Legal+Terms of Service

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The Ledge Terms of Service and Contributor Agreement for Individuals

 

Welcome across the Ledge!

Thanks for joining the project, we really appreciate our contributors.  We want you to know your rights and our rights and so we have prepared this agreement (“User Agreement” or “Agreement”) between The Ledge (“We”, “Our”, “Us”) and you.  This Agreement sets the terms of your use of The Ledge website, its services, and its products (“Services”).  By using our Services, you are agreeing to these terms.  Please read them carefully.

This Agreement is meant to encourage a fair and tolerant place for ideas, people, links, and discussion.  We hope that you find the terms agreeable and decide to contribute to the project.

 

Using our Services

This Agreement is a legal contract between you and Us.  You acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement.  If you do not agree to this Agreement, you should not use The Ledge.  Please take a look at The Ledge’s privacy policy too – it explains how we collect and use your information.  You must follow any policies made available to you within the Services.

 

Your Access to The Ledge

Don’t misuse our Services.  For example, don’t interfere with our Services or try to access them using a method other than the interface and the instructions that we provide.  Without advance notice and at any time, we may, for violations of this agreement or for any other reason we choose: (1) suspend your access to The Ledge, (2) suspend or terminate Your Account or Online Wallet, and/or (3) remove any of your Contributions from The Ledge.

We reserve the right to monitor The Ledge, and your use of the Service means you agree to such monitoring.  At the same time, we do not guarantee we will monitor at all.

 

The Ledge is for your personal, lawful use

The Ledge is designed and supported for personal use only.  You may not use The Ledge to break the law, violate an individual’s privacy, or infringe any person or entity’s intellectual property or any other proprietary rights.

 

The Ledge is for fun and your benefit

The Ledge is intended to be a place for your entertainment and personal development.  We are not responsible for any decisions you make based on something you read on The Ledge.

 

The Ledge isn’t intended as a marketplace

The Ledge is not intended to be a marketplace for any goods or services.  For this reason, any transactions you undertake are your responsibility alone, so be careful.

You may not use The Ledge to conduct transactions for any illegal goods or services.

 

Your Account

To participate in The Ledge, you must create an account that includes a username and password (“Your Account”) and, if you want to be able to reset your password or have Us contact you, an email address as well.  Of course, you can also browse The Ledge without logging in.

You are solely responsible for the information associated with Your Account and anything that happens related to Your Account.

You may not license, transfer, sell, or assign Your Account without our written approval.

To protect Your Account, keep your password confidential.  Try not to reuse Your Account password with third-party applications.  If you learn of any unauthorized use of your password or Your Account, follow these instructions.

 

Payment Information

You may also submit your debit or credit card information (“Payment Information”) via the website as part of your Online Wallet or to purchase other products or services via The Ledge.  The Ledge uses third party service providers to process your payment information.  If you submit your Payment Information, you agree to pay all costs that you incur, and you give us permission to charge you when payment is due for an amount that includes any applicable taxes, fees, and charges to The Ledge or one of our service providers.

 

Privacy and Copyright Protection

The Ledge’s privacy policies explain how we treat your personal data and protect your privacy when you use our Services.  By using our Services, you agree that The Ledge can use such data in accordance with our privacy policies.

We respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement and terminate accounts of repeat infringers according to the process set out in the Hong Kong Copyright Ordinance and in compliance with international laws and treaties, such as the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

We provide information to help copyright holders manage their intellectual property online.  If you think somebody is violating your copyrights and want to notify us, you can find information about submitting notices and The Ledge’s policy about responding to notices in our Help Center.

 

Your Content in our Services

Some of our Services allow you to upload, submit, store, send or receive content.  With respect to any worldwide copyrights, or copyright applications and registrations, in your Contribution, and subject to the terms and conditions of this agreement:

·         you hereby assign to us joint ownership, and to the extent that such assignment is or becomes invalid, ineffective or unenforceable, you hereby grant to us a worldwide, royalty-free, NON-exclusive, perpetual and irrevocable license, with the right to transfer an unlimited number of non-exclusive licenses or to grant sublicenses to third parties, under the Copyright covering the Contribution to use the Contribution by all means, including, but not limited to:

o    to publish the Contribution,

    • to modify the Contribution, to prepare derivative works based upon or containing the Contribution and to combine the Contribution with other software code,
    • to reproduce the Contribution in original or modified form,
    • to distribute, to make the Contribution available to the public, display and publicly perform the Contribution in original or modified form;

·         you agree that each of us can do all things in relation to your contribution as if each of us were the sole owners, and if one of us makes a derivative work of your contribution, the one who makes the derivative work (or has it made) will be the sole owner of that derivative work;

·         you agree that you will not assert any moral rights in your Contribution against us, our licensees or transferees;

·         you agree that we may register a copyright in your contribution and exercise all ownership rights associated with it; and

·         you agree that neither of us has any duty to consult with, obtain the consent of, pay or render an accounting to the other for any use or distribution of your Contribution.

Except as set out above, you keep all right, title, and interest in your Contribution. The rights that you grant to us under these terms are effective on the date you first submitted a contribution to us (or agreed to allow the use of such Contribution by us), even if your submission took place before the date you sign these terms. 

You agree that you have the right to submit anything you post, and that your user content does not violate the copyright, trademark, trade secret or any other personal or proprietary right of any other party.

 

Electronic Signature Authorization

Many of our Services are electronic, and so by using the Services you agree and authorize that your electronic signature acts as your legal signature for all electronic transactions between you and Us, including Contributions sent via email, uploads to The Ledge website, and similar Internet-based transactions or Contributions.  Your electronic signature will consist of a Username and a unique identifier Password (“Your Account”, or other user identification as may be approved by Us) that are input in order to use the Services.  You agree that your electronic signature affixed to or contained in any data related to these transactions is sufficient to verify that you properly authorized such transactions and any Contribution made therein.  You agree that this Agreement is considered signed when your electronic signature is transmitted with it and that such signature shall be treated in all respects as having the same effect as an original handwritten signature.

 

We Don’t Endorse User Content

We take no responsibility for, we do not expressly or implicitly endorse, and we do not assume any liability for any user content submitted by you to The Ledge.

 

Links and the Ledge

The Ledge is a place with many third-party hyperlinks posted by users like you.  We are not responsible for the content or actions of any third party websites or services associated with posted links.  You agree to take sole legal responsibility for any links you post, and neither this agreement nor our privacy policy applies to any content on other websites related to those links.  You should consult the terms and privacy policies of those other websites to understand your rights.

 

The Ledge Rules

Your Participation on The Ledge

These guidelines are intended to keep people safe, protect kids, keep The Ledge running, and to encourage personal responsibility for what you do on The Ledge.  You must:

·         Keep Everyone Safe: You agree to not intentionally jeopardize the health and safety of others or yourself.

·         Keep Personal Information Off The Ledge: You agree to not post anyone’s sensitive personal information that relates to that person’s real world or online identity.

·         Do Not Incite Harm: You agree not to encourage harm against people.

·         Protect Kids: You agree not to post any child pornography or sexually suggestive content involving minors.

·         Take Personal Responsibility: As you use The Ledge, please remember that your speech may have consequences and could lead to criminal and civil liability.

You also agree to follow the Community Rules of The Ledge.

 

Moderators and Editors

Moderating or Editing Contributions is an unofficial, voluntary position.  We reserve the right to revoke that position for any user at any time.  If you choose to serve as a moderator or editor, you agree to the following:

·         You may not enter into any formal agreement on behalf of The Ledge without our written approval.

·         You may not perform moderation or editing actions in return for any form of compensation or favor from third-parties.

·         When you receive notice that there is content that violates this Agreement you agree to remove it.

 

Don’t Spam The Ledge Community

You may not post any graphics, text, photographs, images, video, audio or other material that we deem to be junk or spam.  Cluttering The Ledge with this sort of content reduces the quality of The Ledge experience for others.  For guidance, see our rules about spam and self-promotion.

1. DEFINITIONS

"You" means the Individual Copyright owner who submits a Contribution to Us. If You are an employee and submit the Contribution as part of your employment, You have had Your employer approve this Agreement or sign the Entity version of this document.

"Contribution" means any original work of authorship (software and/or documentation) including any modifications or additions to an existing work, Submitted by You to Us, in which You own the Copyright. If You do not own the Copyright in the entire work of authorship, please contact Us at ledge.project..

"Copyright" means all rights protecting works of authorship owned or controlled by You, including copyright, moral and neighboring rights, as appropriate, for the full term of their existence including any extensions by You.

"Material" means the software or documentation made available by Us to third parties. When this Agreement covers more than one software project, the Material means the software or documentation to which the Contribution was Submitted. After You Submit the Contribution, it may be included in the Material.

"Submit" means any form of physical, electronic, or written communication sent to Us, including but not limited to electronic mailing lists, source code control systems, and issue tracking systems that are managed by, or on behalf of, Us, but excluding communication that is conspicuously marked or otherwise designated in writing by You as "Not a Contribution."

"Submission Date" means the date You Submit a Contribution to Us.

"Documentation" means any non-software portion of a Contribution.

2. LICENSE GRANT

2.1 Copyright License to Us

Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, You hereby grant to Us a worldwide, royalty-free, NON-exclusive, perpetual and irrevocable license, with the right to transfer an unlimited number of non-exclusive licenses or to grant sublicenses to third parties, under the Copyright covering the Contribution to use the Contribution by all means, including, but not limited to:

  • to publish the Contribution,
  • to modify the Contribution, to prepare derivative works based upon or containing the Contribution and to combine the Contribution with other software code,
  • to reproduce the Contribution in original or modified form,
  • to distribute, to make the Contribution available to the public, display and publicly perform the Contribution in original or modified form.

2.2 Moral Rights remain unaffected to the extent they are recognized and not waivable by applicable law. Notwithstanding, You may add your name in the header of the source code files of Your Contribution and We will respect this attribution when using Your Contribution.

3. PATENTS

3.1 Pledge of Identified Patents

Whereas You are aware of certain of Your own patents, which You desire to identify and disclose as the following patents and patent applications ("Pledged Patents"):

Number or Application Number
Country

You hereby pledge to all developers, distributors and users of the Contribution or the Material to which this Agreement applies ("Pledge Recipient") that You and your Affiliates will not bring a lawsuit or other legal proceeding against a Pledge Recipient for patent infringement under any Pledged Patents based on the Pledge Recipient's making, having made, using, selling, offering for sale, importing or otherwise transferring the Contribution or the Material. You will require any person or entity to whom You sell or transfer any of the Pledged Patents to agree, in writing, to abide by the pledge and to place a similar requirement on any subsequent transferees to do the same.

3.2 Revocation of Patent Pledge

You reserve the right to revoke the patent pledge stated in section 3.1, as if it never existed with regard to any Pledge Recipient, who files a lawsuit or other legal proceedings for patent infringement or who has a direct financial interest in such a lawsuit or other legal proceedings against You or your Affiliates.

4. License Obligations by US

We agree to license the Contribution only under the terms of the license or licenses that We are using on the Submission Date for the Material (including any rights to adopt any future version of a license).

In addition, We may use the following licenses for Documentation in the Contribution: GFDL-1.3 (including any right to adopt any future version of a license).

5. DISCLAIMER

THE CONTRIBUTION IS PROVIDED "AS IS". MORE PARTICULARLY, ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED BY YOU TO US AND BY US TO YOU. TO THE EXTENT THAT ANY SUCH WARRANTIES CANNOT BE DISCLAIMED, SUCH WARRANTY IS LIMITED IN DURATION TO THE MINIMUM PERIOD PERMITTED BY LAW.

6. Consequential Damage Waiver

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL YOU OR US BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF DATA, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL AND EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT REGARDLESS OF THE LEGAL OR EQUITABLE THEORY (CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE) UPON WHICH THE CLAIM IS BASED.

7. Approximation of Disclaimer and Damage Waiver

IF THE DISCLAIMER AND DAMAGE WAIVER MENTIONED IN SECTION 5 AND SECTION 6 CANNOT BE GIVEN LEGAL EFFECT UNDER APPLICABLE LOCAL LAW, REVIEWING COURTS SHALL APPLY LOCAL LAW THAT MOST CLOSELY APPROXIMATES AN ABSOLUTE WAIVER OF ALL CIVIL LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE CONTRIBUTION.

8. Term

8.1 This Agreement shall come into effect upon Your acceptance of the terms and conditions.

8.2 You shall have the right to terminate the Agreement in written form if We do not fulfill the obligations as set forth in Section 4.

8.3 In the event of a termination of this Agreement Sections 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 shall survive such termination and shall remain in full force thereafter. For the avoidance of doubt, Contributions that are already licensed under a free and open source license at the date of the termination shall remain in full force after the termination of this Agreement.

9. Miscellaneous

9.1 This Agreement and all disputes, claims, actions, suits or other proceedings arising out of this agreement or relating in any way to it shall be governed by the laws of Hong Kong SAR excluding its private international law provisions.

9.2 This Agreement sets out the entire agreement between You and Us for Your Contributions to Us and overrides all other agreements or understandings.

9.3 If any provision of this Agreement is found void and unenforceable, such provision will be replaced to the extent possible with a provision that comes closest to the meaning of the original provision and that is enforceable. The terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement shall apply notwithstanding any failure of essential purpose of this Agreement or any limited remedy to the maximum extent possible under law.

9.4 You agree to notify Us of any facts or circumstances of which you become aware that would make this Agreement inaccurate in any respect.