Spotlight PA Terms of Service
Last Updated: January 27, 2023
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF SERVICE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, PLEASE DO NOT ACCESS THIS SITE, USE THE WEBSITE, OR CLICK “ACCEPT.”
The following Terms of Service (“Terms of Service” or “Terms” ) constitute the agreement between you (“you,” the “user,” or the “customer”) and Spotlight PA and its affiliates, subsidiaries or assigns (hereafter referred to as “our,” “we,” “us,” and/or “Spotlight PA”), with respect to your use of the Services described herein. By accessing or using our website, https://www.spotlightpa.org/, (the “Site” or “Website”) or interacting with us otherwise (together, the “Services”) you signify that you have read, understand, and agree to be bound by these Terms. Please read these Terms carefully. You should print a copy of these Terms for your records. You should also revisit this page periodically to review any updates we may have made to these Terms.
ARBITRATION NOTICE: EXCEPT FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF DISPUTES DESCRIBED IN THE “ARBITRATION PROVISION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER” SECTION BELOW, AND UNLESS YOU OPT-OUT AS SET FORTH IN THAT SAME SECTION, YOU AGREE THAT DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND SPOTLIGHT PA OR OTHER PARTIES DESCRIBED HEREIN WILL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING, INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AT THE ELECTION OF EITHER PARTY, AND YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND YOUR RIGHT TO BRING OR RESOLVE ANY DISPUTE AS OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS, PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, REPRESENTATIVE, OR COLLECTIVE ACTION IN COURT OR IN ARBITRATION.
These Terms govern the relationship between you and Spotlight PA with respect to your use of this Website and its related Services. You agree that the agreement formed by these Terms are like any written agreement signed by you, and you agree to be bound by, and fully comply with, their terms. You represent and warrant that you have all necessary right, power and authority to enter into these Terms and Conditions and to perform and otherwise discharge all of your obligations hereunder.
We reserve the right at any time to change: (i) the terms and conditions of these Terms; (ii) this Website or the Services, including terminating, eliminating, supplementing, modifying, adding or discontinuing any content or feature or data or service on or available through this Website or the Services or the hours that they are available; (iii) any fees or charges, if any, related to the use of this Website or the Services; and (iv) the equipment, hardware or software required to use and access this Website or the Services.
Any changes we make to these Terms will be effective immediately upon posting on this Website. Be sure to return to this Website periodically to ensure you are familiar with the most current version of these Terms.
1. Your Information and Disclosure to Third Parties
Spotlight PA has made a commitment to protecting the privacy of those who use the Services. Please review our Privacy Policy. Our Privacy Policy is incorporated by reference in these Terms. By using the Services, you are consenting to and agreeing to be bound by the Privacy Policy.
When you use the Services, you consent to receive communications from us electronically via the Services, email, or otherwise. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information about yourself when you use the Services and to update such information while you continue to use the Services.
2. Eligibility
You represent and warrant that you: (a) are above the legal age of majority in your jurisdiction of residence; (b) have not previously been suspended or removed from the Services; and (c) have full power and authority to enter into these Terms and in doing so will not violate any other agreement to which you are a party.
3. Termination
We may terminate or suspend your access to the Services, delete your account and any content or information or prohibit you from using or accessing the Services (or any portion, aspect or feature of the Services) if you violate these Terms, effective immediately, which may result in the forfeiture and destruction of all information associated with you and your activities in connection with the Services. If you wish to terminate your account, you may do so by following the instructions on the Services. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account without warning or without cause. In the event of termination, you will still be bound by your obligations under these Terms.
4. Services and Your Information
You represent and warrant that at all times you will: (i) provide accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by our registration form or otherwise; and (ii) maintain and promptly update your information (including your e-mail address) to keep it accurate, current and complete. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or if we have reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, we shall have the right to suspend or terminate your account and any or all privileges on this Website and to refuse any and all current or future use of this Website.
5. Use of Information and Materials (“Usage Rules”)
The information and materials contained in the Services, and these Terms, policies, and descriptions on the Services, are subject to change. You accept sole responsibility for all of your activities using the Services. Your use of the Services is limited to the intended function of the Services. Unauthorized use of the Services and systems, including but not limited to unauthorized entry into our systems or misuse of any information posted on the Services, is strictly prohibited. You may not use the Services in a manner that:
harasses, abuses, stalks, threatens, defames, or otherwise infringes or violates the rights of any party (including but not limited to rights of publicity or other proprietary rights);
is unlawful, fraudulent, or deceptive;
uses technology or other means to access or use content or systems of Spotlight PA in a manner that is not authorized by Spotlight PA, including without limitation scraping content from the Website;
interferes with any other person’s use of the Services, including, without limitation, by disrupting, spamming or otherwise using abusive tactics to deter others from using the Services or any of its features;
uses or launches any automated system, including, without limitation, “robots,” “spiders,” or “offline readers,” to access content or systems of Spotlight PA;
attempts to introduce viruses or any other computer code, files, or programs that interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment;
encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense or that gives rise to civil liability;
involves posting or transmitting of any file to the Site or the Services or to any other user which contains viruses, worms, time bombs, Trojan horses or any other contaminating or destructive code;
violates these Terms or any other Spotlight PA policies;
attempts to damage, disable, overburden, or impair Spotlight PA servers or networks;
fails to comply with applicable third-party terms; or
constitutes any other inappropriate conduct, as determined by us in our sole discretion.
If you violate any of the Usage Rules above, Spotlight PA may, in its sole discretion, and without limiting any of its other remedies, terminate your ability to access and/or use the Site and/or the Services.
6. User Content
In the event that the Website enables you to post any comments, suggestions, feedback or other content (collectively, “User Content”), you are solely responsible for User Content that you post or upload on the Website. By submitting User Content to the Website you agree to:
not post anything that (a) is defamatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, or an invasion of a right of privacy or publicity of another person; (b) is bigoted, hateful, or racially or otherwise offensive; (c) is violent, vulgar, obscene, pornographic or otherwise sexually explicit; or (d) otherwise harms or can reasonably be expected to harm any person or entity;
not post anything that is illegal or encourages or advocates illegal activity or the discussion of illegal activities with the intent to commit them, including a submission that is, or represents an attempt to engage in, child pornography, stalking, sexual assault, fraud, trafficking in obscene or stolen material, harassment, theft, or conspiracy to commit any criminal activity;
not post anything that infringes or violates any right of a third party including (a) copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary or contractual rights; (b) rights of privacy (specifically, you must not distribute another person’s personal information of any kind without their express permission) personality or publicity; or (c) any confidentiality obligation;
not post anything that (a) does not generally pertain to the designated topic or theme of this Website or the Services; (b) violates any specific restrictions applicable to this Website or the Services, including age restrictions and procedures; or (c) is antisocial, disruptive, or destructive, including anything that can be construed as “spamming,” “flooding,” or “trolling,” as those terms are commonly understood and used on the internet;
not post anything that: (a) expresses or implies that any statements you make or actions you take are endorsed by us; (b) impersonates another person (including celebrities); (c) indicates that you are an Spotlight PA employee, representative of Spotlight PA; or (d) attempts to mislead users by indicating that you represent Spotlight PA or any of Spotlight PA’s partners or affiliates;
not post anything that is commercial, business-related or advertises or offers to sell any products, services or otherwise (whether or not for profit), or solicits others (including solicitations for contributions or donations); and
not post anything that contains a virus or other harmful component, or otherwise tampers with, impairs or damages the Services or any connected network, or otherwise interferes with any person or entity enjoyment of the Website or the Services.
We strive to provide an enjoyable online experience for our users, so we may—but are not obligated to—monitor any or all activity on our Website or the Services, including in the public discussion areas, bulletin boards, forums, blogs, and elsewhere, to foster compliance with these Terms. We reserve the right to remove any User Content that in whole or in part, at our sole discretion, violates these Terms, is likely to harm our reputation, is deemed inappropriate or otherwise poses a risk of harm to any other person. We also reserve the right to deactivate your account or otherwise prevent your use and/or participation on Website at any time and for any reason. If you have reason to believe that another person is using the Website or our Services in a way that is harmful to you (e.g., to impersonate or imitate you, or to stalk, bully, threaten, intimidate or otherwise harass you), we urge you to contact your local authorities, or appropriate municipal, provincial, state or federal agencies.
Please note that we do not make any representations, warranties or guarantees that: (i) the Website, the Services, or any portion thereof, will be monitored (e.g., for accuracy or unacceptable use); (ii) apparent statements of fact will be authenticated; or (iii) we will take any specific action (or any action at all) in the event of a challenge or dispute regarding compliance or non-compliance with these Terms. We generally do not pre-screen any communications, content or other materials before it is posted, uploaded, transmitted, sent or otherwise made available on this Website or through the Services by users, so you may be exposed to certain communications, content or other materials that is opinionated, offensive, inappropriate, and/or violates these Terms.
We have the right, but not the obligation, to delete any communications, content or other materials on this Website at any time without notice or liability to you.
By submitting User Content to the Website or to us otherwise, you automatically grant Spotlight PA the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license, but not the obligation, to use, publish, reproduce, modify, adapt, edit, translate, create derivative works from, incorporate into other works, distribute, sub-license and otherwise exploit such User Content (in whole or in part) worldwide in any form, media or technology now known or hereafter developed for the full term of any copyright that may exist in such User Content, without payment to you or to any third parties. With respect to any User Content that you post on this Website or otherwise submit to us, you agree that: (i) Spotlight PA and its affiliates have no obligation to you or anyone else concerning such User Content; (ii) such User Content is not confidential; (iii) Spotlight PA and its affiliates may use, disclose, distribute or copy such User Content (including any ideas, concepts or know-how contained in such User Content) for any purpose and without restriction or obligation to you or to anyone else during the term of the Terms and afterwards; and (iv) such User Content is truthful and do not violate the legal rights of others.
Unsolicited Information
If you provide us with any unsolicited information and/or materials, including comments, questions, designs, and other similar communications (collectively, “Unsolicited Information”), you thereby grant us a perpetual, royalty-free, fully paid up and irrevocable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, publicly display, distribute, transmit, sublicense, create derivative works from, transfer, sublicense and sell such Unsolicited Information. If you do not agree with these Terms of Service, do not provide us with any Unsolicited Information.
7. Intellectual Property Infringement
Spotlight PA respects the intellectual property rights of others, and we ask you to do the same. Spotlight PA may, in appropriate circumstances and at our discretion, terminate service and/or access to this Site to users who infringe the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that your work is the subject of copyright infringement and/or trademark infringement and appears on the Site and/or in the Service, please provide Spotlight PA’s designated agent the following information:
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 and/or trademarked work claimed to have been infringed, or if multiple works at a single online location are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that location.
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 at the Site, and information reasonably sufficient to permit Spotlight PA to locate the material.
Information reasonably sufficient to permit Spotlight PA to contact you as the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an e-mail address at which you may be contacted.
A statement that you have a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright and/or trademark owner, its agent, or the law.
A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Spotlight PA’s agent for notice of claims of copyright or trademark infringement can be reached at webmaster@spotlightpa.org or at Copyright Officer, Spotlight PA, 228 Walnut St., #11728, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1728.
Please also note that for copyright infringements under Section 512(f) of the Copyright Act, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing may be subject to liability.
Submitting a DMCA Counter-Notification
We will notify you that we have removed or disabled access to copyright-protected material that you provided if such removal is pursuant to a valid Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 USC Section 512 et seq. (“DMCA”) take-down notice that we have received. If you receive such notice from us, you may provide us with a counter-notification, in writing, to Spotlight PA’s designated agent that includes all of the following information:
Your physical or electronic signature;
Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled, and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled;
A statement from you, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled; and
Your name, physical address, and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of a court for the judicial district in which your physical address is located, or if your physical address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which Spotlight PA may be located, and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification of allegedly infringing material or an agent of such person.
Termination of Repeat Infringers
Spotlight PA reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to terminate the account or access of any user of the Site who is the subject of repeated DMCA or other infringement notifications.
8. Security
We make no warranty whatsoever to you, express or implied, regarding the security of the Services, including with respect to the ability of unauthorized persons to intercept or access information transmitted by you through the Services. You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for maintaining the security of your devices and passwords. We are not responsible for any losses resulting from the loss or theft of your device, the loss or theft of your information transmitted from or stored on your devices, or any losses arising from the use of your device by someone whom you have given access. You are required to notify us of any unauthorized use of the Services by using the contact information in the “Contact Us” section below.
9. Links to Other Websites and Services
The Services may contain links to outside services and resources, the availability and content of which we do not control. We are not responsible for examining or evaluating, and we do not warrant the offering of these services and resources or the content of these websites.
We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the actions, products, and content of these and any other websites. Any concerns regarding any such services or resources should be directed to the service or resource.
10. Intellectual Property
The Services, the content, any materials or information downloaded, and all intellectual property pertaining to or contained on the Services (including but not limited to copyrights, patents, database rights, graphics, designs, text, logos, trade dress, trademarks, and service marks) are owned by Spotlight PA or third parties; all rights, title, and interest will remain the property of Spotlight PA and/or such third-party owner, as applicable. All content is protected by trade dress, copyright, patent, and trademark laws, as well as various other intellectual property and unfair competition laws.
You are authorized to view and retain a copy of pages of the Services only for your own personal, non-commercial use. You may also view and make copies of relevant documents, pages, images, or other materials on the Services for the purpose of transacting business with us. You may not tokenize copies of the pages of the Services or any other content on the Services. You agree that you will not duplicate, publish, modify, create derivative works from, participate in the transfer of, or in any way distribute or exploit the Services, or any portion of the Services, for any public or commercial use, without our prior express written consent. Additionally, you agree that you: (a)will not remove or alter any author, trademark, other proprietary notice, or legend displayed on the Services (or printed pages produced from the Services), and (b)will not make any other modifications to any documents obtained from the Services other than in connection with completing information required to transact business with Spotlight PA.
The views and opinions contained in opinion pieces and other works on the Site (“Content”) represent the views and opinions of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Spotlight PA. The appearance of the Content on the Site does not constitute an endorsement by Spotlight PA of the Content.
11. Indemnification
You will defend, indemnify, and hold Spotlight PA, each third-party service provider, their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, and parent companies, and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, information providers, and partners (collectively, the “Protected Parties”) harmless from and against any actual or threatened suit, actions, proceedings (at law or in equity), claims, damages, payments, deficiencies, fines, judgments, settlements, liabilities, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs, penalties, interest, and disbursements) arising from or related to (a) your conduct with respect to the Services and/or (b) violation (or alleged violation) of these Terms by your or any other person accessing the Site or Services using your Account . Under no circumstance will Spotlight PA be liable for damages of any kind that result from your use of, or the inability to use, the Services.
12. WAIVER, RELEASE AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
YOU AGREE THAT NONE OF THE PROTECTED PARTIES SHALL HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO YOU UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY OR INDEMNITY IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND/OR SERVICE. YOU HEREBY RELEASE AND FOREVER WAIVE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS YOU MAY HAVE AGAINST THE PROTECTED PARTIES (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS BASED UPON THE NEGLIGENCE OF ANY OF THE PROTECTED PARTIES) FOR LOSSES OR DAMAGES YOU SUSTAIN IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND/OR SERVICE.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING PARAGRAPH AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF THE PROTECTED PARTIES, FOR ANY CLAIM, COST, DAMAGE, OR LOSS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES, INCLUDING FOR ANY WARRANTIES THAT MAY NOT BE EXCLUDED, SHALL NOT EXCEED THE LESSER OF THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO US DURING THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRIOR TO THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE LIABILITY OR $10.00 (TEN DOLLARS) (USD) (THE “LIABILITY CAP”). SPOTLIGHT PA AND YOU AGREE THAT THE LIABILITY CAP SHALL INCLUDE ALL FORMS OF DAMAGES.
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for certain types of damages. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the greatest extent permitted by law.
13. Disclaimers
THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN “AS-IS” AND “AS-AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. SPOTLIGHT PA MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT (A) THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (B) THAT OPERATION OF THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, OR (c) THE CONTENT THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE. SPOTLIGHT PA UNDERTAKES NO OBLIGATION TO UPDATE THE SERVICES. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM US, OR THROUGH THE SERVICES SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY REGARDING THE SERVICES NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THESE TERMS. YOU UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ADDITIONAL DISCLAIMERS, LIMITATIONS, AND NOTICES REGARDING THE SERVICES AND ITS CONTENT AND DATA MAY BE PROVIDED BY SPOTLIGHT PA FROM TIME TO TIME WITHIN THE SERVICES.
WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL OPERATE ERROR-FREE OR THAT THE SERVICES AND ITS SERVERS ARE FREE OF COMPUTER VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL CONTENT. IF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, THE MATERIAL, OR THE SOFTWARE RESULTS IN THE NEED FOR SERVICING OR REPLACING EQUIPMENT OR DATA, WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE COSTS.
NOTHING IN THE SERVICES SHALL BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL, FINANCIAL, OR OTHER ADVICE, AND YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING ALL DECISIONS TO COMPLY WITH ALL APPLICABLE LAWS, REGULATIONS, CODES, OR STANDARDS.
14. Changes
You are responsible for reviewing these Terms regularly. Spotlight PA reserves the right, at any time, without notice to you, and in its sole discretion, to modify or discontinue the Services, these Terms, or any Spotlight PA policies related to use of the Services. Revisions to these Terms or our policies may be provided through the Services, including by posting the revisions on the Services and updating the “Last Updated” date. Such revisions will go into immediate effect once posted to the Services. Continued use of the Services following such modifications to the Services, these Terms, additional terms and conditions for any service, or other Spotlight PA policies will constitute your acceptance of such modifications and revisions.
15. System Outages, Slowdowns, and Capacity Limitations
At times you may experience difficulty accessing the Services or communicating with Spotlight PA through the Internet, or other electronic wireless services, as a result of high Internet traffic, transmission problems, systems capacity limitations, or other problems. Any computer system or other electronic device, whether it is yours, ours, or an Internet service provider’s, can experience unanticipated outages or slowdowns or have capacity limitations. Spotlight PA is not responsible for failure or delay of performance caused by such problems.
16. Severability/No Waiver
If any provision of these Terms shall be deemed unlawful, void, or unenforceable for any reason, then such provision shall be deemed severable from these Terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
Our failure to enforce the strict performance of any provision of these Terms or the additional terms and conditions for any product or service will not constitute a waiver of our right to subsequently enforce such provision or any other provisions of these Terms or the additional terms and conditions.
17. Miscellaneous
These Terms constitute the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede all previous written or oral agreements between the parties with respect to such subject matter.
No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default.
The section headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not be given any legal import.
These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Pennsylvania (without regard to provisions relating to conflicts of law), except as to copyright and trademark matters, which are covered by federal laws. You agree that any legal action or proceeding between Spotlight PA and you for any purpose concerning these Terms or the parties’ obligations hereunder shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, exclusively in the courts of Pennsylvania or the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and you agree to submit to the jurisdiction of these courts.
Spotlight PA may assign its rights and duties under these Terms to any party at any time without notice to you.
If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force.
18. Contact Us
If you have any questions regarding the Services or these Terms, please feel free to send us an email at webmaster@spotlightpa.org.