These terms and conditions (the "Terms") govern your access to and use of www.SuburbanEssex.com’s website and/or mobile applications that link to or reference these Terms ("Site"). By accessing or using the Site, you are agreeing to these Terms and concluding a legally binding contract with Vicinity Media Group, Inc., a New Jersey corporation headquartered in Fairfield, New Jersey ("VMG"), the parent company of Suburban Essex magazine and www.SuburbanEssex.com. Do not access or use the Site if you are unwilling or unable to be bound by the Terms.
A. Definitions
"You" and "your" refer to you, as a user of the Site. A "user" is someone who accesses, browses, crawls, scrapes, or in any way uses the Site. "We," "us," and "our" refer to VMG.
"Content" means text, images, photos, audio, video, location data, and all other forms of data or communication. "Your Content" means Content that you submit or transmit to, through, or in connection with the Site, such as endorsements and information that you publicly display or is displayed in your account profile. "User Content" means Content that users submit or transmit to, through, or in connection with the Site. "VMG Content" means Content that we create and make available in connection with the Site. "Third Party Content" means Content that originates from parties other than VMG or its users, which is made available in connection with the Site. "Site Content" means all of the Content that is made available in connection with the Site, including Your Content, User Content, Third Party Content, and VMG Content.
B. Changes to the Terms of Service
We may modify the Terms from time to time. The most current version of these Terms is located here. You understand and agree that your access to or use of the Site is governed by the Terms effective at the time of your access to or use of the Site. If we make material changes to these Terms, we will notify you by email or by posting a notice on the Site prior to the effective date of the changes. We will also indicate at the top of this page the date that revisions were last made. You should revisit these Terms on a regular basis as revised versions will be binding on you. Any such modification will be effective upon our posting of new Terms. You understand and agree that your continued access to or use of the Site after the effective date of modifications to the Terms indicates your acceptance of the modifications.
C. Using the Site
1. Eligibility
To access or use the Site, you must be 13 years or older and have the requisite power and authority to enter into these Terms. You may not access or use the Site if we have previously banned you from the Site or closed your account.
We grant you permission to use the Site subject to the restrictions in these Terms. Your use of the Site is at your own risk, including the risk that you might be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent, inaccurate, objectionable, or otherwise inappropriate.
The Site may be modified, updated, interrupted, suspended or discontinued at any time without notice or liability. We will do our very best to provide you with the best content possible, but we cannot guarantee the stability of the many servers, telecommunication lines, networks or Internet Service Providers between us and you at all times.
You must create an account and provide certain information about yourself in order to use some of the features that are offered through the Site including, but not limited to, voting in the Best of Essex contest. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account password. You are also responsible for all activities that occur in connection with your account. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account. We reserve the right to close your account at any time for any or no reason.
Your account is for your personal, non-commercial use only. In creating it, we ask that you provide complete and accurate information about yourself to bolster your credibility as a contributor to the Site. You may not create or use an account for anyone other than yourself, provide an email address other than your own, or create multiple accounts. If you use a pseudonym, take care to note that others may still be able to identify you if, for example, you include identifying information in your reviews, use the same account information on other sites, or allow other sites to share information about you with VMG. Please read our Privacy Policy in Section F.2. below for more information.
a. By creating an account, you agree to receive certain communications in connection with the Site. For example, you will receive our e-mail newsletter about happenings in your neighborhood. You can opt-out of non-essential communications, please email us at: [email protected]
b. VMG complies with the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. We will not sell, rent, swap, share or authorize any third party to use your email address without your prior permission. If you have received an email from us in error, please email us at: [email protected].
c. Emails You Send to VMG: If you send emails to VMG, the information disclosed in those emails may not be secure or encrypted and consequently might be available to others. Exercise caution when deciding to disclose any confidential or personal information in emails.
D. Content
You alone are responsible for Your Content, and once published, it cannot always be withdrawn. You assume all risks associated with Your Content, including anyone's reliance on its quality, accuracy, or reliability, or any disclosure by you of information in Your Content that makes you personally identifiable. You represent that you own, or have the necessary permissions to use and authorize the use of Your Content as described herein. You may not imply that Your Content is in any way sponsored or endorsed by VMG.
You may expose yourself to liability if, for example, Your Content contains material that is false, intentionally misleading, or defamatory; violates any third-party right, including any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, moral right, privacy right, right of publicity, or any other intellectual property or proprietary right; contains material that is unlawful, including illegal hate speech or pornography; exploits or otherwise harms minors; or violates or advocates the violation of any law or regulation.
We reserve the right to approve Your Content prior to it being made public on the Site. We may use Your Content in a number of different ways, including publicly displaying it, reformatting it, incorporating it into advertisements and other works, creating derivative works from it, promoting it, distributing it, and allowing others to do the same in connection with their own websites and media platforms ("Other Media"). As such, you hereby irrevocably grant us world-wide, perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free, assignable, sublicensable, transferable rights to use Your Content for any purpose. Please note that you also irrevocably grant the users of the Site and any Other Media the right to access Your Content in connection with their use of the Site and any Other Media. Finally, you irrevocably waive, and cause to be waived, against VMG and its users any claims and assertions of moral rights or attribution with respect to Your Content. By "use" we mean use, copy, publicly perform and display, reproduce, distribute, modify, translate, remove, analyze, commercialize, and prepare derivative works of Your Content.
As between you and VMG, you own Your Content. We own the VMG Content, including but not limited to visual interfaces, interactive features, graphics, design, compilation, including, but not limited to, our compilation of User Content and other Site Content, computer code, products, software, aggregate user review ratings, and all other elements and components of the Site excluding Your Content, User Content and Third Party Content. We also own the copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade names, and other intellectual and proprietary rights throughout the world ("IP Rights") associated with the VMG Content and the Site, which are protected by copyright, trade dress, patent, trademark laws and all other applicable intellectual and proprietary rights and laws. As such, you may not modify, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works or adaptations of, publicly display or in any way exploit any of the VMG Content in whole or in part except as expressly authorized by us. Except as expressly and unambiguously provided herein, we do not grant you any express or implied rights, and all rights in and to the Site and the VMG Content are retained by us.
VMG and its licensees may publicly display advertisements and other information adjacent to or included with Your Content. You are not entitled to any compensation for such advertisements. The manner, mode and extent of such advertising are subject to change without specific notice to you.
We may make some of the Site Content ("Feed Content") available via Real Simple Syndication ("Feed"). You may access and use the Feed in order to display Feed Content on your personal computer, website, or blog ("Your Site"), provided that (i) your use of the Feeds is for personal, non-commercial purposes only, (ii) your display of the Feed Content links back to the relevant pages on VMG’s websites, and attributes VMG as the source of the Feed Content, (iii) your use or display of the Feed Content does not suggest that VMG promotes or endorses any third party causes, ideas, websites, products or services, including Your Site, (iv) you do not redistribute the Feed Content, and (v) your use of the Feeds does not overburden VMG’s systems. VMG reserves all rights in the Feed Content and may terminate the Feed at any time.
User Content (including any that may have been created by users employed or contracted by VMG) does not necessarily reflect the opinion of VMG. We reserve the right to remove, screen, edit, or reinstate User Content from time to time at our sole discretion for any reason or no reason, and without notice to you. For example, we may remove an endorsement if we believe it violates our Content Guidelines. We have no obligation to retain or provide you with copies of Your Content, nor do we guarantee any confidentiality with respect to Your Content.
E. Restrictions
We are under no obligation to enforce the Terms on your behalf against another user. While we encourage you to let us know if you believe another user has violated the Terms, we reserve the right to investigate and take appropriate action at our sole discretion.
You agree not to, and will not assist, encourage, or enable others to use the Site to:
The restrictions above only apply to the extent permissible under applicable law.
F. Guidelines and Policies
You represent that you have read and understood our Content Guidelines.
a. You represent that you have read and understood the following Privacy Policy for the Site. Note that we may disclose information about you to third parties if we have a good faith belief that such a disclosure is reasonably necessary to (i) take action regarding suspected illegal activities; (ii) enforce or apply our Terms and Privacy Policy; (iii) comply with legal process or other government inquiry, such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute, judicial proceeding, or other legal process served on us; or (iv) protect our rights, reputation, and property, or that of our users, affiliates, or the public. If you use the Site outside of the United States, you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.
b. Personal Information Collected. VMG, through the Site, may collect and use information about you including, but not limited to the following: special deals ordered and delivered, identification data (contact information), profile information (email address, zip code and any information you choose to include in your public profile), electronic identification data (IP addresses, etc.), survey results, information about usage of and interaction with the Site’s software (computer and connection information, device capability, bandwidth, statistics on page views, and Web site traffic) and correspondence between you and VMG.
c. Third Parties. If you provide information to a Third Party (as described below in Section I), you provide such personal data at your own risk for the privacy policies of those companies are not encompassed by this privacy statement. If you click a link from the Site to one of our advertisers or another linked site, we cannot control how they may use information you provide. Read the privacy policy of every web site that asks for your personal information. We do not control the privacy policies of our advertisers, sponsors, or other sites or businesses to which we provide hyperlinks or access. Please visit the sites of these businesses to review their privacy policies.
d. What VMG Does With Information We Collect About You. We use the information gathered for statistical analysis to inform you about Site updates and faults, request feedback or participation in on-line surveys and verify your identity. VMG may perform statistical, demographic and marketing analyses of subscribers, and their subscribing and purchasing patterns, for product development purposes and to generally inform advertisers about the nature of our subscriber base and to improve customer relationships. We also use such demographic and preference information to allow advertising to be targeted, in aggregate, to the users for whom such advertising is most pertinent.
e. Children Under 13. Please do NOT send any information about yourself to us. All data inadvertently collected from a child under 13 years of age will be purged from our system and all of our records. We do not knowingly collect or store any personal information, even in aggregate, about children under the age of 13 in accordance with COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act).
f. Data Security. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the security of our database or that any information you supply will not be intercepted while being transmitted to us. While we do have physical, electronic, and managerial procedures in place to protect information we collect, they do not provide any guarantee.
g. Cookies and How They Are Used. As with many websites, our Site uses a "cookie" to store and sometimes track information about you. It is also used to recognize you and your access privileges. We may use that information to prevent you from having to duplicate the log-in procedures, to see what links you have accessed, and to see your participation in any of our contests, surveys, and promotions. Advertisers and other vendors on our Service may also use their own cookies. You may opt-out of the cookies delivered by us by changing the setting on your browser. Please be aware that this will disable all cookies delivered to your browser, not just the ones delivered by the Site. You will not, however, be able to opt-out of cookies placed by a third-party host service.
Your computer may save information, such as your log-in name and/or password, to make returning to a web site easier. If you clear your cookies, you may lose that saved data and be required to type in your log-in name and password each time you visit our site and others.
h. Data Retention and Termination of Your Account. We will remove your public endorsements from view and/or dissociate them from your account profile, but we may retain information about you for the purposes authorized under this Privacy Policy unless prohibited by law. For example, we may retain information to prevent, investigate, or identify possible wrongdoing in connection with the Site or to comply with legal obligations.
i. This Privacy Policy does not cover any of the Site’s vendors or contractors, including advertisers. Neither the Site nor VMG is responsible for the content or the privacy policies of websites to which it may link. This policy may be modified, amended or rescinded by VMG at any time without prior notice.
This Site, including, but not limited to text, photographs, graphics, video and audio is intended for personal, non-commercial, use and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights under U.S. and international law. Accordingly, you must comply with all applicable copyright laws, notices and other restrictions posted on the Site.
G. Site Deals and Site Advertising
If you purchase a Site Deal, the terms of your purchase will be governed by the Site General Terms for Deals. Please review them before you make each purchase since they may change from time to time. In the event of any conflict between the Site General Terms for Deals and these Terms, the Site General Terms for Deals will prevail.
Similarly, if you purchase advertising from VMG, the Contract for Advertising will apply. In the event of any conflict between the Contract for Advertising and these Terms, the Contract for Advertising will prevail.
H. Suggestions and Improvements
By sending us any ideas, suggestions, documents or proposals ("Feedback"), you agree that (i) your Feedback does not contain the confidential or proprietary information of third parties, (ii) we are under no obligation of confidentiality, express or implied, with respect to the Feedback, (iii) we may have something similar to the Feedback already under consideration or in development, and (iv) you grant us an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide license to use, modify, prepare derivative works, publish, distribute and sublicense the Feedback, and you irrevocably waive, and cause to be waived, against VMG, the Site and its users any claims and assertions of any moral rights contained in such Feedback.
The Site may include links to other websites or applications (each, a "Third Party Site"). We do not control or endorse any Third Party Site. You agree that we are not responsible for the availability or contents of such Third Party Sites. Your use of Third Party Sites is at your own risk.
Some of the Third Party Content, including but not limited to business listing information and business photos on the Site, is the proprietary and copyrighted work of such businesses. You may not distribute, sell, rent, sublicense, or lease such Third Party Content, in whole or in part to any third party; and you may not use it for any other purpose other than your personal, non-commercial use.
J. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold VMG, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, any related companies, suppliers, licensors and partners, and the officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives of each of them (collectively, the "VMG Entities") harmless, including costs, liabilities and legal fees, from any claim or demand made by any third party arising out of or relating to (i) your access to or use of the Site, (ii) your violation of the Terms, (iii) any products or services purchased or obtained by you in connection with the Site, or (iv) the infringement by you, or any third party using your account, of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity. VMG reserves the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us and you agree to cooperate with our defense of these claims. You agree not to settle any such matter without the prior written consent of VMG. VMG will use reasonable efforts to notify you of any such claim, action or proceeding upon becoming aware of it.
K. Disclaimers and Limitations of Liability
PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY SINCE IT LIMITS THE LIABILITY OF THE VMG ENTITIES TO YOU. EACH OF THE SUBSECTIONS BELOW ONLY APPLIES UP TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. NOTHING HEREIN IS INTENDED TO LIMIT ANY RIGHTS YOU MAY HAVE WHICH MAY NOT BE LAWFULLY LIMITED. IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT THIS OR ANY OTHER SECTION OF THESE TERMS, PLEASE CONSULT WITH A LEGAL PROFESSIONAL PRIOR TO ACCESSING OR USING THE SITE. BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SITE, YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND AGREE TO THESE TERMS, INCLUDING THIS SECTION. YOU ARE GIVING UP SUBSTANTIAL LEGAL RIGHTS BY AGREEING TO THESE TERMS.
L. Choice of Law and Venue
New Jersey law will govern these Terms, as well as any claim, cause of action or dispute that might arise between you and VMG (a "Claim"), without regard to conflict of law provisions. All causes of action arising out of or connected with this Site shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, in the Courts of the State of New Jersey, Essex County.
M. Termination
N. General Terms
Framing
We prohibit the use of any content framing, inline links and mirrors. You may not frame or mirror any elements of SuburbanEssex.com without our prior written permission. Unauthorized framing or mirroring constitutes a material breach of these Terms of Service.
Presenting any of our web pages on a third party web site such that the absolute URL of the page on SuburbanEssex.com is not displayed in the browser address bar is not an acceptable method of linking.
Copyrights
If you believe that any Content from our Service has been reproduced without permission, is being used inappropriately or if you think that your content or the content of a third party has been unlawfully used or reproduced on the Service, please notify by mail to Cathleen Black, President, Vicinity Media Group, 165 Passaic Avenue, Fairfield, NJ or by email at [email protected].
If you elect to send us a counter-notice in response to a notice of intellectual property infringement, to be effective it must be a written communication provided to VMG that includes substantially the following:
(A) A physical or electronic signature of the subscriber.
(B) Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled.
(C) A statement under penalty of perjury that the subscriber has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.
(D) The subscriber's name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that the subscriber consents to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if the subscriber's address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which VMG may be found, and that the subscriber will accept service of process from the person who provided notification under subsection (c)(1)(C) or an agent of such person.
Please note that under Section 512(f) of the Copyright Act, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification may be subject to liability.
Just as we strive to protect our own Content, we also hope to respect the rights of other content sources. Should you see something on our site you believe we aren’t entitled to publish, please contact us at [email protected].