Effective Date: May 17, 2017
Welcome to the Freedom Agreement website (the “Site”). The term “Askeladden” refers to the owners of the Site, Askeladden L.L.C., whose registered office is located at 1114 Avenue of the Americas, 17th Floor, New York, New York 10036. The term “You” refers to the user or viewer of the Site.
1. Acceptance of Terms
Your use of and access to (a) the Site and any Askeladden software, data feeds, and services provided to You on, from, or through the Site (collectively the “Service”); and (b) any content made available to You through the Service including, without limitation, all text, documents, data, software, scripts, graphics, photographs, sounds, music, videos, audiovisual combinations, and other information or materials (“Content”), is subject to this Website Terms of Service Agreement (“Agreement”). BY USING THE SERVICE AND CONTENT, YOU ARE DEEMED TO ACCEPT THIS AGREEMENT AND YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE AND CONTENT. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, DO NOT USE THE SERVICE AND CONTENT.
2. Modifications to the Agreement
Askeladden may, in its sole discretion, modify or revise this Agreement at any time and You agree to be bound by such modifications and revisions. Each time modifications or revisions are made to this Agreement, a revised Agreement will be posted on the Site. Please check the Site from time to time to view the most current version of the Agreement.
3. Ownership; Limited License
3.1. Ownership. You hereby acknowledge and agree that: (a) the Service and Content, and the selection and arrangement thereof, are protected under the copyright laws and other intellectual property laws of the United States and other countries; (b) Askeladden is and shall continue to be the sole and exclusive owner of the Service and Content, and all Askeladden proprietary indicia (“Askeladden Marks”) used in association therewith (including, all copyrights, database rights, industrial designs, patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights thereto); (d) the Site contains proprietary indicia belonging to third parties, and that said third parties are and shall continue to be the sole and exclusive owners of their respective proprietary indicia (“Third Party Marks”). Nothing herein is intended to grant You any right, title, or interest in, or license to use, the Service, Content, Askeladden Marks, or Third Party Marks except as expressly stated herein.
3.2. Limited License. Subject to the terms of this Agreement, Askeladden hereby grants You a limited, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, non-transferrable, revocable license to access and use the Service and Content for Your personal, non-commercial use only. All rights not expressly granted to You herein are reserved by Askeladden.
4. Prohibitions and Restrictions; Public Search Engines
4.1. Legal Advice. This Website provides general information related to patents and litigation involving patents. Askeladden is not a law firm and this information is not meant to provide legal opinions, offer legal advice, or serve as a substitute for advice by licensed, legal professionals. This information is provided with the understanding that Askeladden is not engaged in rendering legal or other professional services. No attorney-client or confidential relationship exists or will be formed between you and Askeladden or any of our representatives.
4.2. Prohibitions and Restrictions. You hereby acknowledge and agree that in Your use of the Service and Content, You will not:
(a) Use the Services and/or Content to engage in activity that is (i) in violation of this Agreement; (ii) in violation any applicable law, rule, regulation, or ordinance; or (iii) harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, offensive, obscene, defamatory, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or otherwise objectionable.
(b) Reproduce, distribute, transfer, sell, modify, reverse engineer, create derivative works from, display, perform, or in any way exploit the Service and/or Content, in whole or in part;
(c) Infringe, misappropriate, or violate any intellectual property or proprietary right of Askeladden or a third party;
(d) Utilize framing techniques to create an appearance that a visitor to Your website is visiting the Site, impersonate Askeladden, or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with Askeladden;
(e) Circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the Service and/or Content;
(f) Use the Service and/or Content through interfaces other than those provided by Askeladden;
(g) Engage in activity that may interrupt, destroy, interfere with, or limit the functionality of the Service and/or Content; or
(h) Use or launch any automated system, including without limitation, “robots,” “spiders,” or “offline readers,” that sends more request messages to Askeladden’s servers in a given period of time than a human can reasonably produce in the same period by using a conventional browser.
4.3. Public Search Engines. Notwithstanding Section 5.1(h), Askeladden grants the operators of public search engines permission to use spiders to copy Content from the Site for the sole purpose of and solely to the extent necessary for creating publicly available searchable indices of the Content, but not caches or archives of the Content. Askeladden reserves the right to revoke these exceptions either generally or in specific cases.
5. Interstate Data Transmissions
By agreeing to this Agreement, You acknowledge that Your use of the Service and/or Content results in interstate data transmissions because of Askeladden’s network architecture, business practices, and the manner in which electronic communications are processed.
6. International Use
Recognizing the global nature of the Internet, You agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and Your use of the Service and Content. Specifically, you agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which You reside.
7. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold Askeladden and its officers, agents, employees, partners, and licensors harmless from and against any and all actions, claims, demands, damages, liabilities, costs, expenses, and losses (including all reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs associated therewith), brought by any third party arising out of or relating to (a) Your use or misuse of the Service, Content, and/or Third Party Marks; (b) Your connection to the Service; or (c) Your breach of any representations, warranties, and/or obligations under this Agreement.
8. Termination
You agree that Askeladden may, under certain circumstances and without prior notice, immediately terminate your access to the Service and/or Content. Cause for such termination shall include, but not be limited to, (a) Your breach or violation of any representation, warranty, and/or obligation under this Agreement; (b) requests by law enforcement or other government agencies; (c) discontinuance of or material modification to the Service and/or Content (or any part thereof); (d) unexpected technical or security issues or problems; and/or (e) engagement by You in fraudulent or illegal activities. Termination includes (i) removal of access to all offerings within the Service and Content; and (ii) barring of further use of the Service and/or Content. Further, You agree that all terminations shall be made in Askeladden's sole discretion and that Askeladden shall not be liable to You or any third party for any termination of access to the Service and/or Content.
9. Third Party Links
The Service may provide, or third parties may provide, links (“Third Party Links”) to other Internet sites or resources (“Third Party Sites”). Because Askeladden has no control over Third Party Sites, You acknowledge and agree that Askeladden is not responsible for Third Party Sites or their availability, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from or through Third Party Sites. You further acknowledge and agree that Askeladden 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 Your access of, use of or reliance on any such content, goods, or services available from or through any Third Party Sites.
10. Disclaimer of Warranty
YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT (a) YOUR USE, ACCESS, AND TRANSMISSION OF THE SERVICE AND CONTENT IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK, AND THE SERVICE AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS; (b) ASKELADDEN AND ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, PARTNERS, AND LICENSORS (i) EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT; AND (ii) MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT THE SERVICE, CONTENT, OR OTHER MATERIALS OBTAINED BY YOU FROM OR THROUGH THE SITE WILL (A) MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; (B) BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE; OR (C) BE COMPLETE, ACCURATE OR RELIABLE; AND (c) NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM ASKELADDEN OR THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE AND/OR CONTENT SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT. LAWS AND INTERPRETATIONS OF THOSE LAWS CHANGE FREQUENTLY AND THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE SERVICE AND CONTENT MAY HAVE IMPORTANT LEGAL CONSEQUENCES. IF NOT UNDERSTOOD, LEGAL, TAX, OR OTHER COUNSEL SHOULD BE CONSULTED.
11. Limitation of Liability
YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT IN NO EVENT SHALL ASKELADDEN, ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, PARTNERS, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF DATA, PERSONAL INJURY AND/OR DEATH, DAMAGE TO TANGIBLE PROPERTY, AND DAMAGE TO INTANGIBLE PROPERTY (EVEN IF ASKELADDEN HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES).
12. General Provisions
12.1. Entire Agreement. The Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between You and Askeladden regarding Your use of the Service and Content, superseding any prior agreements between You and Askeladden with respect thereto.
12.2. Choice of Law; Jurisdiction; Venue. The Agreement and the relationship between You and Askeladden shall be governed by, construed, and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, excluding its conflict of law provisions. Any legal action brought under or in connection with the subject matter of this Agreement shall be brought only in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York or, if such court would not have jurisdiction over the matter, then only in a New York State court sitting in the Borough of Manhattan, City of New York. You and Askeladden submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of these courts and agree not to commence any legal action under or in connection with the subject matter of this Agreement in any other court or forum. You and Askeladden hereby waive any objection to the laying of the venue of any legal action brought under or in connection with the subject matter of this Agreement in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York or the New York State courts sitting in the Borough of Manhattan, City of New York, and agree not to plead or claim in such courts that any such action has been brought in an inconvenient forum.
12.3. Waiver. The failure of Askeladden to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement or breach of this Agreement by You shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.
12.4. Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is unenforceable, such provision will be changed and interpreted to accomplish the intent of such provision to the greatest extent possible under applicable law and the remaining provisions of this Agreement will continue in full force and effect.
12.5. Statute of Limitations. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to this Agreement must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.
12.6. Section Headings. The section headings in this Agreement are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.
12.7. No Third-Party Beneficiaries. This Agreement is not enforceable by or for the benefit of any third-party.