Terms of Use

THIS TERMS OF USE (the "Agreement") is a legal agreement that describes the terms applicable to the use by each user of your account ("you") of the services ("Services") available through the Website (as defined below) provided by the Asian American Bar Association of Houston (the "AABA"). By using the Website, you expressly agree to be bound by this Agreement and to follow the terms of this Agreement and all applicable laws and regulations governing the use of the Website. Please read this Agreement carefully before accepting it. This Agreement may be changed in the future at any time without notice to you, so please check at www.aabahouston.com/terms_of_use.php. 

1. Definitions. 

"Content" means all content available through the Website, including, without limitation, information, news, data, opinions, text, images, audio clips, video clips, designs, logos, and compilations, whether generated by AABA or third party content providers, including, without limitation, other users of the Website.

"Password" means the passwords and/or other Website protocols issued by AABA to you for access to the Website. Passwords may be used to restrict you from accessing certain Content otherwise available to others on the Website. 

"Privacy Policy" means the Site privacy policy available at www.aabahouston.com/privacy_policy.php.

"User Information" means the instructions, FAQs, notifications, privacy policy and other information relating to the use of the Website that AABA displays or makes accessible from the Website from time to time. 

"Website" means the Internet website operated by or for AABA which is styled www.aabahouston.com and all related and affiliated bulletin boards, services, forums, software, documentation, interfaces and equipment. 

2. License

Subject to your compliance with all the terms and conditions of this Agreement, AABA grants to you a non-exclusive, nontransferable, revocable, perpetual (subject to termination of this Agreement) license to use the Website and to download and use the Content in the manner permitted by the Website solely for your own non-profit personal purposes. AABA reserves any and all rights not expressly granted to you herein. AABA also reserves the right at any time and without prior notice to you, to issue new releases of the Website from time to time, to change the Content and to change the features of the Website; provided, however, that if the functionality of the Website is materially reduced by such changes, you may terminate this Agreement by stopping your use of the Website.

3. Passwords

Upon creation of a user account, you will be issued a Password to enable you to access restricted Contain that is not available without verification of a Password. 

4. User Fees

AABA currently charges no fees for use of the Website under this Agreement.

5. Term, Termination

This Agreement shall become effective upon your first use of the Website, and shall be perpetual, subject to breach or termination by either party. Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time for any reason. Upon the termination or expiration of this Agreement you shall: (i) immediately stop using the Content and the Website; (ii) destroy all Passwords issued to you; and (iii) pay all amounts owed by you to AABA, if any. The following Sections shall survive termination or expiration of the Agreement: 6 (Intellectual Property Rights; Confidentiality), 7 (Use of the Website), 8 (Disclaimer of Warranties), 9 (Limitations of Liability), 10 (Governing Law, Limitations) and 11 (Relief). 

6. Intellectual Property Rights; Confidentiality

You understand that the Website, Content and User Information are protected by copyright laws, international copyright treaties and other trade secret and intellectual property laws and treaties. Your license confers no title or ownership in the Website, Content or User Information and is not a sale of any rights in the Website, the Content or User Information. You agree to take no action which may infringe upon AABA's intellectual property rights in the Website, the Content and the User Information. You represent and warrant that AABA may copy all program and data files, whether in writing or other tangible form (including disks, tapes and other electronic media). It is anticipated that during the term of this Agreement, AABA and you (either party as the disclosing party is hereinafter referred to as the "Disclosing Party") may disclose to the other (the "Receiving Party") certain proprietary, confidential, and/or legally privileged information. AABA's information may include, without limitation, information regarding the Website, the Content, User Information, technology, proprietary software, tools, logic, methodologies, or other similar information. Your information shall include only your User Information. Such information shall be considered "Confidential Information" hereunder. The Receiving Party agrees that it shall hold in confidence all Disclosing Party's Confidential Information acquired by reason of this Agreement and take all steps reasonably necessary to preserve the confidentiality thereof. The Receiving Party shall limit access to the Confidential Information to employees, consultants, advisors, auditors, attorneys, and other representatives who have a need to know the Confidential Information and shall require that each of those employees, consultants, advisors, auditors, attorneys, and representatives comply with the terms of this Section 6. Confidential Information does not include information which: (a) is or becomes public knowledge through no fault of the Receiving Party, (b) at the time of its disclosure to Receiving Party hereunder, was then known to, or in the possession of, Receiving Party, (c) is received by Receiving Party from a third person or entity that obtained such Confidential Information without Receiving Party's knowledge of the existence of any obligation of confidence owed by the third person or entity to Disclosing Party, or (d) is developed by or for the Receiving Party independent of, and without reference to, the Confidential Information disclosed to Receiving Party. The obligations under this Section 6 shall commence on the date hereof and shall survive following the termination or expiration of this Agreement.

7. Use of the Website.

(a) Eligibility. Use of Website and the Content contained therein is void where prohibited. By using the Website, you represent and warrant that (a) all registration information you submit is truthful and accurate; (b) you will maintain the accuracy of such information; and (c) you are 13 years of age or older. AABA may terminate this Agreement at any time without warning if AABA believes you are under 13 years of age. 

(b) Internal Use. Access to the Website and the Content contained therein is being provided to you solely and exclusively for your own non-profit personal use. You shall not, and shall not permit any person or entity under your direct or indirect control to: (i) re-circulate, publish, broadcast, distribute or otherwise provide Content or access to the Website to any other person or entity, including but not limited to, through written, oral or electronic means, without the prior written consent of AABA; or (ii) use the Website or Content on a service bureau, time sharing or any similar basis, or for the benefit of any other person or entity. 

(c) Additional Restrictions. You agree not to: (i) sublicense, assign, translate, rent, lease, lend, resell for profit, distribute or otherwise assign or transfer the Content or access to the Website to others; (ii) decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, modify, reduce the Website to human perceivable form or create derivatives works based upon the Website or any part thereof; (iii) merge the Website or Content with another program or create derivative works based on the Website or Content; (iv) remove, obscure, or alter any notice of the copyright or other propriety legends on the Website or Content; (v) disable any licensing or control features of the Website; (vi) use, or allow the use of, the Website or the Content in contravention of any federal, state, local, foreign or other applicable law, or rules or regulations of regulatory or administrative organizations; (vii) introduce into the Website any virus or other code or routine intended to disrupt or damage the Website, alter, damage or delete any Content, or retrieve or record information about the Website or its users; or (viii) otherwise act in a fraudulent, malicious or negligent manner when using the Website. 

(d) Your Content. You are solely responsible for the Content you provide, and AABA acts merely as a conduit for its distribution and publication. However, AABA reserves the right to take any action with respect to such information it deems necessary or appropriate in its sole discretion (including, without limitation, rejecting, removal, and refusal to post any Content) if AABA believes information you provide is inappropriate for the Website, may create liability for AABA, or may cause AABA to lose (in whole or in part) the services of its ISPs or other suppliers. AABA may also restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to all or any part of the Services at any time, for any or no reason, with or without notice, and without liability. Although AABA requires that Website users must be at least thirteen (13) years of age or older, you must nonetheless ensure that Content you provide is acceptable for viewing by Website users who might not be adults. You agree that the Content you provide will not to the best of your knowledge: (a) infringe any third party's copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy; (b) violate any law or regulation (including without limitation those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising); (c) be racist, supportive of terrorist activities, defamatory, libelous, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing; (d) harass or advocate harassment of another person; (e) exploit people in a sexual or violent manner; (f) contain nudity, violence, or offensive subject matter or contains a link to an adult website; (g) solicit personal information from anyone under eighteen (18) years of age; (h) promote information that you know is false or misleading or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous; (i) promote an illegal or unauthorized copy of another person's copyrighted work, such as providing pirated computer programs or links to them, providing information to circumvent manufacture-installed copy-protect devices, or providing pirated music or links to pirated music files; (j) involve the transmission of "junk mail," "chain letters," or unsolicited mass mailing, instant messaging, "spimming," or "spamming"; (k) contain restricted or Password-only access pages or hidden pages or images (those not linked to or from another accessible page); (l) further or promote any criminal activity or enterprise or provide instructional information about illegal activities including, but not limited to making or buying illegal weapons, violating someone's privacy, or providing or creating computer viruses; (m) solicit Passwords or personal identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes from other users; (n) involve commercial activities and/or sales without our prior written consent such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising, or pyramid schemes; nor (o) include a photograph of another person that you have posted without that person's consent. 

(e) Content License. When you provide Content in connection with use of the Website, you grant to AABA a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicensable (through multiple tiers) right to exercise the copyright, publicity, and database right you have in the Content, in any media known now or in the future.

(f) Security. You agree to accept all risks associated with the use of the Website and understand that any information posted using the Website may be accessed by third parties and should not be considered to be secure or protected. You are responsible for using your good judgment in what is posted using the Website. You shall not access or use the Website by means of any automated program, expert system, electronic agent or "bot", and shall not give any person or entity access to the Website. In the event your Password is lost or stolen it is your responsibility to notify AABA by facsimile sent to the address listed in Section 14 below. 

(g) Miscellaneous. AABA may collect and aggregate data about your usage of the Site, and AABA shall be the sole owner of such information. You shall immediately notify AABA of any suspected errors or omissions in the Website. 

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

ANY USE BY YOU OF THE WEBSITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE WEBSITE MAY CONTAIN BUGS AND MALFUNCTIONS. YOU ASSUME ALL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF THE WEBSITE. THE WEBSITE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE (WHETHER OR NOT AABA KNOWS, HAS REASON TO KNOW, HAS BEEN ADVISED, OR IS OTHERWISE IN FACT AWARE OF SUCH PURPOSE), WHETHER ALLEGED TO ARISE BY LAW, BY REASON OF CUSTOM OR USAGE IN THE TRADE, OR BY COURSE OF DEALING. AABA DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY CONTENT, THAT THE FUNCTIONS OF THE WEBSITE WILL MEET YOUR, YOUR AFFILIATES'OR ANYONE ELSE'S REQUIREMENTS OR NEEDS, OR THAT OPERATION OF THE WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, AABA DISCLAIMS ALL SUCH IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND ALL OTHER WARRANTIES. 

9. Limitations of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL AABA, ITS AFFILIATES, OR ANY THIRD PARTY DATA OR WEBSITE PROVIDERS, OR THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS AND CONTRACTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING PERSONAL INJURY, LOST MONEY, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, LOSS OF GOOD WILL, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION OR ANY OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS) ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES AND LOSSES ARISING FROM: THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE WEBSITE; TRANSMISSION DELAYS OR OMISSIONS; INTERRUPTIONS IN SERVICE; THE INFORMATION OBTAINED BY THE USE OF THE WEBSITE; OR FOR ANY CLAIM OF ANY PERSON OR ENTITY WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN THE EVENT SUCH PERSONS OR ENTITIES ARE HELD LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY CAUSE, WHETHER FOR NEGLIGENCE, TORT, INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT OR FOR ANY OTHER CAUSE OF ACTION, THEIR ENTIRE LIABILITY FOR ALL CAUSES OF ACTION SHALL NOT CUMULATIVELY EXCEED $100.00. IN ADDITON, YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD AABA HARMLESS IN THE EVENT YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR DATA YOU POSSESS INFRINGES ON ANOTHER PERSON'S OR ENTITY'S INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. 

10. Governing Law, Limitations

This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted under the laws of the State of Texas, United States of America, without regard to conflicts of law provisions. By accepting this Agreement you agree to by subject to jurisdiction in the State of Texas, and to commence any action arising under or relating to this Agreement in the appropriate state or federal court in the State of Texas. Any claim arising from or related to this Agreement must be brought no later than one (1) year following the accrual of such claim, or else such claim shall be barred. 

11. Relief

In the event of a breach or threatened breach of any of the provisions of this Agreement by you, you acknowledge that: (i) such breach is likely to substantially diminish the value of the Website and irreparably harm AABA and will not be susceptible to cure by the payment of monetary damages and (ii) AABA shall be entitled to immediately terminate your access to the Website and to obtain injunctive relief and/or other equitable relief, in addition to other remedies afforded by law, all of which shall be cumulative, to prevent or restrain such breach of this Agreement. In the event that AABA shall employ an attorney to enforce the terms and conditions of this Agreement, you shall be liable for all reasonable costs and expenses sustained by AABA in the enforcement of such terms and obligations, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses, costs of collection and court costs. 

12. Assignments

AABA may assign any rights, obligations, or licenses granted hereunder at any time without your consent. Neither this Agreement nor any rights, obligations or licenses granted hereunder may be assigned, delegated or subcontracted by you, by operation of law or otherwise, without the prior written consent of AABA, which may be withheld in its sole and absolute discretion. 

13. Notices

Notices to you shall be effective when sent to the e-mail address that you provided to the Website at the time of creating a user account, or upon posting to the homepage of the website (www.aabahouston.com). You may send notices to the AABA by sending an e-mail to the following address: webmaster@aabahouston.com.

14. Notice and Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement

If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, you may provide AABA's copyright agent the written information specified below. Note that this procedure is exclusively for notifying AABA that your copyrighted material has been infringed. 

1. An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;
2. A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed upon; 
3. A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the site, including the listing number, if applicable; 
4. Your address, telephone number, and e-mail address; 
5. A statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; 
6. A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf. 

AABA's Copyright Agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement on its site can be reached as follows:

President
Asian American Bar Association
P.O. Box 1554 
Houston, Texas 77251
info@aabahouston.com

15. Arbitration

In the event that there shall be any dispute arising out of or in any way relating to this Agreement, the parties covenant and agree to first use their reasonable best efforts to resolve such dispute among themselves, with or without mediation. If the parties are unable to resolve such dispute among themselves, such dispute shall be submitted to binding arbitration in Houston, Harris County, Texas, under the auspices of, and pursuant to the rules of, the American Arbitration Association's Commercial Arbitration Rules as then in effect, or such other procedures as the parties may agree to at the time, before a tribunal of three arbitrators, one of which shall be selected by AABA, one of which shall be selected by you, and the third of which shall be selected by the two arbitrators so selected. Any award issued as a result of such arbitration shall be final and binding between the parties, and shall be enforceable by any court having jurisdiction over the party against whom enforcement is sought. A ruling by the arbitrators shall be non-appealable. The parties agree to abide by and perform any award rendered by the arbitrators. If either party seeks enforcement of the terms of this Agreement or seeks enforcement of any award rendered by the arbitrators, then the prevailing party (designated by the arbitrators) to such proceeding(s) shall be entitled to recover its costs and expenses from the non-prevailing party, in addition to any other relief to which it may be entitled. If a dispute arises and one party fails or refuses to designate an arbitrator within thirty (30) days after receipt of a written notice that an arbitration proceeding is to be held, then the dispute shall be resolved solely by the arbitrator designated by the other party and such arbitration award shall be as binding as if three arbitrators had participated in the arbitration proceeding. Either party may cause an arbitration proceeding to commence by giving the other party notice in writing of such arbitration. Each party covenants and agrees to act as expeditiously as practicable in order to resolve all disputes by arbitration. Notwithstanding anything in this Section 16 to the contrary, neither party shall be precluded from seeking court action in the event the action sought is either injunctive action, a restraining order or other equitable relief. The arbitration proceeding shall be held in English.

All claims you bring against AABA shall be resolved in accordance with this Section 16. All claims filed or brought contrary to this Section 16 shall be considered improperly filed. Should you file a claim contrary to this Section 16, AABA may recover attorneys' fees and costs, provided that AABA has notified you in writing of the improperly filed claim, and you have failed to promptly withdraw the claim. 

17. Release

Content may be offensive, harmful or inaccurate. You agree to look solely to the original posting party for any claims you may have regarding their information. If you have a dispute with one or more users, you release AABA (and its officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures and employees) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code Section 1542, which says: "A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the debtor." 

18. Entire Agreement; Amendments; Severability

You acknowledge that you have read and understood this Agreement and that you agree to be bound by its terms and conditions. You further agree that this Agreement, together with the Privacy Policy, which is hereby incorporated into this Agreement by reference, constitute the complete and exclusive statement of the Agreement between you and AABA and supersedes all other proposals or prior agreements oral or written, and any other communications relating to the subject matter of this Agreement. AABA may modify this Agreement from time to time and such modification shall be immediately effective upon posting by AABA to the Website. You agree to be bound to any changes to this Agreement when you use the Services after any such modification is posted. It is therefore important that you review this Agreement regularly to ensure you are updated as to any changes. In order to use certain Services, you may be notified that you are required to download other software and/or content and/or agree to additional terms and conditions. Unless otherwise provided by the additional terms and conditions applicable to the Services in which you choose to participate, those additional terms are hereby incorporated into this Agreement. If any provision of this Agreement is found unenforceable, it shall not affect the validity of this Agreement, the remainder of which shall remain valid and enforceable according to its terms.

Copyright 2018 Asian American Bar Association of Houston