PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY. BY USING THE SITE YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF USE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF USE, PLEASE DO NOT ACCESS THE SITE.
These Terms of Use (the “Agreement”) set forth the terms and conditions that apply to your use of WorldwidePageants.com, Worldwidepageants.org, and IFC LLC (IFC) company websites (“Site” or “Sites”). This Agreement applies to the content and materials and services provided to you via the Sites, and include all means by which IFC provides content or services to you or receives content from you, including, without limitation, WorldwidePageants.com, WorldwidePageants.org downloadable software applications, delivery of IFC content to you at your request, mobile websites, mobile downloadable applications, services that allow you to submit content to IFC, blog submission services, RSS feeds, podcasts, chat rooms and message boards (“Services”). Many of the Services may currently be accessed via the Sites.
1. Ownership
The Services are owned and operated by IFC and its affiliated companies and contain material that is derived in whole or in part from material supplied and owned by IFC and other sources. Such material is protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable laws. You may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, publicly display, prepare derivative works based on, or distribute in any way any material from the Service, including but not limited to code and software (“Material”).
2. Authorized Use
You may access and view these Sites for your own personal and non-commercial purposes. You may print one copy of the content on these Sites for your own personal use. Any other use, or commercial use, of these Sites requires the prior written approval of IFC.
3. Restrictions on Use
IFC may, in its sole discretion, discontinue, alter or limit the availability of any aspect of the Services, including, but not limited to,
a. Restricting the time of availability,
b. Restricting the availability and/or scope of the Services or restricting the availability of certain content to certain platforms (i.e., computer types and operating systems), or to certain users (when subscription or other restricted content is provided);
c. restricting the amount of use permitted, and
d. restricting or terminating any User’s right to use all or part of the Services, at any time in IFC’s sole discretion and without prior notice or liability.
4. Membership Rules and Guidelines
a. Registration
If you choose to register, which may be required to access certain Services, or to receive email alerts, RSS feeds, podcasts or other content, you will be asked to provide certain information about yourself. You agree to provide true, accurate and complete information about yourself, and to update this information when it changes. If you provide any information that is untrue or inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, or if IFC suspects that your information is untrue or inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, IFC, in its sole discretion, may suspend or terminate your membership and/or access to certain content or features and refuse current or future access to the Service. Any personal information supplied hereunder will be subject to the terms of our privacy policy. Children under the age of 13 may not register with the Sites or for the Services. The Services are currently provided for free. IFC reserves the right to change the nature of this relationship at any time.
b. Passwords
Should IFC provide to you a password that allows you to access certain parts of the Sites or for the Services, you will be solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the password and your account information, and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your password or account. You agree that you will immediately notify IFC of any unauthorized use of your password or account, or any other breach of security, and that you will log off of the Sites or the Services at the end of each session to prevent fraud on your account by third parties.
c. General
IFC may choose to send you e-mail newsletters or alerts on a variety of topics or you may register to receive emails on various topics. You may elect during registration not to receive e-mail newsletters or alerts, and you may start or stop receiving such e-mail newsletters or alerts at any time by sending an e-mail to an address that shall be designated for that purpose. With your permission, IFC may send you e-mails on behalf of pre-screened third parties containing promotional offers or opportunities that we believe may be of interest to you. You may elect during registration to receive these e-mails, and you may start or stop receiving such e-mails at any time by sending an e-mail to an account that shall be designated for that purpose. In addition, as set forth in our Privacy Policy, with your consent we may share your information with pre-screened third parties for their marketing or promotional purposes.
d. Rules for Use of the Service
The following rules apply to all users of the Services and are a condition of your use of and access to the Services. You are responsible for the content of your communications via the Services (“Communications”) and any content or materials you post or otherwise transmit or make available to others.
i. Interactions with Others: You may not restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying the Services. Prohibited conduct includes the posting or transmission of any unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane or indecent information of any kind, including without limitation, any images or other material depicting nudity (including, without limitation, images depicting persons with unclothed genitalia or persons wearing transparent clothing over genitalia) or as determined in IFC’s sole discretion. Your comments may not contain harassing or offensive language, including sexual references, sexual nicknames, racial slurs, threats of any kind, hate propaganda, hate mongering, swearing (including masked vulgarity, such as f*ck), bullying or rude or deliberately offensive comments.
ii. You may not engage in disruptive activities online, including excessive use of scripts, sound waves, scrolling (repeating the same message over and over), or use of viruses, bots, worms or trojan horses.
iii. You may not engage in commercial activities, spamming or post, transmit or in any way exploit any information, software or other material for commercial purposes or that contains advertising, “junk mail,” “spam,” or “chain letters”; or solicit other users to join, become members of, or contribute money to any online service or other organization, advocate or attempt to get users to join in legal or illegal schemes or plan or participate in scams involving other users;
iv. You may not impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your professional or other affiliation with any person or entity;
v. Prohibited Content: You may not post or transmit any content, including video, audio and text content, software or other material that:
A. Violates or infringes the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, patent, privacy or publicity rights;
B. Contains a virus or other harmful component;
C. Encourages or provides instructional activities about illegal activities, in particular accessing unauthorized copyrighted content, hacking, cracking or phreaking;
D. Constitutes or encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any local, state, national or international law;
vi. You may not resell, redistribute, restransmit, broadcast or transfer Materials or information, “frame,” remove or alter Materials available via the Services, strip out advertisements or embedded code included as part of the Services or content available via the Services, or use or include the information or content derived from the Services in any searchable, machine-readable database or archive;
vii. To the extent IFC makes Materials available via a player or widget or other functionality that may be embedded or featured on your own site or profile, you agree to feature the Materials as provided and not strip or alter any of the encoding or remove the Materials from the player or widget;
viii. You may not use the Services to collect personally identifying information about users of the Service in violation of our Privacy Policy;
ix. You may not attempt to gain unauthorized access to other computer systems or networks connected to the Service or use the Service, the Materials or any information contained therein for any unlawful purpose. IFC in its sole and absolute discretion, shall determine whether any Materials you transmit or receive or your use of the Service violates this provision. You may not use any Material in connection with any site or other use that contains or is associated with information or content prohibited by this section.
If you believe that any content on the Sites or Services (including, without limitation, Postings) violates any of the terms of this agreement, please click here to send us a message about it. We may not respond to your message, however, we reserve the right to take or refrain from taking any or all steps available to us once we receive any such message.
e. Monitoring
IFC has no obligation to monitor the use of the Services by members. You acknowledge and agree that IFC reserves the right to, and may from time to time, monitor any and all information transmitted or received through the Service for operational and other purposes. During monitoring, information may be examined, recorded, copied, and used for authorized purposes in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Use of the Services constitutes consent to such monitoring. Furthermore, IFC reserves the right at all times to disclose any information posted on any portion of the Services as necessary to satisfy any law, regulation or governmental request, or to refuse to post, or to remove, any information or materials, in whole or in part, that in IFC’s sole and absolute discretion are objectionable or in violation of this Agreement.
f. Personal Safety.
When using the Services, please be certain that anything you say does not compromise your personal safety. Do not provide your name, phone number, postal or e-mail address, your password, or any other personally identifying information to people you do not know. Do not continue any conversation online that makes you feel uncomfortable.
5. User Content
The term “Content” shall include any materials or information submitted by you, including, without limitation, your name, likeness, videos, photographs, recordings, writings, statements, audio materials, audiovisual materials, ideas or other material furnished by you to IFC through the website or otherwise.
ORIGINALITY; RIGHTS: Any Content that you post or upload on these Sites must be either (a) an original work by you that does not copy or use other works (such as dialogue from plays, recordings of musical works or clips from other videos, television programs or motion pictures) or (b) Content for which you have all rights and permissions necessary to grant the rights hereunder. In addition, your Content must not infringe or violate any rights of any third party or entity, including, without limitation, copyright, trademark, defamation, privacy, publicity, false light, idea misappropriation, intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress, or any contractual rights. Before posting Content, you must have all the rights, licenses, permissions and consents necessary to submit the Content and to grant all of the rights that you have granted to IFC under these Terms. Before you post content, you must have the express consent of everyone who appears in the Content to submit the Content for use, exhibition and other exploitation in any manner and in any and all media, whether now existing or hereafter discovered, throughout the world, in perpetuity. If you submit an image of someone who is under 18 years of age who is not your child, you must have the permission of that child’s parent or legal guardian.
RIGHTS IN CONTENT: By uploading or inputting Content to IFC and the Sites you hereby acknowledge and agree that you are granting IFC, NBC Universal, Inc., and their respective licensees, successors and assigns, the perpetual and irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to: (a) use, copy, create derivative works from, reproduce, distribute, display, exhibit, host, cache, store, archive, index, categorize, comment on, tag, transmit, broadcast, stream, edit, alter, modify, synchronize with visual material, create algorithms based thereon, and transcode the Content to appropriate media formats, standards or mediums; and (b) otherwise use, exhibit and exploit, and sell, license, assign and otherwise transfer to third parties the right to use, exhibit and otherwise exploit the Content (in whole or in part and as altered by IFC in its sole discretion) throughout the world in perpetuity, in any and all media, whether now existing or hereafter devised, including, without limitation, on IFC’s websites, on other websites, on the NBC television network, and on all owned and affiliated broadcast and cable networks, as well as in connection with any distribution or syndication arrangement with third parties or third party sites, in any media, format or medium and through any media channels and for any purpose, including, without limitation, downloads, streams, in audio visual recordings, motion pictures, television programs, productions, advertising, promotion and publicity, including, without limitation, advertising, promotion and publicity for, IFC, the Sites, nbc.com and other websites, television channel(s) and its programming, and all owned and affiliated broadcast and cable networks and channels and their programming, all without further notice to, consent from or payment to you. You waive any and all “moral rights” you may have in the Content.
Without in any way limiting the foregoing, you acknowledge and agree that IFC, its licensees, successors and assigns, shall have the right to sell, license, assign and otherwise transfer any and all of the rights granted by you to IFC under this Agreement, and to display any advertising, publicity, promotional materials and distribution rights in connection with your Content. You acknowledge and agree that IFC, its licensees, successors and assigns, will be entitled to retain any and all revenue generated from any sales, licenses, assignments and other transfers of the rights granted by you hereunder, as well as any and all revenue generated by the display of any advertising, publicity, promotional materials or distribution rights in connection with your Content. Nothing in this Agreement obligates or may be deemed to obligate IFC or any other person or entity to exercise any of the rights granted by you under this Agreement. IFC and its successors, licensees and assigns, will have the unlimited right to assign this Agreement and the rights granted by you under this Agreement at any time, in whole or in part, to any party.
You grant the rights hereunder whether or not your Content or any part thereof is actually used by IFC. You acknowledge that your consideration for the rights you grant in your Content is the possibility that IFC, its licensees, successors and/or assigns will review or use your Content. You will not receive any further compensation of any kind for your Content or the use thereof, and you agree that IFC, its licensees, successors and/or assigns in their sole discretion, shall have the right to give you no credit or determine in what form to give you credit for any use of your Content. Your Content will not be acknowledged or returned. You acknowledge and agree that your Content is being sent voluntarily, and not in confidence, and that no confidential relationship is intended or created between IFC and/or any other person or entity, on the one hand, and you, on the other hand, by your Content of the Content.
In addition to all of the legal and equitable rights and remedies available to IFC in connection with these terms or your Content, you acknowledge and agree that IFC shall have the right, in its sole discretion, not to post the Content on any website, to remove the Content from any website on which it has been posted, and not to use, exhibit or otherwise exploit your Content in any manner whatsoever. Furthermore, IFC shall have the right to suspend or terminate your access to any IFC or related website and refuse to grant you access to use any IFC or related website in the future with or without warning if IFC, in its sole discretion, believes you have: (i) violated or tried to violate the rights of IFC; or (ii) violated or tried to violate any of the representations, warranties or other terms or conditions of this Agreement; or (iii) acted inconsistently with any of the terms or conditions of this Agreement. IFC has no obligation to inform you of any decision not to post, to remove, or not to use, exhibit or otherwise exploit your Content.
You recognize that other persons, including IFC’s own employees, may have submitted to IFC or others, or made public, or may in the future originate and submit, or make public, materials that are similar or identical to your Content. You acknowledge and agree that IFC, its licensees, successors and/or assigns shall have the right to use such similar or identical materials, and that you will not be entitled to any compensation because of IFC or its licensees’, successors’ and/or assigns’ use of such similar or identical materials. Nothing in this Agreement, or your submission of the Content, shall be deemed to place you in any different position from any other member of the public.
USE OF NAME AND LIKENESS: By sending IFC your Content, you consent to the recording, use and reuse by IFC, NBC Universal, Inc., their licensees, successors and assigns, of your voice, actions, likeness, name, appearance, performance, biographical material, and any other identifying information, including, without limitation, any information contained in your Content (collectively, “Personal Elements”), as edited, altered, fictionalized or modified by NBC Universal, Inc. or IFC , in their sole discretion, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, throughout the world, in perpetuity, including, without limitation, in and in connection with IFC, the Site, or related websites, in and in connection with any television programs and other productions, and in and in connection with advertising, promotion and publicity. You acknowledge and agree that NBC Universal, Inc., IFC, their licensees, successors and assigns, may use all or any part of your Personal Elements, and may make any changes that any of them may deem necessary, in their sole discretion, including altering, fictionalizing or modifying them regardless of whether or not you are recognizable.
OWNERSHIP: Except as expressly set forth in this Agreement, you shall continue to own all rights in and to the Content. To the extent your Content contains other materials or elements owned by IFC, NBC Universal, Inc. or any other affiliated company, such as characters or other elements protected by copyright, trademark or other laws, your rights to make any other use of the Content will continue to be governed by and may be limited by other applicable laws.
6. Content on the Service.
Communications and Content posted through the Services are provided by users such as you who are unaffiliated with IFC, and the user providing each such Communication or Content is solely responsible for the content thereof. This means that you, and not IFC, are entirely responsible for all Content and Communications that you upload, post, email or otherwise transmit via the Services. In using the Services or receiving e-mail messages from members through the Services, you should not assume that such messages have been reviewed by IFC, that such Communications contain correct information, or that the persons posting such Content and Communications have accurately identified themselves and/or their affiliation with any third party. You understand that by using the Services, you may be exposed to Content and Communications that are offensive, indecent, or objectionable. Under no circumstances will IFC be liable in any way for any Communication, including, but not limited to, liability for any errors or omissions in any Content or Communication, or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content or Communication posted, e-mailed, or otherwise transmitted via the Services.
7. Rules for Chat rooms, Message Boards, and Other User-Supplied Material
Portions of these Sites provide you and other users an opportunity to submit, post, display, transmit and/or exchange information, ideas, opinions, photographs, images, video, creative works or other information, messages, transmissions or material to us, the Site or others (“Post” or “Postings”). Postings do not reflect the views of IFC, and IFC does not have any obligation to monitor, edit or screen any Postings, but may do so in its sole discretion. Notwithstanding anything else in these Rules of Conduct, IFC should not be seen as endorsing any Post in any way. Neither IFC nor its parent company or partners, their respective officers, directors, and employees, subsidiaries and/or affiliates shall be liable for any Posting that is in violation of this agreement. You acknowledge that anything you submit to IFC by way of any Posting is routed through IFC’s (or its service provider’s) servers and the Internet and that, therefore, you have no expectation of privacy with regard to any such submission. You acknowledge that the Posting and features on the Site are postings for public and not private communications. Please keep in mind that whenever you give out personal information online, for example, via message boards or chat, that information can be collected and used by people you don’t know. We cannot guarantee the security of any information you disclose online; you make such disclosures at your own risk. (Users under the age of 18 should be especially careful not to provide any personally identifying information while using chat rooms or message boards. As set forth in IFC’s Terms and Conditions of use, users of chat rooms and message boards must follow acceptable standards of behavior when posting messages online.)
8. Merchants
Your correspondence or business dealings with, or participation in promotions of, merchants found on or through the Services, including payment and delivery of related goods or services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties, or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such merchant. IFC will not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings or as the result of the presence of such merchants on the Services.
9. IFC Local Sites
These Sites may contain links to the websites of pageants participating in the IFC pageants which are located in individual states and countries. These local state and country websites are run by independent parties and are not owned and controlled by IFC. Therefore, when accessing such local state and/or country websites, you agree that IFC shall not be responsible for any content on such websites or the acts of such local state and/or country pageants. You must separately comply with any terms, conditions or other rules on such websites.
10. Disclaimers
IFC is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate Content posted on the Services or in connection with the IFC Services, whether caused by Users of the Services or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Services. Profiles created and posted by Members on the Services may contain links to other websites. IFC is not responsible for the Content, accuracy or opinions expressed on the Services, and IFC has in no way investigated, monitored or checked for accuracy or completeness. Inclusion of any linked website on the Services does not imply approval or endorsement of the linked website. When you access these third-party sites, you do so at your own risk. IFC takes no responsibility for third party advertisements which are posted on or through the Sites or through Services, nor does it take any responsibility for the goods or services provided by its advertisers. IFC is not responsible for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any User of the Sites or the Services provided through the Sites. IFC assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, any User or Member communication. IFC is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email or players due to technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or on any of the Services or combination thereof, including any injury or damage to Users or to any person’s computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading materials in connection with the Services. Under no circumstances shall IFC be responsible for any loss or damage, including personal injury or death, resulting from use of the Sites, the Services, attendance at an IFC event, from any Content posted on or through the Sites or the Services, or from the conduct of any Users of the Services, whether online or offline. The Services are provided “AS-IS” and as available and IFC expressly disclaims any warranty of fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement. IFC cannot guarantee and does not promise any specific results from use of the Services.
11. Limitation on Liability.
IN NO EVENT SHALL IFC BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFIT DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, EVEN IF IFC HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
If any part of these warranty disclaimers or limitations of liability are found to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason or if IFC is otherwise found to be liable to you in any manner, then IFC’s aggregate liability for all claims under such circumstances for liabilities, shall not exceed ten dollars ($10).
12. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless IFC LLC, its affiliates and partners, and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents, from and against any and all claims, actions, suits or proceedings, as well as any and all losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of or accruing from (a) any material posted or otherwise provided by you that infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent or other intellectual property right of any person or defames any person or violates their rights of publicity or privacy, (b) any misrepresentation made by you in connection with your use of the Service; (c) any breach of any of the representation, warranties or other terms or conditions of the Content Requirements or any use of your Content or Personal Elements (d) any non-compliance by you with the terms and conditions of this Agreement; and (e) claims brought by persons or entities other than the parties to this Agreement arising from or related to your access and use of the Services or your Content to the Service, including the information obtained through the Services.
13. Termination
IFC may, in its sole discretion, terminate your password, account (or any part thereof) or use of the Services, or remove and discard any Communication transmitted by you, or information stored, sent, or received via the Services without prior notice and for any reason, including, but not limited to: (i) concurrent access of the Services with identical user identification numbers, (ii) permitting another person or entity to use your user identification number to access the Services, (iii) any other access or use of the Services except as expressly provided in this Agreement, (iv) any violation of the terms and conditions of this Agreement or the rules and regulations relating to the use of, the software and/or data files contained in, or accessed through, the Services, (v) tampering with or alteration of any of the software and/or data files contained in, or accessed through, the Services, or (vi) failure to use the Services or portion thereof on a regular basis. You may terminate your membership hereunder upon thirty (30) days written notice by you to IFC of your intent to terminate this Agreement. Termination, suspension, or cancellation of this Agreement or your access rights shall not affect any right or relief to which IFC may be entitled, at law or in equity. Upon termination of this Agreement, all rights granted to you will automatically terminate and immediately revert to IFC and its licensors.
14. Trademarks
MISS INDIA WORLDWIDE, MISS INDIA USA, MISS TEEN INDIA USA, MISS INDIA NEW YORK, MISS TEEN INDIA NEW YORK, the WorldwidePageants Logo, the WorldwidePageants Crown Design and the other IFC Marks are trademarks of IFC LLC. All other trademarks, service marks and trade names used on the Service are the property of their respective owners, and all of the above trademarks may not be copied, downloaded or otherwise exploited without the permission of IFC or the owner of such trademark, service mark or trade name, except as explicitly permitted in Section 2 above.
15. Minors
If you have agreed to allow your minor child, or a child for whom you are legal guardian (a “Minor”), to use the Service, you agree that you shall be solely responsible for: (a) the online conduct of such Minor; (b) monitoring such Minor’s access to and use of the Service; and (c) the consequences of any use of the Service by such Minor. Children under the age of 13 may not register for any Service hereunder.
16. Infringement Policy
IFC, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. Section 512 as amended by Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “Act”), reserves the right, but not the obligation, to terminate your license to use the Service if it determines in its sole and absolute discretion that you are involved in infringing activity, including alleged acts of first-time or repeat infringement, regardless of whether the material or activity is ultimately determined to be infringing. IFC accommodates and does not interfere with standard technical measures used by copyright owners to protect their materials. In addition, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. Section 512(c), IFC has implemented procedures for receiving written notification of claimed infringements and for processing such claims in accordance with the Act. All claims of infringement must be submitted to IFC in a written complaint that complies with the requirements below and is delivered to our designated agent to receive notification of claimed infringement:
By mail:
Dharmatma Saran
IFC LLC
149-24 84th Street
Howard Beach, NY 11414-1209
U.S.A
By e-mail: info@worldwidepageants.com
In addition, any written notice regarding any defamatory or infringing activity, whether of a copyright, patent, trademark or other proprietary right must include the following information:
A. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of (1) the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed or (2) the person defamed.
B. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site. Similarly, for materials that are defamatory or infringe patent, trademark, or other proprietary rights of a third party, please submit a list of such materials.
C. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing, to be the subject of infringing activity, or that is claimed to be defamatory and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material.
D. Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you, such as your address, telephone number, and/or electronic mail address.
E. A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright or other proprietary right owner, its agent, or the law.
F. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed or on behalf of the person defamed.
17. Modification
IFC reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to amend this Agreement, and to modify, add or discontinue any aspect, content, or feature of the Service. Such amendments, modifications, additions or deletions shall become effective upon notice thereof, which may be provided to you by posting on the Services, via e-mail or any other reasonable means. Continued use of the Services by you shall constitute your binding acceptance of any such amendments, modifications, additions or deletions.
18. United States of America
Unless otherwise specified, the materials on the Services are presented solely to provide information regarding and to promote IFC’s Services and other products available in the United States, its territories, possessions and protectorates. The Services are controlled and operated by IFC from its offices within the state of New York, United States of America. IFC makes no representation that materials on the Services are appropriate or available for use outside the United States. Those who choose to access the Services from outside the United States do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent that local laws are applicable.
19. Miscellaneous
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law. Although you acknowledge that we will have the ability to enforce our rights in any court of competent jurisdiction, you hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of courts in New York, New York, U.S.A., regarding any and all disputes relating to this Agreement or your use of the Service. You acknowledge and agree that the warranty disclaimers and liability and remedy limitations in this Agreement are material terms of this Agreement and that they have been taken into account in the decision by IFC to provide the Service hereunder. You may not assign any of your rights, obligations or privileges hereunder without the prior, written consent of IFC. Any assignment of the foregoing other than as provided for in this section shall be null and void, ab initio. If any provision of this agreement shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this Agreement, shall be enforced to the fullest extent allowed by law as to effect the intention of the parties, and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. This Agreement and any posted operating rules constitute the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether oral or written, between the parties with respect to such subject matter. No waiver of any provision or any right granted hereunder will be effective unless set forth in a written instrument signed by the waiving party. No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed a waiver of any subsequent breach or default. You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell, or exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of the Service or access to the Service. The titles and subtitles used in this Agreement are used for convenience only and are not to be considered in construing or interpreting this Agreement.
20. MEDIATION/ARBITRATION: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.
UNDER THIS SECTION 20, YOU ARE GIVING UP YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT WITH RESPECT TO ANY CLAIM ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR YOUR SUBMISSION.
IF ANY CONTROVERSY OR CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, THE BREACH OF ANY TERM HEREOF OR YOUR SUBMISSION CANNOT BE SETTLED THROUGH DIRECT DISCUSSIONS, THE PARTIES AGREE TO ENDEAVOR FIRST TO SETTLE THE CONTROVERSY OR CLAIM BY MEDIATION CONDUCTED IN THE COUNTY OF NEW YORK AND ADMINISTERED BY JAMS UNDER ITS APPLICABLE RULES, BEFORE COMMENCING ANY PROCEEDINGS PERMITTED UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH. IF ANY CONTROVERSY OR CLAIM IS NOT OTHERWISE RESOLVED THROUGH DIRECT DISCUSSIONS OR MEDIATION, AS SET FORTH ABOVE, THEN THE PARTIES AGREE THAT IT SHALL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING ARBITRATION CONDUCTED IN THE COUNTY OF NEW YORK, AND ADMINISTERED BY JAMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS STREAMLINED ARBITRATION RULES AND PROCEDURES OR SUBSEQUENT VERSIONS THEREOF, INCLUDING THE OPTIONAL APPEAL PROCEDURE (THE “JAMS RULES”). THE JAMS RULES FOR SELECTION OF AN ARBITRATOR SHALL BE FOLLOWED, EXCEPT THAT THE ARBITRATOR SHALL BE AN ARBITRATOR EXPERIENCED IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY AND LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW IN NE YORK OR A RETIRED JUDGE. ANY APPELLATE PANEL SHALL CONSIST OF THREE NEUTRAL MEMBERS, SUBJECT TO THE FOREGOING REQUIREMENTS. ALL ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS, INCLUDING DOCUMENTS FILED IN THE COURSE OF SUCH PROCEEDINGS, AND THE FACT THAT THE ARBITRATION IS BEING CONDUCTED, SHALL BE CONFIDENTIAL. THE ARBITRATOR’S DECISION SHALL BE CONTROLLED BY THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. UPON CONCLUSION OF ANY ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS HEREUNDER, THE ARBITRATOR SHALL RENDER FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND A WRITTEN OPINION SETTING FORTH THE BASIS AND REASONS FOR ANY DECISION HE OR SHE HAS REACHED AND SHALL DELIVER SUCH DOCUMENTS TO EACH PARTY TO THE AGREEMENT ALONG WITH A SIGNED COPY OF THE AWARD. ANY JUDGMENT UPON AN AWARD RENDERED BY AN ARBITRATOR MAY BE ENTERED IN ANY STATE OR FEDERAL COURT IN THE COUNTY OF NEW YORK, NEW YORK HAVING JURISDICTION OF THE SUBJECT MATTER HEREOF. YOU MAY COMMENCE AN ACTION AT LAW FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF ENFORCING AN ARBITRATION AWARD. WITHOUT IN ANY WAY LIMITING THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL YOU HAVE ANY RIGHT TO SEEK INJUNCTIVE OR OTHER EQUITABLE RELIEF AGAINST IFC OR AFFILIATED COMPANIES, THEIR LICENSEES, SUCCESSOR OR ASSIGNS, OR ANY OTHER PARTY ARISING OUT OF ANY USE OR NON-USE OF THE SUBMISSION. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IFC MAY NONETHELESS (1) SEEK TO OBTAIN INJUNCTIVE OR OTHER EQUITABLE RELIEF FROM A COURT TO ENFORCE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, AND (2) BRING AN ACTION TO ENFORCE THE DECISION OF THE ARBITRATOR BEFORE ANY COURT WITH JURISDICTION. YOU MUST COMMENCE A FORMAL ARBITRATION PROCEEDING PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT WITHIN SIX MONTHS AFTER THE DATE ANY SUCH CLAIM ARISES; FAILURE TO DO SO WITHIN THAT SIX-MONTH PERIOD SHALL BE DEEMED AN IRREVOCABLE WAIVER OF ANY RIGHTS YOU MIGHT HAVE PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO ANY CLAIM AGAINST YOU.
21. Member Disputes
You are solely responsible for any interaction with other members or visitors to the Sites, and the Sites reserve the right but shall have no obligation to monitor disputes between you and any other member of the Sites.