Social Documentary Network (SDN)
Website Terms and Conditions of Use
Date of Last Revision: September 28, 2020
Welcome to the Social Documentary Network website (the “Site”). The site (“SDN”, “us” or “we”) is a project of Reportage International Inc., a nonprofit organization incorporated in Massachusetts in 2020. We have created this Site because we believe that there is a community of documentary photographers who can make a positive contribution to the world, and that there is a world of web users who can benefit from this work. For the protection of our partners, suppliers, you and us, however, these Terms and Conditions of Use (the “Terms of Use”) of the Site very important.
Key Points of Terms and Conditions of Use:
Detailed and Terms and Conditions of Use:
Please read these Terms and Conditions of Use carefully. By accessing or using the site, by using the media hosting or other services provided on the site, or by purchasing any products from SDN, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions described herein and all terms, policies and guidelines incorporated by reference. If you do not agree to all of these terms, do not use the site or any of the services provided on the site and do not make any purchases through the site.
These Terms and Conditions of Use apply to your access to, and use of, the Site, your use of any of the digital photography displayed on the Site, your use of any media hosting or other services provided on the Site (the "Services") and the sale of any items from SDN through the Site (the “Products”). Your use of the Site and the Services and your purchase of Products are subject to, and expressly conditioned upon, your agreement to these Terms and Conditions of Use. If you are using the Site or the Services or are purchasing Products on behalf of any entity, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to accept these Terms of Use on such entity's behalf, and that such entity agrees to be responsible for complying with these Terms of Use.
SND reserves the right to change or modify any provision of these Terms of Use, and any policy or guideline governing your use of the Site, at any time in its sole discretion. Any such changes or modifications will be effective immediately upon posting of revisions on the Site. Your continued use of the Site or the Services or the purchase of any Products following the posting of such changes or modifications constitutes your acceptance thereof. Therefore, you should frequently review these Terms of Use and applicable policies or guidelines on the Site to understand the terms and conditions applicable to your use of the Site or the Services or your purchase of any Products. If you do not agree to any changes or modifications to these Terms of Use or to any applicable policy or guideline on the Site, your sole recourse is to stop using the Site and the Services and to not purchase any Products from SDN.
A. GENERAL TERMS
1. Privacy
SDN believes strongly in user privacy. Please refer to the Site's Privacy Policy for information on how we collect, use and disclose personal information from users of the Site. Your use of the Site signifies your acknowledgment of, and agreement to, the Site's Privacy Policy. If you are a resident of any country outside the United States, you understand and agree that we store and process your personal information on computers located in the United States, and that by providing any information to SDN, you consent to the transfer of such information to the United States.
2. Terms of Service
Additional terms apply to SDN’s provision of the Services, including online media hosting services, as set forth in Section B below ("Terms of Service"). Please refer to our Terms of Service for the additional terms, conditions and policies applicable to your use of the Services. By becoming a member or using any of the Services, you agree to be bound by and accept the Terms of Service, which are a part of these Terms of Use.
3. Electronic Communications
When you visit the Site or send emails to us, you communicate with us electronically and consent to receive communications from us electronically. We will communicate with you by email to your registered email address, by posting general notices on the Site, or by posting messages that are displayed to you when you log in to the Site. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.
4. Copyright and Limited License
Unless otherwise indicated, the Site and all content and other materials on the Site, including, without limitation, all designs, text, graphics, logos, icons, images, photographs, digital downloads, data compilations, software and the selection and arrangement thereof (collectively, the "Materials") are the property of SDN or its licensors or users and are protected by United States and international copyright laws. The SDN name and logo are the service marks of SDN and are protected by United States and state trademark laws.
SDN grants you a limited, non-sublicensable license to access and make use of the Site and to print a hard copy of informational portions of the Site only, solely in accordance with, and subject to, the terms set forth in these Terms of Use (including any applicable Terms of Service or Terms of Sale) and any other agreement you may enter into with SDN. Such license does not include: (a) the collection, use, copying or distribution of any other portion of the Site or any of the Materials; (b) any resale, commercial use, commercial exploitation, distribution, public performance or public display of the Site or any of the Materials; (c) modifying or otherwise making any derivative uses of the Site or the Materials, or any portion thereof; (d) use of data mining, robots or similar data gathering or extraction methods; (e) downloading (other than page caching) of any portion of the Site, the Materials or any information contained therein, except as expressly permitted on the Site; or (f) any use of the Site or the Materials other than for their intended purposes.
Any use of the Site or of any Materials not owned by you, other than as specifically authorized herein, without the express prior written permission of SDN or the applicable copyright owner, is strictly prohibited and will terminate the license granted herein and constitute a breach of the license granted herein. Such unauthorized use may also violate applicable laws, including, but not limited to, copyright and trademark laws and applicable communications regulations and statutes. Unless explicitly stated herein, nothing in these Terms of Use shall be construed as conferring any license to intellectual property rights, whether by estoppel, implication or otherwise. This license is revocable by SDN at any time.
5. Repeat Infringer Policy
In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and other applicable law, SDN has adopted a policy of terminating, in appropriate circumstances and at SND's sole discretion, memberships of account holders who are deemed to be repeat infringers. SDN may also, at its sole discretion, limit access to the Site and/or terminate the membership(s) of any users who infringe any intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement.
6. Copyright Complaints
SDN respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that any material on the Site infringes upon any copyright that you own or control, or that any link on the Site directs users to another web site that contains material that infringes upon any copyright that you own or control, you may file a notification of such infringement with our Designated Agent as set forth below.
Designated Agent: Glenn Ruga, Director, Social Documentary Network
Address of Designated Agent: 61 Potter Street, Concord, Massachusetts, 01742 USA
E-mail Address of Designated Agent: glenn@socialdocumentary.net
7. Hyperlinks
You are granted a limited, non-exclusive right to create a text hyperlink to the Site, provided such link does not portray SDN or any of its Products or Services in a false, misleading, derogatory or otherwise defamatory manner, and provided further that the linking site does not contain any pornographic, illegal, offensive, harassing or otherwise objectionable material. This limited right may be revoked by SDN at any time. You may not use an SDN logo or other proprietary graphic of SDN to link to the Site without the express written permission of SDN. Further, you may not use, frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any SDN logo or other proprietary information, including the images found at the Site, the content of any text or the layout/design of any page or form contained on a page on the Site without SDN’s express written consent. Except as noted above, you are not conveyed any right or license by implication, estoppel or otherwise in or under any patent, trademark, copyright or proprietary right of SDN or any third party.
8. Advertisements And Promotions
SND may run advertisements and promotions from third parties on the Site. Your business dealings or correspondence with, or participation in promotions of, advertisers other than SDN, and any terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such third party. SDN is not responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings or as the result of the presence of such advertisers on the Site.
9. Interactive Services or Areas
The Site includes (or may in the future include) content hosting and storage services, discussion forums or other interactive areas or services, including galleries, forums, chat rooms, message boards, or other areas or services in which you or third parties create, post or store content, messages, materials or other items on the Site (collectively, "Interactive Areas"). You are solely responsible for your use of and access to the Interactive Areas and use them at your own risk.
By using any Interactive Areas, you agree not to post, upload to, transmit, distribute, store, create or otherwise publish through the Site any of the following:
1. Any photograph, data, information, text, music, graphics, code or other material ("Content") that is unlawful, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, indecent, lewd, suggestive, harassing, threatening, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, abusive, inflammatory, fraudulent or otherwise objectionable or harmful, including without limitation photographs or other Content containing nudity that would be unacceptable in a public museum where minors visit;
2. Content that would constitute, encourage or provide instructions for a criminal offense, violate the rights of any party, endanger national security, or that would otherwise create liability or violate any local, state, national or international law;
3. Content that may infringe or violate any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual or other right of any party. By posting any Content, you represent and warrant that you have the lawful right to use, display, distribute, and reproduce such Content;
4. Content that impersonates any person or entity or otherwise misrepresents your affiliation with a person or entity;
5. Unsolicited promotions, political campaigning, advertising or solicitations;
6. Private information of any third party, including, without limitation, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers;
7. Viruses, corrupted data or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files; and
8. Content that, in the sole judgment of SDN, is objectionable, harmful or which restricts or inhibits any other person from using or enjoying the Interactive Areas or the Site, or which may expose SDN or its users to any harm or liability of any nature.
Although we prohibit certain activities in these Terms of Use, SDN does not control and takes no responsibility or liability for any Content posted, stored or uploaded by you or any third party, or for any loss or damage thereto, nor is SDN liable for any mistakes, defamation, slander, libel, omissions, falsehoods, obscenity, pornography or profanity you may encounter. Your use of the Site and any services provided through the Site is at your own risk. As a provider of interactive services, SDN is not liable for any statements, representations or Content provided by its users in any public gallery, forum, personal home page or other Interactive Area. SDN has no obligation to screen, edit or monitor any Content posted in any Interactive Area,
Judgments as to the acceptability of Content are at the sole discretion of SDN, and SDN reserves the right, and has absolute discretion, to remove, screen or edit any photographs or other Content posted or stored on the Site at any time and for any reason without notice. You are solely responsible for creating backup copies of and replacing any Content you post or store on the Site at your sole cost and expense. Any use of the Interactive Areas or other portions of the Site in violation of the foregoing violates these Terms of Use and may result in, among other things, termination or suspension of your rights to use the Interactive Areas and/or the Site.
You retain all copyright in any Content you post in any Interactive Areas. However, by posting any Content or otherwise participating in any Interactive Area, you grant SDN a perpetual, nonexclusive, royalty-free right to use, publish, distribute, reproduce, adapt and display the Content on the Site, including the right to use the name that is submitted in connection with such Content. You further understand and agree that, in order to help ensure smooth operation of our system, we may keep backup copies of Content indefinitely.
You understand and acknowledge that any Content contained in public postings, including any galleries, will be accessible to the public and could be accessed, indexed, archived, linked to and republished by others, including, without limitation, appearing on other web sites and in search engine results. Therefore, you should be careful about the nature of the Content you post. SDN shall not be responsible or liable for any third party access to or use of the Content you post. You represent and warrant that (a) you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the Content that you post, or you otherwise have the right to post such Content to the Site and to grant the rights granted herein; (b) the Content you supply is accurate and not misleading; and (c) use and posting of the Content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not violate any rights of or cause injury to any person or entity and will not violate any laws.
10. Your Account.
Certain activities on the Site, such as becoming a member, require you to register and create an account. Only one individual may access the Service at the same time using the same username and password. In order to create an account, you must be 18 years of age or older (or, in the event the age of majority in your jurisdiction is older than 18, you must be at least the age of majority in your jurisdiction). If children between the ages of 13 and 18 wish to use the Site, they must be registered by their parent or guardian. By registering, you represent and warrant that you are over 18 (or the legal age of majority in your jurisdiction) and that all information you provide in the registration form is complete and accurate. SDN reserves the right to refuse service to anyone at any time, with or without cause in its sole discretion. When registering, you agree to provide accurate, current and complete information about you as may be prompted by any registration forms on the Site ("Registration Data"). Without limiting the foregoing, you must provide an accurate email address, and you must keep your registered email addresses and other account information current, as SDN may send important notices about your account or the Services to that email account. You agree to maintain and promptly update the Registration Data, and any other information you provide to SDN, to keep it accurate, current and complete.
11. Account Security
You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the password associated with your account and for restricting access to your password and to your computer while logged into the Site. You agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account or from your computer. We endeavor to use reasonable security measures to protect against unauthorized access to your account and to any of your personal information. We cannot, however, guarantee absolute security of your account, your Content or the personal information we collect, and we cannot promise that our security measures will prevent third-party "hackers" from illegally accessing the Site or its contents. You agree to immediately notify SDN of any unauthorized use of your account or password, or any other breach of security, and to accept all risks of unauthorized access to the Registration Data and any other information you provide to SDN.
12. Disclaimer of Warranties
The Site, the Materials, the Products and the Services are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, express or implied. To the full extent permissible by applicable law, SDN disclaims all other warranties, express or implied, including, without limitation, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and noninfringement as to the Site, the Services and the information, Content, Products and Materials on or available through the Site.
SDN does not represent or warrant that information, Content or Materials on the Site or the Services are accurate, complete, reliable, current or error-free or that the Site, its servers or email sent from SDN or the Site are free of viruses or other harmful components. SDN is not responsible for typographical errors or omissions relating to pricing, text or photography. SDN also makes no representation or warranty regarding the availability, reliability or security of the Site and shall not be liable for any unauthorized access to or any modification, suspension, unavailability, or discontinuance of the Site or the Products or Services provided thereon. You are solely responsible for creating backup copies of any Content you post on the Site.
13. Limitation of Liability
In no event shall SDN or its affiliates or subsidiaries, nor their respective directors, members, employees or agents be liable for any direct, special, indirect or consequential damages, or any other damages of any kind, including, but not limited to, loss of use, loss of profits or loss of data (including but not limited to the loss or copying of photos, images or other Content hosted on the Site), whether in an action in contract, tort (including but not limited to negligence) or otherwise, arising out of or in any way connected with the use of or inability to use or view the Site, the Services, the Products, the Content or the Materials contained in or accessed through the Site, including without limitation any damages caused by or resulting from your reliance on any information obtained from SDN, or that result from mistakes, omissions, interruptions, deletion of files or email, errors, defects, viruses, delays in operation or transmission or any termination, suspension or other failure of performance, whether or not resulting from acts of God, communications failure, theft, destruction or unauthorized access to SDN's records, programs or services.
In no event shall the aggregate liability of SDN, whether in contract, warranty, tort (including negligence, whether active, passive or imputed), product liability, strict liability or other theory, arising out of or relating to the use of or inability to use the Site, the Services, the Products, the Content or the Materials, exceed any compensation you pay, if any, to SDN for access to or use of the Site or the Services or for the purchase of Products.
Certain state laws do not allow limitations on implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain damages. If these laws apply to you, some or all of the above disclaimers, exclusions, or limitations may not apply to you, and you might have additional rights.
14. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless SDN and its affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, the "Indemnified Parties"), and the Indemnified Parties' independent contractors, service providers and consultants, and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents, from and against any claims, damages, costs, liabilities and expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to: (a) any Content you post, store or otherwise transmit on or through the Site; (b) your use of or inability to use the Site, the Content, the Materials or the Services; (c) your violation of these Terms of Use; and (d) a breach or alleged breach of any of the representations and warranties contained herein, including, without limitation, that your Content will not infringe upon the rights of any third party or violate any law.
15. Applicable Law
Your use of the Site is subject to all applicable local, state, national and international laws and regulations. These Terms of Use and your use of the Site shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Massachusetts applicable to agreements made and to be entirely performed within the State of Massachusetts, without resort to its conflict of law provisions. You agree that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use shall be filed only in the state and federal courts located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts and you hereby irrevocably and unconditionally consent and submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts over any suit, action or proceeding arising out of these Terms of Use.
16. Assignment
SDN may assign any of its rights or obligations under these Terms of Use to (a) any subsidiary or affiliate; (b) any entity that acquires all or substantially all of the stock or assets of SDN; or (c) any entity that acquires all or substantially all of SDN's interest in the Site, the Services and/or related assets from SDN. You understand and agree that in the event such a transaction occurs, your personal information may be transferred as described in the Site's Privacy Policy.
17. Severability
If any provision of these Terms of Use shall be deemed invalid, 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.
B. ADDITIONAL TERMS APPLICABLE TO THE PROVISION OF THE SERVICES ("TERMS OF SERVICE")
These Terms of Service shall form a part of the Terms of Use applicable to SDN’s provision of the Services, including hosting services, and you may use the Services only in accordance with these Terms of Service (and the Terms of Use to which they are a part). These Terms of Service are subject to change at any time, in SDN's sole discretion, upon the posting of revised Terms of Service on the Site. Your use of the Services in any manner constitutes your agreement to the Terms of Use in effect at the time of such use, including these Terms of Service. In the event of any conflict between these Terms of Service and the other provisions of the Terms of Use, these Terms of Service shall control.
1. Membership
You must become a Member of the Site in order to create an exhibit of photographs on the Site (that until approval is granted and any applicable fees are paid, is available only for your own personal viewing and is not available for viewing by the public). Membership is free of charge. If you wish to have your exhibit of photographs available for public viewing on the Site (a “Public Exhibit”), you must submit your proposed Public Exhibit to SDN for approval. Once approved, SDN will require that you pay a fee to SDN to host the images on the Site and to make your photographs available for viewing by others (the “Fees”). These Fees are set forth on the Site and are subject to change in SDN’s discretion upon posting a revised schedule of Fees on the Site.
SDN currently accepts VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover credit cards, as well as PayPal. By seeking approval to create a Public Exhibit, you agree to pay all applicable Fees in accordance with the then-current Fee schedule. If SDN suspends the display of your Public Exhibit as a result of a violation of these Terms of Use, then you shall have no recourse with regard to the Fees you paid for the period of suspension. If, however, SDN suspends the display of your Public Exhibit for some other reason, then SDN may credit your account for the pro rata portion of Fees paid for such Public Exhibit during the period of suspension.
From time to time, SDN may offer users the ability to create a Public Exhibit without charge for a limited period of time as designated in the offer (a "Free Trial"). If you create a Public Exhibit pursuant to a Free Trial, you will need to pay the then-current Fees applicable to your Public Exhibit by the end of your Free Trial period. If you do not pay the Fees by the expiration of the Free Trial Period, we will suspend the display of your Public Exhibit.
2. Term and Renewals
Fees are paid per Public Exhibit for a one (1) year term commencing upon the date the Public Exhibit is made available for viewing by the public. You may add additional photographs to any particular Public Exhibit during the one year term upon payment of additional Fees, but this does not extend the term of the Public Exhibit. The term of any particular Public Exhibit may be renewed at the end of the one year term for an additional one (1) year term upon payment from you of the then-current Fees. Prior to expiration of the term for any particular Public Exhibit, SDN will undertake to contact you regarding renewal. It is, therefore, of utmost importance that you keep your Registration Data current. If you do not pay the then-current Fees for an additional term of Services, SDN will suspend the public display of any applicable Public Exhibits.
Please understand that renewal Fees are due for all photographs that are part of a Public Exhibit as of the end of the one year term, regardless of whether any particular photographs are “hidden” from public view, and regardless of whether any particular photographs were part of the Public Exhibit for less than one year. On the other hand, renewal Fees are not due for any photographs in a Public Exhibit that have been deleted from the Public Exhibit prior to the end of the one year term. 3. Interruptions or Discontinuation of Services; Changes to Services and Terms of Service.
SDN reserves the right at any time, in its sole discretion and without notice, to suspend, modify, discontinue or permanently cancel the Services, or portions thereof, including without limitation making changes to any policies, features and terms applicable thereto. If the Services, or any part thereof, for which you have paid Fees is permanently discontinued or canceled by SDN, we will remove display of your Public Exhibits, and SDN will have no further liability to you.
In addition, there may be occasions when the Services are interrupted such as for maintenance, upgrades, system or equipment failure or otherwise. SDN shall have no liability to you for any interruption, suspension, discontinuance or unavailability of the Services for any reason, or for any loss of or inability to access any photographs or other Materials or Content stored on the Site. You are solely responsible for making backup copies of photographs or other Content you post to the Site.
4. Suspension and Termination of Display of Particular Photographs or an Entirea Public Exhibit.
You may suspend the public display of any particular photographs within a Public Exhibit or an entire Public Exhibit at any time by making the photographs within such Public Exhibit “hidden” from public view. You may permanently terminate the public display of any particular photographs within a Public Exhibit or an entire Public Exhibit at any time by deleting the photographs contained within the Public Exhibit. In addition, the public display of a Public Exhibit will be terminated upon failure to pay the applicable Fees upon expiration of the one year term of such Public Exhibit.
Additionally, SDN may terminate a Membership, or any user's access to and use of the Site or the Services, at any time at its sole discretion, with or without cause, which termination shall be effective immediately. If you violate the Terms of Use (including any Terms of Service), SDN in its sole discretion may (a) require you to remedy any violation thereof, (b) terminate your Membership and/or suspend display of any of your Public Exhibits, and/or (c) take any other actions that SDN deems appropriate to enforce its rights and pursue available remedies.
All Fees are nonrefundable, and upon termination, cancellation or discontinuation of a Membership or Public Exhibit for any reason by either party, you will not receive a refund for any Fees paid by you, or for any unused portion of any Fees, other than as provided herein. Upon termination, any Content you have stored on the Site may no longer be retrieved, so you should make a backup copy of any such Content on a regular basis.
5. Use of User Information
In the event that you at any time obtain access to any SDN user information, whether directly from SDN or otherwise, including without limitation user names and emails (collectively the "User Information"), you agree that you may not use any such User Information in any manner except as may be specifically authorized by SDN to carry out the purpose for which such User Information was provided. Without limiting the foregoing, you may not share such User Information with any third parties or use it for any marketing purposes of any kind. Further, you agree not to use such User Information in any manner that would be in violation of SDN's Privacy Policy. In no event shall SDN be obligated to provide you with any such User Information. You agree that this provision shall apply both during and after the term of your Subscription.
C. ADDITIONAL TERMS APPLICABLE TO SALES OF PRODUCTS ("TERMS OF SALE")
These Terms of Sale shall form a part of the Terms of Use applicable to your purchases of any Products from the Site. These Terms of Sale are subject to change at any time, in SDN's sole discretion, upon the posting of revised Terms of Sale on the Site. By placing an order for Products, you agree to be bound by and accept the terms and conditions in effect at the time of such order. Other than as specifically provided in any separate written agreement between you and SDN, these terms and conditions may NOT be altered, supplemented, or amended by the use of any document, such as purchase orders, and all sales are expressly conditioned upon your agreement to these terms and conditions. In the event of any conflict between these Terms of Sale and the other provisions of the Terms of Use, these Terms of Sale shall control.
1. Pricing; Payment Terms
All prices are listed in U.S. dollars and are valid until altered by us. SDN currently accepts VISA, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express credit cards, as well as PayPal. SDN reserves the right to change the payment methods it accepts at any time without notice. If we are unable to process a payment using your credit card on file, we may, but are under no obligation to, contact you to ask whether you wish to use an alternative form of payment. We may terminate your order for Products, and take such other action as appropriate if we are unable to process your credit card payment and you do not provide an alternative form of payment. You agree to reimburse SDN for any and all costs incurred in collecting amounts owed by you to SDN, including, without limitation, attorneys' fees and costs of collection agencies.
2. Disclaimer of Warranties
The foregoing right to return any order within thirty (30) days is your sole and exclusive remedy, and SDN's sole and exclusive liability, with respect to any Products, and SDN expressly disclaims and excludes all warranties, express or implied, regarding the Products, including without limitation the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, as to Products, deliveries, or otherwise.
Certain state laws do not allow limitations on implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain damages. If these laws apply to you, some or all of the above disclaimers, exclusions, or limitations may not apply to you, and you might have additional rights.
If you have any questions about the Site, your Membership or these Terms of Use, please send an email to: info@SocialDocumentary.net.
