Terms Of Use

Terms of Use

ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS

The webpages available at www.digitaljournal.com,  www.digitaljournal.tv and www.digitaljournal.mobi and all linked pages are owned and operated by Digital Journal, Inc.  (collectively “Digital Journal”, “we”, “us”, “our” or “the Company”), a Toronto,  Ontario-based corporation, and is accessed by you under the Terms of Use  described below (“Terms of Use” or “User Agreement”). By accessing or using our  website at www.digitaljournal.com,  www.digitaljournal.tv, www.digitaljournal.mobi or the mobile version thereof (together the “Site”), you (collectively the  “User” or “You”) signify that you have read, understand and agree to be bound by  these Terms of Use, whether or not you are a registered member of Digital  Journal.

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE  CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THE SERVICES. BY ACCESSING THIS SITE OR USING ANY PART OF  THE SITE OR ANY CONTENT OR SERVICES ON THE SITE (AS EACH IS DEFINED BELOW), YOU  AGREE TO BECOME BOUND BY THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL  THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, THEN YOU MAY NOT ACCESS THE SITE OR USE THE CONTENT OR  ANY SERVICES IN THE SITE. DIGITAL JOURNAL’S ACCEPTANCE IS EXPRESSLY CONDITIONED  UPON YOUR ASSENT TO ALL OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, TO THE EXCLUSION OF ALL  OTHER TERMS; IF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ARE CONSIDERED AN OFFER BY DIGITAL  JOURNAL, ACCEPTANCE IS EXPRESSLY LIMITED TO THESE TERMS.

MODIFICATIONS OF TERMS OF  USE

Digital Journal reserves the right, at  its sole discretion, to modify or replace the Terms of Use at any time. If the  alterations constitute a material change to the Terms of Use, Digital Journal  will notify you via email or through an electronic message posted on the Site.  What constitutes a “material change” will be determined at Digital Journal’s  sole discretion, in good faith and using common sense and reasonable judgment.  You shall be responsible for reviewing and becoming familiar with any such  modifications. Use of the Services by you following such notification  constitutes your acceptance of the terms and conditions of the Terms of Use as  modified.

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICE

Subject to full compliance with the  Terms of Use, Digital Journal may offer to provide certain services and content,  as described more fully on the Site, (“Services”). Services shall include, but  not be limited to, any service and content Digital Journal performs for you, as  well as the offering of any materials displayed or performed on the Site  (including, but not limited to text, comments, commentary, messages, ratings,  votes, forum postings, User Contacts, information, data, news articles,  graphics, photographs, images, illustrations, any information, Groups or  graphics associated with Groups, software, audio clips, sound and video clips or  other material known as “Content”) on the Site. Digital Journal may change,  suspend or discontinue the Services including any Content for any reason, at any  time, including the availability of any feature or Content. Digital Journal may  also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict your access to  parts or all of the Services without notice or liability.

USER CONDUCT

Digital Journal may remove any Content  or Digital Journal accounts at any time for any reason (including, but not  limited to, upon receipt of claims or allegations from third parties or  authorities relating to such Content), or for no reason at all. To report Terms  of Use abuse, please use our Contact Us form and write our site  administrator(s).

As a condition of use, you promise not  to use the Services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these  Terms of Use, or any other purpose not reasonably intended by Digital Journal.

By way of example, and not as a  limitation, you agree not to use the Services:

to abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate  or intimidate other Digital Journal users;

to contribute any Content that is  infringing, libellous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive, offensive or  otherwise violates any law or right of any third party; for any illegal or  unauthorized purpose. If you are an international user, you agree to comply with  all local laws regarding online conduct and acceptable Content; to post or  transmit, or cause to be posted or transmitted, any communication or  solicitation designed or intended to obtain password, account, or private  information from any Digital Journal user; to create or submit unwanted email  (“Spam”) to any other Digital Journal users or any URL; to violate any laws in  your jurisdiction (including but not limited to copyright laws); to submit  stories or comments linking to affiliate programs, multi-level marketing  schemes, sites/blogs repurposing existing stories (source hops), or off-topic  Content; to submit content that is advertorial or paid for by a company or  advertiser. Bloggers and/or writers working and submitting Content for or on  behalf of companies like Pay Per Post, or similar companies, are strictly  prohibited from using the Site; register for more than one User account or  register for a User account on behalf of an individual other than yourself.

With the exception of accessing RSS  feeds, you will not use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to  access the Site for any purpose without our express written permission.  Additionally, you agree that you will not: (i) take any action that imposes, or  may impose in our sole discretion an unreasonable or disproportionately large  load on our infrastructure; (ii) interfere or attempt to interfere with the  proper working of the Site or any activities conducted on the Site; or (iii)  bypass any measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Site; to  create separate user accounts with the intention of artificially inflating the  ‘Digital Journal rating system’, page count, comments, or any other Digital  Journal Services.

PAYMENTS AND EARNINGS

Our Services may permit registered and  approved Digital Journalists to post or upload articles to the Site that can be  found under a byline or name selected by the user called a “User name.” Those  articles may be eligible for monetary compensation.

Digital Journal allocates funds into a  central pool called a “moneypot” every month, to be shared among all registered  and approved “Digital Journalists” based on (a) how much a Digital Journalist  contributes and (b) how much activity a Digital Journalist’s article receives as  measured in Digital Journal’s sole discretion. Digital Journalists may receive  payment (the “User Earnings”) for their posted or uploaded articles based on how  much money is allocated to the moneypot in a particular month and also based on  that Digital Journalist’s percentage contribution. A Digital Journalists’ User  Earnings might fluctuate up or down based on User activity and activity of other  Users. Digital Journal does not, and is under no obligation to, reveal its exact  formula of how it calculates earnings, but will issue payments in a fair and  reasonable manner. Digital Journal does not provide payment for Content other  than news articles written by approved Digital Journalists. All other Content is  not eligible for any monetary compensation.

User Earnings will be issued on the  first (1st) of every month for User Earnings accumulated the month prior, except  in the case of delays caused by any technical problems or delays as a result of  national or international holidays. Further, we shall have no obligation to pay  User Earnings until and unless such earnings exceed $10 in the aggregate. All  payments will be made in U.S. dollars by PayPal. In the event PayPal does not  operate in a country in which a Digital Journalist resides, then our obligation  to pay such amount shall be void and such amounts shall vest in Digital Journal.  As a condition of payment, you agree that if you fail to collect any amount  payable to you within thirty (30) days of the date payable, then our obligation  to pay such amount shall be void and such amounts shall vest in Digital Journal.  You should regularly access and review your account to monitor accrued and  payable amounts.

Only active user accounts with “Digital  Journalist” status are eligible to receive payments. If a user does not log in  to his or her account for a period of two (2) months or more, the user account  may be terminated and any accrued earnings will be forfeited. If a user  terminates his or her account for any reason, or if Digital Journal terminates  the account or removes “Digital Journalist” status for cause (including  violations of this User Agreement or for not meeting the editorial standards of  the Site, or for publishing false, defamatory, illegal or untrue statements as  judged in the sole discretion of Digital Journal), any accrued monies will be  forfeited. Digital Journal reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to revoke  “Digital Journalist” status and manage and maintain editorial standards for the  Site.

Digital Journal does not guarantee that  any user will receive any minimum level of payment as a result of posting  Content to the Site. Earnings are paid as an incentive for the continued use of  Digital Journal’s Site and are not in consideration for the submission of any  Content. We reserve the right to add, remove, modify, rename, move, delete or  discontinue any Content therein at any time in our sole discretion. We further  reserve the right to change or discontinue the payment of User Earnings at any  time. Your continued use of our Site and maintenance of an account with us after  any such change will constitute your acceptance of the new terms. In the event  that you do not agree to such change, your sole and exclusive remedy is to cease  using the Site and to terminate your account. Any such termination will not  alter any of our rights under this User Agreement, including our license rights  described herein.

YOUR REGISTRATION  OBLIGATIONS

As a condition to using Services, you  are required to register with Digital Journal and select a password and name  (“Digital Journal User ID”). You shall provide Digital Journal with accurate,  complete, and updated registration information. Failure to do so shall  constitute a breach of the Terms of Use, which may result in immediate  termination of your Digital Journal account. You may not (i) select or use as a  Digital Journal User ID a name of another person with the intent to impersonate  that person; (ii) use as a Digital Journal User ID a name subject to any rights  of a person other than you without appropriate authorization; or (iii) use as a  Digital Journal User ID a name that is otherwise offensive, vulgar or obscene.  Digital Journal reserves the right to refuse registration of, or cancel a  Digital Journal User ID at its discretion without warning. You shall be  responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Digital Journal  password. By registering with Digital Journal you authorize Digital Journal  employees, site administrators and contractors to contact you by email or User  Contact at any time for matters pertaining to editorial, content and your usage  of the Services. Furthermore, by publishing or uploading Content to Digital  Journal, you must only publish news written by you, and you may not publish  articles for or on behalf of anyone else. You are not permitted to publish work  by other Digital Journalists unless you collaborated on an article and the  byline is shared and clearly labelled.

Services are available only to  individuals who are at least 13 years old, whether acting on their own behalf or  as an authorized employee or representative of a corporation or other business  entity. If you do not so qualify, do not attempt to register for or use the  Services.

CONTENT SUBMITTED OR MADE  AVAILABLE FOR INCLUSION ON THE SERVICE

You retain all copyright to all  original Content you submit to the Site. By transmitting or submitting Content  to the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you  have the right to grant Digital Journal a non-exclusive, irrevocable,  transferable, royalty-free, perpetual, sub-licensable, fully paid, worldwide  license (with the right to sublicense) to use, publicly perform, publicly  display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) reproduce, modify,  adapt, translate, distribute, re-distribute, syndicate, publish, and create  derivative works of such Content in any media, now known or hereafter devised  for any purpose, commercial, advertising, or otherwise, on or in connection with  the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare dirivative works of, or  incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize  sublicenses of the foregoing to Digital Journal, its affiliates and  sublicensees.

You acknowledge and agree you will not  post on the Site any Content for which you do not have the clear right to do so,  and you give Digital Journal, its affiliates and sublicencees the right to use  the Content, Your name, identifier, or any portion thereof, submitted in  connection with such Content, if they so choose. Digital Journal reserves the  right to modify, edit or change any Content for any reason without prior  notification.

By transmitting or submitting Content  to the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you  have the right to grant Digital Journal permission to keep active and live  copies of all submitted Content even after your account has been terminated or  closed. Digital Journal reserves the right to re-activate content that has been  deactivated, removed or deleted for any reason, without warning, consent or  approval from You.

You may generally publish Content on  the Site, provided that it does not otherwise violate any third-party agreements  or rights. You further acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible and  liable for any Content that you post or upload to the Site and for any  infringement or other liability that may result.

You represent and warrant that (i) all  Content is either wholly original to you, or all third-party rights therein have  been fully cleared for use as contemplated by this Agreement, and that you have  the right to grant the rights granted herein without violating the rights of any  third party; (ii) the Content and the posting thereof on the Site does and will  not, in any way, violate or breach any of the terms of this Agreement or violate  or infringe upon the rights of any third party, and (iii) Digital Journal shall  not in any circumstance be required to pay or incur any sums to any person or  entity as a result of its use or exploitation of the Content unless otherwise  agreed by Digital Journal.

Without limiting the foregoing, Digital  Journal reserves the right to use the Content as it deems appropriate,  including, without limitation, deleting, rejecting, or refusing to post it.  Digital Journal shall not be obligated to store, keep, maintain or provide  copies of submitted Content to You or any party in the event Content is deleted  or removed from the Site. Digital Journal may, but is under no obligation to,  offer you any payment for Content that you submit or offer the opportunity to  edit, delete or otherwise modify Content once it has been submitted to Digital  Journal. Digital Journal shall not be obligated to enforce any form of  attribution by third parties and shall not be responsible for any third party  use of Content.

If it is determined that you possess  any moral rights (including rights of attribution or integrity) in the Content,  you hereby declare that (a) you have no objection to the publication, use,  re-publication, syndication, modification, or deletion and exploitation of the  Content by Digital Journal or its licensees, successors and assigns; (b) 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 (c) you forever release  Digital Journal, and its licensees, successors and assigns, from any claims that  you could otherwise assert against Digital Journal by virtue of any such moral  rights.

You agree not to post to the Site any  links or other Content which is intended to or may result in any monetary  compensation or other benefit to you, including without limitation any affiliate  links. Posting full articles which also appear on your personal blog is  acceptable providing it does not violate these Terms of Use.

In the event of any inconsistency  between the provisions of these Terms of Use and the applicable license terms,  these Terms of Use shall prevail to the extent of such inconsistency and such  license terms shall be deemed to have been modified, in writing, by Digital  Journal and You.

Digital Journal maintains full and  final verdict on any and all changes to content published on its website and  throughout its network. You agree to allow all edits, changes, additions and  modifications, be they in text, video or image form, on any and all content you  submit. Digital Journal maintains final verdict as to which text, images and  videos will appear inside or alongside all published content.

YOUR LIABILITY

The opinions expressed by Site users do  not necessarily reflect those of Digital Journal. You are solely responsible for  your activities on our Site, including all Content that you submit or a third  party submits on your behalf or using your account. You agree to indemnify and  hold harmless Digital Journal and its shareholders, directors, officers,  employees, agents, affiliates, sublicencees, advertisers, partners, customers,  vendors, successors and assigns against any and all third-party claims, actions,  demands, suits and all related losses, liabilities, damages, penalties, costs  and expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees)  incurred by an indemnified party arising out of or related to: (a) any violation  of law or regulation from your use of the Site, (b) any actual or alleged breach  by you of any obligations, representations, warranties under these Terms of Use;  and (c) any actual or alleged infringement or misappropriation of the  intellectual property rights of any third party by all Content that you submit  or a third party submits on your behalf or using your account.

OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF  THE SITE

Digital Journal operates the Site in a  commercially reasonable manner and may from time to time interrupt the Site’s  Services for regular and/or emergency maintenance. Where Digital Journal has  advance knowledge of any interruption to the Site’s Services, Digital Journal  will make reasonable efforts to provide advance notice to You of any such  interruption. Digital Journal will not be held responsible for downtime as a  result of technical difficulties, power outages or data loss of any kind.

MONITORING USE OF THE  SITE

Digital Journal may monitor the Site  but is under no obligation to do so. You hereby waive any expectation of privacy  in such information and activity. Your waiver of rights in all such monitoring  does not apply to personally identifiable information, which is handled by  Digital Journal in accordance with the Privacy Policy of the Site. Digital  Journal has no duty to pre-screen your content or the content of others, but we  have the right to refuse to post or to edit submitted content.

INDEMNITY

You will indemnify and hold harmless  Digital Journal, its shareholders, directors, parents, subsidiaries, affiliates,  advertisers, partners customers, vendors, officers and employees from any  liability, damage or cost (including reasonable attorneys fees and cost) from  (i) any claim or demand made by any third party due to or arising out of your  access to the Site, use of the Services, violation of the Terms of Use by you,  or the infringement by you, or any third party using your account or Digital  Journal User ID, of any intellectual property or other right of any person or  entity.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF  DIGITAL JOURNAL

The copyright to the Site, the design  and appearance of the Site, and all of the materials and content on the Site  (other than Your Content) are owned by or licensed to Digital Journal. These  materials are protected by law against unauthorized copying and reproduction.  Any use, reproduction, or distribution of material, including caching, framing,  or similar means, from the Site (except as permitted herein) without written  permission of Digital Journal is expressly prohibited. Copyright Digital  Journal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Other service and product marks that  appear on the Site are the trademarks of their respective owners. The display of  any trademarks on the Site does not imply that a license has been granted for  any further use.

DEALING WITH THIRD PARTIES 

Any correspondence or business dealings  with any third parties found on or through the Site is solely between You and  such parties. Digital Journal is not responsible for any damages You may suffer  by entering into such transactions or communications. You and the third party,  not Digital Journal, are responsible for compliance with all laws applicable in  any such transaction or communication.

WARRANTY DISCLAIMERS

You acknowledge that Digital Journal  has no control over, and no duty to take any action regarding: which users gain  access to the Site; what effects the Content may have on you; how you may  interpret or use the Content; or what actions you may take as a result of having  been exposed to the Content. You release Digital Journal from all liability for  you having acquired or not acquired Content through the Site. The Site may  contain, or direct you to sites containing, information that some people may  find offensive or inappropriate. Digital Journal makes no representations  concerning any Content contained in or accessed through the Site, and Digital  Journal will not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, copyright  compliance, legality or decency of material contained in or accessed through the  Site. THE SERVICE, CONTENT, AND SITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS, WITHOUT  WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT  LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR  PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. SOME PROVINCES AND/OR STATES DO NOT ALLOW  LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY  NOT APPLY TO YOU.

LINKS

The Services may provide, or third  parties may provide, links to other World Wide Web sites or resources. Because  Digital Journal has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge  and agree that Digital Journal 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 further acknowledge and agree that Digital  Journal 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 use of or  reliance on any such Content, goods or services available on or through any such  site or resource.

LIMITATION OF  LIABILITY

IN NO EVENT SHALL DIGITAL JOURNAL BE  LIABLE UNDER CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER LEGAL THEORY  (I) WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE, THE SERVICE OR ANY CONTENT FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR  SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND  WHATSOEVER, SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES (HOWEVER ARISING), OR (II) FOR ANY  DIRECT DAMAGES IN EXCESS OF (IN THE AGGREGATE) $100. SOME PROVINCES AND/OR  STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL  DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

TERMINATION

Digital Journal may terminate or  suspend any and all Services and your Digital Journal account immediately,  without prior notice or liability, if you breach any of the terms or conditions  of the Terms of Use. Upon termination of your account, your right to use the  Services will immediately cease. If you wish to terminate your Digital Journal  account, you may simply discontinue using the Services. All provisions of the  Terms of Use which by their nature should survive termination, shall survive  termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty  disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

MISCELLANEOUS

No agency, partnership, joint venture,  or employment is created as a result of the Terms of Use and you do not have any  authority of any kind to bind Digital Journal in any respect whatsoever. The  failure of either party to exercise in any respect any right provided for herein  shall not be deemed a waiver of any further rights hereunder. Digital Journal  shall not be liable for any failure to perform its obligations hereunder where  such failure results from any cause beyond Digital Journal’s reasonable control,  including, without limitation, mechanical, electronic or communications failure  or degradation (including “line-noise” interference). If any provision of the  Terms of Use is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be  limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the Terms of Use  shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable. The Terms of  Use is not assignable, transferable or sub-licensable by you except with Digital  Journal’s prior written consent. Digital Journal may transfer, assign or  delegate the Terms of Use and its rights and obligations without consent. The  Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of  the province of Ontario, as if made within Ontario between two residents  thereof, and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the  courts in the Province of Ontario in all disputes arising out of or relating to  the use of the Website.

Both parties agree that the Terms of  Use is the complete and exclusive statement of the mutual understanding of the  parties and supersedes and cancels all previous written and oral agreements,  communications and other understandings relating to the subject matter of the  Terms of Use, and that all modifications must be in a writing signed by both  parties, except as otherwise provided herein.

COPYRIGHT COMPLAINTS

Digital Journal respects the  intellectual property of others. If you believe that your work has been copied  in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please use our Contact Us form  and write to our site administrator(s).