00author.com Terms of Service Agreement
United Online Web Services, Inc. (“United Online Web Services”), a United Online Company, provides various consumer Internet subscription services including, without limitation, Internet web sites, web hosting services, domain registration, e-mail services and other services (collectively, the “Services”) under multiple brands including, without limitation, emailMyName, mySite, FreeServers, 50megs, Community Architect, and BizHosting. These Terms and Conditions, the Privacy Statement, the Acceptable Use Guidelines and any material details or terms related to your Service and account that are provided to you in your registration process (including any billing policies), all of which are referred to collectively as the “Rules,” govern your use of the Services. You cannot have an account with us unless you have agreed to the Rules by completing the registration process for, or by using, the Services, and each use of the Service constitutes your reaffirmation of your acceptance of the Rules. Please review the most current Rules at the website for the particular brand of your Services (with respect to a particular Service, the “Site”) prior to accessing the Services. The Services are only available to residents of the United States and Canada unless otherwise specified.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE RULES, YOU MUST DISCONTINUE THE REGISTRATION PROCESS, DISCONTINUE YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, DESTROY ALL OF YOUR COPIES OF THE SOFTWARE AND, IF YOU ARE ALREADY A MEMBER, CANCEL YOUR ACCOUNT.

1. Changes to the Rules and Services Apply to You. You may review the most current version of the Rules at the Site. United Online Web Services may change pricing, the Rules, or change the scope of the Services, in whole or in part, at any time at United Online Web Services’ sole discretion. Posting of such changed Rules on the Site shall constitute notice of such changes to you, although United Online Web Services may choose additional types of notice. United Online Web Services will use reasonable efforts to provide you with 30 days advance notice of changes to the Rules that materially and adversely impact your use of the Services. Your continued use of the Services following notice constitutes your acceptance of all changes. If you do not agree to any such changes, your sole and exclusive remedy is to cancel your account as described below.

2. Your Responsibilities.

Use of Your Account. You are responsible for all use of your account, so you must protect your password and any other methods of accessing your account or the Services. Except as expressly allowed hereunder, you may not transfer or permit any other person to use your user name or your account. United Online Web Services owns your user name, any associated password, e-mail addresses, website and any domain name (unless you purchased the complete rights to the entire domain name), and reserves the right to take or terminate the use of any such user name, e-mail address, website and domain name at any time. For the purpose of clarification, most consumer based products and services offered by United Online Web Services do not include the complete rights to any domain name.

Minors. You must be 18 years old to establish an account for paid Services, and you represent that you are at least 18 years old by registering for such Services. Parents may obtain an account for the Services for minors, and by doing so, consent to such minor’s use of such Services. Parents assume full responsibility and liability associated with a minor's use of any of the Services.

Completion of Questionnaires, Surveys, Registration. As a condition of United Online Web Services providing the Services, you agree to provide United Online Web Services with accurate and complete information as requested from time to time, through questionnaires, surveys and registration forms. You must register for the Services in your own name. You agree that United Online Web Services may verify the accuracy of any information you submit and may cancel or terminate your account or your use of the Services if your information is inaccurate.

Accessing Services. United Online Web Services does not provide Internet access service needed to access or use the Services unless otherwise specified. You are responsible for providing your own access to the Internet and are responsible for obtaining and maintaining, at your own expense, all input/output devices or equipment (such as computer, modem and software) and communications services (including, without limitation, long distance or local telephone service) necessary to use the Services. You are responsible for ensuring such equipment and services are compatible with the Services.

3. Charges and Billing.

Fees. You are responsible for and agree to pay all fees, charges and taxes incurred as a result of using the Services. You understand that in addition to any standard subscription fees, there may be additional fees including, without limitation, fees for supplemental services, premium features, customer support, telephone charges, purchases made through the use of the Services and any taxes. Unless otherwise indicated, all prices are quoted and billed in U.S. dollars.

Payment. All amounts are non-refundable and due when you are billed by United Online Web Services. United Online Web Services will assess a late fee of 1.5% per month (or the highest amount permissible by law, whichever is less) for any amounts not paid when due. You will be liable for any fees, including any late fees, imposed by or incurred by United Online Web Services with respect to late payments and the collection thereof. United Online Web Services may suspend or terminate any delinquent, unbillable or uncollectable accounts. Charges will continue to accrue until the account is canceled. United Online Web Services may assess a service charge to reinstate a suspended account. You must bring any billing problems or discrepancies to United Online Web Services’ attention within 90 days from the date you are billed or you agree that you waive your right to dispute such problems or discrepancies with United Online Web Services.

Payment Method. You expressly authorize United Online Web Services to charge all fees incurred in connection with the Services to your selected billing method, including charges that may occur on an automatic or recurring basis, and such authorization shall remain valid until revoked by you by canceling any Service for which a fee is charged as described herein. You agree to report to United Online Web Services all changes to your selected billing method information within 30 days of the change. Some fees that you may incur using the Services may accumulate on your United Online Web Services account before they are charged to your selected billing method. Once the charges appear on your account, you are responsible for payment of such charges. If you have any billing-related questions, call the toll-free billing support number set forth on the Site for your particular Service.

4. Termination, Cancellation, Renewals and Refunds.

Separate Billing Policy. If your Service includes a separate billing policy, such policy is incorporated herein and the terms of such policy apply to the Service and supplement the Terms and Conditions. In the event of any conflict between the Terms and Conditions and the terms in the billing policy, the terms of billing policy shall prevail.

Rights. Either you or United Online Web Services may terminate or cancel your account for any reason at any time. You understand and agree that all payments to United Online Web Services are non-refundable and that the cancellation of your account is your sole remedy with respect to any dispute or disagreement with United Online Web Services. If your Services are cancelled for any reason, you may lose access to any content, e-mail services or messages, storage, access to your domain and website or other materials or features provided with the Services, including materials or content that you may have uploaded or posted to any United Online Web Services public areas. Termination of the Services will not excuse you from any criminal or other civil liabilities. You understand when you register for the Services you have agreed, without future notice, to be charged on an ongoing basis unless you take affirmative steps to cancel the Service. If United Online Web Services terminates your Service, you may be prohibited from subsequently registering for such Service or any other Services.

Your Cancellation Procedures. You can cancel the Services by following the instructions on the Site. Your termination is not complete until processed by United Online Web Services and charges will continue to accrue until termination is complete. Processing is normally done within 72 hours of your request.

Refunds. Upon cancellation, you will not receive a refund and the Service will remain active until the end of your agreed-to term unless otherwise disclosed with respect to your Service or United Online Web Services elects to allow otherwise.

Free Trials. If you have subscribed to a Service with a free trial period, you must cancel the Service prior to the end of the applicable trial period in order to avoid incurring any applicable subscription fees. Although you may be entitled to use the Service during the trial period without paying a subscription fee, you understand that you may incur, and are responsible for, any fees for supplemental services, premium features, customer support, telephone charges, other Services and purchases made through the use of the Service during the trial period.

Early Termination Fee. Your Service may include a minimum term commitment (see your service plan description). Your minimum term begins on your the billing start date. IN THE EVENT THAT YOU TERMINATE (OR TAKE AN ACTION THAT CAUSES TERMINATION OF) YOUR SERVICE BEFORE SATISFYING THE MINIMUM TERM COMMITMENT UNDER YOUR PLAN, THEN YOU AGREE TO PAY UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES UPON DISCONTINUANCE OF THE SERVICE A TERMINATION FEE AS SET FORTH IN YOUR PLAN DESCRIPTION (THE "EARLY TERMINATION FEE").

5. Limitations on Your Use.

Services in General. The Services are provided for your personal, consumer use only unless otherwise specified, and are not intended for commercial or business use and such use is prohibited. You agree that United Online Web Services may establish or change general practices and limits concerning use of the Services at any time. General limitations are discussed below; however, please review the Acceptable Use Guidelines and Service specifications for your particular Service for a fuller discussion regarding practices and limitations.

E-mail Limitations. E-mail based Services are intended for general consumer e-mail use and may not be used for mass storage or backup of materials or data, file sharing, photo albums, sending mass e-mail and other non-consumer e-mail purposes. Practices and limits imposed upon e-mail based Services may include, without limitation, the period of time your e-mail will be retained; the number and individual or aggregate size of attachments sent, received and/or stored in your mailbox; the total number of unopened e-mails stored in your mailbox; limits on the text size of any individual message size; the type of e-mail messages and attachments you may send and receive; and other practices or limits set forth in the Acceptable Use Guidelines. You understand that you do not own any of the domain names (unless you expressly purchased the complete rights to the entire domain name) or e-mail addresses provided pursuant to any of the Services, and that United Online Web Services e-mail service and network including, without limitation, e-mail addresses are owned by United Online Web Services. E-mail in inactive or terminated accounts may be deleted in accordance with United Online Web Services’ policies. United Online Web Services uses a variety of techniques to eliminate e-mail or attachments that United Online Web Services believes are unsolicited, inappropriate or harmful. In doing so, United Online Web Services may block or delete e-mail or attachments sent by you or to you (including e-mail and attachments stored in your mailbox or a user-created folder), even though such e-mail or attachments may not be unsolicited, inappropriate or harmful. You agree that United Online Web Services is not responsible for any e-mail or attachments that are blocked or deleted for any reason and that you have no right, and United Online Web Services has no obligation, to retrieve or access any such deleted or blocked e-mail or attachments. You understand that unless otherwise specified in your service level or plan terms, United Online Web Services does not utilize anti-virus software or services to scan for viruses. If your service level or plan terms include anti-virus software or services, you understand that not all viruses can be detected and/or cleaned. You are responsible for any damages caused by your decision to download any e-mail or attachments.

Domain and Web Hosting Limitations. United Online Web Services owns all domain names (unless you purchased the complete rights to the entire domain name) and websites, including the address for your personal website, provided to you by United Online Web Services unless otherwise specified. You understand and agree that all content, including but not limited to, text, software, sound, images, communications and videos, provided by you is the sole responsibility of you, and United Online Web Services is not responsible and has no liability for any content contained on your site. Additionally, you are representing that you are the owner of such material or have authorization to distribute it anywhere, and you expressly grant United Online Web Services the complete right to use, reproduce, modify and/or distribute the content in any form anywhere. United Online Web Services may, but is not obligated to, review, screen and/or remove any content that is made available via the Services. United Online Web Services is not liable for any content omissions, errors, including but not limited to, loss or damage that may occur as a result of using the service or any content posted, e-mailed or otherwise made available. United Online Web Services may terminate any domain or web page for any reason with or without notice. FTP access may be offered for the sole purpose of uploading, maintaining and downloading content for backup purposes only and not for the distribution of files. Usage for webcam purposes must be limited to uploading once per every 30 seconds. United Online Web Services retains the right to terminate or restrict any FTP access and/or remove any web site for improper or excessive FTP usage. United Online Web Services may delete any free or advertising supported account including, without limitation, content, domain names and email, if such account is inactive for a period of 60 days or more. Note that if you are registering a .US domain, you certify that you are a U.S. citizen registering the domain for personal use and you will use the domain on servers and name servers hosted in the U.S.

United Online Web Services’ Rights.

Changes. United Online Web Services retains the right at its discretion to make changes to the Services. Changes may include, without limitation, fees and billing methods, the continued availability, termination or reduction of some or all of the Services or any features offered by the Services.

Privacy. United Online Web Services is committed to safeguarding your privacy online and has created the Privacy Statement in order to demonstrate our commitment. However, you understand that United Online Web Services may disclose your personal information to comply with any laws, legal authority or processes, or in other special circumstances as set forth in the Privacy Statement.

Communication. You agree as a condition of your Service that United Online Web Services and its affiliates (and such third parties as authorized by United Online Web Services in compliance with the Privacy Statement) may furnish you, by e-mail or other means selected by United Online Web Services, information prepared by United Online Web Services or by (or on behalf of) other entities, including surveys, questionnaires, information, advertising and solicitations of new products, services, updates, account changes and technical services announcements, as well as other messages related to the Services. You may be required to receive information and advertising related to products and services of United Online Web Services and companies affiliated with United Online even if the Service to which you have subscribed specifies no advertising. You further acknowledge that any such advertisements and information are an inseparable part of the Service, and in order to opt-out of receipt you may be required to terminate the Service. If you subscribe to a Service that is supported by advertising (e.g. the Service is free or discounted), you agree that (i) you may be required to display, and United Online Web Services has the right to display, advertising on your web sites or pages, and (ii) you may not display other forms of paid or exchange advertising on your web pages or site, other than those that may be provided by United Online Web Services, and (iii) such web pages or sites may not be used primarily as a entry or link to an advertising or e-commerce site. Any attempt to modify, obfuscate, undermine or avoid the display of such advertising provided by or on behalf of United Online Web Services shall be considered a material breach of this Agreement.

Downloads; other Services. United Online Web Services may from time to time download and install software, including additional Software or third party software, to your computer while it is connected to the Internet through any means. United Online Web Services retains the right to limit, restrict or require the use of certain software or service in connection with the Services.

6. Enforcement.

In order for United Online Web Services to comply with applicable laws including, without limitation, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2701 et seq., to comply with appropriate government requests, to operate United Online Web Services’ systems properly, or to protect United Online Web Services, its clients, its users or other third parties, United Online Web Services may access and disclose any information, including without limitation, the personal identifying information of United Online Web Services users, the contents of any personal electronic communications passing through its network and any other information it considers necessary or appropriate without notice. United Online Web Services will cooperate with law enforcement authorities in investigating suspected violations of the Rules and any other illegal activity. United Online Web Services reserves the right to report to law enforcement authorities any suspected illegal activity of which it becomes aware. If United Online Web Services determines, in its sole discretion, that you or the use of your account may be violating the Rules, United Online Web Services may initiate an investigation, including the collection of additional information about you, and take any actions necessary to prevent such violations independently of any law enforcement authorities. United Online Web Services respects the intellectual property of others and asks that you to do the same. Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 512 as amended by Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, United Online Web Services will terminate your account if it is used to unlawfully transmit or host copyrighted material without a license, valid defense or fair use privilege to do so. After proper notification by the copyright holder or its agent to United Online Web Services and later confirmation through court order or an admission by you that an account has been an instrument of unlawful infringement, United Online Web Services may terminate your account. United Online Web Services may also in its sole discretion decide to suspend or terminate your account prior to that time if it has good faith belief that infringement has occurred. You are responsible for all expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) incurred by United Online Web Services with respect to any of the foregoing activities. In addition, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 512(c), United Online Web Services has implemented procedures for receiving written notification of claimed infringements and for processing such claims in accordance with the Act. If you believe that your copyright has been infringed through the use of the Services, please contact: Attn: Legal Department - DMCA Compliance, United Online Web Services c/o United Online, Inc., 21255 Burbank Boulevard, Suite 400, Woodland Hills, CA 91367 or via e-mail at the e-mail address specified on the Site for your particular Service.

7. Software.

License. United Online Web Services may make available computer software developed by United Online Web Services and others for enabling use of certain of the Services (“Software”). United Online Web Services grants to you a personal, non-transferable, non-exclusive license to use the Software (in object code form only) only in connection with the corresponding Service and subject to the Rules.

You may copy and archive the Software provided that all such copies contain the same copyright notice and proprietary markings as are on the original Software; and provided further that you do not sell, transmit or otherwise dispose of any copy for compensation or as part of a commercial offer. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you may be required to install any updates, enhancements or upgrades to the Software provided by United Online Web Services, although United Online Web Services is not obligated to provide such updates, enhancements or upgrades. Such updates, enhancements or upgrades shall be deemed a part of the Software.

You agree not to translate, reverse engineer, reverse compile, disassemble or make derivative works from the Software. You agree not to modify the Software in any manner or form, or to use modified versions of the Software including, without limitation, for the purpose of obtaining unauthorized access to any of the Services or disabling features of the Software or the Services. Except as may be permitted by United Online Web Services, you agree not to use any of the Services by any means other than through the interface that is approved or provided by United Online Web Services or its partners for use in connection with the Service. Without limiting the generality of any rights United Online Web Services may have hereunder, United Online Web Services may terminate your license immediately if you breach any provision of this section.

Export Regulations. Except for export to Canada for use in Canada by Canadian citizens, the Licensed Software and any underlying technology may not be exported outside the United States or to any foreign entity or “foreign person” as defined by U.S. government regulations including, without limitation, anyone who is not a citizen, national or lawful permanent resident of the United States. By downloading or using the Software, you are acknowledging and agreeing to the foregoing limitations on your right to export or re-export the Software, and are also representing and warranting that you are neither on any applicable government's lists of export precluded parties nor otherwise ineligible to receive software containing cryptography that is subject to any applicable export controls.

Government End Users. You acknowledge and agree that you are not acquiring the license granted hereunder on behalf of a U.S. government agency, and the license granted hereunder is not being acquired pursuant to a U.S. government contract.

8. Ownership. Any software is licensed, not sold, to you by United Online Web Services. You acknowledge that United Online Web Services and its suppliers retain all title, rights (including, without limitation, intellectual property rights) and interest in the Software, except as expressly licensed in this Agreement. All rights in the content, information and materials accessed through use of the Software or the Services are the property of the applicable content owner and may be protected under intellectual property and other applicable laws. You agree that United Online Web Services’ suppliers are direct and intended third party beneficiaries of this Agreement including, without limitation, with respect to disclaimers of warranties and limitations of liability and all such disclaimers and limitations shall apply collectively to United Online Web Services and its suppliers.

9. Warranty Disclaimer. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE SERVICES AND THE SOFTWARE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS, AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES HEREBY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY OR CONDITION WITH RESPECT TO THE QUALITY, PERFORMANCE OR FUNCTIONALITY OF THE SERVICES AND SOFTWARE, OR WITH RESPECT TO THE QUALITY OR ACCURACY OF ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM OR AVAILABLE THROUGH USE OF THE SERVICES AND SOFTWARE, OR THAT THE SERVICES AND SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. THE SERVICES AND SOFTWARE MAY CONTAIN ERRORS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION GIVEN BY UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES OR UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICE’S REPRESENTATIVES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, CUSTOMER SUPPORT REPRESENTATIVES, SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY. UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF QUIET ENJOYMENT AND NON-INFRINGEMENT AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY OF COMPUTER PROGRAMS AND CONTENT. UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT USERS WILL BE ABLE TO USE THE SERVICES AT TIMES OR LOCATIONS OF THEIR CHOOSING. UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES ARE COMPATIBLE WITH ANY THIRD PARTY SERVICE OR SOFTWARE, EVEN IF SUCH THIRD PARTY CLAIMS, REPRESENTS OR WARRANTS THAT SUCH SERVICE OR SOFTWARE IS COMPATIBLE WITH ANY SERVICE OR UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES IN PARTICULAR.

10. Limitation of United Online Web Services’ Liability. UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR NONPERFORMANCE OR DELAY IN PERFORMANCE CAUSED BY ANY REASON, WHETHER WITHIN OR OUTSIDE OF ITS CONTROL. IN NO EVENT SHALL UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES BE LIABLE UNDER CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER LEGAL OR EQUITABLE THEORY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF USE, LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA OR INFORMATION OF ANY KIND OR LOSS OF BUSINESS GOODWILL OR OPPORTUNITY) WHETHER OR NOT UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS OR DAMAGES. UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS, SERVICES OR TECHNOLOGY. UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES’ ENTIRE LIABILITY AND YOUR EXCLUSIVE REMEDY WITH RESPECT TO ANY USE OF THE SERVICES IS THE CANCELLATION OF YOUR ACCOUNT AS SET FORTH HEREIN. IN NO EVENT SHALL UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES LIABILITY TO YOU EXCEED THE GREATER OF ONE DOLLAR ($1.00) OR ANY AMOUNTS ACTUALLY PAID IN CASH BY YOU TO UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES FOR THE PRIOR ONE MONTH PERIOD. NO ACTION, REGARDLESS OF FORM, ARISING OUT OF THESE RULES OR OUT OF THE SERVICES MAY BE BROUGHT BY YOU OR UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES MORE THAN ONE YEAR AFTER THE EVENT WHICH GAVE RISE TO THE CAUSE OF ACTION HAS OCCURRED. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW A LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR NEGLIGENCE THAT CAUSES DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY AND, IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS, UNITED ONLINE WEB SERVICES’ LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

11. Indemnification of United Online Web Services. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold United Online Web Services, its affiliates and its sponsors, partners or other co-branders and their respective officers and employees harmless from and against any and all claims, losses, damages, liabilities and costs (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs) arising out of or relating to your breach of any of the Rules or use by you or any third party of the Services, except to the extent the foregoing directly result from United Online Web Services’ own negligence. United Online Web Services reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you. In that event, you shall have no further obligation to provide indemnification for United Online Web Services in that matter.

12. Miscellaneous.

Entire Agreement. These Rules (as may be modified by updated Rules on the Site) together constitute the sole agreement between United Online Web Services and you respecting the subject matter hereof and fully supercede any and all other agreements, either oral or in writing.

Legal Actions. These Rules will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, excluding its conflict of laws principles. The application of the United Nations Convention of Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly excluded. The exclusive personal jurisdiction of and venue for all disputes arising out of any dispute between you and United Online Web Services shall be the state and federal courts located in the county of Los Angeles or Ventura, California, USA and you consent to such exclusive jurisdiction and waive all objections to such jurisdiction and venue.

Severability. If any provision of these Rules is held to be unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to comply with applicable laws, and the remainder shall remain in full force and effect.

No Waiver. Any failure of United Online Web Services to enforce any provision of these Rules shall not constitute a waiver of any rights under such provision or any other provision of these Rules.

Information for California Residents. Under California Civil Code Section 1789.3, users that are residents of California are entitled to the following consumer rights information: the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services may be contacted in writing at 400 R Street, Suite 1080, Sacramento, CA 95814 or by telephone at (916) 445-1254.

How to Contact Us. A list of ways to contact United Online Web Services is available on the Site.

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