Terms of Use

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GermanFoods.org TERMS OF USE

Last Updated: December 7, 2009

IMPORTANT: THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, REMEDIES AND OBLIGATIONS, INCLUDING VARIOUS LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Parties

Acceptance of terms through use

Changes to this Agreement

Definitions

Accounts

Email and Notices

License and Site Access

Materials

User Conduct and General Practices

Co-Branding, Framing, Metatags and Linking

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Policy and Notification

User Representations

Disclaimer of Warranties

Limitation of Liability

Parental Control Protections

Special Admonitions for International Use

Third Party Websites and Content

Submissions

Miscellaneous

Acceptance of Electronic Contract

The Parties

This Terms of Use Agreement (the "Agreement" or "Terms of Use") is made by and between German Foods North America, LLC, an advisory and trade organization which is registered as a limited liability company in the state of Delaware and having its office at the Representative of German Industry and Trade, 1776 I Street, N.W., Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20006 U.S.A.and YOU.

This Agreement contains the terms and conditions that govern your use of the website and all Services found at http://www.germanfoods.org and http://www.mygermanfoods.org (including but not limited to the "Consumer Pages" located at http://www.germanfoods.org/consumer, the "Trade Pages" located at http://www.germanfoods.org/trade and the "School Pages" located at http://www.germanfoods.org/schools) its mobile version and any of its sub-domains as well as the exporter page http://www.germanfoodsna.com(collectively, the "Site"). You and Company may be referred to collectively herein as the "Parties" and individually as a "Party."

IN CONSIDERATION and exchange of the mutual covenants of the Parties contained herein and the mutual benefits to be received under this Agreement, the Parties agree as follows:

Acceptance of terms through use

You signify that you have read, understand and agree to be bound by this Agreement whether you are simply browsing the Site, or have become a Registered User (collectively, "Users").

This Agreement also includes, and by accessing or using the Site you are agreeing to be bound by, the privacy policy found at www.germanfoods.org/privacy and all other notices, statements, "frequently asked questions (FAQs)" sweepstakes rules or the like posted on the Site (collectively, the "Policies"). The Policies are incorporated herein by this reference, and you agree to their terms. You should review the Policies frequently and carefully. In the event of any conflict between this Agreement and the Policies, this Agreement shall control.

By using the Site you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.

Changes to this Agreement. We may change or modify this Agreement (including the Policies) at any time without further notice and such changes or modifications will become effective upon being posted to the Site. We will indicate at the top of its first page the date this Agreement was last revised. If you do not agree to abide by these or any future versions of the Agreement, do not use or access (or continue to use or access) the Site. It is your responsibility to check the Site regularly to determine if there have been changes to the Agreement and to review such changes.

Definitions. As used in this Agreement:

"Person" means any individual, corporation, company, partnership, association or other group of persons, whether or not organized as a legal entity, or legal successors or representatives of the foregoing.

"User" means any Person who visits, browses or uses the Site or in any manner avails themselves of any Service offered at, on or through the Site. The term "User" includes, but is not limited to, Registered Users and Trade Partners.

"Registered User" means any User who creates an account to use the Site or otherwise provides their personal contact information to us, including but not limited to those who subscribe to our newsletters.

Trade Partner means an entity whose goods, services and/or contact information we may choose to list or describe on the Site, including by way of example and not limitation: retailers, restaurants, distributors, importers, brokers, exporters, manufacturers, agencies, service providers, associations and government agencies. For the avoidance of doubt: German Foods North America, LLC provides Trade Partner information solely for the convenience of other Users, and the term Trade Partner does not imply or create any partnership, agency, joint venture, employment, franchise or other relationship between any such entity and German Foods North America, LLC.

"Trade Partner Information" means information of or pertaining to a Trade Partner, including but not limited to goods, services, trademarks and contact information.

"Materials" means, without limitation: advertisements, pictures, graphics, photographs, trademarks, logos, text, comments, videos and other audiovisual work, sound recordings, musical compositions, lyrics, and all other works and intellectual property of any type or kind posted to the Site by any User.

Accounts.

If you are a Registered User, you agree to provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the log in and registration processes (such information being your "Account Information"). You further agree that, in providing your Account Information, you will not knowingly omit or misrepresent any material facts or information and that you will promptly enter corrected or updated Account Information, or otherwise advise us promptly in writing of changes or updates. You further consent and authorize us to verify your Account Information as required for your use of and access to the Site.

As a Registered User, you will receive a unique username and password in connection with your account (collectively referred to herein as your "Username"). You agree that you will not allow any other Person to use your Username. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Username and for any charges, damages, liabilities or losses incurred or suffered as a result of your failure to do so. You are solely and entirely responsible for any and all activities that occur under your account. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security known to you. You acknowledge that the complete privacy of your data transmitted while using the Site cannot be guaranteed.

German Foods North America, LLC, in its sole discretion and without notice to you, may freeze or otherwise disable access to your account for a reasonable period of time to investigate any good faith suspicion German Foods North America, LLC may have regarding activities occurring under your account that may be in violation of this Agreement and/or applicable law.

You agree that your failure to abide by any provision of this Agreement or any Policy, your willful provision of inaccurate or unreliable Account Information, your failure to update your Account Information to keep it current, complete or accurate, and/or your failure to respond to inquiries from German Foods North America, LLC concerning the accuracy of your Account Information shall be considered a material breach of this Agreement entitling German Foods North America, LLC to terminate your account without further notice to you.

Violations of this Agreement may result in civil and/or criminal liability. We have the right to investigate occurrences which may involve such violations and we may provide information to and cooperate with, law enforcement authorities in prosecuting any User who is involved in such violations.

Email and Notices. You agree that Company may provide any and all notices, statements and other communications to you through the e-mail address specified in your Account Information or, in Company's sole discretion, by mail, express delivery service, facsimile or other electronic communication sent to the respective addresses specified in your Account Information.

License and Site Access. Contingent upon your compliance with all the terms and conditions of this Agreement, German Foods North America, LLC grants you a personal, revocable, nontransferable, and non-exclusive license to access and make personal use of the Site and to use the object code of the Site on a single computer, subject to the following terms and conditions:

• You do not, and do not allow any third party to, copy, modify, create a derivative work from, or attempt to transfer any right in the Site; and
  
• You do not download (other than page caching) or modify the Site or any portion of it, without German Foods North America, LLC's express written consent; and
  
• You do not download (other than page caching), modify or exercise any other right to any Materials you do not exclusively own, without a written license from the owner(s) thereof.
  

Except as otherwise specifically permitted herein, this license expressly excludes any resale or commercial use of the Site or its contents; any commercial collection or use of any product information, advertisements, data or prices; any derivative use of the Site or its contents; any downloading or copying of any User's Account Information for the benefit of any merchant; and any use of data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools. Neither the Site nor any portion thereof may be reproduced, modified, distributed or otherwise exploited for any purpose without German Foods North America, LLC's express written consent.

Except for Materials and certain content licensed from third parties, the entire Site and all intellectual property rights associated therewith (including by way of example and not limitation: the Site's compilation and all object code and source code, text, graphics, multimedia content, including but not limited to images, illustrations, audio and video clips, html and other mark up languages, and all scripts within the Site or associated therewith) are the sole and exclusive property of German Foods North America, LLC. All rights reserved. Content licensed from third parties and all intellectual property rights related to such content belong to the respective third parties.

Trade Partner Information is for informational purposes only and is the sole responsibility of the respective Trade Partner. If a Trade Partner believes that another User has posted or provided inaccurate information, or information the Trade Partner does not wish to appear on the Site, it is the responsibility of the Trade Partner to so advise German Foods North America, LLC.

You agree not to reproduce, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or modify any portion of the Site.

The Site is protected by all applicable United States and international intellectual property laws. Except as expressly provided herein, you are not granted any rights or license to patents, copyrights, trade secrets or trademarks with respect to the Site, and German Foods North America, LLC reserves all rights not expressly granted hereunder. You shall promptly notify German Foods North America, LLC in writing upon your discovery of any unauthorized use or infringement of the Site or German Foods North America, LLC's patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks or other intellectual property rights. The Site contains proprietary and confidential information that is protected by applicable law.

All trademarks related to German Foods North America, LLC and/or the Site, including all logos and trade dress (collectively, the "German Foods North America, LLC Marks") are exclusively owned by German Foods North America, LLC. Other trademarks, service marks, logos, labels, product names and service names appearing in Material posted on the Site and not owned by German Foods North America, LLC or its subsidiaries, are the property of their respective owners.

You agree not to copy, display or otherwise use any German Foods North America, LLC Marks without German Foods North America, LLC's prior written permission. The German Foods North America, LLC Marks may never be used in any manner likely to cause confusion, disparage or dilute the German Foods North America, LLC Marks and/or in connection with any product or service that is not authorized or sponsored by German Foods North America, LLC.

You may not remove or alter, or cause to be removed or altered, any copyright, trademark, trade name, service mark, or any other proprietary notice or legend appearing on the Site.

Materials.

German Foods North America, LLC shall have the right to review all Materials and in its sole discretion to remove or refuse to post any Materials for any reason.

You are solely responsible at your own cost and expense for creating backup copies and replacing any Materials you post or store on the Site or otherwise provide to Company.

Subject to our Privacy Policy, no Materials or other information uploaded or sent to German Foods North America, LLC at, on or through the Site, or by any other means, will be deemed or treated as confidential.

You shall retain all ownership rights in and to your Materials. Notwithstanding, when you post, transmit or share Materials, you authorize and direct us to make such copies thereof as we deem necessary in order to facilitate the storage of such Materials. You expressly authorize German Foods North America, LLC to reproduce, transmit, stream, broadcast, publicly display and publicly perform in any manner, form or media whether now known or hereafter devised, any Materials you post to the Site.

You understand and agree that Company may in its sole discretion retain server copies of Materials that have been removed or deleted.

COMPANY DOES NOT CONTROL MATERIALS POSTED TO THE SITE BY USERS AND COMPANY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH SUCH MATERIALS.

User Conduct and General Practices

Without limiting any other provision of this Agreement, you agree not to use the Site in any unlawful manner or, without limitation, to:

• harvest or collect email addresses or other contact information from others by electronic or other means;
  
• damage, disable, overburden or impair the Site;
  
• use automated scripts to collect information from or otherwise interact with the Site;
  
• upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available any content that we deem to be harmful, threatening, unlawful, defamatory, infringing, abusive, inflammatory, harassing, vulgar, obscene, fraudulent, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
  
• impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent yourself, your age or your affiliation with any person or entity;
  
• upload, post, transmit, share or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, solicitations, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation;
  
• upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make publicly available any private information of any third party, including, without limitation, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers;
  
• solicit personal information from anyone under 18 or solicit passwords or personally identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes;
  
• upload, post, transmit, share or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
  
• intimidate, "stalk" or harass another;
  
• upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available content that would constitute, encourage or provide instructions for a criminal offense, violate the rights of any party, or that would otherwise create liability or violate any local, state, national or international law;
  
• use or attempt to use another's account, or create a false identity on the Site;
  
• provide material support or resources (or to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, or ownership of material support or resources) to any organization(s) pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act; and/or
  
• upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available content that, in the sole judgment of Company, is objectionable or which may expose Company or its Users to any harm or liability of any type.
  

You understand that the technical processing and transmission of your Materials may involve (a) transmissions over various networks; and (b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices.

You agree that Company has no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store any communications, or Materials. You further acknowledge that Company reserves the right to modify these general practices from time to time.

Company reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Site (or any part thereof) with or without notice. You agree that Company shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Site.

Co-Branding, Framing, Metatags and Linking.

You may not co-brand this Site. For purposes of this Agreement, "co-branding" means to display a name, logo, trademark, or other means of attribution or identification of German Foods North America, LLC or GermanFoods.org in such a manner as is reasonably likely to give the impression that you have the right to display, publish, or distribute this Site or content accessible within this Site. You agree to cooperate with German Foods North America, LLC in causing any unauthorized co-branding immediately to cease.

You may not frame or use framing techniques to enclose any German Foods North America, LLC trademark, logo, or other proprietary information (including but not limited to images, text, page layout, and form) without German Foods North America, LLC's express written consent. You may not include German Foods North America, LLC's name or trademarks in any metatags or any other "hidden text" without German Foods North America, LLC's express written consent.

You are granted a limited, revocable, nonexclusive license to create a hyperlink to the Site's home page (and/or to the "homepage" of the Consumer, Trade or School Pages), provided that you comply with all of the following:

• The link must be a text-only link clearly marked "GermanFoods.orgSM" or "MyGermanfoods.org"
  
• The link, when activated by any Person, must display the Site full-screen and not within a "frame" on the linking or any other Site
  
• The link shall not portray German Foods North America, LLC, GermanFoods.org or its products or services in any false, misleading, disparaging or otherwise offensive manner
  
• The link may not use any German Foods North America, LLC logo or other proprietary graphic or trademark as part of the link without German Foods North America, LLC's prior express written permission; and
  
• The appearance, position and other aspects of the link must not be such as to damage or dilute the goodwill associated with our name and trademarks or create any false appearance that we are associated with or sponsor the linking or any other Site.
  

We reserve the right to revoke this license to link at any time in our sole discretion, without notice.

Any unauthorized activity by you as set forth in this section shall result in the immediate and automatic termination of your account and all permission, rights and/or licenses granted to you by German Foods North America, LLC, and may also result in such additional action as German Foods North America, LLC deems necessary to protect and enforce its legal rights.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Policy.

Section 512 of the Copyright Law of the United States (17 U.S.C. §512) limits liability for copyright infringement by service providers if the service provider has designated an agent for notification of claimed infringement by providing contact information to the Copyright Office and through the service provider's website. German Foods North America, LLC has designated an agent to receive notification of alleged copyright infringement (our agent is identified below). This section is without prejudice or admission as to the applicability of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C., Section 512, to German Foods North America, LLC.

How to report a claim of infringement

If you believe that any of your exclusive rights under United States copyright law have been violated in a manner that constitutes infringement, and that the allegedly infringing material is accessible on the Site or through CORRECT LEGAL NAME as an online service provider, you must notify our designated agent.

The law requires that to be valid, your claim of copyright infringement must be written and addressed to our agent (identified below) and must provide the following information (the list below comes straight from the statute; if you do not understand the language please seek independent advice):

• 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 work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online Site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that Site;
  
• 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, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
  
• Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
  
• A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
  
• A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
  

When filing an infringement claim, please include any URLs identifying the allegedly infringing material along with any other information that might assist our agent's investigation of your claim.

Upon receipt of a valid claim (i.e., a claim in which all required information is substantially provided) German Foods North America, LLC will undertake to have the disputed material removed from public view. We will also notify the User who posted the allegedly infringing material that we have removed or disabled access to that material. German Foods North America, LLC has no other role to play either in prosecuting or defending claims of infringement, and cannot be held accountable in any case for damages, regardless of whether a claim of infringement is found to be true or false.

Please note: If you materially misrepresent that material infringes your copyright interests, you may be liable for damages (including court costs and attorneys fees) and could be subject to criminal prosecution.

How to make a counter notification

• If you are a User and you feel that material that you have placed online that has been removed following an infringement complaint is in fact NOT an infringement, you may file a counter notification. Section 512 (g)(3) requires that to be valid, the counter notification must be written and addressed to our agent (identified below) and must provide the following information (again, the list below comes straight from the statute; if you do not understand the language please seek independent advice):
  
• A physical or electronic signature of the subscriber;
  
• 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 under penalty of perjury that the subscriber has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled; and
  
• The subscriber's name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that the subscriber consents to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if the subscriber's address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and that the subscriber will accept service of process from the person who provided notification under or an agent of such person.
  

Our designated agent will present your counter notification to the person who filed the infringement complaint. Once your counter notification has been delivered, German Foods North America, LLC is allowed under the provisions of Section 512 to restore the removed material in not less than ten or more than fourteen days, unless the complaining party serves notice of intent to obtain a court order restraining the restoration.

It is German Foods North America, LLC's policy to terminate the accounts of Users who are found to be repeat infringers.

German Foods North America, LLC, Arnim von Friedeburg

By e-mail: copyrightatGermanFoods.org (Subject line: DMCA)

By mail: German Foods North America, LLC, c/o Representative of German Industry and Trade, 1776 I Street, N.W., Suite 1000
Washington, D.C. 20006, U.S.A.Attn: Arnim von Friedeburg

User Representations. By accepting this Agreement you expressly warrant and represent the following to German Foods North America, LLC and acknowledge that German Foods North America, LLC is relying upon such warranties and representations:

• That all factual assertions you have made and will make to us are true and complete and that you are competent under the laws of your jurisdiction to enter into this contract.
  
• That you are deriving benefits from this Agreement and from using the Site.
  
• That you have obtained and hold all rights, approvals, permits, consents, licenses and/or permissions, in proper legal form, necessary to submit Materials on the terms provided herein, to grant German Foods North America, LLC the licenses set forth herein and, if you are a Trade Partner, to sell and deliver the goods and services described in your Trade Partner Information.
  
• That no other rights, approvals, permits, consents, licenses and/or permissions are required from any other person or entity to submit your Materials on the terms provided herein or to grant German Foods North America, LLC the licenses set forth herein or, if you are a Trade Partner, to post your Trade Partner Information to the Site or to sell and deliver any goods and services described in your Trade Partner Information.
  
• That your Materials are original; that your Materials were either created solely by you or, by written assignment, you have acquired all worldwide intellectual property rights in and to your Materials; that if your Materials contain any "samples" or excerpts from copyrightable work the rights to which are owned in whole or in part by any person or entity other than you, that you have obtained and hold all rights, approvals, consents, licenses and/or permissions, in proper legal form, necessary to use and include such work in your Materials; and that your Materials do not otherwise infringe on the personal, privacy, publicity or intellectual property rights of any Person or entity.
  
• That your Materials do not violate any common law or statutory patent, copyright, privacy, publicity, trademark or trade secret rights of any Person or entity and are not libelous, defamatory, obscene or otherwise actionable at law or equity.
  
• That you have neither intentionally nor with gross negligence submitted any Materials containing or producing any virus or other harmful code or other information that could damage or otherwise interfere with our computer systems or data and/or that of our customers.
  
• You agree to sign and deliver to German Foods North America, LLC any additional documents that German Foods North America, LLC may request to confirm German Foods North America, LLC's rights and your warranties and representations under this Agreement. If you are under the age of 18 this includes, but is not limited to, your legal guardian's written acceptance of this Agreement on your behalf.
  
• You acknowledge that German Foods North America, LLC is relying upon the representations, warranties and covenants you have made herein. You agree to and hereby do indemnify German Foods North America, LLC, its parent companies, principals, officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensees, assigns and customers against, and hold them harmless from, any loss, expense (including reasonable attorney fees and expenses), or damage occasioned by any claim, demand, suit, recovery, or settlement arising out of any breach or alleged breach of any of the representations, warranties or covenants made herein or arising out of any failure by you to fulfill any of the representations, warranties, or covenants you have made in this Agreement.
  

Disclaimer of Warranties.

You acknowledge that the Site may from time to time encounter technical or other problems and may not necessarily continue uninterrupted or without technical or other errors and that German Foods North America, LLC shall not be responsible to you or others for any such interruptions, errors or problems. German Foods North America, LLC provides no promise or assurance whatever that any of your Materials or Trade Partner Information will ever be accessed, viewed or used by other Users.

A possibility exists that the Site could include inaccuracies or errors, or information or ma