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TERMS OF USE FOR GAMEKNOT ONLINE CHESS WEBSITE.
THIS AGREEMENT DESCRIBES THE TERMS UNDER WHICH GAMEKNOT ONLINE CHESS WEBSITE ("WE" OR "GAMEKNOT") OFFERS YOU ACCESS TO AN ACCOUNT (THE "ACCOUNT") AND THE SERVICE TO ALLOW YOU TO PLAY CHESS ONLINE (THE "GAME"). BY CLICKING ON THE "REGISTER" OR "SUBSCRIBE" BUTTON, YOU ACCEPT THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS BELOW.
1. Accounts are available only to adults or, in their discretion, their minor child of at least 13 years old. If you are a minor, your parent or guardian must complete the registration process, in which case he or she takes full responsibility for all obligations under this Agreement. By clicking the "Register" button, you represent that you are an adult and are accepting this Agreement either on behalf of yourself or your child. You may not transfer or share your Account with anyone, except that if you are a parent or guardian, you may permit one child to use the Account instead of you (in which case you may not use that Account). You are liable for all activities conducted through the Account, and parents or guardians are liable for the activities of their child. Corporations and other entities are not eligible to procure Accounts.
2. To play Chess on GameKnot, you must: (i) have a valid Account (paid or unpaid); (ii) have an Internet connection (which we do not provide nor pay for) to access your Account. In addition to any fees described herein, you are responsible for paying all applicable taxes (including those we are not required to collect) and for all hardware, software, service and other costs you incur to access your Account. Neither this Agreement nor your Account entitles you to have access to any other ancillary websites or products. You understand that we may update or otherwise enhance GameKnot at any time and in doing so incur no obligation to furnish such updates to you pursuant to this Agreement. You understand that online games evolve over time and, accordingly, system requirements to play on GameKnot may change over time.
3. We may amend this Agreement at any time in our sole discretion. Amendments shall be communicated to you at the time you log into your Account. Such amendments shall be effective whenever we make the notification available for your review.
4. In the Account registration process, you will be required to choose a login name and a password. While you are encouraged to use a pseudonym, especially if you are a minor, you may not choose a login name that violates anyone's trademarks, publicity rights or other proprietary rights. Login/user name are not changeable. You may not disclose your password to any third party. We never ask you for your password by email, and you should not disclose it via email if someone asks you to do so. There may be an additional charge to reissue lost passwords. Although we may offer a feature that allows you to "save" or "remember" your password on your hard drive, please note that third parties may be able to access your computer and thus your Account.
5. If you decide to become a paying subscriber, your Account will be given a premium membership status upon receipt and verification of the subscription fees. Premium membership status entitles you to additional features not accessible by free members. All subscription fees are stated in U.S. dollars unless otherwise specified. All fees are prepaid and non-refundable. Upon your acceptance of these terms, we have the right to automatically charge your credit card the Account fee plus any applicable taxes we are required to collect, and you authorize us to do so. Thereafter, each time your Account comes up for renewal, we have the right to automatically charge your credit card the then-current renewal fee plus any applicable taxes we are required to collect, and you authorize us to do so. If we are unable to process your credit card at a renewal period, the premium membership status for your account may be immediately removed. You may terminate your premium membership status at any time via the subscription page, by clicking the [Cancel] button. If you terminate your premium membership during any subscription cycle, the premium membership status for your Account will expire at the end of the then-current cycle and you will not be billed again unless you affirmatively re-subscribe again. We do not give full or partial refunds for subscription periods that you have purchased. All paid subscriptions are non-transferable. Any payment submitted and subsequently returned as unpaid (such as checks or PayPal payments) will be subject to a $30.00 returned item fee, in addition to the original unpaid amount. Any disputed credit card payment that resulted in a subsequent charge-back, will be subject to a $40.00 fee, in addition to the original amount. You are liable for all additional fees in connection with returned as unpaid or disputed payments, in addition to the original amount.
6. You may terminate your Account at any time by notifying us via "Contact us" form. We may terminate this Agreement and/or suspend your Account immediately and without notice: (i) if you violate any provision of this Agreement; (ii) if you infringe any third party intellectual property rights; (iii) if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us; (iv) if you violate any of the player rules of conduct on GameKnot (which we may amend or supplement from time to time, in our discretion), or (v) if you engage in game play, chat or any player activity whatsoever which we, in our discretion, determine is inappropriate and/or in violation of any GameKnot rules. If we terminate this Agreement or suspend your Account under these circumstances, you will lose access to your Account for the duration of the suspension and/or the balance of any prepaid period without any refund. We may also terminate this Agreement if we decide, in our sole discretion, to discontinue offering services on GameKnot, in which case we will provide you with a prorated refund of any prepaid amounts (lifetime subscriptions will be prorated using the corresponding annual rate available at the time). This Agreement can be terminated by us, if you do not log in to your account for 12 months (no premium membership refunds will be provided).
7. Non-paying Accounts (i.e. Accounts without a premium membership status) are supported by paid advertising. If you have a non-paying Account, we reserve the right to terminate this Agreement at any time if we are unable to display some or all of the ads on our website for any reason (including but not limited to, due to blocking or filtering software installed on your computer), or if there are no ads available based on your demographic profile and/or geographic location. We also reserve the right to refuse to provide free service to anyone at any time in our sole discretion.
8. As part of your Account, you can provide or upload content to our servers in various forms, such as the Chess games you play (i.e. moves you submit), Chess puzzles, in-game comments, information and images in your profile, forum posts, private messages and similar user-to-user communication (collectively, your "Content"). If we, or our licensors, can reasonably construe that your Content contains any material that infringes any of our respective or collective intellectual property interests (hereafter, such Content shall be referred to as "Derivative Content"), you hereby acknowledge and agree that any such Derivative Content is owned by our licensors or us. For any of your Content that is not a Derivative Content, you hereby exclusively grant and irrevocably assign to our licensors and us all rights of any kind or nature throughout the universe to such Content (including all ancillary and subsidiary rights thereto which include, without limitation, merchandising and interactive media rights) in any languages and media now known or not currently known. To the extent that any of the rights assigned herein cannot presently be assigned under applicable law, you hereby exclusively grant to our licensors and us a universal, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicenseable (through multiple tiers) right to exercise all rights of any kind or nature associated with your Content, and all ancillary and subsidiary rights thereto, in any languages and media now known or not currently known. You hereby appoint our licensors and us as your attorney-in-fact, which appointment is coupled with an interest and is irrevocable, to act on your behalf (either jointly or separately) and to execute, deliver, record and file such documents necessary to document, perfect, protect and enforce the rights granted to both our licensors and us under this Agreement. Your Content shall not: (i) infringe any third party intellectual property, other proprietary or publicity/privacy rights; (ii) violate any law or regulation; (iii) be defamatory, obscene, child pornographic or harmful to minors; or (iv) contain any viruses, trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots or other computer programming routines that are intended to damage, detrimentally interfere with, decrypt, intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information. We may take any action with respect to your Content if we believe it may create liability for our licensors or us or may cause us to lose (in whole or in part) the services of our ISPs or other suppliers.
9. We cannot ensure that your private communications and other personally identifiable information will not be disclosed to third parties. For example, we may be forced to disclose information to the government or third parties under certain circumstances, or third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications. Additionally, we can (and you authorize us to) disclose any information about you to private entities, law enforcement or other government officials as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate to investigate or resolve possible problems or inquiries. You acknowledge and agree that we may transfer such information (including, without limitation your personally identifiable information or personal data) to the United States or other countries or may share such information with our licensees and agents in connection with GameKnot. You agree that we may communicate with you via email and any similar technology for any purpose relating to GameKnot and any services or software which may in the future be provided by us or on our behalf.
10. GAMEKNOT EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Some states do not allow the disclaimer of implied warranties, so the foregoing disclaimer may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other legal rights which vary from state to state.
11. WE DO NOT ENSURE CONTINUOUS, ERROR-FREE, SECURE OR VIRUS-FREE OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE, THE GAME, YOUR ACCOUNT OR CONTINUED OPERATION OR AVAILABILITY OF ANY GIVEN SERVER. FURTHER, WE CANNOT AND DO NOT PROMISE OR ENSURE THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS YOUR ACCOUNT WHENEVER YOU WANT, AND THERE MAY BE EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME WHEN YOU CANNOT ACCESS YOUR ACCOUNT. YOU ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE AND THE GAME IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR HARDWARE, AND YOU ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL SERVICING, REPAIR AND/OR CORRECTION OF YOUR HARDWARE. WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DELAY OR FAILURE TO PERFORM RESULTING FROM ANY CAUSES BEYOND OUR REASONABLE CONTROL.
12. IN NO EVENT SHALL GAMEKNOT, ITS LICENSORS, THEIR PARENTS OR AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR ACCOUNT, THE SOFTWARE, THE GAME OR THIS AGREEMENT INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGE TO PROPERTY AND TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW DAMAGES FOR PERSONAL INJURY, EVEN IF GAMEKNOT, ITS LICENSORS OR THEIR PARENTS OR AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR LOSS. THE LIABILITY OF GAMEKNOT, ITS LICENSORS OR ANY OF THEIR PARENT OR AFFILIATED COMPANIES TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES IS LIMITED TO $100. YOU AGREE TO WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO EQUITABLE RELIEF INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AGAINST GAMEKNOT, ITS LICENSORS, THEIR PARENTS OR AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS TO ENFORCE THE TERMS HEREOF; HOWEVER, THE FOREGOING SHALL NOT PRECLUDE GAMEKNOT AND/OR ITS LICENSORS FROM SEEKING ANY INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY, SO THEY MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
13. You shall comply with all applicable laws regarding your use of GameKnot, your access to your Account and your playing on GameKnot.
14. This Agreement is governed in all respects by the laws of the State of California as such laws are applied to agreements entered into and to be performed entirely within California between California residents. The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly disclaimed. You and GameKnot all submit to personal jurisdiction in California and further agree that any cause of action relating to this Agreement, your Account and GameKnot shall be brought and maintained in a court in Marin County, California or, at GameKnot's option, in the federal courts of the Northern District of California, and you waive any claim that either such forum is inconvenient. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions shall be enforced. Our failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. You may not assign or transfer this Agreement or your rights hereunder, and any attempt to the contrary is void. This Agreement sets forth the entire understanding and agreement between you and GameKnot with respect to the subject matter hereof. Except as provided herein, this Agreement may not be amended except in a writing signed by both parties.
15. If you have any questions regarding your Account or play of the Game, please contact GameKnot customer service.