about yourself, including your name, address or e-mail address. If we discover that we have collected any personally-identifying information from a child under the age of 13, we will remove that information from our database as soon as possible.

If you are between the ages of 13 and 18, you must obtain permission from your parents or guardians before participating in the Annenberg Public Policy Center Discussion Forums, or otherwise sending any personally-identifying information.

At the Annenberg Public Policy Center, we recognize the importance of privacy to visitors of our web site. This privacy policy explains what type of personal and other information is collected from you when you visit our web site. As a condition of using the Service, you agree to the terms of the Privacy Policy that is set forth here. Please note that the policy may be changed from time to time but that by using the service, you will be subject to any changes that are made.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center does not collect personally-identifying information from the Annenberg Public Policy Center site unless you choose to provide that information to us.

As a general rule, all of the information collected by The Annenberg Public Policy Center is used for internal purposes only and is not distributed to other outside parties. There are two exceptions to this:

  1. The Annenberg Public Policy Center asks visitors to provide certain personal information when they use certain features on the site. This information is gathered by the Annenberg Public Policy Center on a voluntary basis and its use by the Annenberg Public Policy Center is limited to editorial and feedback purposes, and the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s promotional purposes. For example, by signing up for mailing lists, a visitor may receive a regular e-mail from the Annenberg Public Policy Center describing our recent publications or other resources. At all times, users have the right to opt out of receiving additional communications from the Annenberg Public Policy Center.Note that on occasion we will trade the names on these email lists with other like-minded organizations in order to offer you information which we think you will like. In those circumstances you will receive only one communication from that other group and will have the option to continue to receive additional information from them.TO OPT-OUT OF HAVING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION SHARED WITH A LIKE-MINDED ORGANIZATION, PLEASE EMAIL US.
  2. Any information that you post when participating in the Annenberg Public Policy Center Discussion Forums becomes public. It is subject to editorial review and deletion in accordance with the terms of this and other policies as detailed within the Discussion Forums.

Like all other Web servers, the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s Web server automatically creates log files for each visitor who accesses our site. These “access logs” allow us to make our site more useful to our visitors. The access logs do NOT record a visitor’s name, address, phone number, or any other personally-identifying information. Rather, they contain some or all of the following information:

  1. The Internet Protocol Address (IP Address) of the machine which accessed our Web site.
  2. The date of the visit.
  3. The time of the visit.
  4. The path taken through our Web site.
  5. The browser being used.
  6. A list of files downloaded or viewed from our Web site.
  7. The amount of time spent listening to RealAudio or Windows Media files.
  8. Any errors encountered.

Most Internet Service Providers use a “dynamic” form of assigning IP Addresses. This means that a visitor may have a different IP Address each time he or she visits the Annenberg Public Policy Center web site. Also, many Internet Service Providers, including America Online, use “Proxy servers” which provide even more anonymity for visitors. For example, all visitors accessing the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s Web site through America Online will be recorded in our access logs as having the same IP Address.

4. CONTENT

All information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, comments, messages and/or other materials (“Content”), whether publicly posted or privately transmitted via the Service, are the sole responsibility of the person from which such Content originated. By using the service, you understand and agree that you, and not the Annenberg Public Policy Center, are entirely responsible for all Content that you upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available via the Service. The Annenberg Public Policy Center does not control all of the Content posted via the Service and, as such, does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content. By using the service, you understand and agree that you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable, or may receive comments, messages, or other input that you consider to be offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania be liable in any way for any Content, for any errors or omissions in any Content, or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via the Service.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center may elect to make survey and other research data (“Research Data”) available to certain registered Users of the Service, at APPC’s sole discretion. Research Data is a subset of Content, and all the terms and conditions in these Terms of Service regarding Content also apply to Research Data. However, in addition, the following apply solely to Research Data: If you receive any Research Data from the Service, in return for being granted the opportunity to receive the Research Data, you agree not to further reproduce, publicly distribute, publicly display, post at a website, publish, or otherwise publicly use any of such Research Data, without the advance written permission of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. To request permission, please email us or by U.S. mail at:

Annenberg Public Policy Center
University of Pennsylvania
202 S. 36th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

You may use such Research Data for further academic analysis, interpretation, and research—including the publication of derivative works—provided that the Research Data are appropriately cited and described as originating from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

By using the Service, you also understand and agree that the Annenberg Public Policy Center may or may not pre-screen Content, but that the Annenberg Public Policy Center and its designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to pre-screen, refuse, move or remove any Content that is available via the Service. Without limiting the foregoing, the Annenberg Public Policy Center and its designees shall have the right to remove any Content that violates the TOS or is otherwise objectionable. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such Content. In this regard, you acknowledge that you may not rely on any Content created by the Annenberg Public Policy Center or submitted to the Annenberg Public Policy Center, including without limitation information posted in all parts of the Service.

You acknowledge, consent and agree that the Annenberg Public Policy Center may access, preserve and disclose your account information and Content if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access, preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce the TOS; (c) respond to claims that any Content violates the rights of third-parties; (d) respond to your requests for customer service; or (e) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, its users and the public.

5. APPROPRIATE CONDUCT

By using the Service, you understand and agree that you are responsible for your own conduct and communications while using the Service and for any consequences thereof. You agree to use the Service only to send and receive messages and material that are legal and proper. By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree that when using the Service, you will not:

  • defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others;
  • post any inappropriate, defamatory, infringing, obscene, libelous or unlawful Content;
  • post any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary right of any party (the “Rights”), unless you are the owner of the Rights or have the permission of the owner to post such Content;
  • post messages that promote pyramid schemes, chain letters or disruptive commercial messages or advertisements;
  • download any file posted by another user that you know, or reasonably should know cannot be legally distributed in such manner;
  • impersonate another person or entity, or falsify or delete any author attributions, legal or other proper notices or proprietary designations or labels of the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is posted;
  • restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying the Service;
  • use the Service for any illegal or unauthorized purpose including but not limited to distributing spam;
  • remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices contained in or on the Service;
  • interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers or networks connected to the Service, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Service;
  • use any robot, spider, site search/retrieval application, or other device to retrieve or index any portion of the Service or collect information about users for any unauthorized purpose;
  • submit Content that falsely expresses or implies that such Content is sponsored or endorsed by the Annenberg Public Policy Center or the University of Pennsylvania;
  • create User accounts (see Section 6 below) by automated means or under false or fraudulent pretenses;
  • promote or provide instructional information about illegal activities or promote physical harm or injury against any group or individual;
  • transmit any viruses, worms, defects, Trojan horses, or any items of a destructive nature; or
  • engage in “ad slamming” of any nature, including the repeated clicking on advertisements to increase potential earnings to you as a publisher, to increase potential costs to an advertiser, or for any reason other than viewing an advertisements as a potential consumer.

SPECIAL ADMONITIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL USE: Recognizing the global nature of the Internet, international users agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable Content. Specifically, including laws regulating the export of data to the United States or your country of residence.

While the Annenberg Public Policy Center prohibits the conduct and Content described above in connection with the Service, you understand and agree that you nonetheless may be exposed to such conduct and/or Content and that you use the Service at your own risk.

6. REGISTRATION

In order to use certain aspects of the Service, you are required to register and establish an online account with the Annenberg Public Policy Center. We refer to registered users as users (“Users”) and subject Users to the following specific terms:

a. In consideration of your use of the Service, you represent that you are of legal age to form a binding contract and are not a person barred from receiving services under the laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdiction. You also agree to: (i) provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the Service’s registration form (such information being the “Registration Data”) and (ii) maintain and promptly update the Registration Data to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or the Annenberg Public Policy Center has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, the Annenberg Public Policy Center maintains the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse your current or future use of the Service (or any portion thereof).

b. You will receive a password and account designation upon completing the Service’s registration process. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and account, and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your password or account. You agree to (i) immediately notify the Annenberg Public Policy Center of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security, and (ii) ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session. The Annenberg Public Policy Center cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this Section.

c. The Annenberg Public Policy Center does not claim ownership of Content you submit or make available for inclusion on the Service. However, with respect to such Content (including but not limited to articles, comments, photos, graphics, audio, or video you submit or make available), you grant the Annenberg Public Policy Center a world-wide, royalty free, perpetual, unlimited, and non-exclusive license(s) to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, create derivative works, publicly perform and publicly display such Content via the Service.

d. By using the Service you understand and agree that the Annenberg Public Policy Center may, under certain circumstances and without prior notice, immediately terminate your account, any associated email address, any associated username, and/or access to the Service. Cause for such termination shall include, but not be limited to, (i) breaches or violations of the TOS or other incorporated agreements, guidelines, policies or rules, (ii) requests by law enforcement or other government agencies, (iii) unexpected technical or security issues or problems, (iv) extended periods of inactivity and (v) your engagement in fraudulent or illegal activities. Termination of your account includes (a) removal of access to all offerings within the Service, (b) deletion of your password, username and all related information, files and Content associated with or inside your account (or any part thereof), and (c) barring further use of the Service. Further, you agree that all terminations for cause shall be made at the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s sole discretion and that the Annenberg Public Policy Center shall not be liable to you or any third-party for any termination of your account, any associated email address, username or access to the Service.

e. You agree that your Annenberg Public Policy Center User account is non-transferable and any rights to your password, username or account information or Content within your Member account terminates upon your death. Upon receipt of a copy of a death certificate, your Member account may be terminated and all Content therein permanently deleted.

7. INDEMNITY

By using the Service, you understand and agree to indemnify and hold the Annenberg Public Policy Center, the University of Pennsylvania and all of their subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents, co-branders or other partners, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of Content you submit, post, transmit or make available through the Service, your use of the Service, your connection to the Service, your violation of the TOS, or your violation of any rights of another.

8. NO RESALE OF SERVICE

You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of the Service (including your username) or Content you do not own, without the express written consent of the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

9. GENERAL PRACTICES REGARDING USE AND STORAGE

You acknowledge that the Annenberg Public Policy Center may establish general practices and limits concerning use of the Service, including without limitation the maximum number of days that email messages, message board postings or other uploaded Content will be retained by the Service, the maximum size of any message board postings or other uploaded content on the service, the maximum disk space that will be allotted on the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s servers on your behalf, and the maximum number of times (and the maximum duration for which) you may access the Service in a given period of time. You agree that the Annenberg Public Policy Center has no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store any messages and other communications or other Content maintained or transmitted by the Service. You acknowledge that the Annenberg Public Policy Center reserves the right to log off accounts and deactivate usernames that are inactive for an extended period of time. You further acknowledge that the Annenberg Public Policy Center reserves the right to modify these general practices and limits from time to time.

10. MODIFICATIONS TO SERVICE

The Annenberg Public Policy Center reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice. You agree that the Annenberg Public Policy Center shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Service.

11. LINKS

The Service may provide, or third parties may provide, links to other World Wide Web sites or resources. Because the Annenberg Public Policy Center has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that the Annenberg Public Policy Center is not responsible for the availability of such links, external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You further acknowledge and agree that the Annenberg Public Policy Center shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such links, site or resource, or any failures and/or disruption to your computer system that results from your use of any such links.

12. THE ANNENBERG PUBLIC POLICY CENTER’S PROPRIETARY RIGHTS

You acknowledge and agree that the Service contain proprietary and confidential information that is the property of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and its licensors and is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws. You further acknowledge and agree that Content presented to you through the Service is protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents or other proprietary rights and laws.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center and the Annenberg Public Policy Center logo are trademarks and service marks of the University of Pennsylvania. Without prior permission of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, you agree not to display or use in any manner, the Annenberg Public Policy Center trademarks and service marks.

13. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:

a. YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. THE ANNENBERG PUBLIC POLICY CENTER EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

b. THE ANNENBERG PUBLIC POLICY CENTER MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT (i) THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; (ii) THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE; (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE; OR (iv) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

c. ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.

d. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM THE ANNENBERG PUBLIC POLICY CENTER OR THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE TOS.

14. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE ANNENBERG PUBLIC POLICY CENTER SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU 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 ANNENBERG PUBLIC POLICY CENTER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (i) THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE; (ii) THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS AND SERVICES RESULTING FROM ANY GOODS, DATA, INFORMATION OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR MESSAGES RECEIVED OR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE; (iii) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (iv) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY INCLUDING ADVERTISERS ON THE SERVICE; OR (v) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SERVICE.

15. 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 SET FORTH IN SECTIONS 13 AND 14 ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

16. SPECIAL ADMONITION FOR SERVICES RELATING TO FINANCIAL MATTERS

The Service is provided for informational purposes only, and no Content included in the Service is intended for trading or investing purposes. The Annenberg Public Policy Center and its licensors shall not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, usefulness or availability of any information transmitted or made available via the Service, and shall not be responsible or liable for any trading or investment decisions made based on such information.

17. NOTICE

The Annenberg Public Policy Center may provide you with notices by email, regular mail, or postings on the Service.

18. NOTICE AND PROCEDURE FOR MAKING CLAIMS OF COPYRIGHT
OR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INFRINGEMENT

The Annenberg Public Policy Center respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. The Annenberg Public Policy Center may, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, disable and/or terminate the accounts of Users and prohibit the use of the Service by certain users who may be repeat infringers. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, please contact our copyright agent:

David R. Millar
University Information Security Officer
University of Pennsylvania
E-Mail: dmca@isc.upenn.edu
Phone: +1-215-898-2172
Fax: +1-215-573-2037
US Mail: 3401 Walnut Street, Suite 230A, Philadelphia, PA USA 19104-6228

with the following information:

  1. an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest;
  2. a description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;
  3. a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the site;
  4. your address, telephone number, and email address;
  5. a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright or other intellectual property right owner, its agent, or the law; and
  6. a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner’s behalf.

19. GENERAL INFORMATION

Entire Agreement. The TOS constitutes the entire agreement between you and the Annenberg Public Policy Center and governs your use of the Service, superseding any prior agreements between you and the Annenberg Public Policy Center with respect to the Service. You also may be subject to additional terms and conditions, posted policies, guidelines or rules that may apply when you use or purchase certain elements of the Service, affiliate or advertiser services, third-party content, or third-party software.

Independent Contractors. Nothing contained in the TOS shall be construed to constitute either party as a partner, employee or agent of the other party, nor shall either party hold itself out as such. Each party has no right or authority to incur, assume or create, in writing or otherwise, any warranty, liability or other obligation of any kind, express or implied, in the name of or on behalf of the other party, it being intended by both parties that each shall remain an independent contractor responsible for its own actions.

Choice of Law and Forum. The TOS and the relationship between you and the Annenberg Public Policy Center shall be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You and the Annenberg Public Policy Center agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within the county of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Waiver and Severability of Terms. The failure of the Annenberg Public Policy Center 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.

Statute of Limitations. 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 Service or the TOS must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.

Violations. Please report any violations of the TOS to the Annenberg Public Policy Center via email.

20. CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have any questions or comments concerning our terms of service, please contact us via email or by U.S. mail at:

Annenberg Public Policy Center
University of Pennsylvania
202 S. 36th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104