These Terms of Use are effective as of January 1, 2008 and were last updated November 10, 2008.
Terms of Use
Welcome to Bitstrips! The following is the Bitstrips Inc. ("We", "Our", "Us", "Bitstrips", "Company") Terms of Use (“Terms”) which defines the terms and conditions that you ("You", "Your") agree to when You use Our website Bitstrips.com (the "Site"). Please read these terms and conditions carefully before using the Site.
BY CONTINUING TO USE THE SITE, YOU ARE CONSENTING TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF USE, AND ALL RELATED POLICIES AND GUIDELINES OF BITSTRIPS, IF ANY, AS INDICATED IN THESE TERMS OF USE AND WHICH ARE INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE.
Bitstrips reserves the exclusive right to revise, change or amend any portion of these Terms of Use, or any other policies or guidelines governing the use of the Site, at any time, in its sole discretion and without advance notice to You. You agree to comply with all policies regarding permitted and prohibited uses of the Site that may be posted by Bitstrips on the Site. Any changes will be effective upon posting of the revisions on the Site. Your use of the Site will be subject to the most current version of the Terms of Use posted on the Site at the time of such use. You may view the most current version of this policy at http://bitstrips.com/terms.php.
YOUR CONTINUED USE OF THE SITE FOLLOWING OUR POSTING OF ANY CHANGES WILL CONSTITUTE YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF SUCH CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ANY CHANGES TO THE TERMS OF USE, PLEASE IMMEDIATELY DISCONTINUE USE OF THE SITE.
1. Eligibility
By using the Site, you represent and warrant that you are 14 years of age or older or, if you are under 14, You agree that Your parent or legal guardian has reviewed and agreed to these Terms and has agreed to Your using the Site.
2. Account Responsibilities
By using the Site, you agree to (a) be bound by all these Terms of Use, (b) be responsible for all use of Your Bitstrips.com account, including all actions that take place through Your account, (c) maintain the security of Your password, and (d) provide accurate and current registration information.
3. Content Rights and Licenses
You acknowledge that You are responsible for any text You post to or through the Site ("Intellectual Property"), including any text used in any comics or any communication, public or private, to other users. By posting Intellectual Property, You represent and warrant that you own the Intellectual Property and that the Intellectual Property does not violate the rights of any other person. By posting Your Intellectual Property, You agree to grant Bitstrips a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free and non-exclusive license to use, modify, publicly display, reproduce and distribute such Intellectual Property until You or We remove it from the Site.
All graphics, software and other files on the Site and all Site text (collectively, "Site Content"), and their appearance and arrangement, however modified through the use of the Site, are the property of Bitstrips.
Bitstrips makes available to its users certain proprietary tools, including, but not limited to, the Character Builder, Comic Builder, Scene Builder and Merchandise Builders (collectively, "Bitstrips Tools"). Provided you are eligible to use Bitstrips, you are granted a limited, revocable license to use Site Content and Bitstrips Tools.
Anything, including any comic strip, character and/or scene, that You create through the Site ("Comics Content") shall be jointly owned by You and Bitstrips with You and Bitstrips deemed to be joint authors.
Any Comics Content that is remixed or otherwise modified by a third party user of Bitstrips using Bitstrips Tools (“Modified Content”) shall be owned solely by Bitstrips.
Our Terms contain these Comics Content and Modified Content ownership conditions for the purpose of ensuring that stock graphics, such as props and backgrounds, and remixable graphics, such as Public Access characters, are not owned by any individual third party, and therefore continue to be available for use by You through Bitstrips Tools without encumbrance.
Please note that Comics Content and/or modified content does not include your Intellectual Property, which you retain ownership of.
The Site is intended for non-commercial use. If You would like to use Comics Content for a commercial purpose, please contact Us directly at content@bitstrips.com.
We reserve the right to delete anything posted on or through the Site.
4. Conduct
All services provided to You by Bitstrips may only be used for lawful purposes. You may not use Bitstrips to post anything or to communicate anything which is illegal which includes, but is not limited to: copyrighted material, material judged to be defamatory, threatening or obscene, or material protected by trade secret and other statute, material that you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships, material that promotes or provides instructional information about illegal activities, promotes physical harm or injury against any group or individual, or promotes any act of cruelty to animals.
YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS BITSTRIPS AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND ADVISORS FROM AND AGAINST ANY CLAIMS, LOSSES, JUDGMENTS, DAMAGES, COSTS AND EXPENSES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, REASONABLE LEGAL FEES) RESULTING FROM THE USE OF ANY BITSTRIPS SERVICES WHICH DAMAGES YOU OR ANY OTHER PARTY.
To report an abuse of these Terms of Use, email Us at bs_abuse@bitstrips.com.
5. Copyright
By submitting Intellectual Property, You guarantee that the Intellectual Property does not infringe upon any third party intellectual or personal rights, including but not limited to, copyrights, trade-marks, trade secrets, privacy or other personality rights.
Should Bitstrips be made aware of any material posted by You that could be infringing on a third party’s intellectual property rights, Bitstrips will immediately initiate an investigation. If a claim is received by Bitstrips from a third party complainant with the applicable copyright registration number, a copy of the underlying copyrighted work along with Your Intellectual Property and/or a good faith declaration, signed under penalty of perjury, that (i) the material is the property of the complainant; or (ii) the work has been copied and that use of the material is not defensible, Bitstrips, at its sole discretion, may, at anytime, restrict Your access to the challenged material.
Bitstrips will notify You of the copyright infringement allegation and will allow You to respond to the allegation(s).
Bitstrips shall have no liability, directly or indirectly, to third parties for any of Your infringing materials. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Bitstrips and its officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and advisors from and against any Claims, losses, judgments, damages, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable legal fees), incurred by any of the foregoing parties due to or resulting or associated with processing valid infringement allegations and defending any and all legal claims associated therewith.
To report an infringement of copyright, email Us at copyright@bitstrips.com.
6. Disclaimers
Bitstrips is not responsible or liable in any way for any Intellectual Property, Site Content, Comics Content, links to third party websites, personally identifiable information, or services offered on or through the Site. The Site is provided "as-is".
The Site may become unavailable from time to time. The Company assumes no responsibility for any loss, damage, deletion, theft, unauthorized use, error, omission, delay or interruption in connection with any Intellectual Property, Site Content, Comics Content, Modified Content, user account, personally identifiable information or services offered on or through the Site.
7. Limitation of Liability
You understand that in no event will Bitstrips or its DIRECTORS, officers, employees, agents or partners be liable to you or any third party for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive OR EXEMPLARY damages, including lost profits or lost data arising from your use of THE SITE, even if We are aware or have been advised of the possibility of such damages (UNDER CONTRACT, WARRANTY, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER THEORY) RESULTING FROM: (I) THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE, THE SITE OR ANY CONTENT; (II) ANY THIRD PARTY CLAIMS THAT THE USE BY YOU OF THE SITE OR THE CONTENT VIOLATES ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT; OR (III) ANY OTHER MATTERS RELATING TO THE SITE OR THE CONTENT.
YOU SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT Bitstrips IS NOT LIABLE FOR THE DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF THIRD PARTIES AND THAT THE RISK OF INJURY FROM THE FOREGOING RESTS ENTIRELY WITH YOU. FURTHER, Bitstrips SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CONTENT DOWNLOADED FROM THE SITE. YOU AGREE THAT THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF Bitstrips, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, SHAREHOLDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR ADVISORS TO YOU FOR ANY AND ALL CLAIMS UNDER CONTRACT, WARRANTY, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHER THEORY ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OF USE OR FROM THE USE OF THE SITE IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO Bitstrips TO USE THE SITE.
8. Jurisdiction
You agree that all matters relating to the use of the Site shall be governed, controlled, interpreted and defined by and under the laws of the Province of Ontario and the Federal laws of Canada applicable therein without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of laws. You also agree that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use or Your use of the Site will be filed only in a court located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and You hereby irrevocably and unconditionally consent and submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts for the purpose of any such action.
9. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Bitstrips and its directors, officers, employees, agents and partners from any loss, liability, claim, damages or demand, including attorneys’ fees, made by any third party arising out of or in connection with Your use of the Site or any violation of these Terms of Use.
10. Submissions
You acknowledge and agree that any comments, questions, suggestions or ideas sent by You to the Siteare non-confidential and shall become the property of Bitstrips, without acknowledgment or compensation to you.
11. Waiver
No waiver of any breach of these Terms of Use shall be effective unless contained in a written document signed by the party negatively affected by such waiver, nor shall any such waiver constitute a waiver of any other breach, nor shall any such waiver operate as a waiver of any other provision or of the same provision on a further occasion. Furthermore, no failure or delay by Bitstrips in exercising any right hereunder shall operate as a waiver hereof, or shall estop Bitstrips from obtaining relief from You.
12. Privacy
The Bitstrips Privacy Policy is available at bitstrips.com/privacy.php. Your acceptance of the practices described therein is included in Your acceptance of Your agreement to these Terms of Use.
13. Other
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and the Bitstrips regarding Your use of the Site and is accepted upon Your use of the Site.
14. Updates
This Agreement will be updated from time to time. Please check back regularly to stay informed of changes.
