THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS GOVERN YOUR USE OF THE SITE. PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS SITE.
By using the Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use, Privacy Policies, and Discussion and Comment Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, Privacy Policies, and Discussion and Comment Policy, please exit the Site and do not use the Site or any of its features.
This WGBH site (including all services, features, functionality and content available through the wgbh.org domain name, collectively, the "Site") is owned and operated by the WGBH Educational Foundation ("WGBH"). The terms and conditions of use (the “Terms” or “Terms of Use”) set forth herein apply to all information, online communications, services, text, video, audio files, graphics, still images, links, or other material and content that is or becomes available on the Site or is otherwise offered through the Site (collectively, "Content"). By accessing or using the Site, you specifically agree to abide by these Terms and any modifications thereto. Any modifications, additions or deletions to these Terms of Use or the Privacy Policy shall be effective immediately upon posting. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of updated Terms of Use or an updated Privacy Policy will mean that you agree to those changes.
A. Registration
Certain components, portions, features, or services available on the Site may, now or in the future, only be accessible and used after registration and creation of an account. When creating your account, you must provide true, accurate, and complete information, and maintain and promptly update this information. If you provide any information that is deceptive, untrue, inaccurate, or incomplete, or if WGBH has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information is untrue, inaccurate, or incomplete, WGBH has the right to suspend or terminate your account and access to the Site. You will receive a password and login name upon completing the registration process. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and login name, and are solely responsible for all activities that occur with your password and login name. You must immediately notify WGBH of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security. WGBH will not be liable for any losses (including your or third party losses) caused by any unauthorized use of your account. You are responsible for obtaining access to the Site, which access may involve third party fees (such as Internet service provider charges). In addition, you must provide and are responsible for all equipment necessary to access the Site.
B. Restrictions on Use of Website and Content
1. You must be at least eighteen (18) years of age, be an emancipated minor, or, if over the age of 13, have the permission of your parent(s) or legal guardian(s), to submit any User Generated Content (defined below) or personally-identifying information on or through the Website; and/or participate in any online contests (unless otherwise noted in the contest rules). If you are under 13 years of age, please do not send any information about yourself, including your name, address or email address. If we discover that we have collected any personally-identifying information from a child under the age of 13, we will remove that information from our database as soon as possible.
2. Non-commercial, Personal Use Only. This Website and the Content therein may be used for bona fide personal, non-commercial purposes only. You may not use this Content in a defamatory, derogatory or offensive manner. In addition, you may not use the Content for or in any commercial or for-profit manner without the prior written consent of GBH. For clarity, this means the Content may not be used in any commercial tie-in (i.e. use of the Content in connection with marketing merchandise or services and/or in connection with premiums or promotions, or use of the Site or Content in order to gain advertising or subscription revenue), you may not charge anyone for the Content (e.g. charge for access to the Website or Content from another site), you may not incorporate the Content into a product that you sell or exchange in return for consideration of any kind (e.g. selling ads on another site targeted to the Website or Content), you may not use the Content to advertise or promote a product, nor may you use the Content in any other manner that may be construed as an endorsement, express or implied, of any person, party, product, or other entity.
3. You may not remove, copy, alter, reproduce, modify, create derivative works of, republish, post, publicly perform, publicly display, broadcast, download, transmit, distribute, license or commercially exploit, in whole or in part, the Content or this Website, except as expressly permitted by these Terms, the functionality of the Website, or, if applicable, by the respective content owner as indicated in any end user license agreement, if any, that accompanies such Content, provided that you include without modification all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the Content.
4. You may not circumvent, disable or otherwise interfere with security- related features of the Website or features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any Content. You further agree not to reverse engineer or jeopardize the correct functioning of the Website or attempt to gain access to secured portions of the Website to which you do not possess access rights.
5. You may not collect or harvest any personally identifiable information from the Website, nor use the communications system provided by the Website (e.g. blogs, discussion boards, comments, questions and answers) for any advertising, promotion or solicitation purposes, regardless of whether or not this is for commercial or non-profit purposes.
6. You may not use the Website to generate unsolicited email advertisements or spam, to conduct or promote any illegal activity, for political campaigning, or soliciting support for legislative or other initiatives.
7. You may copy and download only the Content designated on the Website as downloadable. You acknowledge that you do not acquire any ownership rights by downloading copyrighted material.
8. You understand that when using the Website, you will be exposed to User Generated Content (defined below) from a variety of sources, and World Channel is not responsible for the accuracy, usefulness, safety, or intellectual property rights of or relating to such User Generated Content. Though World Channel expects all users to adhere to our Terms and content policies, you understand and acknowledge that you may be exposed to User Generated Content that is inaccurate, offensive, indecent, or objectionable, and you agree to waive, and hereby do waive, any legal or equitable rights or remedies you have or may have against World Channel and our affiliates with respect thereto, and agree to defend, indemnify and hold World Channel, and its affiliates, and/or licensors, and their respective trustees, directors and employees, harmless to the fullest extent allowed by law regarding all matters related to your use of the Website.
9. World Channel reserves all rights not expressly granted in and to the Website and the Content.
C. User Generated Content:
1. This Website may now or in the future permit the submission of videos, images, textual content or other content submitted by you and other users ("User Generated Content") and the hosting, sharing and/or publishing of such User Generated Content. You understand that whether or not such User Generated Content is published, World Channel does not guarantee confidentiality with respect to any such User Generated Content. You acknowledge that User Generated Content may be routed through our servers, the servers of one or more third parties on our behalf, and the Internet, and may be viewed by World Channel staff and on the Internet by the general public. You acknowledge that the Website, including its features, are for public and not private communications.
2. You shall be solely responsible for your own User Generated Content and the consequences of World Channel posting, publishing or otherwise distributing them. By submitting your User Generated Content to the Website, you affirm, represent, and/or warrant that: (i) you own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to upload, use and authorize World Channel to use all patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, in and to any and all User Generated Content to enable inclusion, distribution and use of the User Generated Content in the manner contemplated by the Website and these Terms; (ii) you have the written consent, release, and/or permission of each and every identifiable individual person in the User Generated Content to use the name or likeness of each and every such identifiable individual person to enable inclusion, distribution and use of the User Generated Content in the manner contemplated by the Website and these Terms; (iii) the User Generated Content is your own original work and that you own or control the necessary rights to enable inclusion, distribution and use of the User Generated Content in the manner contemplated by the Website and these Terms; (iv) the User Generated Content does not in any way violate any laws, rules or regulations, (v) the User Generated Content is not in any way derogatory, abusive, defamatory, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, harmful to children, vulgar, profane, lewd, obscene, offensive, pornographic, threatening, harrassing, violent, racist, or hateful, nor does it encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, or give rise to civil liability; (vi) the User Generated Content does not violate or infringe upon the rights of any person or entity whatsoever; (vii) the User Generated Content is not an endorsement, express or implied, of any party, product, or other entity and (viii) you have not received payment or consideration of any kind for submitting the User Generated Content to WGBH or the Website.
3. Unless you enter into a separate written agreement with World Channel, World Channel does not claim ownership in User Generated Content you submit; however, by submitting the User Generated Content to World Channel, you hereby waive any and all moral rights in connection with the User Generated Content and you automatically grant World Channel and its licensees, a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, sub-license, modify, create derivative works of (including without limitation, to rename, edit, shorten, if video - split the videos into different segments, and use the entire User Generated Content or segments thereof), publish, transfer, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, host, index, cache, tag, encode, and/or adapt the User Generated Content in any and all media formats and channels, including, but not limited to, the Website (including the advertisement and promotion thereof), third party licensee web sites, over the air (on radio or television), and on mobile platforms, without payment and without further consent or notice to you. You further grant World Channel and its licensees the right to contact you in connection with your User Generated Content and to use your name, city and state or province and other information that you have provided in connection with the User Generated Content.
You also hereby grant each user of the Website a non-exclusive license to access your User Generated Content through the Website, and to use, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works of, publish, transfer, transmit, publicly display and publicly perform such User Generated Content (in whole or in part) as permitted through the functionality of the Website and under these Terms.
4. In connection with your User Generated Content, you further agree that your will not upload content, or distribute anything that may be harmful to minors or that violates these Terms.
5. World Channel does not endorse any User Generated Content or any opinion, recommendation, or advice expressed therein, and World Channel expressly disclaims any and all liability in connection with User Generated Content. Opinions on the Website are not to be construed as assertions of fact.
6. By uploading User Generated Content, you are consenting to its display through the Website and for related promotional purposes.
7. You acknowledge that World Channel reserves the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit User Generated Content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so. If we elect to screen User Generated Content, there may be a delay in the posting of such content to allow for a review process. If we have questions about your User Generated Content, we have the right, but not the duty, to contact you for further information, including, for example, to verify that you own the copyright or otherwise have the rights to post the User Generated Content.
8. World Channel may terminate your access to the Website for uploading material in violation of these Terms, at any time, without prior notice and in its sole discretion.
E. Removal of Content
1. World Channel does not permit the infringement of intellectual property rights, including copyright, on its Website, and World Channel will remove Content (including User Generated Content) if properly notified that such Content infringes on another's intellectual property rights. World Channel reserves the right to remove Content, including User Generated Content without prior notice.
2. World Channel reserves the right to change or discontinue temporarily or permanently any Content, or services available through the Website at any time without notice. World Channel will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification or discontinuance of the services therein.
F. Conflicts: Some of the Content on the Website may now or in the future be made available under the specific terms of a license agreement. Where any matter contained in these Terms or elsewhere on this Website may be read so as to alter, amend or supersede any part of such license agreement, then the license agreement shall be taken to be the definitive and over-ruling part of these Terms.
G. Copyright: All rights, including copyright and database right, in this Website and its Content (including all text, images, software, illustrations, artwork, high resolution photography, video clips, audio clips, any after-sales material, and ancillary materials) are owned by or licensed to World Channel, or otherwise used by World Channel as permitted by applicable law or agreement. In the case of User Generated Content, the contents are licensed to World Channel by the user as set forth herein.
H. Trademarks: All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are proprietary to World Channel, unless otherwise noted, in which case they are the trademarks, service marks, and/or trade names of the respective owner as indicated by the mark, as the case may be. All rights are reserved by the respective owners. You may not use any World Channel-provided service marks, logos or graphics, without World Channel’s prior written consent, except that you shall have the right, and obligation, to use any World Channel or other content provider service mark or logo included in, or required to be used in connection with, Content or other functionalities of the Website, subject to the requirements set forth in these Terms for the use of the Content or other functionalities of the Website.
I. Users' Obligation to Abide By Applicable Law: In connection with the use of the Website, you shall not engage in conduct or publish information which would infringe upon or injure the personal or property rights of any individual, group, or entity, including but not limited to defamation, harassment, invasion of privacy, tort, or disclosure of confidential or trade secrets. Furthermore, you shall not violate any law or treaty or intellectual property rights protected by law (such as copyright, patent and trademark rights). You acknowledge that the Content and materials available on the Website includes intellectual property that is protected under the copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws of the United States and/or other countries ("Intellectual Property Laws"). Such Intellectual Property Laws generally prohibit the unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or exhibition of all text, photographic and graphic (art and electronic) images, music, sound samplings, and other protected materials. The violation of applicable Intellectual Property Laws may give rise to civil and/or criminal penalties.
J. Notification of Copyright Infringement
1. If you are a copyright owner or an agent of a copyright owner and believe that any content on the Website infringes upon your copyrights, you may submit a notification to GBH’s Designated Agent pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") section 17 USC 512 (c) (3). All notifications of claimed copyright infringement should be forwarded to our Designated Agent: Eric Brass, One Guest Street, Boston, MA 02135, fax: 617-300-1014, email: infringement@wgbh.org,
According to Section 512 (c)(3)(a), any copyright infringement notification must include:
a. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
b. 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;
c. 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;
d. 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;
e. 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
f. 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.
You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all of the above requirements, your notice may not be valid pursuant to the DMCA.
2. Counter-Notice. If any of your User Generated Content has been removed or disabled because of a matter of possible copyright infringement, and you believe that your Content is not infringing or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner or the copyright owner’s agent, you may send a counter-notice containing the following information to the Designated Agent:
a. A physical or electronic signature of the subscriber.
b. 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.
c. A statement under penalty of perjury that you have 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.
d. Your name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for Boston, Massachusetts for the resolution of any copyright or other claims arising out of your use of the Website or under the Terms, and a statement that you accept service of process from the person who provided notification of the alleged infringement.
K. Disclosure of Online Communications: You are cautioned that any online communications may not be fully confidential. In addition, you should be aware that federal postal regulations do not protect electronic mail. You should be aware that some administrative personnel of GBH and World Channel may, in the course of their regular duties, have access to communications required by law.
L. Rogue Programming and Viruses: World Channel is not responsible for any computer virus, trojan horse, timebomb, worm, or any other rogue programming ("Rogue Programming") that may be contained in any of the Content (including User Generated Content), material or software contained on the Website. World Channel has no obligation to detect the presence of any Rogue Programming. Any downloading of software or other materials or any other use of the Content (including User Generated Content) on the Website is at your risk, and you are advised to take adequate precautions to minimize any loss to your system caused by Rogue Programming, including use of anti-virus programs and proper backup of files. You agree not to post, transmit, or make available in any way through the Website any software or other materials that contain Rogue Programming.
M. Content of Information: You are responsible for the content of any information you put on the Website. World Channel has no obligation to, and does not in the normal course, monitor, prescreen or control any User Generated Content that is or becomes available on the Website. World Channel reserves the right to review any User Generated Content that is or becomes available on the Website. World Channel also reserves the right to refuse to post, to redact, edit or to move or remove any User Generated Content that is, in World Channel 's sole discretion, unacceptable, undesirable, or in violation of these Terms. However, World Channel has no obligation to exercise such reservations of rights by World Channel and is not responsible for any failure or delay in removing such material.
N. Disclaimer of Warranties: The Website, the Content and other material on the Website are provided on an "As Is" basis without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation warranties of title, non-infringement, or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. World Channel does not warrant that any Content is complete or accurate, that the Website will be uninterrupted or error free, or that any Content or material is free of Rogue Programming.
O. Limitation of Damages. Under no circumstance, including negligence or any other legal theory, shall World Channel be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages that may result from the use or inability to use the Website, including without limitation use of or reliance on Content available on the Website, interruptions, errors, defects, mistakes, omissions, deletions of files, delays in operation or transmission, non-delivery of Content, disclosure of communications, or any other failure of performance.
P. Release and Indemnity. Though World Channel expects all users to adhere to our content policies in these Terms, you may be exposed to content that violates our policies or is otherwise offensive through the use of the Website. Your use of the Website is at your own risk. You agree that World Channel is not liable for content that is provided by others. We take no responsibility for your exposure to content on the Website whether it violates our content policies or not. You understand that the information and opinions in content uploaded by third parties represent solely the thoughts of the author and is neither endorsed by nor does it necessarily reflect World Channel’s beliefs or editorial positions. You hereby release and waive any and all claims, causes of action and/or liability against World Channel arising from or in connection with your use of the Website, the Content and/or any other material on the Website. You also agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless World Channel and its trustees, officers and employees from and against any and all causes of action, claims or liability, including costs and attorneys’ fees, arising from or in connection with your use of the Website, your provision of User Generated Content to or on the Website, or failure to abide by applicable law or these Terms.
Q. Modifications: These Terms and the Content may be revised, amended, or supplemented by World Channel without notice at any time for any reason. Continuing to use the Website after a change has been made will signify your acceptance of the changes. You should refer back to this page for future updates.
R. Privacy Policy. The Website's Privacy Policy provides additional terms and conditions that apply to your use of our Website. If you do not agree to the conditions therein, please do not use the Website.
S. Other: These Terms will be governed by and interpreted in the English language pursuant to the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States of America, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law. If any provision of these Terms shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason, unenforceable then that provision shall be deemed severable from these Terms and shall not effect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. You expressly agree that any dispute arising under these Terms shall be brought solely and exclusively before the state or federal courts located in Massachusetts and you waive any claim that this forum is or may be inconvenient or improper.
T. International Users: The Website is controlled and operated within the United States. WGBH makes no representation that Content, materials or products available on or through the Website are appropriate or available for use outside of the United States. If you access the Website from a location outside the United States, you are responsible for compliance with applicable laws, including local laws regarding online conduct and content and U.S. export laws and regulations.
DISCUSSION AND COMMENT POLICY
This is the discussion policy for users of World Channel’s social networking tools. All participants offering comments on worldchannel.org are required to follow these guidelines. Those violating the following guidelines may have their comments removed or blocked.
Our guidelines are intended to facilitate a sense connection and sharing within the World Channel online community. You can contribute to and be part of our community by participating on wgbh.org with these guidelines in mind:
1. Be respectful and civil. If polite language isn’t possible, please don’t post. Engage points, focus on ideas, debate, and discuss. Never resort to name-calling, slander, or obscenities. Messages that include anything World Channel determines to be hate speech, a threat, harassment, or anything illegal will be removed and the poster will be blocked.
2. Post clear, concise comments (posts longer than 200 words tend to be ignored by readers anyway). Long posts may be edited by World Channel. Before submitting, take a moment to re-read your post for clarity, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. And please avoid typing in all caps; it's the online version of shouting.
3. Stay with the topic at hand. Keeping your posts focused contributes to the best possible discussion.
4. Write your own posts. A link or quote from another source can be a meaningful addition to the discussion; copying and pasting an entire article from elsewhere does not contribute in a meaningful way (also see guideline 2, above). In addition, it often violates the author’s copyright. Help keep the conversation lively and focused by posting only one link per comment.
5. Promote the discussion, rather than your own interests. World Channel’s online community is not an appropriate venue for posters’ advertisements, promotions, campaigns, solicitations, or proselytizing. There can be a fine line between discussion and promotion of personal interests; use your best judgment and we’ll use ours.
All comments are moderated, and World Channel will not publish comments that don’t meet these guidelines. Our guidelines are adapted in part from NPR’s Guidelines for Commenting. Thanks for being part of World Channel’s community!
