PLEASE SCROLL DOWN AND READ THE TERMS OF USE AND USER LICENSE CAREFULLY BEFORE ACCESSING THIS WEBSITE OR APPLICATION.

1.ACCEPTANCE AND TERMS OF SERVICE

This website is owned and operated by ALM Global, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company with offices at 150 East 42nd Street, Mezzanine Level, New York, New York 10017 (along with any parent, subsidiaries, or divisions, including but not limited to ALM Global Properties, LLC and ALM Global Media Canada, Inc., collectively “ALM”, “us” or “we”). These Terms of Use (this “Agreement” or “Terms”) are an agreement between you (“you”) and ALM and set forth the legally binding terms of your use of this website and other platforms and interactive properties, including but not limited websites and mobile applications (collectively, the “ALM Applications”), and any information, content, materials and/or data provided or given access by ALM to youin either print or digital formats (“Content”), whether or not login-in, registration and/or a subscription fee is required to access the ALM Applications or Content. By accessing or using the ALM Applications or Content, you signify your assent to these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not access or use the ALM Applications or Content.

Registration data and certain other demographic information about you are subject to ALM’s Privacy Policy. For more information, see ALM’s Privacy Policy which is incorporated in full herein by reference.

Updates to Terms. ALM reserves the right, at its discretion, to change, modify, add or remove portions of these Terms at any time. Please check these terms and conditions periodically for changes. Your continued use of the ALM Application following the posting of changes to these Terms will mean you accept those changes.

Electronic Form/Communications. By accessing the ALM Applications, you consent to having this Agreement provided to you in electronic form and receiving communications from us electronically. We may communicate with you by postal mail, e-mail or by posting notices on the ALM Applications. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirements that such communications be in writing.

2.USE OF THE ALM APPLICATIONS AND CONTENT

License. Subject to these Terms and any fees as applicable, ALM grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable right to use the ALM Applications and the Content solely for your personal, noncommercial use (e.g., viewing the Content on screen; printing paper copies for personal use or electronically saving limited portions of Content). All other rights are expressly reserved by ALM.

You agree that you will not, unless specifically permitted by us,

• copy, display or distribute any part of the Content or ALM Applications, in any medium, without ALM’s prior written consent,
• alter or modify any part of the ALM Applications other than as may be reasonably necessary to use the ALM Applications for their intended purpose,
• alter any Content or change or remove any copyright or other proprietary notices; or
• install, post or distribute any part of the Content on any electronic network, including without limitation the Internet and the World Wide Web, or create a database (electronic or otherwise) using any portion of the ALM Applications or Content. Use of the ALM Applications or Content via mechanical, programmatic, robotic, scripted, spider, manual or any other automated means is strictly prohibited. Unless otherwise agreed to by ALM in writing, use of the ALM Applications or Content is permitted only via manually conducted, discrete, individual search and retrieval activities. You may not conduct any kind of systemic retrieval of data or Content from any ALM Application.

Withdrawal. ALM reserves the right at any time to withdraw from the Content any item or part of an item for which it no longer retains the right to publish, chooses to no longer offer for any reason, or which it has reasonable grounds to believe infringes copyright or is defamatory, obscene, unlawful or otherwise objectionable.

Registration and Profile Creation. In order to access certain features of the ALM Applications, you may be required to register and/or create a user profile (an “Account”) by creating a username and password and providing certain profile and contact information. We may require or permit you to use your credentials for a third-party platform (such as LinkedIn) to so register (a “Social Sign-On”). Your Account shall only be used by you and only in connection with the applicable ALM Application and may not be used in connection with other ALM products. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Account and password, and are responsible for all activities that occur under your Account and password. Sharing, selling or transferring your Account or password with or to any other person or making it available to multiple users on a network is strictly prohibited.

You hereby agree to

• provide information about yourself as prompted by the registration form that is true, accurate, current and complete;
• maintain and promptly update your personal information (by sending an appropriately worded e-mail to [email protected]to keep it fully up to date);
• ensure that you exit from your member account at the end of each session; and (iv) notify ALM in writing of any unauthorized use of your Account or password or any other breach of security at [email protected]. You agree not to impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or entity, including using another person’s username, password or other account information or another person’s name, likeness, voice, image or photograph. If you provide (or we have reason to suspect that you have provided) any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, or there is unauthorized use of your Account or we suspect fraudulent or abusive activity, we have the right, among other remedial options, to require you to use and pay for an additional account for the relevant product and/or interrupt, restrict, suspend or terminate your current or future use of or access to the ALM Applications (or any portion thereof), without notice to you. You shall cooperate with us in any fraud investigation and use any reasonable fraud prevention measures we prescribe. Failure to cooperate will result in your liability for all fraudulent usage.

No Interference. You will take no action to interfere with, interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of the ALM Applications or any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment. You may not use the ALM Applications in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair any ALM server, or the network(s) connected to any ALM server, or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of any ALM Applications. You may not attempt to gain unauthorized access to any ALM Applications, other accounts, computer systems or networks connected to any ALM server or to any of the ALM Applications, through hacking, cracking, distribution of counterfeit software, password mining or any other means. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available through the ALM Applications. You may not reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any software accessed through ALM Applications, including any proprietary communications protocol used by ALM.

Security. ALM has implemented commercially reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration or disclosure. However, we cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will never be able to defeat those measures or use your personal information for improper purposes. You acknowledge that you provide your personal information at your own risk.

Modification to Services. ALM has the right to modify the ALM Applications and Content at any time in its sole discretion. Your only right with respect to any dissatisfaction with any modifications made pursuant to this provision, or any policies or practices of ALM in providing its products, services, Content or any ALM Applications is to stop using the ALM Applications as set forth herein.

3.PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS

If you purchase a subscription to access the ALM Applications and/or Content (“Subscription”), the Subscription shall be subject to these Terms, as well as any terms and conditions to which you agree at the time of purchase, including applicable subscription fee (“Fee”), payment terms and length of Subscription (“Subscription Period”). If you purchase a subscription pursuant to an applicable product agreement (“Product Agreement”), the Product Agreement may specify the number of user accounts authorized to access the ALM Applications and/or Content pursuant to that subscription (“Authorized Users”). For the avoidance of doubt, and notwithstanding the foregoing, Authorized Users will be limited pursuant to and as stated in the Product Agreement, including limitations by number of users or a user’s office location. In such cases, access to and use of the ALM Applications and/or Content by any other third party is not permitted. Any increase to the number of Authorized Users must be approved by ALM in writing and may be subject to additional fees.

Modifications to Fees or Billing Terms. ALM RESERVES THE RIGHT, AT ANY TIME, TO CHANGE ITS SUBSCRIPTION FEES AND BILLING METHODS, UPON EFFECTIVE NOTICE TO YOU, WHICH SHALL INCLUDE NOTICE SENT TO YOUR DESIGNATED EMAIL ADDRESS. Purchased subscriptions set for automatic renewal may be subject to change in fee at the end of each renewal. You will receive advance notice of any price changes at least 60 days before the new rate takes effect. If any such change is unacceptable to you, you may terminate your Subscription by contacting customer service at [email protected]. Your continued use of the Content following the effective date of a change to fees or billing methods shall constitute your acceptance of such change.

Data Collection and Use. Your privacy is important to us. By using our Services, you agree to our collection and use of personal data in accordance with the Privacy Policy available [here ALM Privacy Policy].  We use commercially reasonable efforts to secure your data from unauthorized access, including credit card details, which will be encrypted and stored securely.

Credit Card Information. Your payment details, including credit card information, are stored securely and will only be used to process payments associated with your subscription. We do not share your payment information with third parties unless required by law or necessary to process payments

 

With respect to all Subscriptions, you shall:

• ensure that all Authorized Users accessing the Content are appropriately notified of the importance of respecting the intellectual property rights in the Content and of the sanctions which ALM imposes for failing to do so;
• use best efforts to protect the Content from unauthorized use or other breach of these Terms;
• monitor compliance and immediately upon becoming aware of any unauthorized use or other breach, inform ALM and take all appropriate steps to ensure that such activity ceases and to prevent any recurrence;
• provide ALM with information sufficient to enable ALM to provide access to the Content. Should you make any significant change to such information, you will notify ALM not less than ten (10) days before the change takes effect; and
• ensure that only Authorized Users are permitted access to the Content. Your right to use the Content is not transferrable. Any password or right given to you to obtain information is not transferable.

• Credit Card Requirement: ensure that a valid credit card is on file. In the event your subscription automatically renewals ALM has, the right to charge the credit card on file the renewal fee on the renewal date. If the credit card on file becomes invalid, the subscriber is responsible for updating payment information to avoid service interruption.

Refunds, Late Payments and Taxes.

• All fees paid and charges made prior to the expiration or termination of your Subscription, as provided herein, including any advance charge or payment for the Subscription Period during which you terminate your Subscription, are nonrefundable. Termination of your Subscription shall not relieve you of any obligations to pay accrued charges.
• Your account may be deactivated without notice to you if payment is past due, regardless of the dollar amount. You agree to pay any outstanding balance in full within thirty (30) days of cancellation or termination of your Subscription to the applicable Content.
• Prices exclude all shipping, handling and taxes unless stated otherwise. ALM collects taxes at the rate in effect at the time your transaction is completed. If the tax rate changes before the transaction is completed, the new tax rate in effect will apply. ALM cannot accept exemption certificates for purchases made online. Contact customer service at [email protected] if you believe a transaction may be exempt from tax.

Delivery and cancellations. Where your Subscription or product order involves the delivery of a physical item or items, they will be delivered to the address that you indicate when you place your order through any ALM Application and the risk of damage to or loss of such items shall pass to you at the time of delivery even if they have not been received by you in person. Any times quoted for delivery are approximate only and ALM shall not be liable for any delay in delivery howsoever caused. If you experience any delivery issues, please contact customer service at [email protected].

Archived Content. Certain Content on the ALM Applications may be archived and become unavailable with your Subscription after six months of initial publication (“Archived Content”). In order to access full text or display of Archived Content, rather than only a citation, abstract or other limited reference, you will need to obtain a separate LexisNexis subscription from LexisNexis.

4.INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OWNERSHIP

ALM or its licensors, suppliers or other designees owns all right, title and interest in and to the Content and the ALM Applications (including all materials, including but not limited to all text, logos, photographs, graphics, images, illustrations, designs, icons, photographs, databases, video, audio, software, html, source and object code, algorithms, business logic, modules, programs, links and other materials). You shall not, and shall not permit anyone else to, reproduce, copy, distribute, publish, transmit, broadcast, sell, license or otherwise access or use all or any part of the Content or any information contained therein without the prior written consent of ALM. All ALM brands and trademarks (whether registered or unregistered) and graphics, logos, designs, page headers and button icons are subject to the intellectual property rights of ALM and neither they nor any confusingly similar versions may be used by you including, but not limited to as part of any trademarks and/or domain names without ALM’s prior written consent.

Use of AP Material. The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this website or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) no Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) the Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) the Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) the Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.

Downloadable mobile products. Copyright in any software that is made available for download from any ALM Application shall belong to ALM and/or our software suppliers. Your use of the software is governed by the terms of any license agreement that may accompany or be included with it. Do not install, download or use any software unless you agree to such license agreement.

5.USER SUBMISSIONS AND CONDUCT

Forums. For the purposes of this Agreement, “Forum” means letters, comments, emails or other types of communications submitted by you or other third parties to us, our editors, Webmaster(s) or employees of ALM, and messages posted to them or to other users in connection with online seminar discussions, forums, blogs or chat-pages on any ALM Application. Forums are provided for your exchange of lawful, relevant, fair and appropriate information, opinions and comment. Use of the Forums that is inconsistent with those stated purposes or which is prohibited under these Terms is prohibited.

Removal. ALM has the right, but not the obligation to monitor, edit or remove Forum content or Forum materials, and may do so at any time and for any reason in its sole discretion, including but not limited to the course of normal maintenance of the ALM Application and its systems or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to: (1) comply with the law or comply with legal process served on ALM; (2) protect and defend the legitimate business interests, rights or property of ALM, ALM users, advertisers, customers, sponsors, advertisers or affiliates; or (3) act in an emergency to protect the personal safety of ALM guests or the public. You shall remain solely responsible for the content of your communications. If you object to the publication of any material placed on any ALM Application please contact ALM by sending an email to customer service at [email protected] and ALM will take whatever action it deems appropriate. ALM specifically disclaims any liability with regard to Forum content and any actions resulting from your participation in any Forum. ALM cannot guarantee that individuals submitting Forum content or otherwise participating are who they represent themselves to be, nor does ALM endorse, represent or validate, the content, accuracy or reliability of, or the statements, assertions, views or opinions expressed in, Forums, and you acknowledge that any reliance upon the same shall be at your sole risk.

Prohibited Uses of any ALM Application. You hereby agree that you will not use any ALM Application or Forum to:

• promote or encourage the sale of your goods/services or those of any third party;
• solicit other guests or users of the ALM Application to join or become members of any commercial online or offline service or other organization;
• disseminate any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation;
• disseminate any material which is or may infringe the rights (including, but not limited to, intellectual property rights) of any third party or which is unlawful, threatening, defamatory, obscene, indecent, offensive, pornographic, abusive, liable to incite racial hatred, discriminatory, menacing, scandalous, inflammatory, in breach of confidence, in breach of privacy, or which may restrict or inhibit the use of the ALM Application and/or any of the Content by any person or which constitutes or encourages conduct that may be considered a criminal offence or give rise to civil liability;
• disseminate any material which does or may bring ALM or any of its brands into disrepute or in any way damage their reputation;
• disseminate any material that may interrupt, damage, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment, including, without limitation, computer viruses, logic bombs, Trojan horses, worms, harmful components, corrupted data or other malicious software or harmful data;
• post link(s) that take users to material that contravenes any of the above restrictions;
• falsify, delete or disable any copyright management information, such as author attributions, legal or other proper notices or proprietary designations or labels of the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is uploaded;
• collect in any way personal information about others, including e-mail addresses, password or other account information or use such information to send unsolicited emails, or use, download or otherwise copy or provide (whether or not for a fee) to a person or entity any directory of users of the ALM Applications or other user or usage information;
• impersonate or create a false identity for the purpose of misleading others, improperly use support or complaint buttons or make false reports to ALM administrators, or engage in fraudulent transactions; or
• use, develop or distribute “auto” software programs, “macro” software programs or other “cheat utility” software program or applications.

You may never use or attempt to use, or allow, or enable, or knowingly condone any other person, company, or other entity to use or attempt to use, the ALM Applications to access, copy, reproduce, use, or create derivative works of any Content, trademarks of any ALM Parties or other third parties, Posts or other user content, or any other content, materials, information, text, copyrightable materials or other original works of authorship, images, pictures, photos, designs, artwork, graphics, stills, musical compositions, sound recordings, audio content or files, videos or video files, audiovisual content or files, software, firmware, code, tools, databases, textual links, keywords, data or metadata, chats, or other intellectual property of any kind or nature uploaded to, or contained in, the ALM Applications or products or services advertised and/or made available for purchase or subscription thereon in connection with, or for purposes of training, any machine learning or artificial intelligence (AI) or similar technologies now known or hereafter devised, including, without limitation, technologies that are capable of generating works in the same style or genre as any of the foregoing (i.e., “generative AI”), for any reason, whether for personal use, commercial use, or otherwise.

If any ALM Application makes available the name, contact information, and/or any other information (“Participant Information”) concerning any sponsor, exhibitor, or attendee (each, a “Participant”) in or at any ALM trade show, conference, or other event (each, an “Event”), whether live or virtual, you may not use any of such Participant Information except for your own internal business purposes (and may not, for example, directly or indirectly resell or otherwise redistribute, or permit any third party to use, any of same), and, if you are not yourself an authorized Participant in such Event, you agree not to solicit or otherwise contact any Participant identified by such Participant Information.

License and Warranty. By uploading materials to any Forum or submitting any materials to ALM (“Posts”), you automatically grant (or warrant that the owner of such rights has expressly granted) ALM a perpetual, royalty-free, fully paid-up, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable, worldwide, sub-licensable right and license to (a) use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform, create derivative works from, disclose, post, and/or remove such Posts or incorporate such Posts into any form, medium, or technology now known or later developed, in any manner, and (b) use your name, user/log-in name, likeness, biographic and other profile information about you in connection with any use of your Posts, in each case, in whole or in part, without payment or other additional consideration of any kind, or permission or notification to you or any third party and without crediting you. By registering via a Social Sign-On, you are granting your consent for us to display the name and photograph and other information associated with your applicable third-party platform profile in connection with the display of your Posts.

Without limiting the foregoing, you also hereby permit ALM and its designees to use portions of your Posts, to modify or rewrite any of your Posts, and/or to incorporate other materials, either created by ALM and/or its designees or licensed from third parties (any of the foregoing, “Edits”). All resulting Edits and/or derivative works (including, in each case, all intellectual property and proprietary rights therein) shall be owned by ALM and/or such designees and not subject to your approval or payment by ALM or any other party of any compensation to you.

You acknowledge and agree that you are receiving good and valuable consideration for the rights you are granting herein, such consideration is adequate, satisfactory, and complete, and includes your right to access and use the ALM Applications in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth herein. To the maximum extent permitted by law, you hereby waive all moral rights, rights of attribution, rights of privacy and rights of publicity in your Posts that may be available to you in any part of the world. You hereby confirm that no such rights have been or will be asserted.

You further acknowledge and agree that your Posts do not contain confidential or proprietary information, the relationship between you and ALM is not a confidential, fiduciary, or other special relationship, and ALM is not under any obligation of confidentiality, privacy, secrecy or use restriction of any kind, express or implied, with respect to your Posts, all of which may be used by ALM under the foregoing license or any applicable assignment made pursuant to an agreement between ALM and you or your employer, and without any further obligation to you.

ALM may be considering, contemplating or developing the same or a similar idea (and/or related products, services, concepts, systems or techniques) to one or more ideas (and/or products, services, concepts, systems and/or techniques) reflected in your Posts submitted on the ALM Applications, whether before, at the time of or following your submission.
Without limiting the foregoing license in any respect, you hereby waive any and all claims you may have had, may have currently, and/or may have in the future, that any ideas or materials accepted, reviewed and/or used by ALM and its designees (and/or any related products, services, concepts, systems and/or techniques) in any way (i) may be similar to or unlawfully or otherwise improperly compete with your Posts or any of the Content thereof or (ii) violate any obligation of ALM to you or any other person or entity that in any way is alleged to arise from or relate to your Posts or any of the Content thereof.

You represent and warrant to us that you are authorized to grant all rights pursuant to the foregoing license and, further, your Posts: (i) are truthful and accurate, and contain solely original content owned by you, content for which you have received express permission from the owner and have provided proper attribution to same, or content in the public domain (and you assume all responsibility for making such determinations and acquiring all necessary authorizations and approvals related to your Posts); (ii) do not violate and will not violate the rights of any third party or any local, state, national or foreign law, including any right of publicity, right of privacy, confidentiality or any other contractual or proprietary right, including patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret rights; (iii) disclose all affiliations or relations necessary so that such Posts are not deceptive or misleading (for example, if you are commenting upon a company and work for that company, then this should be disclosed); and (iv) comply with all other provisions of this Agreement.

6.DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT (“DMCA”) NOTICE

Materials may be made available via the ALM Applications by third parties not within ALM’s control. ALM is under no obligation to, and does not, scan content used in connection with the ALM Application for the inclusion of illegal or impermissible content. However, ALM respects the copyright interests of others. It is ALM’s policy not to permit materials known by ALM to infringe another party’s copyright to remain on the ALM Applications. If you believe any materials on an ALM Application 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 ALM to locate the material;
• information reasonably sufficient to permit ALM 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
• a 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 ALM’s designated agent as follows:
ALM Global, LLC
Attn: Associate General Counsel
150 East 42nd Street
Mezzanine Level
New York, NY 10017
212-457-9400
646-822-5159 (fax)
Email: [email protected][email protected]

It is ALM’s policy to terminate relationships regarding content with third parties who repeatedly infringe the copyrights of others.

7.THIRD PARTY CONTENT; LINKING

Third Party Opinions. The ALM Applications may contain views, opinions and statements of various third party individuals and organizations. ALM neither endorses nor makes any representation or warranty whatsoever regarding the views, opinions or statements provided by any third party or any user of the ALM Applications. It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of any information, opinion or Content available through the ALM Applications and to seek appropriate advice of professionals, as appropriate.

Linking. To the extent that any ALM Application contains links to outside services and resources (“External Sites”), ALM does not control the availability and content of those outside services and resources. These links are provided solely for your convenience. If you use these links, you leave any ALM Application. ALM does not endorse or make any representations about these third party sites, or any material found on them, or any results that may be obtained from using them. If you decide to access any of these third party websites you do so entirely at your own risk and acknowledge that these third party sites may contain rules and regulations, privacy provisions, confidentiality provisions, transmission of personal data provisions, and other provisions (“External Site Terms”) that differ from the provisions which apply to the ALM Applications, and ALM is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims any and all liability for or related to, the availability of, or the content located on or through, any External Site, its External Site Terms, or any Losses (as defined in Section 9) that may arise or result from your navigation to or use of any External Sites. Any concerns regarding any such service or resource, or any link thereto, should be directed to the particular service or resource. You may link to any page of an ALM Application subject to the following conditions:

• you do not replicate the home page of the ALM Application;
• you do not create a frame or any other browser or border environment around the ALM Application;
• you only link to freely available content (and not link to any content that is considered Content that is only made to users with a username and password);
• you do not in any way imply any endorsement by ALM other than with its written consent or misrepresent your relationship with ALM;
• you do not use any logos or trademarks displayed on the ALM Application without the express written permission of ALM; and
• the linking website does not contain content that is distasteful, offensive or controversial, that infringes any intellectual property rights or other rights of any other person or otherwise does not comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

8.DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES; LIMITATION OF LIABILITY; INDEMNIFICATION

General Information. The Content has been prepared by ALM as a service to ALM readers and the Internet community. It is provided only for general information and in not intended to address your particular requirements or to constitute any form of advice or recommendation (including, but not limited to legal advice). ALM has used reasonable efforts in collecting, preparing and providing quality information and material, but does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or currency of the information contained in the Content and/or on or linked to any ALM Application. Users of information on any ALM Application or links do so at their own risk and acknowledge that this information should not be relied upon in making (or refraining from making) any specific investment or other business or personal decisions (professional advice should always be obtained prior to making any such decision). In no way shall ALM be liable to you for any claims relating in any way to your inability or failure to perform any kind of research or related work or to perform such research or related work properly or completely, even if assisted by ALM, your use of the Content or your reliance on the information contained in the Content.

Disclaimer of Warranties. EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED HEREIN, ALL ALM APPLICATIONS AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN “AS IS,” “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, ALM, THE ALM PARTIES (AS DEFINED BELOW) AND ANY THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDER (IF APPLICABLE) DISCLAIM AND MAKE NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. ALM AND THE ALM PARTIES DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, NON-INFRINGEMENT, TIMELINESS, PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF THE ALM APPLICATIONS, CONTENT OR THE INFORMATION THEY CONTAIN. ALM, THE ALM PARTIES AND ANY THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDER (IF APPLICABLE) DO NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTY THAT ACCESS TO ANY ALM APPLICATION OR CONTENT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, COMPLETE OR ERROR FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR ANY HARMFUL FILES, AND ALM AND, ALM PARTIES AND ANY THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDER (IF APPLICABLE) SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED BY SUCH DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. ALM AND THE ALM PARTIES DO NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE LIFE OF ANY SUBSCRIPTION OR AVAILABILITY OF ANY CONTENT. THE FOREGOING DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES SHALL APPLY TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW.

Limitation of Liability. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL ALM OR THE ALM PARTIES BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO OTHER AUTHORIZED USERS, FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHETHER OR NOT CHARACTERIZED IN NEGLIGENCE, TORT, CONTRACT, OR OTHER THEORY OF LIABILITY, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, THAT IN ANY MANNER ARISES OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE ANY ALM APPLICATION OR ANY CONTENT AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH ANY ALM APPLICATION. IN NO EVENT SHALL ALM’S AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSSES IN ANY WAY ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR YOUR USE OR INABILTY TO USE ANY ALM APPLICATIONS OR CONTENT OR TO ANY USE OR EXPLOITATION OF YOUR POSTS OR RIGHTS THEREIN FOR ANY PURPOSE EXCEED US$1,000. THE FOREGOING LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES SHALL APPLY REGARDLESS OF THE SUCCESS OR EFFECTIVENESS OF OTHER REMEDIES. REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE OR FORM OF ACTION, YOU MAY BRING NO ACTION ARISING FROM THIS AGREEMENT MORE THAN TWELVE (12) MONTHS AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ARISES.THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY SHALL APPLY TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW.

YOU AND ALM AGREE THAT THE WARRANTY DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY IN THIS AGREEMENT ARE MATERIAL, BARGAINED-FOR BASES OF THIS AGREEMENT, AND THAT THEY HAVE BEEN TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN DETERMINING THE CONSIDERATION TO BE GIVEN BY EACH PARTY UNDER THIS AGREEMENT AND IN THE DECISION OF EACH PARTY TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT. YOU AND ALM AGREE THAT THE WARRANTY DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY IN THESE TERMS ARE FAIR AND REASONABLE.

Indemnification. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold ALM and its affiliates and their directors, managers, officers, employees, agents, subsidiaries, successors and assigns (collectively, the “ALM Parties”) harmless, from and against any claims, losses, damages, penalties, demands, actions, suits, judgments, settlements, costs, liabilities, obligations and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees (“Losses”), resulting from your breach or alleged breach of these Terms, regardless of the form of action.

9.DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Most customer concerns can be resolved quickly and to the customer’s satisfaction by contacting customer service at [email protected]. If, however, there is an issue that needs to be resolved, you agree that the following provisions will apply:

Jury Trial Waiver. YOU AND ALM EACH VOLUNTARILY WAIVE THE RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN RESOLVING ANY DISPUTE BETWEEN US ARISING OUT OF THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES.

Class Action Waiver. YOU AND ALM EACH AGREE THAT CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER MAY ONLY BE BROUGHT IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT IN A CLASS ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. All litigations under this Agreement must be conducted on an individual (and not a class-wide) basis.You acknowledge and agree that this Agreement specifically prohibits you from commencing any legal proceedings as a representative of others, participating in a class, representative, or collective action as a class representative, class member or an opt-in party, acting as a private attorney general, or joining or consolidating Claims with claims or proceedings brought by any other person.

Governing Law; Venue. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the New York, without application of conflict of laws rules. Exclusive jurisdiction and venue in connection with any dispute between you and ALM will rest, and you and ALM each agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of, the courts of the State of New York and the federal courts of the southern district, located in New York City, New York.

10.MISCELLANEOUS

Additional Terms. Your use of the ALM Applications is subject to any and all additional terms, policies, rules or guidelines that we may post or link to on the ALM Applications (collectively, the “Additional Terms”), such as any other terms or rules applicable to particular features, promotions or content on the ALM Applications. All such Additional Terms are hereby incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

Age Requirements. You represent and warrant that you are at least 18years old and that you possess the legal right and ability to enter into this Agreement and to use the ALM Applications in accordance with these Terms. If we have any reason to believe you are not 18 or older we may terminate your access to the ALM Applications and Content.

Availability and Use Outside the U.S. Unless otherwise specified, the Content on any ALM Application is presented solely for the purpose of promoting publications and other products available in the United States, its territories, possessions and protectorates. ALM makes no representation that any Content on any ALM Application is appropriate or available for use in other locations. Those who choose to access any ALM Application from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for establishing the usability or correctness of any information or Content under any or all jurisdictions and the compliance of that Content with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable.

Violations of this Agreement; Injunctive Relief. ALM reserves the right to seek all remedies available at law and in equity for violations of this Agreement, including without limitation the right to block access to the ALM Applications from a particular account, device or IP address. ALM shall not be liable for any damages of any nature suffered by any customer, user, or any third party resulting in whole or in part from ALM’s exercise or its rights under this Agreement. Without limiting the foregoing, you acknowledge that the Content is highly proprietary material in nature and that unauthorized copying, transfer or use may cause ALM irreparable injury that cannot be adequately compensated for by means of monetary damages. You agree that any breach of this Agreement by you may be enforced by ALM by means of equitable relief (including, but not limited to, injunctive relief) in addition to any other available rights and remedies.

Termination. On termination of your registration account or Subscription, all usage rights to the Content automatically terminate, and you shall immediately cease to use the Content and shall remove any and all electronic copies of the Content from your systems.

Usage by children under 13. The ALM Applications are directed to adults and are not directed to children under the age of 13. ALM cannot prohibit minors from visiting our websites so ALM must rely on parents, guardians and those responsible for supervising children under 13 to decide which materials are appropriate for such children to view and/or purchase. ALM complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and does not permit registration by and will not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under 13.

Other. This Agreement, including any schedules hereto, constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous agreements or representations, written or oral, concerning the subject matter of this Agreement. ALM may assign these Terms, in whole or in part, at any time. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this Agreement shall not affect the continuation or enforceability of the remainder of this Agreement. The waiver by ALM of a breach or violation of any provision of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of any subsequent or other breach or violation. The failure of ALM to partially or fully exercise any rights or the waiver of ALM of any breach of these Terms by you, shall not prevent a subsequent exercise of such right by ALM or be deemed a waiver by ALM of any subsequent breach by you of the same or any other term of these Terms. The rights and remedies of ALM under these Terms and any other applicable agreement between you and ALM shall be cumulative, and the exercise of any such right or remedy shall not limit ALM’s right to exercise any other right or remedy.

Contact Us. If you have a question or issue relating to a Subscription, such as wanting to change your mailing address, cancel a print Subscription or report a missing print issue, please email customer service at [email protected].

For other questions regarding these Terms, you can write to ALM Legal at [email protected].

Last Updated: December 17, 2024