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Terms of Service

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Who We Are
Thunder & Lightning News Service (“newstrench.com”) is a website a continuing effort to meld the virtues of traditional journalism with new and emerging forms of delivery.

Your Acceptance
By using the Newstrench.com Website (“Website”) you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions.  If you do not agree with a provision, DO NOT use the Website.

Newstrench.com may change the Terms from time to time, at Newstrench.com′s sole discretion.  By continuing to use this website after such changes have been posted, you are agreeing to all such changes. Please visit this section of the Website from time to time to review the current version of the Terms.

To utilize some or all of the Services, you may be required to complete a registration process and establish an account with Newstrench.com (“Newstrench.com Account”). You represent and warrant that all information you provide to Newstrench.com is current, accurate, and complete, and that you will maintain the accuracy and completeness of this information on a prompt, timely basis.

Limited Liability and Warranty Disclaimer
Newstrench.com will not be liable for damages of any kind arising from the use or inability to use this site. You expressly agree that you use this site solely at your own risk. Under no circumstances shall Newstrench.com or its suppliers or licensors be liable for any direct, special, incidental, indirect, economic or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, loss of data or loss of use damages or lost profits) arising out of or connected with the site (including but not limited to its operation, its contents or the information of materials contained on it, or the use or inability to use any other site linked to Newstrench.com, or any content contained in any such site, or these terms, or the privacy policy applicable to this site) even if Newstrench.com, its suppliers, or licensors have been notified of the possibility of any damages. Because some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitation may not apply to you in such states.  The respective liability of Newstrench.com, its suppliers and licensors shall be limited to the greatest extent permitted by applicable law.

This website is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. Newstrench.com makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the site’s operation or the information, content or materials included on this site.  To the full extent permissible by applicable law, Newstrench.com disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for any particular purpose.

Code of Conduct
Newstrench.com does not pre-screen or regularly review contributed content, but Newstrench.com reserves the right to delete material and terminate accounts at its discretion with or without notice to the user.  Users shall adhere to the Code of Conduct to avoid such termination.

Users shall not contribute content containing or involving material that is obscene, defamatory, libelous, unlawful, harassing, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, constitutes an illegal threat, violates export control laws, hate propaganda, fraudulent material or fraudulent activity, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable material of any kind or nature specifically including, but not limited to, posting a photograph of another person without their consent and posting an illegal or unauthorized copy of another person’s work.  Additionally, Newstrench.com users are prohibited from posting material that encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offense, gives rise to civil liability, or holds Newstrench.com or its employees, volunteers, or agents up to public scorn, ridicule, or defamation.

Privacy Policy
Your relationship with Newstrench.com is your business only.

We do not collect personally identifiable information on our web site unless you choose to give it to us when registering, via email, a phone call, or by postal mail. Even when you choose to give us information, we keep it confidential.

We do not sell, rent, share, or otherwise disclose mailing lists or other personally identifiable information. We maintain some records of individuals so we can provide further information to you in the future. However, we do not provide this information to anyone else unless you give us your permission.

Newstrench.com agrees not to disclose a user’s personal information except in limited circumstances.  Newstrench.com may disclose a user’s personal information when Newstrench.com is subject to valid legal process or as required to provide to provide a user with the services the user requests. Newstrench.com will disclose information if it is required by law, and in situations involving a threat to someone’s safety. Newstrench.com will post changes to its privacy policy 30 days in advance of the changes taking effect.  If a user terminates an account, Newstrench.com will deactivate the specific user account, but Newstrench.com retains the account in order to resolve disputes or enforce agreements.

As a user of Newstrench.com services, you are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your password(s) and Newstrench.com Account(s).  You understand and agree that you are fully responsible for all actions and postings made from your Newstrench.com Account(s).  Any accounts you create are not transferable.  You agree to notify Newstrench.com immediately if you become aware of any unauthorized use of your Newstrench.com Account(s).

Children’s Privacy
The Newstrench.com website is not intended or designed to attract children under the age of 13.  Newstrench.com does not collect any personally identifiable information from anyone we know to be under the age of 18.  Newstrench.com does not collect any personally identifiable information from any person we actually know is a child under the age of 13.

Community Participation

Browsing
You understand that material made available by Newstrench.com does not necessarily represent the view of Newstrench.com. Newstrench.com assumes no responsibility for the accuracy, suitability, or completeness of any content provided.

Linking
Please note that the Website may contain links to other websites that are not owned or controlled by Newstrench.com. Newstrench.com has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party websites. In addition, Newstrench.com will not and cannot censor or edit the content of any third-party site.  By using this Website, you expressly relieve Newstrench.com from any and all liability arising from your use of any third-party website.

Commenting Guidelines
Newstrench.com strives to facilitate your participation in online media and in protecting  free speech online. Newstrench.com hopes to gather a diverse range of voices into this site, but we will decline to publish unacceptable content and will remove it from this site.

Unacceptable content includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Statements that are intended as personal attacks or are abusive, harassing, or threatening
  • Defamatory or knowingly false statements
  • Information of a private or personal nature that does not have news value or relevance to the topic being discussed
  • Irrelevant statements or SPAM
  • Materials that violate the copyright, trademark, or trade-secret rights of others that are not otherwise authorized by law, such as fair use

Newstrench.com will determine what is “unacceptable content”on a case-by-case basis.  We reserve the right to change these standards at any time. We also reserve the right to remove links to unacceptable off-site content at any time.

Newstrench.com License
By posting or contributing content using these Services, you are granting Newstrench.com a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and worldwide license to use your content in connection with the operation of the Services, including, without limitation, the license rights to copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, translate and reformat your content, and/or to incorporate it into a collective work.

Indemnities
Newstrench.com requires you to indemnify it against any liability resulting from your use of its services. Newstrench.com retains the right to employ Newstrench.com’s own counsel.  You remain solely responsible for Newstrench.com’s defense and must obtain Newstrench.com’s written consent to a settlement.  You agree to notify Newstrench.com of a pending suit claiming you have violated a third party’s intellectual property rights. Newstrench.com requires that you confirm your indemnification in case of a lawsuit; failure to do so may be considered a breach of your terms of service.

Trademark and Copyright Infringement Policy
You agree not to infringe copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other proprietary rights.  By posting any content, you represent and warrant that you have all right, title, and interest to such posted content, including but not limited to any consent, authorization, release, clearance or license from any third party (such as, but not limited to, any release related to rights of privacy or publicity) necessary for you to provide, post, upload, input or submit the content, and that posting such content does not violate or constitute the infringement of any patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, right of privacy, right of publicity, moral rights, or other intellectual property right recognized by any applicable jurisdiction of any person or entity, or otherwise constitute the breach of any agreement with any other person or entity. You further represent and warrant that you are who you say you are, that you have not submitted fictitious, false or inaccurate information about yourself, and that all information contained in the posted content is true and your own work or work you are authorized to submit, and that the posted content does not contain any threatening, harassing, libelous, false, defamatory, offensive, obscene, or pornographic, material, or other material that would violate any other applicable law or regulation. You agree that you will not knowingly and with intent to defraud provide material and misleading information. You represent and warrant that the content you supply does not violate the Terms. Newstrench.com will take down material in response to a notice of copyright infringement and Newstrench.com will take reasonable steps to notify the party whose allegedly infringing content was taken down, including providing a copy of the complaint. Newstrench.com may terminate the account of repeat infringers and provide detailed instructions as to how to file a counter-notification.

Copyright Complaints

Notice and Takedown Procedure
It is our policy to expeditiously respond to clear notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This page describes the information that should be present in these notices. It is designed to make submitting notices of alleged infringement to Newstrench.com as straightforward as possible while reducing the number of notices that we receive that are fraudulent or difficult to understand or verify. The form of notice specified below is consistent with the form suggested by the DMCA (the text of which can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office Web Site, http://www.copyright.gov), but we will respond to notices of this form from other jurisdictions as well.

It is expected that all users of any part of Newstrench.com will comply with applicable copyright laws. However, if Newstrench.com receives proper notification of claimed copyright infringement, our response to these notices will include removing or disabling access to material claimed to be the subject of infringing activity and/or terminating subscribers, regardless of whether we may be liable for such infringement under United States law or the laws of another jurisdiction.

If we remove or disable access in response to such a notice, we will make a good-faith attempt to contact the owner or administrator of the affected site or content so that they may make a counter notification pursuant to Sections 512(g)(2) and (3) of the DMCA. We may also document notices of alleged infringement on which we act.

Designated Agent
Newstrench.com′s Designated Agent to receive notification of alleged infringement under the DMCA is:

Paul Skolnick
Thunder & Lightning Press LLC
10573 W. Pico Blvd. #167
Los Angeles, CA  90064-2333
(310) 837-0330
skolnick@newstrench.com

Upon receipt of proper notification of claimed infringement, Newstrench.com will follow the procedures outlined here and in the DMCA.

Infringement Notification
If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that infringes on your copyright, or your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, please provide Newstrench.com′s Registered Agent (listed above) the following information in a written communication (preferably via email):

  1. Identification of the copyrighted work you believe 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;
  2. 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 Newstrench.com to locate the material;
  3. Information reasonably sufficient to permit Newstrench.com to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an email address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
  4. The following statement: “I have 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”;
  5. The following statement: “I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate, and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed”; and
  6. A physical or electronic signature of the owner or a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Please note that you may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that material is infringing your copyrights. Accordingly, if you are not sure whether material available online infringes your copyright, we suggest that you first contact an attorney.

Counter Notification
A provider of content subject to a claim of infringement may make a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g)(2) and (3) of the DMCA. To file a counter notification with us, please provide Shoreline5989′s Registered Agent (listed above) the following information in a written communication (preferably via email):

  1. 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;
  2. Your name, address, and telephone number;
  3. The following statement: “I consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the [insert the federal judicial district in which your address is located]“;
  4. The following statement: “I will accept service of process from [insert the name of the person who submitted the infringement notification] or his/her agent”;
  5. The following statement: “I swear, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good faith belief that the affected material was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled”; and
  6. Your signature, in physical or electronic form.

Upon receipt of such counter notification, Newstrench.com will promptly provide the person who provided the original infringement notification with a copy of the counter notification, and inform that person that Newstrench.com will replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it in 10 business days. Newstrench.com will replace the removed material and cease disabling access to it not less than 10, nor more than 14, business days following receipt of the counter notice, unless our Designated Agent first receives notice from the person who submitted the original infringement notification that such person has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the subscriber from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material on our system or network.

Repeat Infringers
In accordance with Section 512(i)(1)(a) of the DMCA, Newstrench.com will, in appropriate circumstances, disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who are repeat infringers.

Accommodation of Standard Technical Measures
It is Newstrench.com′s policy to accommodate and not interfere with standard technical measures used by copyright owners to identify or protect copyrighted works that Newstrench.com determines are reasonable under the circumstances.

Governing Law
This agreement is governed by California law and any action arising from the agreement will be brought in Los Angeles County. Newstrench.com requires that you waive your right to trial by jury.

No Waiver of Terms
Newstrench.com’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not be deemed a waiver of such right or provision in that or any other instance.

Entire Agreement
The Terms constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to this subject matter and supersedes and replaces all prior or contemporaneous understandings or agreements, written or oral, regarding such subject matter. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision or portion of these Terms to be unenforceable, the remainder of the Terms will continue in full force and effect.

 

January 10, 2012

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