Terms of Service

IAC Publishing, LLC (“IACP”), “we”, “us”, or “our”) provides the Reference.com site (the “Site”) and the offered services and features (the “Services”) subject to these Terms of Service (“Terms of Service”). By using the Site and Services, you are deemed to accept and be bound by these Terms of Service, INCLUDING A MANDATORY ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES CLAUSE AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER CONTAINED IN SECTION 15 BELOW. If you do not accept these Terms of Service, please discontinue using the Site and Services. Your use of the Site or a service included within the Site may also be subject to additional terms that govern particular services, offers, or features, such as community or chat areas or special promotions or contests or sweepstakes (the “Additional Terms”). In the event that any of the provisions in these Terms of Service conflict with Additional Terms provided with any particular service, then these Terms of Service shall control. The Terms of Service applies regardless of the device used to access the Site and/or Services (e.g., personal computer, a mobile device or any other technology or software known today or developed in the future).


Links to the various sections in these Terms of Service are provided below for your convenience.

  1. 1. Modification of These Terms of Service

These Terms of Service may change from time to time, without any notice other than posting on the relevant page. Your continued use of the Site and Services following our posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of any such changes. Please check this page from time to time for current Terms of Service.


  1. 2. Privacy

For all questions about how we use the information we obtain through your use of the Site and Services, please visit our Privacy Policy. By using the Site and Services, you agree to also be bound to the Privacy Policy.


  1. 3. Your License to Access Content on Site

All right, title and interest to the content displayed on the Site, including but not limited to the Site’s look and feel, data, information, text, graphics, images, sound or video materials, photographs, designs, trademarks, service marks, trade names, URLs and content provided by third parties, are the property of IACP, or respective third parties, and are protected by copyright, trademark, patent or other proprietary rights and laws. Any such content may be used solely for your personal, non-commercial use. You agree not to modify, reproduce, retransmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish, broadcast or circulate any such material without the written permission of IACP or the appropriate affiliate. You are not granted any other license or right (including by implication, by estoppel or otherwise), with respect to the Site, Services, or any content accessible through the Site or Services. Any rights not expressly granted in these Terms of Service are reserved by IACP.

In your use of the Site and Services, you agree to comply with all applicable laws including those regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside.


  1. 4. Age Restriction

The Site and Services are not intended for children under 13 years of age, and you may not use the Site or Services or register for additional features or create a user profile, if applicable, if you are under 13. You hereby represent and warrant that you are at least 13 years of age.


  1. 5. Code of Conduct

When using any portion of and/or functionality on or through the Site or Services, you agree to abide by the following Code of Conduct.

  1. a. You may not:
  • Copy, modify, create a derivative work of, reverse engineer, reverse assemble or otherwise attempt to discover any source code of the Site or Services;
  • Remove or obscure the copyright notice or other notices displayed in connection with the content accessible through the Site or Services;
  • Interfere with or disrupt the Site functionalities, Services, or servers and networks connected to Site, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies, or regulations of networks connected directly or indirectly to the Site;
  • Modify the Site or Services in any manner or form , or use modified versions of the Site or Services, including (without limitation) for the purpose of obtaining unauthorized access to the Site or Services;
  • Reproduce, print, cache, store or distribute content retrieved from the Site or Services in any way, for any commercial use without the prior written permission of IACP;
  • Sell, assign, sublicense, or otherwise transfer any right in the Services or content accessible through the Site;
  • Access the Site or Services by any means other than through the interface that is provided by IACP;
  • Violate the restrictions in any robot exclusion headers on the Site or in the Services, if any, or bypass or circumvent other measures employed to prevent or limit access to the Site or Services;
  • Collect or store personal data about other users of the Site or Services;
  • Engage in any activities that would violate the personal privacy rights of others, including but not limited to, collecting and distributing information about Internet users without their permission, except as permitted by applicable law; or
  • Use the Site or Services to violate any law (whether local, state, national, or international), whether or not intentionally.

 

  1. b. No Automated Querying

You may not send automated queries of any sort to the Site, including:

  • using any software which sends queries to determine how a website or webpage “ranks” for various queries;
  • “meta-searching”; and
  • performing “offline” searches on the Site.

 

  1. c. You agree not to use the Site or Services to:
  • Post any content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, hateful, degrades others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual preference, disability or other classification or otherwise objectionable in any way;
  • Harm or threaten to harm anyone in any way;
  • “Stalk” or otherwise harass any other person or entity;
  • Impersonate any person or entity (including an IACP agent, enthusiast, or moderator), or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
  • Post any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, junk mail, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or any other form of solicitation;
  • Disseminate or transmit any content that (i) violates any law (whether local, state, national, or international), (ii) infringes or violates any copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent or any other proprietary right (including, but not limited to, using third party copyrighted materials or trademarks without appropriate permission or attribution), or (iii) includes third party information (whether or not protected as a trade secret) in violation of a duty of confidentiality;
  • Disseminate or transmit any worms, viruses or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files, code, programs or other similar technologies; or post any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files, programs or other similar technologies designed to interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
  • Manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any question, answer or comment you post on the Site;
  • Engaging in "screen scraping," "database scraping,";
  • Post any content that would violate the personal privacy rights of others, including but not limited to revealing personal or private information about others without their permission; or
  • Facilitate violations of these Terms of Service or the Privacy Policy.

IACP reserves the right to take any action it deems appropriate if it determines, in its sole and absolute discretion, that you have engaged in any of these practices or otherwise violated these Terms of Service. Such action may include, without limitation, terminating your license to access the Site or use the Services or initiating civil or criminal legal proceedings. Internet transmissions are never completely secure.


  1. 6. Use the Site and Services at Your Own Risk

The Site and Services include links to other websites or resources. Because IACP has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that IACP is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You acknowledge that such external sites usually have their own terms and conditions, including privacy policies, over which IACP has no control and which will govern your rights and obligations with respect to the use of those websites.

To offer use of the Site and Services to its users for free, IACP allows advertisers to display advertisements or promotional answers on the Site. Your dealings with advertisers and third party vendors found on or through the Services and/or on the Site, including your participation in promotions, purchase of goods and services, and any terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such activities, are solely between you and the third party advertiser or vendor. IACP does not make any representations or warranties with respect to any goods, services or websites that appear in advertisements or promotional answers, and you agree that IACP will have no liability for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of any activities you undertake in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods, services, information or other materials available, through advertisers and/or third party vendors. You understand that there is an inherent risk in submitting content to the Site and/or Services, and that any communications may be subject to interception by a third party.

You understand that by using the Services, you may be exposed to content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable. In addition, if you rely on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any linked third party websites or resources or any answer or comment posted by a member, you do so solely at your own risk. Under no circumstances will IACP be liable in any way for such content, including, but not limited to, for any errors, omissions or misrepresentations in any linked third party website, or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred by you as a result of your use of, or reliance on, or any linked third party website.

You acknowledge that IACP is a provider of interactive computing service as set forth in the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230, and expressly reserves its rights to not be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider of the Site or through any additional features.

You acknowledge, consent, and agree that IACP may access, preserve, and disclose your account information and/or any content you submit or make available for inclusion on the Site and/or Services, if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access, preservation, or disclosure is reasonably necessary for any of the following reasons: (1) to comply with legal process; (2) to enforce these Terms of Service; (3) to respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third parties; (4) to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of IACP, its users, and the public; or (5) to respond to your requests for customer service.


  1. 7. Modifications to the Services

IACP reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify, suspend, discontinue or terminate the Services (or any part thereof) with or without notice. You agree that IACP will not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension, discontinuation or termination of the Services.


  1. 8. Termination of Your Access to the Services

You can terminate your account at any time by sending a request through the Settings - Your Account page. You can also delete your profile information at any time by contacting us at [[email protected]]. We may terminate your use of the Site and/or Services or account and deny you access to the any additional services in our sole discretion due to: (i) your violation of these Terms of Service or applicable law; or (ii) if we consider, in our sole discretion, that (a) certain questions, answers or comments you have posted are inappropriate and/or do not meet the our guidelines, (b) your use of the Site or Services does not meet our standards or violates our guidelines or (c) you have otherwise violated these Terms of Service. You agree that any termination of your access to the Services may be effected without prior notice, and acknowledge and agree that IACP may immediately deactivate or delete your account and all related information and/or bar any further access to your account or the Site or Services. If you use the Site or Services in violation of these Terms of Service, IACP may, in its sole discretion, retain all data collected from your use of the Site or Services. Further, you agree that IACP shall not be liable to you or any third party for the discontinuation or termination of your access to the Site or Services.


  1. 9. Disclaimers

BY USING THE SITE AND SERVICES YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:

YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND SERVICES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SITE AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. IACP EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR THE SITE’S PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON- INFRINGEMENT.

  • IACP MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT THE SITE OR SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, CURRENT OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SITE AND SERVICES WILL BE ACCURATE, TIMELY, USEFUL OR RELIABLE.
  • ANY MATERIAL OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH USE OF THE SITE OR SERVICES IS OBTAINED AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO COMPUTER SYSTEMS OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM YOUR DOWNLOAD OR USE OF ANY THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE OR MATERIAL.

 


  1. 10. Limitation of Liability

YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT IACP, ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AND AFFILIATES, AND THEIR OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS, ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, OR ANY OTHER INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, HOWSOEVER CAUSED, AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE AND STRICT LIABILITY), OR OTHERWISE RESULTING FROM:

  • THE USE OF, OR THE INABILITY TO USE, THE SITE OR SERVICES,
  • THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES,
  • UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OF DATA,
  • THE STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SITE,
  • RELIANCE ON CONTENT OR POSTINGS ON THE SITE, OR
  • ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SITE OR SERVICES.

THESE LIMITATIONS WILL APPLY WHETHER OR NOT IACP HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND NOTWITHSTANDING ANY FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY.

BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.


  1. 11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold IACP, its subsidiaries, and affiliates, and their officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any and all liability, losses, claims, demands, disputes, damages or costs of any kind, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of litigation, resulting from or in any way connected with (a) any content you post to the Site or otherwise display or transmit through the Services, (b) your use of or reliance on the Site or Services, (c) your connection to the Site or Services, (d) your violation of these Terms of Service, our guidelines or applicable law, or (e) your violation of any rights of another party.


  1. 12. Copyright and Trademark Protection

We own all right, title and interest in and to the Site, the products and Services offered on the Site as well as our logos, tradenames, and trademarks (“IACP IP”).

The IACP IP is protected under U.S. and international intellectual property laws (including, without limitation, copyright and trademark). Except as otherwise allowed under these TOU, you agree not to copy, display, or use the IACP IP in any manner without IACP's prior written permission. To seek permission to use any of the IACP IP, please contact IACP in writing at the following address:

 

IAC Publishing, LLC
Attention: Legal Department
555 12th Street, Suite 400
Oakland, CA 94607


  1. 13. Notice for Claims of Copyright Infringement

IACP respects the intellectual property rights of others and requires those that visit the Site and use the Services to do the same. IACP may, in appropriate circumstances and at our discretion, remove or disable access to material on the Site or Services that infringes upon the copyright rights of others. IACP also may, at our discretion, remove or disable links or references to an online location that contains infringing material or infringing activity. In the event that any visitors to the Site or users of our Services repeatedly infringe on others’ copyrights, IACP may in its sole discretion terminate those individuals’ rights to use the Site and/or Services pursuant to our Digital Millennium Copyright Act repeat infringer policy.

If you believe that your work has been used on the Site or in connection with its Service in any manner that constitutes copyright infringement, please notify IACP copyright agent by written notice. The notice should include the following information:

  • An electronic or physical signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright allegedly infringed;
  • A description of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed, including a copy of the copyrighted work or the web page address where the copyrighted work may be found;
  • Identification of the location on the Site or Services of the material you claim has been infringed, or the link or reference to another website that contains the material you claim has been infringed;
  • Your name, address, telephone number and email address;
  • A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use of the material at issue is not authorized by the copyright owner, the agent of the copyright owner or the law; and
  • A statement by you that the information in this notification is accurate and a statement, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner of the material allegedly infringed or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

The contact information for IACP copyright agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement on the Site and/or in connection with the Services is:

Mail: Refence.com Copyright Agent at IAC Publishing, LLC

Attn: Legal Department

555 12th Street, Suite 400
Oakland, CA 94607

Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 510-985-7918
Facsimile: 510-985-7410

 


  1. 14. Applicable Law

These Terms of Service and the relationship between you and IACPare governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of law provisions.


  1. 15. Binding Arbitration and Class Action Waiver

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY – IT MAY SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT AND TO HAVE A JURY HEAR YOUR CLAIMS.

ARBITRATION IS DIFFERENT FROM COURT; THE RULES, INCLUDING DISCOVERY ARE DIFFERENT AND NO JUDGE OR JURY IS PRESENT AT AN ARBITRATION. THE AWARD IS FINAL AND BINDING AND SUBJECT ONLY TO LIMITED REVIEW BY A COURT.

  • a. General. Except as otherwise provided in this section 15, by using the Site and Services, you and IACP agree to submit any disputes arising from the use of the Site or Services or any interpretation, violation, non-performance, termination or invalidity of these Terms of Service or this arbitration provision (including questions of its formation and enforceability) to final and binding arbitration under the Commercial Rules of Arbitration of the American Arbitration Association, which can be found here, by one or more arbitrators appointed in accordance with those Rules. Notwithstanding these rules, however, such proceeding shall be governed by the laws of the state of California as set forth in section 14 above. You agree to submit to binding arbitration in either San Francisco, California or your county of residence. IACP will agree to commence arbitration in your county of residence. At your written request, IACP will consider any requests to advance or reimburse any arbitration filing fee, or administrative and hearing fees that you are required to pay to pursue a claim in arbitration. The arbitrator will decide who will ultimately be responsible for paying those fees. In no event will you be required to reimburse IACP for any arbitration filing, administrative, or hearing fees in an amount greater than what your court costs would have been if the claim had been resolved in court. Any award in an arbitration initiated under this clause shall be limited to monetary damages and shall include no injunction or direction to any party other than the direction to pay a monetary amount. Further, the arbitrator(s) shall have no authority to award punitive, consequential or other damages not measured by the prevailing party’s actual damages in any arbitration initiated under this section, except as may be required by statute.
  • b. Class Action Waiver. Any proceedings to resolve any dispute will be conducted solely on an individual basis. Neither you nor IACP will seek to have any dispute heard as a class action, private attorney general action, or in any other proceeding in which either party acts or proposes to act in a representative capacity. No arbitration proceeding may be combined with another without the prior written consent of all parties to the applicable proceeding.
  • c. YOU AND IACP ALSO HEREBY WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL FOR ANY ARBITRAL CLAIM. IF FOR ANY REASON THIS SECTION 15 IS HELD NOT TO APPLY TO AN ARBITRAL CLAIM, WHETHER SUCH ARBITRAL CLAIM IS AGAINST YOU, IACP, OR IACP INDEMNIFIED PARTIES, BOTH YOU AND IACP STILL AGREE TO WAIVE TRIAL BY JURY FOR THAT ARBITRAL CLAIM. BY USING THE SITE AND/OR SERVICES, YOU EXPRESSLY WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL.
  • d. Exception. Notwithstanding the parties’ decision to resolve all disputes through arbitration, this agreement does not preclude claims by IACP to enforce its intellectual property rights and/or remedy unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets, unauthorized access, fraud or computer fraud, and/or industrial espionage. Neither party is precluded from seeking relief in a court located in San Francisco, for provisional remedies, including temporary restraining order, preliminary injunctions, and receiverships, pending arbitration or comprehensive litigation, to the extent authorized in this section 15.


  1. 16. Severability of These Terms of Service

If any provision of these Terms of Service is found by a court or other binding authority to be invalid, the remaining provisions contained in these Terms of Service shall continue in full force and effect.


  1. 17. Limitation of Actions Brought against IACP

You agree that any claim or cause of action arising out of your use of the Site or Services or these Terms of Service must be filed within one year after such claim or cause of action arose or it shall forever be barred, notwithstanding any statute of limitations or other law to the contrary. Within this period, any failure by IACP to enforce or exercise any provision of these Terms of Service or any related right shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.


  1. 18. Third Party Beneficiaries

You agree that, except for IACP and as otherwise expressly provided in these Terms of Service, there shall be no third party beneficiaries to this agreement.


  1. 19. Section Titles

The section titles in this Terms of Service are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.

 

Updated: January 25, 2017