Terms & Conditions

Effective date: 03/22/2009

1. Acceptance of Terms and Conditions:

1.1  By using and/or visiting this website (collectively, including all content available through the chapterTWIST.com domain name or subdomains thereof, the “chapterTWIST Website”, or “Website”), you signify your agreement to (1) these terms and conditions (the “Terms of Service”) and (2) Website’s privacy notice, found at http://www.chaptertwist.com/privacy-policy and incorporated here by reference. If you do not agree to any of these terms please do not use Website.

1.2  Although we may attempt to notify you when major changes are made to these Terms of Service, you should periodically review the most up-to-date version. Website may, in its sole discretion, modify or revise these Terms of Service and policies at any time, and you agree to be bound by such modifications or revisions. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to confer any third-party rights or benefits.

2. Website:

2.1  These Terms of Service apply to all users of Website, including users who are also contributors of text content, information, and other materials or services on the Website.

2.2  You agree not to distribute in any medium any part of Website, including but not limited to User Submissions (defined below), without Website’s prior written authorization.

2.3  You agree not to alter or modify any part of Website.

2.4  You agree not to access Website content through any technology or means other than the Website itself.

2.5  You agree not to use Website for any commercial use, without the prior written authorization of chapterTWIST.com.

2.6  You agree not to use or launch any automated system, including without limitation, “robots,” “spiders,” or “offline readers,” that accesses Website in a manner that sends more request messages to Website servers in a given period of time than a human can reasonably produce in the same period by using a conventional on-line web browser. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Website grants the operators of public search engines permission to use spiders to copy materials from the site for the sole purpose of and solely to the extent necessary for creating publicly available searchable indices of the materials, but not caches or archives of such materials. Website reserves the right to revoke these exceptions either generally or in specific cases. You agree not to collect or harvest any personally identifiable information from Website, nor to use the communication systems provided by Website (e.g. comments, email) for any commercial solicitation purposes. You agree not to solicit, for commercial purposes, any users of Website with respect to their User Submissions.

2.7  You understand that when using Website, you will be exposed to User Submissions from a variety of sources, and that Website is not responsible for the accuracy, usefulness, safety, or intellectual property rights of or relating to such User Submissions. You further understand and acknowledge that you may be exposed to User Submissions that are inaccurate, offensive, indecent, or objectionable, and you agree to waive, and hereby do waive, any legal or equitable rights or remedies you have or may have against Website with respect thereto, and agree to indemnify and hold Website, its Owners/Operators, affiliates, and/or licensors, harmless to the fullest extent allowed by law regarding all matters related to your use of the site.

3. User Submissions:

3.1  By voluntarily submitting information, communications, or content (including photos, videos, personal stories, anecdotes and jokes) collectively referred to as “User Submissions” to Website, you agree that such submissions are non-confidential for all purposes.

3.2  You further agree that such submissions become the property of chapterTWIST and that all title and interest therein, including all rights of copyright, shall vest with chapterTWIST at the time they are posted. Such submissions are subject to being used, reproduced, modified, published, edited, translated, distributed, performed and displayed in any media or medium, or any form, format or forum now known or hereafter developed, for any purpose, in perpetuity without further notice.

3.3  You understand that Website reserves the right to edit, change, or remove any submissions deemed offensive or inappropriate.

3.4  Users that reserve chapters using the “Author Style” understand that submissions must be received within 10 business days, failure to comply grants chapterTWIST the right to reassign user to another chapter or cancel user’s reservation without compensation.

4. Liquidated Damages for “SPAM”:

4.1  If you send unsolicited commercial email or advertising, bulk email, spam, or chain letters (collectively, “unsolicited email or other communication”) through the service, you acknowledge that you will have caused substantial harm to Website, but that the amount of the harm would be extremely difficult to ascertain. As a reasonable estimation of such harm, you will pay Website $25.00 USD for each such unsolicited email or other communication.

5. Copyright Policy:

5.1  You agree that you will not upload or transmit any communications or content of any type that infringe or violate any rights of any party. It is our policy not to permit materials known by chapterTWIST to be infringing to remain on the Site.

5.2  You should notify chapterTWIST promptly if you believe any materials on the Site, including advertisements, or materials available on or through links, frames, indexes and directories linked to this Site, infringe a third party copyright.

5.3  Upon our receipt of a proper notice of claimed infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “DMCA”), Website will respond expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material claimed to be infringing and will follow the procedures specified in the DMCA to resolve the claim between the notifying party and the alleged infringer who provided the content at issue.

5.4  Provide notice of claimed copyright infringement via email using Subject: Claimed Infringement to the following address:
Copyright Department

6. Advertisements and Third Parties:

6.1  Website contains advertisements, offers, or other links to websites of third parties that we do not control. Advertisements and other information provided by third parties may not be wholly accurate. Website is not responsible or liable for (1) the availability or accuracy of such sites or advertisements; or (2) the content, products or services available from such sites. The inclusion of any link on Website does not imply that we endorse linked site. Use links at your own risk.

6.2  Your transactions and other dealings with third party merchants or advertisers that are found on or through Website, including “click to purchase,” “co-registration,” and other similar programs, including payment and delivery of related goods or services, are solely between you and such merchant or advertiser.

7. Indemnity:

7.1  You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless chapterTWIST, its affiliates, licensors and suppliers, and the directors, officers, employees, agents, licensees, representatives and independent contractors of the foregoing from and against any claims, actions or demands, liabilities and settlements including without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, resulting from, or alleged to result from, your violation of these Terms of Use, your submissions to Website, your violation of any rights of another, or your use of any content on or accessible through Website.

8. Jurisdiction:

8.1  Website is based in Summerville, South Carolina, in the United States of America. Website makes no claim that the content is appropriate or may be downloaded outside of the United States. Access to and contact or input to the content may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access Website from outside the United States, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for compliance with the laws of your jurisdiction.

8.2  You expressly agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute with Website, or in any way relating to your use of the Site, resides in the courts of the State of South Carolina and you further agree and expressly consent to the exercise of personal jurisdiction in the courts of the State of South Carolina in connection with any such dispute, including any claim involving Website and/or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, contractors, officers, directors, telecommunication providers and content providers.

8.3  These Terms of Service, Website, and the use of information (including personally identifiable information) provided or accessible through Website, are governed by the internal substantive laws of the State of South Carolina, without respect to its conflict of laws principles.

9. Limitations on Actions:

9.1  Any action concerning any dispute with respect to Website must be commenced within one year after the cause of the dispute arises, or the cause of action is barred.

10. Severance:

10.1  If any part of the Terms of Service is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, the invalid or unenforceable part will be given effect to the greatest extent possible and the remainder will remain in full effect, provided that the allocation of risks described in these Terms of Service is given effect to the fullest extent possible.

11. Interpretation:

11.1  The paragraph headings in these Terms of Service are included to help make these Terms of Service easier to read and have no binding effect. As used in these Terms of Service, the words “include” and “including” are meant to be illustrative and not exhaustive.

12. No Agency; No Third Party Beneficiary:

12.1  These Terms  of Service do not create any agency, partnership, joint venture, employee-employer or franchisor-franchisee relationship. Except for the Indemnified Persons, there are no third party beneficiaries of these Terms.

13. Assignment:

13.1  These Terms of Service are personal to you and you may not transfer, assign or delegate them to anyone without the express written permission of chapterTWIST. Any attempt by you to assign, transfer or delegate these Terms of Service without the express written permission of chapterTWIST will be null and void. chapterTWIST has the right to transfer, assign and delegate these Terms of Service to one or more third parties without your permission.

14. Entire Agreement:

14.1  These Terms of Service (including terms incorporated into them) and any policies and guidelines posted to Website by chapterTWIST comprise the entire agreement (the “Entire Agreement”) between you and chapterTWIST with respect to the use of Website and supersede all contemporaneous and prior agreements between the parties regarding the subject matter contained herein, and neither party has relied on any representations made by the other that are not expressly set forth in the Entire Agreement.

We suggest that you print out a copy of these Terms for your records.