Terms of Use for DakotaCountyTribune.biz
DakotaCountyTribune.biz is the web site for the Dakota County Tribune. ECM Publishers, Inc. is the parent company for DakotaCountyTribune.biz, the Dakota County Tribune and Thisweek Newspapers. DakotaCountyTribune.biz is a weekly business news, information and communication web site serving the southern Twin Cities suburbs of Eagan, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Rosemount, Lakeville and Farmington. DakotaCountyTribune.biz is intended to provide the residents of these communities and the readers of our print newspaper with an electronic platform for much of the content that appears in our print edition.
In order to participate in any of our interactive content sections (story or blog comments/online forum participation), you are required to read and agree to the terms and conditions contained in these Terms of Use. By registering as a member, and/or by accessing and using DakotaCountyTribune.biz's interactive content, you agree to these Terms of Use. The information you provide and your agreement with the Terms of Use will not be used to solicit you, nor will DakotaCountyTribune.biz restrict access in any way to the Web site, regardless of whether or not you have agreed to the Terms of Use. However, if you intend to post content of your own in any format, you must agree to the Terms of Use.
DakotaCountyTribune.biz reserves the right to make changes to the Terms of Use and will send an e-mail notice to the e-mail address you provide with registration if and when such changes are made. The notice will include the details of the change(s) and the effective date of the change(s). Should you object to any such changes to the Terms of Use in any way, your only recourse is to immediately terminate your membership and discontinue use of DakotaCountyTribune.biz. Otherwise, continuing to use the service after the effective date means that you agree to be bound by the changes.
Cost
There is no cost for using the services of DakotaCountyTribune.biz. As a local business news organization, we believe strongly in providing all our content for free, including the use of our online newspaper archives. However, because we are an advertising-supported service, we offer opportunities to register for e-mail newsletter versions of our newspapers that will contain coupons and advertiser information. This "subscription" service is completely voluntary, as is your acceptance of the Terms of Use, and is provided at no cost only upon your specific request. We encourage you to patronize the advertisers that help to make DakotaCountyTribune.biz and our print edition newspaper possible.
Registration
Registration is simple and requires you to provide only your name, phone number and e-mail address. If you register with DakotaCountyTribune.biz, you accept responsibility for all content you provide on our web site. You are responsible for restricting access to your computer so others may not access DakotaCountyTribune.biz using your identity in whole or in part. DakotaCountyTribune.biz reserves the right to terminate membership and deny access to the site to any person who violates the Terms of Use.
Copyrights and trademarks
Material published on DakotaCountyTribune.biz, including articles, photos, graphics, bulletin board postings, audio and video clips, and other content, is copyrighted by ECM Publishers, Inc., or by other information providers who have licensed their content for use on DakotaCountyTribune.biz. Additionally, the entire content of DakotaCountyTribune.biz is also copyrighted as a collective work under the United States copyright laws; the owner of the collective work is ECM Publishers, Inc. You cannot reproduce, republish or redistribute material from ECM Publishers, Inc. or other news services and syndicates in any way without the written consent of the copyright owner.
You may, however, electronically store a reasonable portion of DakotaCountyTribune.biz content for your personal, non-commercial use by making a single electronic copy on your computer's hard drive, a single copy on a portable electronic storage device, or a single copy in printed form. You agree, however, that you will not store or archive a significant portion of the content or create a database using the content. These rules also apply:
- You will not in any way violate the intellectual property laws protecting the content accessible through DakotaCountyTribune.biz. This means you agree not to copy, modify, publish, transmit, create derivative works from, transfer, sell or display the content, including logos, trademarks or service marks, or otherwise violate the proprietary rights of DakotaCountyTribune.biz or others.
- You will not reuse, republish or otherwise distribute the content or any modified or altered versions of it, whether over the Internet or otherwise, and whether or not for payment, without the express written permission of ECM Publishers, Inc. or a third-party copyright holder.
- You will cooperate promptly and completely with any reasonable request by the DakotaCountyTribune.biz adminstrators related to an investigation of infringement of copyright or other proprietary right.
To obtain permission to reuse or republish any material copyrighted by DakotaCountyTribune.biz, please contact the online editor at (952) 894-1111. DakotaCountyTribune.biz cannot grant permission to reuse or republish material from other information providers. Please contact them directly.
Member content
"Member content" is any information you provide to us or other users in the registration process, in any comment section or online forum, or through any e-mail feature. You are solely responsible for your content, and we act as a passive conduit for your online distribution and publication of member content. Member Content must conform to the guidelines set forth under online conduct below. DakotaCountyTribune.biz reserves the right to remove any material that it believes may violate the Terms or Use, or any copyright or third-party rights. If you believe that DakotaCountyTribune.biz or any user of DakotaCountyTribune.biz has infringed your copyright in any material way, please notify our online editor.
Submissions
By submitting any member content to DakotaCountyTribune.biz, you automatically grant ECM Publishers, Inc. a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual, license to use, modify, copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, publish, adapt, create derivative works of, distribute, transfer or sell any such content, for any purpose, including commercial purposes, without any payment to you, in any type of media or in any form now known or later developed. In addition, you automatically waive and give up any claim that any use of such content violates any of your rights, including privacy rights, publicity rights, moral rights or any other right, including the right to approve the way DakotaCountyTribune.biz uses such content.
Online conduct
DakotaCountyTribune.biz encourages a free and open exchange of ideas in a climate of mutual respect. Any action by a user that infringes on another user's right to use and enjoy DakotaCountyTribune.biz is prohibited. DakotaCountyTribune.biz reserves the right, but does not assume any obligation, to monitor your online conduct to enforce the Terms of Use. Without limitation, DakotaCountyTribune.biz reserves the right to suspend or terminate your access to and use of the site if, in our view, your conduct fails to meet any of the following guidelines:
- Members shall not provide any information that is false, misleading or inaccurate.
- Members shall not use any portion of DakotaCountyTribune.biz for any unlawful purpose and will comply with all applicable domestic and international laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations.
- Member shall not use any portion of DakotaCountyTribune.biz for uploading, posting, emailing, transmitting or otherwise making available member content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party. Only the owner or a representative designated by the owner may upload copyrighted material.
- Members shall not use any portion of DakotaCountyTribune.biz for uploading, posting, emailing, transmitting or otherwise making available member content that is harassing, harmful, threatening, abusive, vulgar, obscene, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable or harmful in any way.
- Members shall not use any portion of DakotaCountyTribune.biz for uploading, posting, emailing, transmitting or otherwise making available junk mail, commercial advertisements, or any other form of commercial solicitation.
- Members shall not attempt to interfere with any other person's use of DakotaCountyTribune.biz.
- Members shall not misrepresent their identity nor impersonate any person.
- Members shall not hold themselves out as sponsored by, endorsed by, or affiliated with DakotaCountyTribune.biz.
- Members shall not attempt to modify, translate, adapt, edit, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any software programs used by ECM Publishers, Inc. or DakotaCountyTribune.biz in connection with DakotaCountyTribune.biz.
To register a complaint about another user's conduct, please contact the online editor, or write to Online Department, 12190 County Road 11, Burnsville, MN 55337.
Privacy
DakotaCountyTribune.biz takes your personal privacy seriously. Your information will not be shared with any entity outside of ECM Publishers, Inc. without your consent except in situations where DakotaCountyTribune.biz is required to comply with the law, to respond to claims, to protect our systems and customers, to ensure the integrity and operation of our business and systems, or to protect the rights or property of DakotaCountyTribune.biz or its affiliates. Such disclosure may include, without limitation, you name, e-mail address, your IP address, clickstream and traffic information and usage history.
Minors
DakotaCountyTribune.biz is particularly concerned with providing a safe online environment for minors. Children under age 13 will not be permitted to become Members of DakotaCountyTribune.biz or to submit member content.
Disclaimer
While DakotaCountyTribune.biz strives for accuracy, it does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information or database on our service. Nor does DakotaCountyTribune.biz guarantee or warrant that any files available for downloading will be free of defects. Neither ECM Publishers, Inc. nor any of its information providers shall be liable in any way to you or the other parties for delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in the material published in DakotaCountyTribune.biz.
While we take reasonable steps to ensure that no viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other destructive properties are present, the entire risk as to the quality and performance of DakotaCountyTribune.biz and the accuracy and completeness of any information is with the user of our service.
Likewise, DakotaCountyTribune.biz does not warrant that our service will be uninterrupted or error-free. DakotaCountyTribune.biz makes no warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, those of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose any information published on DakotaCountyTribune.biz Web site or any products or services sold through the DakotaCountyTribune.biz.
Opinions, advice and all other information expressed on DakotaCountyTribune.biz bulletin boards represent the individual's own views and not necessarily those of DakotaCountyTribune.biz. DakotaCountyTribune.biz does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice and opinions made by anyone other than authorized DakotaCountyTribune.biz spokespersons.
Any investment decisions or other actions that users take based on information available on DakotaCountyTribune.biz should first be reviewed by a competent financial adviser or other professional.
The DakotaCountyTribune.biz service is provided on an "as is" basis. We make no warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including without limitation, warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement, or warranties regarding the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the content or any other service or product on or related to the service (including any link to another web site or resource.)
In no event will DakotaCountyTribune.biz be liable for (i) any incidental, consequential, or indirect damages (including, but not limited to, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of programs or information, and the like) arising out of the use of or inability to use DakotaCountyTribune.biz, or any information or services provided on DakotaCountyTribune.biz, even if DakotaCountyTribune.biz has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or (ii) any claim attributable to errors, omissions, or other inaccuracies published on DakotaCountyTribune.biz.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend and hold DakotaCountyTribune.biz harmless from and against any and all liability, loss, claims, damages, costs and/or actions (including attorney's fees) based on or arising from any breach by you of your obligations under these Terms of Use. We reserve the right to defend any such claim, and you agree to provide us with such reasonable cooperation and information as we may request.
Jurisdiction
This agreement between DakotaCountyTribune.biz and its users will be governed and interpreted under the laws of the state of Minnesota. In the event that any provision of this agreement is found to be in conflict with the law, such provision shall be restated to reflect the original intent, and all other terms and conditions shall remain in full force and effect.
Arbitration
Any legal controversy or legal claim arising out of or relating to the Terms of Use or DakotaCountyTribune.biz, excluding legal action taken by ECM Publishers, Inc. to obtain an injunction relating to its intellectual property, shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association. Any such controversy or claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis, and shall not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any other party.
Termination
Notwithstanding any provision of the Terms of Use, we reserve the right, without notice and in our sole discretion, to terminate any or all of the DakotaCountyTribune.biz service and/or your license to use the DakotaCountyTribune.biz service, or to block or prevent future access to and use of DakotaCountyTribune.biz.
Severability
If any provision of the Terms of Use shall be deemed unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these Terms of Use and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
Offices
DakotaCountyTribune.biz offices are located at Thisweek Newspapers/Dakota County Tribune, 12190 County Rd. 11, Burnsville, M.N. 55337, (952) 894-1111.
Questions and comments about DakotaCountyTribune.biz
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