The following Terms of Use govern all use of the seaotters.com website and all content, services and products available at or through the website, mobile sites and applications (collectively, the “Service”). The Service is owned and operated by Wharton Media (“Company” or “we”). By using the Service you are agreeing to be bound by these Terms of Use.
Please read these Terms of Use carefully before registering or using the Service. If you do not accept these Terms of Use, then you may not use the Service. These Terms of Use are subject to change by Company at any time, effective when posted on the Service. Your continued use after such notice will constitute acceptance by you of such changes.
Use of the Service
You may use this Service solely for personal and non-commercial purposes only and subject to these Terms of Use, all applicable laws, rules and regulations and any agreements or terms with third parties to which you are subject. The Service is for entertainment purposes. You must be 13 years old or older to access the Service.
Trademarks
Wharton Media, the Wharton Media logo, seaotters.com, the seaotters.com logo, Powered by Cuteness™, Wild for Otters™, California I Love You Furever™, California Furever™ and CA Furever™ are trademarks of Wharton Media. All other logos and trademarks appearing on the Service are the property of their respective owners.
CA Furever™ Artwork Copyright Notice
CA Furever™ artwork (sea otter mom and pup hugging California) Copyright © Drew Wharton. All rights reserved.
We Have All Rights in the Service and Content
The Service (including, but not limited to all text, photographs, graphics, video and audio content contained on the Service) is protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries, and Company (subject to the rights of our licensors and licensees under applicable agreements, understandings and arrangements) has all rights therein. All individual articles, blogs, videos, content and other elements comprising the Service are also copyrighted works, and Company (subject to the rights of our licensors and licensees under applicable agreements, understandings and arrangements) has all rights therein. You must abide by all additional copyright notices or restrictions contained on the Service. Unless expressly permitted by Company and, if applicable any additional copyright owner, you may not copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, enter into a database, display, perform, modify, create derivative works from, transmit or in any way exploit any part of the Service or any content therein, in whole or in part. However, you may download material from the Service (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal, noncommercial use only. In the event of any permitted copying, redistribution or publication of copyrighted material, no changes in or deletion of author attribution, trademark legend or copyright notice shall be made. You acknowledge that you do not acquire any ownership rights by downloading copyrighted material. All rights not granted under these Terms of Use are reserved by Company.
By submitting Content on or to the Service (regardless of the form or medium with respect to such Content, whether text, videos, photographs, audio or otherwise), you automatically grant Company the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, store, publish, reproduce, sell, modify, adapt, edit, translate, create derivative works from, incorporate into other works, distribute, sub-license and otherwise exploit such Content (in whole or in part) worldwide in any form, media or technology now known or hereafter developed without payment or compensation to you and without seeking any further approval from you as part of the Service or in support of the Service through advertising and marketing. You acknowledge that nothing contained within your Content would require us to seek permission of a third party in order to use the Content as described in these Terms of Use. You also agree to waive any moral rights, or right to any residual payment associated with Content if such Content is published, sold, distributed, or otherwise commercially exploited.
You shall be solely responsible for your own submissions and the consequences of posting or publishing them. In connection with each of your submissions, you affirm, represent, and/or warrant that: (I) you own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to use and authorize us to use all patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights in and to any and all such submissions to enable inclusion and use of such submissions in the manner contemplated by us and these Terms of Use; and (II) you have the written consent, release, and/or permission of each and every identifiable individual person in such submissions to use the name or likeness of each and every such identifiable individual person to enable inclusion and use of such submissions in the manner contemplated by us and these Terms of Use. In furtherance of the foregoing, you agree that you will not: (I) submit material that is copyrighted, protected by trade secret or otherwise subject to third party proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless you are the owner of such rights or have permission from their rightful owner to post the material and to grant us all of the rights granted herein; (II) publish falsehoods or misrepresentations that could damage Company or any third party; (III) submit material that is unlawful, obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, pornographic, harassing, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, violate any law, or is otherwise inappropriate; or (IV) distribute or otherwise publish any material containing any solicitation of funds, advertising or solicitation for goods or services. Company reserves the right to remove or not publish submissions without prior notice.
If it is determined that you retain moral rights (including rights of attribution or integrity) in the Content, you hereby declare that (a) you do not require that any personally identifying information be used in connection with the Content, or any derivative works of or upgrades or updates thereto; (b) you have no objection to the publication, use, modification, deletion and exploitation of the Content by Company or its licensees, successors and assigns; (c) you forever waive and agree not to claim or assert any entitlement to any and all moral rights of an author in any of the Content; and (d) you forever release Company, and its licensees, successors and assigns, from any claims that you could otherwise assert against Company by virtue of any such moral rights. You also permit any other user to access, view, store or reproduce the Content for that user’s personal use.
We May Discontinue or Suspend the Service
Company reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice. You agree that Company shall not be liable to you or any third party for any such modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Service.
Termination of Access
In addition to any right or remedy that may be available to us under these Terms of Use or applicable law, we may suspend, limit or terminate your account, or all or a portion of your access to the Service, at any time with or without notice and with or without cause, and to take any other actions that Company, in its sole discretion, believes to be in the interest of Company and of our users as a whole. In addition, Company may refer any information on illegal activities, including your identity, to the proper authorities.
We May be Legally Compelled to Disclose Certain Information
You agree that in the event Company receives a subpoena issued by a court or from a law enforcement or government agency, Company shall comply with such subpoenas without your consent or prior notice to you and may disclose your IP address, username, name, IP location or other information in response thereto.
Privacy
The privacy of your personally identifiable information is very important to us. For more information on what information we collect and how we use such information, please read our privacy policy.
Acceptable Use Policy
Company expects all of its users to be respectful of other people. If you notice any violation of this Acceptable Use Policy or other unacceptable behavior by any user, you should report such activity to Company at support (at) seaotters.com.
You are solely responsible for the Content that you post on the Service or transmit to other users and agree that you will not hold Company responsible or liable for any Content from other users that you access on the Service.
Categories of prohibited Content below are merely examples and are not intended to be exhaustive. Company will make the sole determination as to whether or not Content is acceptable for the Service. Without limitation, you agree that you will not post or transmit to other users anything that contains Content that:
- is defamatory, abusive, obscene, profane or offensive;
- infringes or violates another party’s intellectual property rights (such as music, videos, photos or other materials for which you do not have written authority from the owner of such materials to post on the Service);
- violates any party’s right of publicity or right of privacy;
- is threatening, harassing or that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
- promotes or encourages violence;
- is inaccurate, false or misleading in any way;
- is illegal or promotes any illegal activities;
- contains personal information of any party such as phone numbers, addresses, license plate numbers etc;
- contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; or
- contains any advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation.
Company is under no obligation to screen or monitor Content, but may review Content from time to time at its sole discretion to review compliance with this Terms of Use. Company will make all determinations as to what Content is appropriate in its sole discretion. We may include, edit or remove any Content at any time without notice.
You understand that when using the Service, you will be exposed to Content from a variety of sources, and that Company is not responsible for the accuracy, usefulness, safety, or intellectual property rights of or relating to such Content. You further understand and acknowledge that you may be exposed to Content that is inaccurate, offensive, indecent, or objectionable. If you do so object, you should not use the Service.
You may not use spiders, robots, data mining techniques or other automated devices or programs to catalog, download or otherwise reproduce, store or distribute content available on the Service. Further, you may not use any such automated means to manipulate the Service or attempt to exceed the limited authorization and access granted to you under these Terms of Use. You may not resell use of, or access to, the Service to any third party.
The Opinions Expressed by Our Content Contributors
Opinions and other statements expressed by users and third parties (e.g., bloggers) are theirs alone, not opinions of Company. Content created by third parties is the sole responsibility of the third parties and its accuracy and completeness are not endorsed or guaranteed. You acknowledge that by providing you with the ability to view and distribute content through the Service, Company is not undertaking any obligation or liability relating to the content. Company and its affiliates, successors, assigns, employees, agents, directors, officers and shareholders do not undertake or assume any duty to monitor the Service for inappropriate or unlawful content. Company and its affiliates, successors, assigns, employees, agents, directors, officers and shareholders assume no responsibility or liability which may arise from the content thereof, including, but not limited to, claims for defamation, libel, slander, infringement, invasion of privacy and publicity rights, obscenity, pornography, profanity, fraud, or misrepresentation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Company reserves the right to block or remove communications, postings or materials at any time in our sole discretion.
Registration
You may use the Service without registration, but in order to take advantage of some aspects of the Service, you will need to register for an account. Your account is for your sole, personal use, you may not authorize others to use your account, and you may not assign or otherwise transfer your account to any other person or entity. You are responsible for the security of your password and will be solely liable for any use or unauthorized use under such password.
Voting
From time to time certain aspects of the Service may involve voting through a variety of mechanisms potentially including web-based and/or mobile voting. Company reserves the right to adjust the outcome of any voting associated with the Service if it believes, in its sole discretion, that any mechanism of fraud, abuse, or automated voting has influenced the result. Furthermore, Company will consider the outcome of voting in association with the Service, but may use other factors in addition to voting to determine various aspects of the Service associated with voting.
We are Not Responsible for Linked Sites
Company is not responsible for the availability or content of other services that may be linked to the Service. Because Company has no control over such services, you acknowledge and agree that Company is not responsible for the availability of such external services, and that Company does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, accuracy, quality, advertising, products or other materials on or available from such services. You further acknowledge and agree that Company shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services available on or through such services.
Official Rules for Promotions/Sweepstakes/Giveaways (the “Sweepstakes”)
The Sweepstakes is open to lawful U.S. residents of the Continental United States, and Alaska and Hawaii (Guam, Puerto Rico, Foreign U.S. Military installations, and U.S. territories, excluded), and if applicable, who have liked our Facebook page and/or followed us on Twitter. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A purchase will not increase your chance of winning. The official time and date of the start and end of the Sweepstakes (the “Sweepstakes Period”) will be announced prior to the Sweepstakes Period, as well as instructions on how to enter, and any additional information specific to the Sweepstakes. All entrants must be at least 18 years of age or older as of the official time and date of the start of the Sweepstakes Period. Winner must respond (as directed) within 48 hours of attempted notification. Winner’s failure to respond timely to the notification may result in forfeiture of the prize and, in such case, Company may randomly select an alternate entrant from among the remaining eligible entries. The odds of winning depend on the total number of eligible entries received and the number of days the entries are accepted. All decisions of Company are final and binding; and all entrants and winners agree to waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Sweepstakes or Official Rules of Sweepstakes, except where prohibited by law.
Under no circumstances will Company be liable for punitive, incidental, consequential, or any other damages. All entrants and winners, as a condition of entry into the Sweepstakes, agree at all times to defend, indemnify, release and hold harmless Company and its respective affiliates, subsidiaries, partners, promotional partners, directors, owners, officers and agents, from and against any and all claims, actions, liabilities, injuries, death, accidents, losses or damages of any kind resulting directly or indirectly from any and all activity related to the receipt, ownership or use of any prize awarded, and entering and/or participating in the Sweepstakes. The winner shall bear all risk of loss or damage to their prize after it has been delivered. Company makes no representations or warranties of any kind concerning the appearance, safety or performance of any prize. Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of selected entrant.
The Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
Your Use of The Website is Subject to Certain Disclaimers
THE SERVICE IS AVAILABLE “AS IS.” WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. THERE MAY BE DELAYS, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS AND INACCURACIES IN THE NEWS, INFORMATION OR OTHER MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICE. WE DO NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY INFORMATION OR GOODS THAT ARE AVAILABLE OR ADVERTISED OR SOLD THROUGH THE SERVICE. WE DO NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS, NOR DO WE ENDORSE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS OR RELIABILITY OF ANY ADVICE, OPINION, STATEMENT OR OTHER MATERIAL OR DATABASE DISPLAYED, UPLOADED OR DISTRIBUTED ON THE SERVICE OR AVAILABLE THROUGH LINKS ON THE SERVICE. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CORRECT ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS ON THE SERVICE. ALTHOUGH WE INTEND TO TAKE REASONABLE STEPS TO PREVENT THE INTRODUCTION OF VIRUSES, WORMS, “TROJAN HORSES” OR OTHER DESTRUCTIVE MATERIALS TO THE SERVICE, WE DO NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE OR MATERIALS THAT MAY BE DOWNLOADED FROM THE SERVICE DO NOT CONTAIN SUCH DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR HARM ATTRIBUTABLE TO SUCH FEATURES. IF YOU RELY ON THE SERVICE AND ANY MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICE, YOU DO SO SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
THE SERVICE MAY CONTAIN VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTIONS, OPINIONS, STATEMENTS, FACTS, ARTICLES, OR OTHER INFORMATION CREATED BY US OR BY THIRD-PARTIES. DUE TO THE NUMBER OF SOURCES FROM WHICH CONTENT ON THE SERVICE IS OBTAINED, AND THE INHERENT HAZARDS OF ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTION, THERE MAY BE DELAYS, OMISSIONS OR INACCURACIES IN SUCH CONTENT. ACCORDINGLY, SUCH CONTENT IS FOR YOUR REFERENCE ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON BY YOU FOR ANY PURPOSE. INFORMATION CREATED BY THIRD PARTIES THAT YOU MAY ACCESS ON THE SERVICE OR THROUGH LINKS IS NOT ADOPTED OR ENDORSED BY US AND REMAINS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SUCH THIRD PARTIES.
Our Liability to You is Limited
Company and its affiliates, and their respective members, directors, officers, managers, employees, shareholders, agents and licensors are not liable for incidental, indirect, consequential, special, punitive, or exemplary damages of any kind, including, without limitation, lost revenues or profits, loss of business or loss of data, in any way related to the Service or for any claim, loss or injury based on errors, omissions, interruptions or other inaccuracies in the Service (including, without limitation, as a result of breach of any warranty or other term of these Terms of Use). If any part of these warranty disclaimers or limitations of liability is found to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason or if we are otherwise found to be liable to you in any manner, then our aggregate liability for all claims under such circumstances for liabilities shall be limited to the amount you paid, if any, for use of the Service.
Indemnity
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Company, its officers, directors, employees, business partners and agents, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees) arising from: (i) any breach by you of any of these Terms and Conditions, (ii) your Content, (iii) your use of materials or features available on the Service (except to the extent a claim is based upon infringement of a third party right by materials created by Company) or (iv) a violation by you of applicable law or any agreement or terms with a third party to which you are subject. You shall cooperate as fully as reasonably required in the defense of any such claim.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) Notice
Materials may be made available via the Service by third parties not within our control. We are under no obligation to, and do not, scan content used in connection with the Service for the inclusion of illegal or impermissible content. However, we respect the copyright interests of others. It is our policy not to permit materials known by us to infringe another party’s copyright to remain on the Service.
If you believe any materials on the Service infringe a copyright, you should provide us with written notice that at a minimum contains:
- A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
- 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;
- Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing 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 us to locate the material;
- Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
- A statement that the complaining party has 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
- statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
All DMCA notices should be sent to support (at) seaotters.com. Include “DMCA” in the subject line of your email.
It is our policy to terminate relationships regarding content with third parties who repeatedly infringe the copyrights of others.
Severability
If any part of these Terms of Use shall be held or declared to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason by any court of competent jurisdiction, such provision shall be ineffective but shall not affect any other part of these Terms of Use.
Waiver, Remedies
The failure by us to partially or fully exercise any rights or the waiver of any breach of these Terms of Use by you, shall not prevent a subsequent exercise of such right by us or be deemed a waiver by us of any subsequent breach by you of the same or any other term of these Terms of Use. Our rights and remedies under these Terms of Use shall be cumulative, and the exercise of any such right or remedy shall not limit our right to exercise any other right or remedy.
Governing Law
The laws of the State of California shall govern these Terms and Conditions. YOU HEREBY EXPRESSLY CONSENT TO EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION AND VENUE IN THE COURTS LOCATED IN MONTEREY COUNTY, CALIFORNIA FOR ALL MATTERS ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THESE Terms of Use OR YOUR ACCESS OR USE OF THE SERVICE.
Any claims asserted by you in connection with the Service must be asserted in writing to Company within one (1) year of the date such claim first arose, or such claim is forever waived by you. Each claim shall be adjudicated individually, and you agree not to combine your claim with the claim of any third party.
All rights not expressly granted herein are hereby reserved.
Section Headings
The section headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not be given any legal import.
How to Contact Us
Correspondence should be sent to support (at) seaotters.com.
Effective Date
March 11, 2012