Association For Consumer Research Website Terms of Use

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS SITE.

By using the Association for Consumer Research (“ACR”) World Wide Web site, you agree to follow and be bound by these terms of use and agree to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. If you do not agree to these terms of use, please do not use this Site. We may revise these terms of use at any time without notice to you. If you have any questions about these terms of use, please contact us by E-MAIL. [Insert your hyperlink here]

ACR respects your privacy and permits you to control the treatment of your personal information. A complete statement of ACR’s current privacy policy can be found by clicking here [hyperlink the privacy policy]. ACR’s privacy policy is expressly incorporated into this Agreement by this reference.

1. Binding Effect . This is a binding agreement. By using the Internet site located at www.acrwebsite.org (the “Site”) or any services provided in connection with the Site (the “Service”), you agree to abide by these Terms of Use, as they may be amended by ACR from time to time in its sole and absolute discretion. ACR will post a notice on the Site any time these Terms of Use have been changed or otherwise updated. It is your responsibility to review these Terms of Use periodically, and if at any time you find these Terms of Use unacceptable, you must immediately leave the Site and cease all use of the Service and the Site. YOU AGREE THAT BY USING THE SERVICE YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU ARE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD AND THAT YOU ARE LEGALLY ABLE TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT.

2. Ownership . This Site is owned and operated by ACR. All right, title and interest in and to the materials provided on this Site, including but not limited to information, documents, logos, graphics, sounds, and images (the “Materials”) are owned either by ACR or by its respective third party authors, developers, or vendors (“Third Party Providers”). Except as otherwise expressly provided by ACR, none of the Materials may be copied, reproduced, republished, downloaded, uploaded, posted, displayed, transmitted, or distributed in any way and nothing on this Site shall be construed to confer any license under any of ACR’s intellectual property rights, whether by estoppel, implication, or otherwise. Please contact us by E-MAIL [hyperlink] if you have any questions about obtaining such licenses. ACR does not sell, license, lease or otherwise provide any of the Materials other than those specifically identified as being provided by ACR. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved by ACR.

3. Limited Permission to Use Materials . ACR hereby grants you permission to use, view, copy and print the Materials on any single, stand-alone computer solely for your personal, informational, non-commercial use and provided that (i) the copyright and trademark notices appearing below appear in the Materials, (ii) the Materials are not used on any other Web site or in a networked computer environment and (iii) the Materials are not modified in any way. This permission terminates automatically without notice if you breach any of these terms or conditions. Upon termination, you will immediately destroy any downloaded or printed Materials. Any unauthorized use of any Materials contained on this Site may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity and communications regulations and statutes.

4. Links to Third Party Sites . This Site may contain links to Web sites controlled by parties other than ACR (the “Third Party Sites”). ACR is not responsible for and does not endorse or accept any responsibility for the availability, the contents or use of the Third Party Sites or any Web site accessed from a Third Party Site, or any changes or updates to such sites. ACR is not responsible for webcasting or any other form of transmission received from any Third Party Site. ACR is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by ACR of the Third Party Site. You acknowledge that you bear all risks associated with access to and use of content provided on Third Party Sites and agree that ACR is not responsible for any loss or damage of any sort you may incur from dealing with a third party. You should contact the site administrator for the applicable Third Party Site if you have any concerns regarding such links or the content located on a Third Party Site.

5. Use of the ACR Forum. The ACR Forum (the “Forum”) is a collaborative community where ACR members can share and disseminate information related to consumer research. Access to and use of the Forum is subject to this paragraph 5, in addition to the other terms and conditions listed. [you can name this whatever you want – we can amend it later!]

Rights and Responsibilities of ACR:

ACR is not the publisher or author of any works posted on the Forum. It is a passive service for storage and dissemination of the works that ACR members may choose to post and distribute via the Forum. ACR does not screen works before they are posted, and no prior approval is required for posting. ACR disclaims all copyright and ownership in such works and all responsibility for them.

Although it cannot make an absolute guarantee of system security, ACR takes reasonable steps to maintain security. If you have reason to believe system security has been breached, contact us by E-MAIL [insert hyperlink] for help.

If the ACR technical staff finds that files or processes belonging to a member pose a threat to the proper technical operation of the system or to the security of other members, ACR reserves the right to delete those files or to stop those processes. If the ACR technical staff suspects an account is being used by someone who is not authorized by the account holder, ACR may temporarily disable that account in order to preserve system security. In all such cases, ACR will contact the member as soon as feasible.

ACR has the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to (i) edit, redact, or otherwise change the content of any works posted on the Forum, (ii) re-categorize any post to place it in a more appropriate category, or (iii) delete any post that is determined to be inappropriate, including but not limited to works that use offensive language and works that are advertisements.

ACR reserves the right to refuse service to anyone and to cancel an account at any time.

Rights and Responsibilities of ACR Members or Other Posters to the Forum:

You are legally and ethically responsible for any works - writings, files, pictures, or any other work - that you post or transmit on the Forum (or any other ACR service that allows interaction or dissemination of information). In posting works on the Forum, you are responsible for honoring the rights of others, including intellectual-property rights (copyright, patent, and trademark), the right to privacy, the right not to be libeled or slandered. For example, if you wish to post a copyrighted work on the Forum, you are responsible for obtaining the copyright holder’s permission first.

Under United States Federal law, you retain copyright on all works you create and post to the Forum, unless you choose specifically to renounce it. In posting a work on the Forum, you authorize other members who have access to that service to make personal and customary use of the work, including creating links or reposting, but not otherwise to reproduce or disseminate it unless you give permission for such dissemination. You also give permission to ACR to copy your works as part of the normal backup process. You have the right to request that ACR remove any of your works from the Forum at any time.

The use of your ACR membership or posting on the Forum for any illegal activity under the laws of California and the United States is a violation of these Terms of Use. Since the law as to jurisdiction of online systems is unsettled, we urge you to consider the possible effect of laws outside ACR locality or your own residence. ACR is open to members worldwide (and works published on the World Wide Web, Usenet, or other such services are accessible to anyone on the Internet), and ACR cannot guarantee that you won’t run into legal trouble from other jurisdictions over your works.

Your Rights and Responsibilities as an ACR Member and Reader of Postings on the Forum:

You are required to provide your real name when signing up as a member of ACR. ACR does not permit anonymous or pseudonymous accounts. However, any member may request that such member’s e-mail address be hidden to provide for additional privacy.

If you have a complaint about the behavior or posts of another member, it is your responsibility to attempt to resolve the conflict, typically by contacting that person directly. ACR staff will not take a role in mediating conflicts between you and other members. ACR does not take responsibility for your behavior or that of other members. Notwithstanding the foregoing, should such a complaint or conflict arise, the member or members may request that an ACR moderator intervene and attempt to resolve any dispute. Any such request is not a guarantee that a moderator will (i) intervene, (ii) intervene in a timely manner, (iii) resolve the dispute in favor of one party or the other, or (iv) successfully resolve the situation. The decision to intervene rests with ACR, in its sole and absolute discretion.

Your access to the works that members have posted on the Forum is for your personal use only. If you want to redistribute works you find on the Forum, it is your responsibility to obtain permission from the poster (and any other person with rights in such work).

You agree to help protect your account and the security of other members by guarding your password. If you have reason to believe your password has been compromised or there has been any unauthorized use of your account, contact ACR via E-MAIL as soon as possible.

6. User Content . You grant ACR a license to use the materials you post to the Site or Service. By posting, downloading, displaying, performing, transmitting, or otherwise distributing information or other content (“User Content”) to the Site or Service, you are granting ACR, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, consultants, agents, and representatives a license to use User Content in connection with the operation of the Internet presence of ACR, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, consultants, agents, and representatives, including without limitation, a right to copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, translate, and reformat User Content. You will not be compensated for any User Content. You agree that ACR may publish or otherwise disclose your name in connection with your User Content. By posting User Content on the Site or Service, you warrant and represent that you own the rights to the User Content or are otherwise authorized to post, distribute, display, perform, transmit, or otherwise distribute User Content

7. Compliance with Intellectual Property Laws . When accessing the Site or using the Service, you agree to obey the law and to respect the intellectual property rights of others. Your use of the Service and the Site is at all times governed by and subject to laws regarding copyright ownership and use of intellectual property. You agree not to upload, download, display, perform, transmit, or otherwise distribute any information or content (collectively, “Content”) in violation of any third party’s copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property or proprietary rights. You agree to abide by laws regarding copyright ownership and use of intellectual property, and you shall be solely responsible for any violations of any relevant laws and for any infringements of third party rights caused by any Content you provide or transmit, or that is provided or transmitted using your User ID. The burden of proving that any Content does not violate any laws or third party rights rests solely with you.

8. Inappropriate Content . You agree not to upload, download, display, perform, transmit, or otherwise distribute any Content that (a) is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive, or threatening; (b) advocates or encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national, or foreign law or regulation; or (c) advertises or otherwise solicits funds or is a solicitation for goods or services. ACR reserves the right to terminate your receipt, transmission, or other distribution of any such material using the Service, and, if applicable, to delete any such material from its servers. ACR intends to cooperate fully with any law enforcement officials or agencies in the investigation of any violation of these Terms of Use or of any applicable laws.

9. Copyright Infringement . ACR has in place certain legally mandated procedures regarding allegations of copyright infringement occurring on the Site or with the Service. ACR has adopted a policy that provides for the immediate suspension and/or termination of any Site or Service user who is found to have infringed on the rights of ACR or of a third party, or otherwise violated any intellectual property laws or regulations. ACR’s policy is to investigate any allegations of copyright infringement brought to its attention. If you have evidence, know, or have a good faith belief that your rights or the rights of a third party have been violated and you want ACR to delete, edit, or disable the material in question, you must provide ACR with all of the following information: (a) a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; (b) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works; (c) identification of the material that is claimed to be infringed or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit ACR to locate the material; (d) information reasonably sufficient to permit ACR to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and if available, an electronic mail address at which you may be contacted; (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 owner, its agent, or the law; and (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. For this notification to be effective, you must provide it to ACR’s designated agent at:

[Insert appropriate contact information here]

10. Alleged Violations . ACR reserves the right to terminate your use of the Service and/or the Site. To ensure that ACR provides a high quality experience for you and for other users of the Site and the Service, you agree that ACR or its representatives may access your account and records on a case-by-case basis to investigate complaints or allegations of abuse, infringement of third party rights, or other unauthorized uses of the Site or the Service. ACR does not intend to disclose the existence or occurrence of such an investigation unless required by law, but ACR reserves the right to terminate your account or your access to the Site immediately, with or without notice to you, and without liability to you, if ACR believes that you have violated any of the Terms of Use, furnished ACR with false or misleading information, or interfered with use of the Site or the Service by others.

11. NO WARRANTY . THE SITE AND ALL MATERIALS PROVIDED ON THE SITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. YOU ASSUME THE RISK OF ANY AND ALL DAMAGE OR LOSS FROM USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SITE OR THE SERVICE. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ACR EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

ACR MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT: (A) THE SITE OR THE MATERIALS WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; (B) THE SITE OR THE MATERIALS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON AN UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE BASIS; (C) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SITE, OR ANY MATERIALS OFFERED THROUGH THE SITE, WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE; OR (D) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE SITE OR IN RELIANCE ON THE MATERIALS WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

ANY MATERIALS OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SITE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK. ACR SHALL HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY CONTENT, MATERIALS, INFORMATION OR SOFTWARE.

12. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY . ACR’S LIABILITY TO YOU IS LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. IN NO EVENT SHALL ACR, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGE (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF BUSINESS, REVENUE, PROFITS, USE, DATA OR OTHER ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE), HOWEVER IT ARISES, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, OR ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS SITE OR MATERIALS AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE, EVEN IF ACR HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. IF YOUR USE OF MATERIALS FROM THIS SITE RESULTS IN THE NEED FOR SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION OF EQUIPMENT OR DATA, YOU ASSUME ANY COSTS THEREOF. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

13. Prohibited Uses . ACR imposes certain restrictions on your permissible use of the Site and the Service. You are prohibited from violating or attempting to violate any security features of the Site or Service, including, without limitation, (a) accessing content or data not intended for you, or logging onto a server or account that you are not authorized to access; (b) attempting to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Service, the Site, or any associated system or network, or to breach security or authentication measures without proper authorization; (c) interfering or attempting to interfere with service to any user, host, or network, including, without limitation, by means of submitting a virus to the Site or Service, overloading, “flooding,” “spamming,” “mail bombing,” or “crashing;” (d) using the Site or Service to send unsolicited e-mail, including, without limitation, promotions, or advertisements for products or services; (e) forging any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any e-mail or in any posting using the Service; or (f) attempting to modify, reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise reduce or attempt to reduce to a human-perceivable form any of the source code used by ACR in providing the Site or Service. Any violation of system or network security may subject you to civil and/or criminal liability.

14. Indemnification . You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless ACR, its officers, directors, shareholders, employees and agents from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses or expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of the Site and the Materials.

15. Unsolicited Submissions . Except as set forth in paragraph 5 above, ACR does not want you to submit confidential or proprietary information to it through this Site, without first contacting ACR. All comments, feedback, information or material submitted to ACR through or in associate with this Site shall be considered non-confidential and ACR’s property, unless otherwise set forth herein or agreed to by ACR in writing. By providing any unsolicited submissions to ACR you hereby assign to ACR, at no charge, all worldwide right, title and interest in and to the submissions and any intellectual property rights associated therewith. ACR shall be free to use and/or disseminate such submissions on an unrestricted basis for any purpose. You acknowledge that you are responsible for the submissions that you provide, including their legality, reliability, appropriateness, originality and content.

16. Compliance with Laws . You may not access, download, use or export the Site or Materials in violation of United States Federal or state laws or regulations, or in violation of any other applicable laws or regulations. Any such violation is expressly against these terms of use and you must cease from using this Site immediately.

17. Children . Minors are not eligible to use the Site, and we ask that they do not submit any personal information to us.

18. Governing Law; Venue . By using this Site, you expressly agree that your rights and obligations shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of California , excluding its choice of law rules. Any legal action or proceeding relating to your access to or sue of the Site or Materials shall be instituted in a state or federal court in California , and in the County of Los Angeles . You and ACR agree to submit to the jurisdiction of, and agree that venue is proper in, these courts in any such legal action or proceeding. These terms of use expressly exclude and disclaim the terms of the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, which shall not apply to any transaction conducted through or otherwise involving this Site.

19. Severability; Waiver . If, for whatever reason, a court of competent jurisdiction finds any term or condition in these Terms of Use to be unenforceable, all other terms and conditions will remain unaffected and in full force and effect. No waiver of any breach of any provision of these Terms of Use shall constitute a waiver of any prior, concurrent, or subsequent breach of the same or any other provisions hereof, and no waiver shall be effective unless made in writing and signed by an authorized representative of the waiving party.

20. Copyrights . All Site design, text, graphics, the selection and arrangement thereof, Copyright © 2000-2004, Association for Consumer Research. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

21. Trademarks . The name “Association for Consumer Research,” the ACR logo, all images and text, and all page headers, custom graphics and button icons on the Site are service marks, trademarks, and/or trade dress of ACR. All other trademarks, product names and company names or logos cited herein are the property of their respective owners.

22. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . BY USING THE SERVICE OR ACCESSING THE SITE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THESE TERMS OF USE AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE