THESE TERMS OF USE SET OUT THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE ("Terms") OF THE DOCWORTHY.COM WEBSITE ("DocWorthy," "The "Site," "We,") CREATED AND OWNED BY GUARDIAN PUBLISHING, LLC ("Guardian"). BY REGISTERING ON OR USING ANY OF THIS SITE, YOU EXPRESSLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY ACCEPT AND AGREE, WITHOUT LIMITATION OR QUALIFICATION, TO ALL OF THESE TERMS OF USE.

1. Welcome

Welcome to DocWorthy.com ("DocWorthy", "Site" or "we"). By using this Site, you agree to be bound by all of the terms of this Agreement (the "User Agreement"). We reserve the right to change the terms of this User Agreement or to modify any features of this Site at any time without notice to you, and you agree to be bound by such changes. Any changes to this User Agreement shall become a part of this User Agreement and shall apply as soon as they are posted. The most current version of the User Agreement can be viewed at any time at www.docworthy.com/terms. Your use of this Site constitutes your agreement to all such terms, conditions and policies. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any new features or functionality (including, without limitation, video and related projects) that augment or enhance the Site, shall be subject to this User Agreement.

In addition to these terms and conditions, all Professional Advisors, Associations and Vendors must read, review, and electronically consent to a "Participant User Agreement" (link).

2. Our Intellectual Property Rights

The Site constitutes our exclusive property. The Site, and all content (other than that contained in the profiles of Professional Advisors) included on the Site, such as text, graphics, logos, names, designations, button icons, images, audio clips, information, data, photographs, graphs, videos, typefaces, graphics, music, sounds, and other material and software, is the exclusive property of Guardian and its licensors and is protected by copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, or other proprietary rights. We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable right to access and use the Site, which right is conditioned on your compliance with the Terms.

By posting or submitting content on or to the Site (regardless of the form or medium with respect to such content, whether text, videos, photographs, audio or otherwise), you are giving Guardian, and its affiliates, agents and third party contractors the right to display or publish such content on the Site and its affiliated publications (either in the form submitted or in the form of a derivative or adapted work), to store such content, and to distribute such content and use such content for promotional and marketing purposes.

3. Registration and Access

To use the Site, you must establish an account using the online registration form or be provided an account by a vendor, strategic partner or sponsoring association. You are free to modify the personal data you provide on the form at any time. You may access your account by entering your username and password in the login fields on the homepage. Registration entitles you to use the Site for an unlimited period of time provided you maintain your membership with a sponsoring association or pay the applicable annual membership fee. Guardian does reserve the right to terminate your account at any time.

You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any user name and password you use to access the Site, and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your password or account. You agree to (i) immediately notify Guardian of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security; and (ii) make sure that you exit from your account at the end of each session. Guardian cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this provision.

Failure to fulfill the aforementioned obligations respecting user responsibility may result in access being temporarily or permanently suspended, immediately and without notice, or in the deactivation of your account, without prejudice to any other rights we may have.

4. User Content

The Site may include bulletin boards, blogs, chat rooms and other pages that allow you and other users to post information and materials, provide feedback or comments to Guardian, and interact in real-time with other users or the Site. You agree that Guardian and its licensees may reproduce, distribute, publish, display, edit, modify, create derivative works and compilations and otherwise use all information, text, messages, photographs, videos, member or display name and other materials posted by you ("Your Content") for any purpose in any form and on any media. You grant Guardian a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free right and sublicensable license to reproduce and create derivative works and compilations of Your Content, in whole or in part, and to display, perform, distribute and transmit the same in any form and on any media, including via the features that enable the Sites to be accessed both on the Internet and through any other electronic communication media or technology, now known or later developed, and to adjust the format or Your Content as necessary for the purposes of reproduction, display and transmission.

By using the Site, you agree and grant Guardian the non-exclusive, royalty-free right and sublicensable license to display, distribute and transmit third-party advertisements in connection with Your Content.

5. Screening of the Vendors, Professional Advisors, or Associations on the Site, Including Content on their Profiles

While we think the "peer review" of such Site Participants by local doctors is valuable, we do not ourselves screen, evaluate, rate or in any way vet these Participants, or review or evaluate the content on their profiles, in any way. We encourage you, when evaluating whether or not to work with/join any such Participant, to do your due diligence, including asking for local physician references with whom you can speak.

6. Our Obligation and Liability as Host

We are under no legal obligation to monitor content transmitted via or stored on the Site by you or other users, including Vendors, Associations and Professional Advisors. Although Guardian and its affiliates may, from time to time, monitor, review and/or delete discussions, articles, chats, postings, transmissions, bulletin boards, photographs, videos and other user and member generated content on the Site, neither Guardian nor its affiliates is under any obligation to do so. You acknowledge and agree that any discussions, articles, chats, postings, transmissions, bulletin boards, photographs, videos, opinions, advice, statements, offers or other user and member generated content on the Site are those of their respective authors who are solely liable for their content. Guardian and its affiliates reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to edit, refuse to post or remove any content submitted to or posted on the Site.

YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SITE SHALL BE AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND LIABILITY. EVERYTHING ON THE SITES IS PROVIDED TO YOU "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY. GUARDIAN, ITS AFFILIATED COMPANIES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, VENDORS AND SUPPLIERS (THE "GUARDIAN PARTIES") DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. THE GUARDIAN PARTIES ALSO DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY AND ASSUME NO LIABILITY FOR THE CONTENT PRESENT ON THE SITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY MISTAKES, INACCURACIES, DEFAMATION, LIBEL, SLANDER, OMISSIONS, FALSEHOODS, OBSCENITY, PORNOGRAPHY OR PROFANITY YOU MAY ENCOUNTER ON THE SITE. WE DO NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS, NOR DO WE ENDORSE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS OR RELIABILITY OF ANY ADVICE, OPINION, STATEMENT OR OTHER MATERIAL DISPLAYED, UPLOADED OR DISTRIBUTED IN THIS SITE OR AVAILABLE THOUGH LINKS IN THIS SITE.

THE GUARDIAN PARTIES MAKE NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION THAT THE SITES OR TECHNOLOGY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE OR SECURE, INCLUDING WITH RESPECT TO THE DELIVERY OF YOUR CONTENT AND/OR ANY LIMITATIONS ON YOUR OR ANY OTHER USERS' ABILITY TO ACCESS, VIEW OR USE YOUR CONTENT OR ANY OTHER CONTENT, OR THAT ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM THE SITES WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE.

YOU AGREE THAT NO GUARDIAN PARTY SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, LOSS, OR EXPENSE OF ANY KIND ARISING OUT OF OR RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SITE, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH LIABILITY IS BASED IN TORT, CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE. IN NO EVENT, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION A NEGLIGENT ACT, SHALL ANY GUARDIAN PARTY BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OR CORRUPTION OF DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS), ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO THE SITES, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER ANY SUCH GUARDIAN PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

ALTHOUGH WE INTEND TO TAKE REASONABLE STEPS TO PREVENT THE INTRODUCTION OF VIRUSES, WORMS, "TROJAN HORSES" OR OTHER DESTRUCTIVE MATERIALS TO THIS SITE, WE DO NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THAT THIS SITE OR MATERIALS THAT MAY BE DOWNLOADED FROM THIS SITE DO NOT CONTAIN SUCH DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR HARM ATTRIBUTABLE TO SUCH FEATURES. IF YOU RELY ON THIS SITE AND ANY MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS SITE, YOU DO SO SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

THIS SITE CONTAINS VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTIONS, OPINIONS, STATEMENTS, FACTS, ARTICLES, CREATED BY PARTICIPANTS - BOTH IN THEIR PROFILES AND ON THE MAIN PAGES OF THE SITE. DUE TO THE NUMBER OF SOURCES FROM WHICH CONTENT IN THIS SITE IS OBTAINED, AND THE INHERENT HAZARDS OF ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTION, THERE MAY BE DELAYS, OMISSIONS OR INACCURACIES IN SUCH CONTENT. ACCORDINGLY, SUCH CONTENT, INCLUDING THE MARKET DATA, IS FOR YOUR REFERENCE ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON BY YOU FOR ANY PURPOSE. SUCH CONTENT IS NOT INTENDED FOR THE PURPOSE OF TAX OR INVESTMENT ADVICE AND IT DOES NOT ADVOCATE THE PURCHASE OR SALE OF ANY SECURITY OR INVESTMENT. INFORMATION CREATED BY THIRD PARTIES THAT YOU MAY ACCESS ON THE SITE OR THROUGH LINKS IS NOT ADOPTED OR ENDORSED BY GUARDIAN AND REMAINS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SUCH THIRD PARTIES.

SOME JURISDICTIONS LIMIT OR DO NOT ALLOW THE DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES OR DAMAGES SO THE ABOVE DISCLAIMER MAY NOT APPLY TO THE EXTENT SUCH JURISDICTION'S LAW APPLIES TO THESE TERMS.

7. Your Responsibility as User

As a User who can participate in chat rooms, message boards, Q&As and other interactive areas of the site, you are thus responsible for ensuring that anything you contribute:

1. does not violate the intellectual property rights of third parties;
2. does not cause personal injury (including defamation, insults, abuse, etc.) or constitute an invasion of privacy;
3. is not contrary to public policy, child protection and privacy laws, or accepted moral standards;
4. contains no child pornography, dangerous or illegal acts (including, but not limited to, incitement to violence, animal abuse or drug abuse);
5. contains no sexually explicit content (including but not limited to intercourse, masturbation, sadistic or masochistic abuse, sexually explicit depiction of male or female genitalia);
6. is not per se illegal;
7. does not contain or constitute unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation;
8. does not upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
9. does not interfere with or disrupt the Site or servers or networks connected to the Site, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Site; and
10. does not provide material support or resources (or to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, or ownership of material support or resources) to any organization(s) designated by the United States government as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to Sec. 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

You also agree not to post or transmit any unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, profane, hateful, racially, ethically or otherwise objectionable content of any kind, including but not limited to, any content which encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, violate the copyrights, trademarks, Site marks or similar intellectual property rights or other rights, including invasion of privacy or rights of publicity, of others.

Failure to comply with these provisions will result in Your Content being removed and/or your account being deactivated without prior notice. In addition, Guardian reserves the right to report any violation of these provisions to applicable legal authorities and you may be personally liable to criminal sanctions applicable to the content in question (fines and/or imprisonment), in addition to any applicable civil damages.

8. Copyright Notifications

Guardian does not tolerate copyright infringing activities and infringement of intellectual property rights on its Site, and will remove content uploaded by users (including Your Content) if properly notified that such content infringes on another's intellectual property rights. Guardian reserves the right also to terminate a user's account without any refund of membership fees, if a user is determined to be a repeat infringer.

If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please contact Guardian's Copyright Agent at copyright@DocWorthy.com.

9. Links

As a convenience to you, the Site may contain links to websites operated by other entities (a "Linked Site"). If you decide to visit any Linked Site, you do so at your own risk and it is your responsibility to take all protective measures to guard against viruses or other destructive elements. Guardian has no responsibility to you with respect to any Linked Site and no Linked Site, regardless of the linking form (e.g. hotlinks, hypertext links, IMG links) is maintained, controlled, endorsed, monitored or otherwise governed by Guardian. Links from our Site to any Linked Site do not constitute an endorsement by Guardian of a Linked Site, or the products, content, materials or information presented or made available by such sites. You acknowledge and agree that Guardian is not responsible for any damages or losses of you or any other person caused or alleged to have been caused by your use of any Linked Site, or from the products, content, material or information presented by or available through those sites.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Guardian, its officers, directors, employees and agents against any claim, action and/or complaint by any third party to which we may be exposed and you agree, in this regard, to accept exclusive liability for any sums, damages, costs, lawyers' fees and court costs for which we may be held liable arising from your submission of material to the Site or your violation of these Terms.

11. Choice of Venue/Law; Waiver of Jury Trial

You agree that Guardian shall be deemed to be a passive website that is based solely in Texas and over which personal jurisdiction cannot be obtained, either specific or general, in any jurisdiction other than state or federal court in Texas.

You agree that any dispute between you and Guardian arising out of or relating in any way to these Terms or your use of the Site shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas without reference to its conflicts of laws and shall in all respects be governed, construed, applied, and enforced in accordance with the laws of Texas. You also agree that any claim or dispute between you and Guardian shall be decided exclusively by a court of competent jurisdiction located in Texas.

YOU HEREBY WAIVE TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW ANY RIGHT YOU MAY HAVE TO TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY LITIGATION DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF, UNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OF USE OR YOUR USE OF ANY OF THE SITE.

12. Electronic Signatures

You agree to be bound by any affirmation, assent, communication or agreement you transmit through the Site, including but not limited to any consent you give to receive communications from Guardian solely through electronic transmission. You agree that, when in the future you click on "I agree," "I consent," "Submit," or other similarly worded "button" or entry field with your mouse, keystroke or other computer device, your agreement or consent will be legally binding and enforceable and the legal equivalent of your handwritten signature.

13. Amendments/Revisions

Guardian may amend or revise the Terms or any other policy of Guardian at any time and you agree to be bound by such revised Terms or policy. Any such amendment or revisions will become effective upon the date it is first posted to this site. It is your responsibility to return to the Site from time to time to review the most current Terms and other Guardian policies. Guardian does not and will not assume any obligation to notify you of changes to the Terms or any other policy of Guardian.

14. Entire Agreement

These Terms and our Privacy Policy, found at www.docworthy.com/privacy and incorporated herein by reference, constitute the entire agreement between Guardian and you with respect to the Site, and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral, or written, between the you and Guardian with respect to the Site. A printed version of the Terms and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to the Terms to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and record originally generated and maintained in printed form.

If, for any reason, a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of the Terms or any portion thereof, to be unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to affect the intent of the Terms, and the remainder of these Terms shall continue in full force and effect. No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default.

Document last updated 2009-08-03 00:00:00