Writertopia Terms of Service

Thank you for your interest in Writertopia. Writertopia enables writers to share information, participate in workshops together, and become better writers through study and practice.

Your Agreement with Writertopia

Your use of Writertopia.com (the "Service") is governed by this agreement (the "Terms"). The Service is owned and operated by Publishare LLC (collectively, "we," "us," "our," or "Writertopia") located in Mountain View, CA 94043, United States.

In order to use the Service, you must first agree to the Terms. You can agree to the Terms by actually using the Service. You understand and agree that Writertopia will treat your use of the Service as acceptance of the Terms from that point onwards.

You may not use the Service if you are a person barred from receiving the Service under the laws of the United States or other countries including the country in which you are resident or from which you use the Service. You affirm that you are over the age of 13, as the Service is not intended for children under 13.

Your Account and Use of the Service

Writertopia grants you a limited license to access and use the Service subject to the Terms. However, this license does not allow you to make any commercial use or any derivative use of the Service (including any of its individual elements or content), except as may otherwise be permitted herein from time to time.

You may not use, frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose the Service, or any individual element or materials within the Service, including without limitation, Writertopia's trademarks, logos or other proprietary information (including the content of any text, or the layout or design of any page or form or javascript contained on a page) without Writertopia's express written consent. Further, you may not use any circumvention tools, meta tags or any other "hidden text" utilizing a Writertopia name, trademark, URL, or product name without Writertopia's express written consent.

You must provide accurate and complete registration information any time you register to use the Service. You are responsible for the security of your passwords and for any use of your account. If you become aware of any unauthorized use of your password or of your account, you agree to notify Writertopia immediately.

Your use of the Service must comply with all applicable laws, regulations and ordinances, including any laws regarding the export of data or software.

You agree not to (a) access (or attempt to access) the administrative interface of the Service by any means other than through the interface that is provided by Writertopia, unless you have been specifically allowed to do so in a separate agreement with Writertopia, or (b) engage in any activity that interferes with or disrupts the Service (or the servers and networks which are connected to the Service).

Service Policies and Privacy

You agree to comply with the Writertopia Service Policies included available at http://www.writertopia.com/public/service_policies (or such URL as Writertopia may provide) (the "Service Policies") which is incorporated herein by this reference and which may be updated from time to time.

The Service shall be subject to the privacy policy for the Service available at http://www.writertopia.com/public/privacy (or such URL as Writertopia may provide). You agree to the use of your data in accordance with Writertopia's privacy policies.

Content in the Service

You understand that all information, data, text, PDF files, word processing documents, photographs, sound, graphics, video, messages, goods, products, services or other materials ("Content") are the sole responsibility of the person from which such Content originated. This means that you, and not Writertopia, are entirely responsible for all Content that you upload, post, transmit or otherwise make available via the Service. Writertopia does not control the Content posted via the Service and, as such, does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content. The user posting any Content represents that such user has all rights necessary to post such Content without violation of any intellectual property or other rights or any laws or regulations.

You understand that by using the Service, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will Writertopia be liable in any way for any Content, including, but not limited to, for any errors or omissions in any Content, or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, transmitted or otherwise made available via the Service. You acknowledge that Writertopia does not necessarily pre-screen Content, but that Writertopia and its designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to refuse or move any Content that is available via the Service. Without limiting the foregoing, Writertopia and its designees shall have the right to remove any Content that violates the Terms or is otherwise objectionable. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such Content. In this regard, you acknowledge that you may not rely on any Content created by Writertopia or submitted to the Service. You acknowledge and agree that Writertopia may preserve Content and may also disclose Content if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce the Terms or any additional Terms of Service; (c) respond to claims that any Content violates the rights of third-parties; or (d) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Writertopia, its users and the public.

You understand that the Content you have submitted through the Service may involve (a) transmissions over various networks; and (b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices.

Should Content be found or reported to be in violation with, but not limited to, the Writertopia Service Policies, it will be in Writertopia's sole discretion as to what action should be taken.

Writertopia does not claim ownership of the Content you upload, place or post through the Service. By uploading, placing or posting Content through the Service, you grant Writertopia a world-wide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt and publish the Content solely for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting such Content on Writertopia's Internet properties. You acknowledge that Writertopia does not pre-screen Content, but that Writertopia and its designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to refuse or remove any Content that is available via the Service. Without limiting the foregoing, Writertopia and its designees shall have the right to remove any Content that violates the Terms or is otherwise objectionable. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such Content.

Notification of Copyright Infringement

Writertopia may be required to disclose information to individuals asserting rights under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and you expressly authorize Writertopia to comply with any and all lawful notices, subpoenas, court orders or warrants without prior notice to you.

Copyright Infringement Notice

It is our policy to respond to clear notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In addition, we will promptly terminate without notice the accounts of those determined by us to be "repeat infringers". If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof, and you believe that any content hosted on the Service infringes your copyrights, then you may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") by providing Writertopia's Designated Copyright Agent with the following information in writing (please consult your legal counsel or See 17 U.S.C. Section 512(c)(3) to confirm these requirements):

  • 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 on the Service are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works on the Service.
  • 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 Writertopia to locate the material. Providing URLs in the body of an email is the best way to help us locate content quickly.
  • Information reasonably sufficient to permit Writertopia 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.
  • 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.

Please note that under Section 512(f) of the DMCA, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing may be subject to liability.

Counter-Notification

If you elect to send us a counter notice, to be effective it must be a written communication that includes the following (please consult your legal counsel or See 17 U.S.C. Section 512(g)(3) to confirm these requirements):

  • 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.
  • 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 Writertopia may be found, and that the subscriber will accept service of process from the person who provided notification under subsection (c)(1)(C) or an agent of such person.

You may submit your Counter Notification by sending it to Writertopia by e-mail as set forth below.

Designated Copyright Agent

Writertopia's Designated Copyright Agent to receive notifications and counter-notifications of claimed infringement can be reached via our general contact page. On reception, a physical mailing address will be provided.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:

(a) YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. WRITERTOPIA EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

(b) WRITERTOPIA IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE, LOSS OF DATA, CUSTOMER I NFORMATION OR VENDOR DATA, REVENUE, OR OTHER HARM TO BUSINESS ARISING OUT OF DELAYS, MISDELIVERY OR NONDELIVERY OF INFORMATION, RESTRICTION OR LOSS OF ACCESS, BUGS OR OTHER ERRORS, UNAUTHORIZED USE DUE TO YOUR SHARING OF ACCESS TO THE SERVICE, OR OTHER INTERACTION WITH THE SERVICE. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING AND BACKING-UP YOUR DATA AND INFORMATION THAT MAY RESIDE ON THE SERVICE. WRITERTOPIA DOES NOT WARRANT THAT (i) THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS, (ii) THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, (iv) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS, (v) THE SERVICE IS FREE OF VIRUSES, CLOCKS, TIMERS, COUNTERS, WORMS, SOFTWARE LOCKS, DROP DEAD DEVICES, TROJAN-HORSES, ROUTINGS, TRAP DOORS, TIME BOMBS OR ANY OTHER HARMFUL CODES, INSTRUCTIONS, PROGRAMS OR COMPONENTS, AND (vi) ANY ERRORS IN THE SERVICE WILL BE CORRECTED.

(c) ANY MATERIAL OR CONTENT DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.

(d) NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE TERMS OR OTHER TERMS OF SERVICE.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT WRITERTOPIA SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF WRITERTOPIA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (i) THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE; (ii) THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS AND SERVICES RESULTING FROM ANY GOODS, DATA, INFORMATION OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR MESSAGES RECEIVED OR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE; (iii) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (iv) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICE; OR (v) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SERVICE.

YOUR ONLY RIGHT WITH RESPECT TO ANY PROBLEMS OR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SERVICE IS TO TERMINATE YOUR ACCOUNT, DISCONTINUE ANY USE OF THE SERVICE.

EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.