Terms Of Service

WWW.KATYTIMES.COM

Last Updated DECEMBER 5, 2013

The following Terms of Use (the “Terms of Use”) govern any use of or access to the website of Hartman Newspapers, L.P.. (“Company”) available at www.katytimes.com, and any other online services we may provide, (together, the “Site and Services”). BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SITE AND SERVICES OR ANY CONTENT ON THE SITE AND SERVICES, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD AND AGREED TO ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CONTAINED IN THESE TERMS OF USE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF USE, THEN YOU MAY NOT ACCESS THE SITE AND SERVICES OR USE THE CONTENT OR ANY SERVICES IN THE SITE AND SERVICES. THESE TERMS OF USE ARE AN AGREEMENT MADE BETWEEN COMPANY AND ANY PERSON OR ENTITY WHO ACCESSES OR USES THIS SITE AND SERVICES OR ITS CONTENT (THE “USER”). Throughout these terms, “We” or “Our” refers to Company, and “You” or “Your” refers to the User.

1. Modification to Terms of Use. Company reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify these Terms of Use at any time without prior notice to any User, including imposing a fee to access certain materials contained on the Site and Services. Your use of the Site and Services following any such change constitutes your agreement to follow and be bound by the Terms of Use, as modified. For this reason, we encourage you to review these Terms of Use for updates or any changes whenever you use the Site and Services.

2. Use of Site and Services. The information provided on the Site and Services is for general informational and educational purposes. Although use of the Site and Services is intended for members of the general public, Company may choose to limit access to certain sections of this Site to particular audiences, such as Company’s employees or members. Company has the exclusive right to control accessibility, hours of use, features on the Site and Services and any other information found on the Site and Services. Company can restrict access to any or all portions of the Site or alter or remove any information or content from the Site and Services at any time. Company reserves the right to monitor use of the Site and Services. Use of the Site and Services and their content is licensed, not sold, to you. As a User of this Site and Services you are granted a nonexclusive, nontransferable, revocable, limited license to access and use this Site and Services and its content in accordance with these Terms of Use. Company may terminate this license at any time for any reason.

3. Content Ownership and Usage. All of the content on this Site and Services, including without limitation, all of the articles, text, images, illustrations, graphics, photographs, audio clips, video clips, page headers, the underlying software code, the “look and feel” of the Site and Services, its color combinations, layout and all other graphical elements, are subject to trademark, service mark, trade dress, copyright and/or other intellectual property rights or licenses of Company, its affiliates and/or its third party content providers. Unless otherwise expressly noted in the Terms of Use, nothing that you read or see on the Site and Services or other Site content, or any of the source code or HTML code that Company uses to generate the Site and Services, may be copied, reproduced, modified, distributed, transmitted, republished, uploaded, posted, displayed, “framed” on another site or performed, except with the prior written consent of Company or to the extent expressly authorized on the Site and Services. Notwithstanding the foregoing, User may make a single electronic or paper copy of the content displayed on the Site and Services for personal, noncommercial use only. You may not distribute (including via email or the Internet) or otherwise make available copies to others, whether or not for payment or other consideration, except with Company’s prior written permission or to the extent expressly authorized on the Site and Services. User must retain all copyright and other proprietary notices on any authorized reproductions of any portion of the Site and Services. Any third party trademarks and content appearing on the Site and Services are the property of their respective owners. You are not permitted to use any of these third party trademarks or content without permission of the respective owner.

4. Privacy Policy. Company respects the privacy of the Users of the Site and Services. Company’s current privacy policy is available at www.katytimes.com/privacy/privacy_policy.html (the “Privacy Policy”) and is incorporated herein by this reference. The Privacy Policy explains the User’s rights and responsibilities with respect to information that is disclosed on the Site and Services.

5. Prohibited Conduct. You are required to comply with all applicable laws and regulations in connection with your access to and/or use of the Site and Services or any of Site content and such further limitations or restrictions as may be set forth in any written or on-screen notice from Company. As a condition to your use of the Site and Services, you represent and warrant to Company that you will not use the Site and Services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by this Agreement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you expressly agree that you will not, either personally or through an agent:

(a) Knowingly provide or submit false or misleading information; including but not limited to any incomplete, false or inaccurate biographical information or other information for purposes of registering as a user of the Site and Services or for purposes of registering for any services, promotions, contests, or surveys offered through the Site and Services;

(b) access, download, monitor, harvest, or copy any information contained on our Site and Services through artificial means (including but not limited to use any 'deep-link', 'scraper', 'robot', 'spider' or other automatic device, program, algorithm or methodology, or any similar or equivalent automatic or manual process), or in any way reproduce or circumvent the navigational structure or presentation of the Site and Services or any content, to obtain or attempt to obtain any content, materials, documents or information through any means not purposely made available through the Site and Services;

(c) transmit or submit any transmission or other materials that are encrypted or that contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, spiders, cancelbots or other computer programming routines that is likely or intended to damage, interfere with, disrupt, impair, disable or otherwise overburden the Site and Services;

(d) Interfere or attempt to interfere in any manner with the use, enjoyment, or access of the Site and Services, including, without limitation, by “flooding”, “spamming”, “mail bombing”, or “crashing” the Site and Services;

(e) Post any material on the Site and Services that is offensive, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, fraudulent, invasive of another's privacy, tortious, or otherwise objectionable to Company. Company maintains the exclusive right to determine what is objectionable;

(f) Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, or control of, any portion or feature of the Site and Services, other user accounts or any other systems or networks connected to the Site and Services or to any server used by Company by hacking, password ‘mining’, or any other illegitimate or unauthorized means, including attempting to obtain password, account, or any other personal or private information from any other Site and Services user;

(g) Transmit, install, upload, or otherwise submit to the Site and Services any unauthorized advertisement, spam, solicitation, or other unauthorized communication;

(h) Attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer any of the software comprising or in any way making up a part of the Site and Services or probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Site and Services or any network connected to the Site and Service, nor breach the security or authentication measures on or of the Site and Services or any network connected to the Site and Services. You may not reverse look-up, trace, or seek to trace any information on any other User of the Site and Services, or exploit the Site and Services or any service or information made available or offered by or through the Site and Services, in any way where the purpose is to reveal any information, including but not limited to personal identification or information, except as expressly authorized by Company and provided for by the Site and Services;

(i) Engage in any action that Company determines interferes with or is detrimental to the use and enjoyment of the Site and Services by others, imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on Company’s infrastructure, interferes or attempt to interferes with the proper working of the Site and Services or any activities conducted on the Site and Services;

(j) Use the Site and Services in any manner that violates any relevant law or that infringes, misappropriates or violates any third party’s rights, including, but not limited to, transmitting any content that may infringe, misappropriate or violate a third party's rights of publicity, contractual rights, fiduciary rights or intellectual property rights; and

(k) Intentionally or unintentionally violate these Terms of Use, other applicable agreement with Company, and any applicable local, state, national or international law, and any rules and regulations having the force of law.

6. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability. Although Company has attempted to provide accurate information on the Site and Services, it makes no representation, guarantee, or warranty of any kind, express or implied, as to the reliability, accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of that information and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions therein, or as to the products or services Company may provide. YOU ACCESS AND USE THIS SITE AND SERVICES AND THE CONTENT THEREOF AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE SITE AND SERVICES IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS, AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND AND ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMED.

NEITHER COMPANY NOR ITS AFFILIATES, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, ASSIGNS, OR THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS, NOR ANY PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DELIVERING THE SITE AND SERVICES, SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSS RESULTING FROM ACCESS TO, USE OR UNAVAILABILITY OF, INFORMATION OR CONTENT ON THE SITE AND SERVICES, OR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN SUCH INFORMATION OR CONTENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY LOST PROFITS, LOSS OR DAMAGE TO DATA, OR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, COMPENSATORY, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

THIS DISCLAIMER IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO ANY DAMAGE OR INJURY RESULTING FROM NEGLIGENCE OR OMISSION OF COMPANY, COMPUTER VIRUS, OR OTHER SIMILAR ITEM, TELECOMMUNICATIONS ERRORS, OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF USER INFORMATION THROUGH THEFT OR ANY OTHER MEANS. COMPANY IS NOT LIABLE FOR CRIMINAL, TORTIOUS, OR NEGLIGENT ACTIONS OR OMISSIONS OF THIRD PARTIES THAT AFFECT THE SITE AND SERVICES. IN NO EVENT WILL COMPANY OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, ASSIGNS OR THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY TORTIOUS OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF OTHER USERS.

IN NO EVENT WILL COMPANY OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, OR ASSIGNS BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO EQUIPMENT, HARDWARE OR OTHER PROPERTY OF USER OR PERSONAL INJURY THAT ARISES IN CONNECTION WITH USE OF THE SITE AND SERVICES. Company is not responsible for any inaccuracies, typographical errors or any other mistakes on the Site and Services or in any content you may obtain from the Site and Services, and reserves the right to make corrections.

COMPANY SHALL USE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO PROTECT INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY YOU IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES, BUT YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOUR SUBMISSION OF SUCH INFORMATION IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK, AND COMPANY HEREBY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OR LIABILITY RELATING TO SUCH INFORMATION IN ANY WAY.

7. Company has no control over and no duty to take any action regarding: other users’ behavior; what effects content may have on you; how you may interpret or use content; or what actions you may take as a result of having been exposed to content. You release Company from all liability for you having acquired or not acquired content through the Site and Services. Company makes no representations concerning any content, including the accuracy thereof, contained in or accessed through the Site and Services, and Company will not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality or decency of material contained in or accessed through the Site and Services.

8. Trade and Service Marks. All rights in product names, Company names, trade names, logos, product packaging and designs of Company and/or third-party products or services, whether or not appearing in large print or with the trademark symbol on this Site and Services (collectively, “Marks”), are trademarks or service marks of Company, its affiliates, related companies and/or its licensors, unless otherwise noted. The use or misuse of these Marks or any other materials, except as permitted by Company, is expressly prohibited and may be in violation of copyright law, trademark law, the law of defamation (slander and libel), the law of privacy and publicity, and communications regulations and statutes.

9. Third Party Websites, Links, and Content. This Site and Services may contain links or references to advertisements, content, and other websites served up, hosted, or provided by third parties over whom Company has no control. Such links are provided merely as a convenience. Similarly, the Site and Services may be accessed from third party links over whom Company has no control. Company is not the publisher or endorser of any information on the Site and Services that is provided by third party content providers or by Users. Any mention on the Site and Services of products or services provided by third parties, and/or the inclusion of any third-party link, is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation by Company. COMPANY MAKES NO REPRESENTATION, GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE ACCURACY, CURRENCY, COMPLETENESS, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THIRD PARTIES ON THIS SITE AND SERVICES OR THE EXISTENCE OR FUNCTIONALITY OF ANY WEBSITE WHICH CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH A LINK LOCATED ON THIS SITE AND SERVICES. COMPANY IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIMS RELATED TO SUCH INFORMATION OR RELATED TO ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION ON THIRD PARTY WEBSITES AND ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES PROVIDED BY THIRD PARTIES OR THIRD PARTY WEBSITES. Any dealings between User and any third party mentioned on or found via the Site and Services are solely between the User and the third party, and are subject to any terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with those dealings.

10. Interactivity. Given the interactive nature, the volume of information, and number of visitors on and to the Site and Services and, Company cannot and does not monitor all of the material posted on the Site and Services or transmitted through the Site and Services by Users and third party information providers. We particularly discourage divulging personal phone number and addresses or other information that can be used to identify or locate you. If you make such disclosures either through postings in advertising you place or in other interactive areas, or to third parties in any communication, you do so fully understanding the consequences of such disclosures and knowing that such information could be used to identify you.

11. User-Generated Information and Content. If you transmit, post, store, or otherwise communicate (collectively, “post”) information or content on this Site and Services (collectively, “Submitted Content”), you are solely responsible for such post, the consequences of posting the Submitted Content, and your reliance on any communications, content, or information generated or submitted by others. In consideration of being allowed to post Submitted Content on the Site and Services:

(a) you grant to Company a royalty free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, nonexclusive, transferable, and sub-licensable license to use, reproduce, copy, adapt, modify, merge, distribute, publicly display, create derivative works from, incorporate the Submitted Content into other works; sublicense the Submitted Content, and acknowledge that this license cannot be terminated by you once your Submitted Content is submitted to the Site and Services;

(b) Company may, in its sole discretion, chose to remove or not remove any Submitted Content once published;

(c) you represent that you own or have secured all legal rights necessary for the Submitted Content to be used by you, the Company, and others as described and otherwise contemplated in these Terms of Use;

(d) you represent and warrant that each person identified, depicted, or shown in your Submitted Content, if any, (and if a minor, the parent or guardian of the minor) has provided consent to the use of the Submitted Content consistent with these Terms of Use;

(e) you agree not to disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, or posting comments that are not related to the topic being discussed (unless it is clear the discussion is free-form); and

(f) you agree not to allow any other person or entity to use your identification for posting or viewing comments.

Company reserves the right to remove any Submitted Content or other content and to terminate your ability to post to the Site and Services at any time without notice, in its sole discretion. Company also reserves the right to disclose any information necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, or to edit, refuse to post, or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part.

By posting Submitted Content, including, without limitation, communication during registration, communication on any webpage, placing any advertisement, entering any sweepstakes, etc., you represent and warrant: (1) you own or otherwise have all necessary rights to the content you provide and the rights to use the Submitted Content as provided in these Terms of Use; (2) all information and content you provide is true, accurate, current and complete, and does not violate these Terms of Use; and (3) the information or content you provide will not cause injury to any person or entity.

For any Submitted Content, you grant Company, its affiliates, related entities, and technology and content partners, a world-wide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, copy, modify, display, archive, store, distribute, reproduce and create derivative works from the Submitted Content, in any form, media, software or technology of any kind now existing or developed in the future. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you authorize Company to share the Submitted Content across all its affiliated websites and technology and content partners, to include the content in a searchable format accessible by Users of the Site and Services and affiliated websites, and to use your name and any other information in connection with its use of the material you provide. You also grant Company the right to use any material, information, ideas, concepts, know-how, or techniques contained in any communication you send to the Company and/or the Site and Services for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to developing, manufacturing, and marketing products using such information. All rights in this paragraph are granted without the need for additional compensation of any sort to you.

12. Please note the Company does not accept unsolicited materials or ideas for use or publication, and is not responsible for the similarity of any of its content or programming in any media to materials or ideas transmitted to the Site. Should you send any unsolicited materials or ideas, you do so with the understanding no additional consideration of any sort will be provided to you, and you are waiving any claim against the Site and Services, Company and/or its affiliates regarding the use of such materials and ideas, even if material or an idea is used that is substantially similar to the idea you sent.

13. Registration Information. We may require that you subscribe and/or create an account to use or access certain parts of the Site and Services and use certain products and features. We may require that you provide login information such as a username and password to access and utilize your subscription or account. As a condition of your use of the Site and Services, you agree to (a) provide Company with true, accurate, current and complete information as prompted by the Company’s registration forms, when registering for or using the Site and Services; and (b) update and maintain the truthfulness, accuracy and completeness of such information. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any password or other subscription or account information not generally available to others and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your username and password. Creating serial or overlapping accounts may result in account termination. Please contact us if you have questions about managing multiple accounts.

14. E-Commerce Transactions on the Site and Services. During your visit to the Site and Services, you may elect to engage in a transaction involving the purchase of a product or service such as a subscription, an advertisement, or other goods and services. To serve you most efficiently, credit card transactions and order fulfillment may be handled by a third party processing agent, bank, or distribution institution. While in most cases transactions are completed without difficulty, there is no such thing as “perfect security” on the Internet or otherwise. If you are concerned about online credit card safety, in most cases, a telephone number will be made available so you can call us and place your order by phone. The Company cannot take responsibility for the success or security of transactions undertaken or processed by third parties, through the Site or Services, or otherwise. On occasion, a product or service may not be available at the time or the price as it appears in an advertisement. In such event, or in the event a product is listed at an incorrect price or with incorrect information due to typographical error, technology error, error in pricing or product information received from our advertisers or suppliers, or other error, you agree the Company is not responsible for such errors or discrepancies.

15. Notice of Copyright Infringement. Company respect the intellectual property of others. It is our policy to respond expeditiously to legitimate claims of copyright and other intellectual property infringement. We will promptly process and investigate notices of alleged infringement and will take appropriate actions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") and other applicable intellectual property laws. Upon receipt of notices complying or substantially complying with the DMCA, we may act expeditiously to remove or disable access to any material claimed to be infringing or claimed to be the subject of infringing activity and may act expeditiously to remove or disable access to any reference or link to material or activity that is claimed to be infringing. We will terminate access for subscribers and account holders who are repeat infringers.

Notifying Company of Copyright Infringement: To provide us with notice of an infringement, you must provide a written communication to the attention of “Company: DMCA Notification Dept.” At copyright@hartmannnews.com that sets forth the information specified by the DMCA (http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html#512). Please note that you may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that an activity is infringing your copyright.

Providing Company with Counter-Notification: If we remove or disable access to content in response to an infringement notice, we will make reasonable attempts to contact the owner or administrator of the affected content. If you material has been removed and you feel that your material does not constitute infringement, you may provide Company with a counter notification by written communication to the attention of “DMCA Counter Notification Dept.” at copyright@hartmannews.com that sets forth all of the necessary information required by the DMCA (http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html#512). Please note that you may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that an activity is not infringing the copyrights of others. If you are uncertain whether an activity constitutes infringement, we recommended seeking advice of an attorney.

16. Minors. If you allow your minor child, or a child for whom you are the legal guardian (a “Minor”), to use the Site and Services, you agree that you shall be solely responsible for (i) the online content of such Minor, (ii) monitoring such Minor’s access to and use of the Site and Services; and (iii) the consequences of any use of the Site by such Minor.

17. Indemnification. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Company, its officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents, assigns, suppliers, affiliates, and third party partners from and against any cause of action or claim, including all losses, expenses, damages, costs, and reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from any violation by you of these Terms of Use, your use of the Site and Services, and the content thereof, your posting of any information or content on the Site and Services and/or the infringement or violation by you of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity.

18. Void Where Prohibited. The Site and Services and its contents are intended to comply with the laws and regulations in the United States of America (“U.S.”). Although the information on the Site and Services is accessible to users outside of the U.S., the information on the Site and Services pertaining to Company’s products or services is intended for use only by residents of the U.S. Other countries may have laws, regulatory requirements and practices that differ from those in the U.S. Company reserves the right to limit provision of our products or services to any person, geographic region or jurisdiction and/or to limit the quantities or any products or services we provide. Any item on the Site and Services that is construed as an offer for any product or service made on the Site and Services is void where prohibited.

19. Electronic Communications. We use reasonable security measures and take reasonable system, process, and administrative precautions to protect the security and integrity of email and other electronic communications that you may send to us. Despite all these precautions, no method of transmission over the Internet is entirely secure and we cannot guarantee the confidentiality or security of the electronic communications or its contents. You transmit such information at your own risk and you should decide very carefully which information you want to send us via any electronic communication.

20. Links. Company does not object to links on third party sites to the homepage of the Site in an appropriate context. However, “framing” or “mirroring” the Site or any of its content is prohibited without the prior written consent of Company. Company reserves the right to terminate any link located on the Site and Services at any time.

21. Miscellaneous. These Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between Company and User regarding the subject matter hereof. Any previous agreement, whether oral or written, between Company and User dealing with the subject matter hereof is superseded. If any portion of these Terms of Use is found to be unenforceable for any reason, such portion will be deemed severed and will not affect the enforceability of the remaining terms. Upon User’s breach of these Terms of Use, Company may pursue any legal or equitable remedy available, including but not limited to, direct, indirect, special, consequential, compensatory, punitive and incidental damages, and injunctive relief. Company’s remedies are cumulative and not exclusive. Failure of Company to exercise any remedy or enforce any portion of these Terms of Use at any time shall not operate as a waiver of any remedy or of the right to enforce any portion of the Terms of Use at any time thereafter. User agrees that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or action of User arising out of or regarding these Terms of Use must be filed by User within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. Company makes no representation that the content of the Site and Services is appropriate or available for use in all locations. Users of the Site and Services are responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. These Terms of Use, your use of the Site and Services, and any dispute arising therefrom, shall be governed by the laws of the State of Texas, United States of America, without regard to conflicts of law principles. Any action relating to this Privacy Policy must be filed and maintained in a state court located in Fort Bend County, State of Texas, United States of America or federal court located in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas, United States of America, and each User consents to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in such courts for such purpose. Company makes no representation that these Terms of Use and such practices comply with the laws of any country outside the United States.

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