These Terms and Conditions of Use (the "Terms and Conditions") and Privacy Policy were last updated on February 18, 2009.
Welcome to usnews.com, the Web site of U.S. News & World Report magazine, which is published by U.S. News & World Report, L.P. ("U.S. News"). As used in these Terms and Conditions, the term "Web site" refers to the Web site located at www.usnews.com, our E-mail newsletters, our premium online content, our online discussion forums, and any other sites on which a link to these Terms and Conditions appears. U.S. News does not control, and is not responsible for, any third-party site to which the Web site links.
You agree that your use of the Web site is subject to the following Terms and Conditions. These Terms and Conditions may be modified at any time and from time to time; the date of the most recent changes or revisions will appear on this page. Continued access to the Web site by you will constitute your acceptance of any changes or revisions to the Agreement. Other portions of the U.S. News websites may be governed by different or additional terms and conditions. In the event of a conflict between any provision of these Terms and Conditions of Use, on the one hand, and any other terms and conditions, on the other hand, the applicable provision of these Terms and Conditions of Use shall prevail with respect to your use of the Website.
The materials contained on the Web site are provided by U.S. News as a service to you for your noncommercial, personal use on an "as is, as available" basis and may be used by you for information purposes only. You acknowledge that you are using the Web site at your own risk. U.S. News assumes no responsibility for error or omissions in these materials. U.S. News makes no commitment to update the information contained herein. U.S. News makes no, and expressly disclaims any and all, representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding the U.S. News Web site, including without limitation the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of text, graphics, links, products and services, and other items accessed from or via the Web site, or that the Web site will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components. No advice or information given by U.S. News or any other party on the Web site shall create any warranty or liability.
U.S. News does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use or the results of the use of the materials at the Web site in terms of their correctness, accuracy, timeliness, reliability, or otherwise. Under no circumstances shall U.S. News or any of its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, or their respective partners, officers, directors, employees, or agents be held liable for any damages, whether direct, incidental, indirect, special, or consequential, and including, without limitation, lost revenues or lost profits, arising from or in connection with your use, reliance on, or performance of the information on the Web site.
U.S. News periodically schedules system downtime for maintenance and other purposes. Unplanned outages also may occur. U.S. News shall have no liability for the resulting unavailability of the Web site or for any loss of data or transactions caused by planned or unplanned system outages, or any outages of webhost providers or the Internet infrastructure and network external to the Web site.
Copyright
All materials published on the Web site are protected by copyright laws, and may not be reproduced, republished, distributed, transmitted, resold, displayed, broadcast, or otherwise exploited in any manner without the express written permission of either U.S. News or, in the case of content licensed by U.S. News from third parties, the entity that is credited as the copyright holder of such licensed content. You may download freely accessible material (one copy per page) from this Web site for your personal and noncommercial use only, without altering or removing any trademark, copyright, or other notice from such material; you must pay a fee to access that content which requires a fee for access.
In the event you believe that any content posted on the Web site infringes your copyright or other intellectual-property rights, you may notify U.S. News by providing the information required by the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Action of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 512, to U.S. News's Copyright Agent:
- Attention: Peter Dwoskin, Esq.
- U.S. News & World Report L.P.
- 450 West 33rd Street, 3rd Floor
- New York, NY 10001
- (t) 212.210.6390
- (f) 212.210.6313
- copyrightagent@usnews.com
User Generated Content
U.S. News, through its forums, provides users an opportunity to post content to the Web site. U.S. News does not necessarily endorse, support, sanction, encourage, or agree with content posted by users. You shall not post or transmit any unlawful threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, or indecent information of any kind, including without limitation any transmissions constituting or encouraging conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate and local, state, national, or international law, or infringe upon another's copyright or trademark. You understand that all information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, video, messages, or other materials posted or transmitted in a U.S. News forum, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, is the sole responsibility of the person from whom such content originated. This means that you, and not U.S. News, are entirely and solely responsible for all content that you upload, post, or otherwise transmit via the Web site. U.S. News does not and cannot review the content posted by users and is not responsible for such content. However, U.S. News shall have the right, but not the obligation, to delete, move, or edit any content that violates this agreement or is otherwise objectionable as determined by U.S. News in its sole discretion and without notice.
If you upload, post, or otherwise transmit content to the Web site, you acknowledge that any such submissions may be edited, removed, modified, published, transmitted, and displayed by U.S. News in any medium now existing or hereinafter invented, and for any purpose, including commercial uses. You waive any moral rights you may have in having the material edited, removed, modified, published, transmitted, or displayed in a manner not agreeable to you.
You agree to indemnify U.S. News and its parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates, and each of their respective partners, officers, directors, employees, and agents, against, and to hold each of them harmless from, any and all claims and liabilities (including attorney's fees) that may arise from your submissions, from your unauthorized use of material obtained from the Web site, from your breach of these Terms and Conditions, and from any such acts arising through your use of the Web site.
Third Party Provider Content Notices
You may not publish, broadcast, rewrite for broadcast or publication, or redistribute directly or indirectly in any medium AFP text, photo, or graphic material made available on the Web site. Neither the AFP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors, or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.
You shall not publish, broadcast, rewrite for broadcast or publication, or redistribute directly or indirectly in any medium Associated Press ("AP") text, photo or graphic material. Neither the AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors, or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.
Premium Online Content
Purchasers of premium online content are not permitted to share, distribute, sell, or otherwise transfer their password to other individuals. The password is for the purchaser's sole use. Significant or unusual use of a single password (including but not limited to significant use of a single password on multiple computers) could result in suspension of that password. Premium online content is protected by copyright laws, and may not be transmitted (whether by e-mail or otherwise), reproduced, republished, distributed, resold, displayed, broadcast, or otherwise exploited in any manner without the express written permission of U.S. News.
Featured Services
U.S. News is committed to providing visitors to its site with as many features as possible. The companies that U.S. News selects as featured services providers offer products and services that site visitors may find useful. U.S. News in certain cases may have a business relationship with certain third parties that it selects as a featured service provider. U.S. News is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any advice or information given, or of any statement made, by the companies providing featured services, or for the content, services, products, or advertising on or available from their web sites, or for the availability and operations of their web sites.
Jurisdiction
You agree that any claim, action, or proceeding arising out of these Terms and Conditions, or your use of the Web site, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts to be wholly performed therein, and any action based on or alleging a breach of this Agreement must be brought in a state or federal court in New York. In addition, you agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.
Privacy Policy
This privacy policy ("Privacy Policy") applies to your use of the Web site only and does not cover information collected by any third party sites to which this Web site links, or which we may otherwise collect through your subscription to the U.S. News and World Report monthly magazine, or to any other products or services offered by U.S. News other than on this Web site. This Privacy Policy is part of, and hereby incorporated into, the Web site's Terms and Conditions. You can read the entire Terms and Conditions by either scrolling up to the top of this Web page or by clicking here.
What information does U.S. News collect about me as I use the Web site?
U.S. News may collect personally identifiable information from you such as your name, telephone number, postal address, e-mail address and credit card information so that we can provide you with the products and services you request. For example, we ask you for name, e-mail address, and certain other information if you choose to subscribe to our e-mail newsletters or register with our online discussion forums. U.S. News may also collect your credit card information when you make a purchase, so that we can process your payment for the product or service you are requesting. During the ordering process, such credit card information is transmitted either to U.S. News or to the particular supplier or service provider who provides the service you are purchasing. In both cases, credit card information is then transmitted to third-party credit card processors and card issuers that use your information to process your order.
U.S. News may also collect non-personally identifiable information when you visit our Web site, such as your browser configuration, the type of operating system you are using, and information about your Internet service provider.
How does U.S. News use the information supplied by me?
We may use the information you supply to fulfill your requests for products and services, to respond to your inquiries, and to offer other products and services from either us or selected companies which may be of interest to you. If you decide that you do not wish to receive such communications from U.S. News and others, you may opt-out of receiving further e-mails and other communications by clicking "Unsubscribe" in any email. If you choose to submit content for publication (e.g., a letter to our editors, or information to be posted as a comment), we may publish your name, screen name or such other information you supply.
We sometimes use non-personally identifiable information we collect through our use of cookies, to improve the design, delivery and content of our publications and our Web site and to enable us to personalize your Internet experience. We may also use the non-personally identifiable information we collect in the aggregate, to analyze how visitors use our site, as well as to provide you with offers and information about products and services which you have agreed to receive.
In addition, U.S. News may disclose information we maintain (A) if in good faith we believe that such disclosure is necessary to (1) comply with the law or legal process; (2) protect and defend our rights and property; (3) protect against misuse or unauthorized use of the Web site; or (4) protect the personal safety, property, or rights of our users or the public, or (B) in connection with a corporate transaction, such as a divestiture, merger, consolidation, or asset sale.
How can I change my privacy options?
If, at some point after giving U.S. News your personally identifying information, you do not wish to continue to receive additional information and offers from U.S. News about U.S. News, from U.S. News's affiliates, or from selected outside companies, you may opt out of receiving future emails by clicking the "Unsubscribe" link located at the bottom of each e-mail. If you purchased content appearing at www.usnews.com or otherwise purchased products through the U.S. News Store, you can edit your U.S. News Store profile after you have logged into your account.
What are "cookies" and how does U.S. News use them?
"Cookies" are pieces of information that are placed by the Web site in a storage place on your computer. Cookies do not contain information that is, in itself, personally identifying. Cookies are placed on your computer in a limited way to help deliver advertisements, to calculate unique site visitors, and to track usage throughout our site. Other uses include placement of cookies to make the login process more convenient for our services that use logins. In addition, some advertisers may place cookies on your computer. We also contract with certain third parties to help manage and optimize our Web site business, including but not limited to the following companies with whom we share information in order to operate the website and deliver our service to you:
We use the services of a third party marketing company, Omniture, to help us measure the effectiveness of our advertising and how visitors use the Web site. To do this, we use Web beacons and cookies provided by this third party marketing company at this Web site. This information helps us learn things like what pages are most attractive to our visitors, which of our products most interest our customers, and what kinds of offers our customers like to see. You can "opt-out" of our ability to analyze such Omniture data by clicking here: www.omniture.com/privacy/2o7#optout
We also use a third party advertising company, DoubleClick, to deliver ads to you when you visit our Web site. In the course of providing this service, our third-party advertising company may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser which collects information about your visits to this Web site, such as the number of times you have viewed an ad (but not your name, address, e-mail address, telephone number or other personally identifiable information). If you would like more information about this practice and to understand your choice not to have this information used by Doubleclick, please click here: www.doubleclick.net/us/corporate/privacy.
Children Under Age 13
No one under the age of 13 should provide any personally identifiable information to U.S. News. In general, U.S. News does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13. If in limited circumstances we do knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13, we will do so only with verified parental consent prior to collection. In the event that we learn that we have collected such information from a child under the age of 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete this information from our database as quickly as possible. If you believe the Web site has collected any personally identifiable information about anyone under 13, please contact us at webmaster@usnews.com.