Terms of Service

Updated July 17, 2010

Introduction; Consent to Terms

Please read these Terms of Use before using KPBS.org or any features of this site, including, but not limited to Content Feeds, other syndicated distribution of content, Podcasts, widgets, the KPBS Community and other social networking features (collectively, the "KPBS Web Sites" or the "Service"). By using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy, please exit the Service and do not use the Service or any of its features. We reserve the right, at our discretion, to modify, add or delete portions of these terms at any time by posting updated Terms of Use and/or an updated Privacy Policy on the KPBS Web Sites. Please check these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy frequently for updates. Any modifications, additions or deletions to these Terms of Use or the Privacy Policy shall be effective immediately upon posting. Your continued use of the Service following the posting of updated Terms of Use or an updated Privacy Policy will mean that you agree to those changes.

Please note that these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy are separate and distinct from the terms of use and privacy policy governing the Web sites that may link to or from the KPBS Web Sites.

Copyrights

The contents of the KPBS Web Sites are protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. The contents of the KPBS Web Sites, including Podcasts, Content Feeds, and other features of the KPBS Web Sites, are owned by or licensed to KPBS. In the case of User Materials (as defined in the "User Materials" section below), the contents are licensed to KPBS by the user. You may not reproduce, distribute, republish, upload, transmit, display, prepare derivative works, publicly perform, sell, transfer, assign, license or use for commercial purposes any copyrighted material on the KPBS Web Sites without the prior written consent of KPBS, except as provided below. All rights not expressly granted in these Terms of Use are reserved to KPBS.

You may copy, download one copy on a single computer, and print a limited amount of content, for your personal, non-commercial use only, provided that (a) you include without modification all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the content, (b) you do not modify the content, (c) you do not use the content in a manner that suggests KPBS promotes or endorses your, or any third party's, causes, ideas, Web sites, products or services, and (d) you do not use the content in any way that is unlawful or harmful to any other person or entity. In addition, you may use widgets and tools on the KPBS Web Sites that allow selected User Materials to appear on your personal, noncommercial Web site, Weblog or other application, subject to the conditions in the preceding sentence.

You may use the Content Feeds, Podcasts and other features of the KPBS Web Sites only as expressly permitted in the relevant paragraphs below in these Terms of Use.

Any other use of KPBS content requires prior written permission from KPBS. For permission requests, contact us.

Trademarks

KPBS, National Public Radio®, NPR® and PBS logos and program names, and other Content Provider names and logos, are service marks of KPBS, production partners or programming networks. All rights are reserved by the respective owners. You may not use any KPBS-provided service marks, logos or graphics, without KPBS' prior written consent, except that you shall have the right, and obligation, to use any KPBS mark or logo included in, or required to be used in connection with Content Feeds or other functionalities of the KPBS Web Sites, subject to the requirements set forth in these Terms of Use Content Feeds or other functionalities of the KPBS Web Sites.

User Materials

Through the KPBS Community portion of the Service, through the Contact Us page, and through other features of the KPBS Web Sites, users may post, upload, transmit and/or otherwise submit ("Submit") comments, messages, other text, photos, images, story ideas, essays, and other content and materials, and make recommendations, on or through the KPBS Web Sites ("User Materials"). You acknowledge that User Materials may be routed through our servers, the servers of one or more third parties on our behalf, and the Internet, and may be viewed by KPBS staff and on the Internet by the general public. You acknowledge that the KPBS Web Sites, the KPBS Community, and other features of the KPBS Web Sites, are for public and not private communications.

We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit User Materials at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so. If we elect to screen User Materials, there may be a delay in the posting of such content to allow for a review process. If we have questions about your User Materials, we have the right, but not the duty, to contact you for further information, including, for example, to verify that you own the copyright or otherwise have the rights to post the User Materials. Comments are automatically disabled 30 days after content publication and may take up to three days to be approved and become visible.

You retain the copyright and other ownership rights in any User Materials that you submit on or through the KPBS Web Sites. However, by submitting User Materials on or through the KPBS Web Sites, you hereby grant KPBS a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free, universe-wide, transferable license to use, copy, sublicense, modify, transmit, publicly perform, display, create derivative works of, host, index, cache, tag, encode, and/or adapt your User Materials in any and all media formats or channels, whether now known or hereafter devised, including, but not limited to, the KPBS Web Sites, over the air (on radio or television), and on mobile platforms, without payment and without further consent or notice to you. You further grant KPBS and their licensees the right to contact you in connection with your User Materials and to use your name, city and state and other information that you have provided in connection with the User Materials.

In addition, you grant each user of the KPBS Web Sites a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to access your User Materials on or through the KPBS Web Sites to use your User Materials pursuant to these Terms of Use and as permitted by the functionality of the KPBS Web Sites.

For any User Materials you Submit on or through the KPBS Web Sites, you agree to abide by the Rules of Use for the Service set forth below, the Social Networking Discussion Rules (for User Materials Submitted through the KPBS Community or in response to a KPBS Blog), and these Terms of Use. You further agree to the representations and warranties, and indemnification obligations, set forth in the "Representations; Indemnity" section below.

Framing

KPBS does not allow framing of the KPBS Web Sites.

Links to KPBS Web Sites

KPBS encourages and permits links to content on KPBS Web Sites. However, KPBS is an organization committed to the highest journalistic ethics and standards and to independent, noncommercial journalism, both in fact and appearance. Therefore, the linking should not (a) suggest that KPBS promotes or endorses any third party's causes, ideas, Web sites, products or services, or (b) use KPBS content for inappropriate commercial purposes or in any way that is unlawful or harmful to any other person or entity. We reserve the right to withdraw permission for any link.

Links to Third Party Sites

KPBS has provided links to Internet sites maintained by third parties, over which KPBS has no control. KPBS does not endorse the content, operators, products or services of such sites, and KPBS is not responsible or liable for the content, operators, availability, accuracy, quality, advertising, products, services or other materials on or available from such sites. KPBS shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, products or services available on or through such sites.

Content Feeds

KPBS' provides Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Feeds and other content feeds on or through the Service, consisting of a selection of headlines, summaries or text blurbs, and links to full stories, which are delivered to users using Really Simple Syndication technology, other XML (extensible Markup Language) technology, or other syndication technology (individually, a "Content Feed" and collectively, the "Content Feeds"). The Content Feeds are available for personal, noncommercial use or for noncommercial use on the Web site, Weblog or similar application of a nonprofit corporation which is exempt from federal income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and which is not a news organization ("501(c)(3) “Nonprofit Corporation"). You may display, excerpt from, and link to the Content Feeds on your personal Web site, Weblog, or similar application for personal, noncommercial purposes or on your 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Corporation Web site, Weblog, or similar application for noncommercial purposes, provided that (a) the links redirect the user to the KPBS Web Sites when the user clicks on them, (b) you do not insert any intermediate page, splash page or other content between the links and the applicable KPBS Web Sites page, (c) the use or display does not suggest that KPBS promotes or endorses any third party causes, ideas, Web sites, products or services, (d) the fundamental meaning of the content contained in the Content Feeds, including the headlines and summaries, is not changed or distorted, and (e) you do not modify the stories or other content that are linked to by the Content Feeds. If you display an entire Content Feed on your personal or 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Corporation Web site, Weblog or similar application, (a) you may not redistribute the Content Feed, and (b) you must provide attribution to KPBS or the relevant Content Feed provider adjacent to the Content Feed, by including "KPBS News Headlines" or "KPBS" or the name of the relevant Content Feed provider in text adjacent to the Content Feed. Any other use of KPBS' trademarks, or service marks, the names or service marks of any Content Feed provider, or of the Content Feeds requires the prior written permission of KPBS. For use of the stories or other content that are linked to by the Content Feeds, please see the Copyrights section of these Terms of Use. KPBS reserves the right to discontinue providing Content Feeds and to require that you cease accessing or using the Content Feeds, or any content contained in the Content Feeds at any time for any reason.

Podcasts

KPBS provides podcasts (the "Podcasts") consisting of selected audio content from KPBS and other content providers that is provided over the Internet using an XML feed and an associated audio file so that the audio file may be downloaded and played from a user's computer or transferred to a portable listening device. Podcasts are available for personal, noncommercial use only. You may download, copy and/or transfer to a portable listening device the Podcasts for your personal, non-commercial use only, provided that you do not modify the content. You also may link to Podcasts from your Web site, Weblog or similar application, as long as (a) the links redirect the user to the KPBS Web Sites when the user clicks on them, (b) you do not insert any intermediate page, splash page or other content between the links and the applicable KPBS Web page, (c) the linking does not suggest that KPBS promotes or endorses any third party's causes, ideas, Web sites, products or services, (d) you do not use KPBS content for inappropriate commercial purposes, and (e) you provide attribution to KPBS adjacent to the link. KPBS reserves the right to discontinue providing Podcasts and to require that you cease accessing or using the Podcasts, or any content contained in the Podcasts, at any time for any reason.

Rules for Use of the Service

By using the Service, including by registering for the Service, participating in the KPBS Community, Submitting User Materials through the KPBS Community, the Contact Us page or other means, using Content Feeds, or Podcasts, or by using any other features of the KPBS Web Sites, you agree to the following rules:

KPBS expects users to be civil and courteous even when in disagreement. Personal attacks, insults, profanity, hate speech or harassment based on class, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, religion, race, sexual orientation or other offensive conduct will not be permitted.
Discussion that is off topic or unrelated to the story will be removed.
You may not post duplicate and redundant User Materials.
You may not impersonate public figures or other users, or provide any false information about yourself.
You may not submit any User Materials that are libelous, defamatory, false, obscene, indecent, lewd, pornographic, violent, abusive, threatening, harassing, discriminatory, in violation of the law, harmful to children, in violation of third party privacy rights.
You must be at least eighteen (18) years of age to register for or participate in the KPBS Community or other social networking features of the KPBS Web Sites; submit any User Materials or personally-identifying information on or through the KPBS Web Sites; and/or participate in any online contests. If you are between the ages of 13 and 18, you may browse the KPBS Web Sites or register for e-mail newsletters or other features of the Service (excluding the KPBS Community) with the consent of your parent(s) or guardian(s), so long as you do not submit any User Materials. If you are under 13 years of age, please do not send any information about yourself, including your name, address or e-mail address. If we discover that we have collected any personally-identifying information from a child under the age of 13, we will remove that information from our database as soon as possible.
You may only submit User Materials for which you have the copyright or other necessary rights and permission to distribute electronically. You may not violate, plagiarize, or infringe on the rights of third parties, including copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, privacy, personal, publicity, moral or proprietary rights. You promise and represent that you own or have all necessary rights and permissions to use, distribute and authorize KPBS, and users of the KPBS Web Sites (to the extent permitted by these Terms of Use) to use and distribute any User Materials.
The Service can only be used for personal, non-commercial purposes. You cannot submit any material containing any solicitation of funds, advertising, promotion, solicitation for goods and services, or recruiting. You may not use the KPBS Web Sites or other Content Provider Web Sites for political campaigning, recruiting votes, or soliciting support for legislative or other initiatives.
You may not submit any software or other material which contains a virus, worm, Trojan horse or other harmful computer code, files, scripts, agents, programs or device. You may not use the Service to distribute chain letters, mass mailings, "spam," or duplicative or unsolicited messages in violation of applicable laws, or to gather usernames and/or e-mail addresses for the purpose of sending unsolicited e-mail or other communications to other users of the Service.
You may not interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the KPBS Web Sites or other Content Provider Web Sites, or any portion or contents thereof, or use these Web Sites in any way which degrades their reliability, speed or operation, or their underlying hardware or software. In addition you may not attempt to gain unauthorized access to these Web Sites or related systems or networks.
By submitting any User Materials on or through the Service, you hereby grant KPBS, and users of these Web Sites (to the extent permitted by the Terms of Use) the licenses to use those User Materials as set forth above in the "User Materials" section.
You are solely responsible for any User Materials submitted using your account. KPBS does not and cannot review all User materials submitted by you or others and is not responsible for any User materials submitted by you or others on or through the Service. However, KPBS has the right (but not the obligation) to review, screen, delete, edit and/or move any User Materials that it deems, in its sole discretion, to be in violation of the Rules for Use of the Service, the Social Networking Discussion Rules (for User Materials Submitted through the KPBS Community), or these Terms of Use, or for any other reason, as determined in KPBS' sole discretion.
KPBS is not responsible or liable for any User Materials submitted by you or a third party, including any User Materials, on or through the Service. KPBS cannot verify the accuracy of statements that users make or place on or through the Service, and does not guarantee that any User Materials have been submitted with the permission of the copyright or proprietary owner or are otherwise in compliance with the Rules for Use of the Service, the Social Networking Discussion Rules (for User Materials Submitted through the KPBS Community), or these Terms of Use.
By using the KPBS Service, you agree to abide by these rules. You acknowledge that KPBS has the right (but not the obligation) to review, screen, delete, edit or move content or material that it deems, in its sole discretion, to be in violation of the Rules for Use of the Service, the Social Networking Discussion Rules (for User Materials Submitted through the KPBS Community), or these Terms of Use, or for any other reason, in its sole discretion. You further acknowledge that KPBS has the right to limit or terminate your, or any other person's, access to or registration in the Service for any reason, in its sole discretion, including violation of the Rules for Use of the Service or these Terms of Use.

Representations; Indemnity

You represent and warrant that (a) if you Submit any User Materials or personally-identifying information on or through the Service, you are at least 18 years of age, (b) you have obtained all clearances, releases, licenses and rights to any User Materials you Submit on or through the Service that may be necessary for their use as contemplated by the KPBS Web Sites and these Term of Use, (c) there are no encumbrances or restrictions on the User Materials or their use as contemplated by the KPBS Web Sites and these Terms of Use, (d) the User Materials, and their use by KPBS and users of the KPBS Web Sites (pursuant to these Terms of Use) does not and will not defame any person or entity, or violate or infringe upon the copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, privacy, reputation, creative or other rights of any person or entity or violate any Rules for Use of the Service, the Social Networking Discussion Rules (for User Materials Submitted through the KPBS Community), or these Terms of Use, and (e) your use of the Service complies with these Terms of Use. You agree that you will indemnify and hold harmless KPBS Content Providers to this Service and their respective directors, officers, employees, members, licensees from any and all claims, liabilities, costs or expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising from (1) your breach of any of the above representations and warranties, (2) your use of the Service, (3) the User Materials you have Submitted on or through the Service, or (4) KPBS' publication, distribution or use of such User Materials, or the authorized publication, distribution or use of your User Materials by KPBS users.

Disclaimer

THE SERVICE AND ANY CONTENT, MATERIALS, USER MATERIALS, FEATURES OR PRODUCTS AVAILABLE OR SOLD ON OR THROUGH THE SERVICE ARE AVAILABLE ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. KPBS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. NOR DOES KPBS MAKE ANY WARRANTIES AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE SERVICE OR ENDORSE, RECOMMEND, OR MAKE ANY WARRANTIES AS TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY OR CONTENT OF, ANY CONTENT, INFORMATION, MATERIALS, USER MATERIALS, FEATURES, SERVICE, PRODUCTS, OPINIONS, OR STATEMENTS AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THE SERVICE OR THROUGH LINKS ON THE SERVICE. USE OF THIS SERVICE IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

CONTENT ON THE KPBS WEB SITES IS NOT INTENDED TO SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE OF ANY KIND. IN PARTICULAR, NOTHING CONTAINED ON THE KPBS WEB SITES IS OR SHOULD BE CONSIDERED, OR USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR, MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH PROVIDER WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING PERSONAL HEALTH OR MEDICAL CONDITIONS. NEVER DISREGARD OR AVOID PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY IN SEEKING IT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON THE KPBS WEB SITES.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

IN NO EVENT WILL KPBS, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, MEMBERS OR THIRD PARTY PROGRAM PRODUCERS AND PODCAST PROVIDERS BE LIABLE (A) FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, (B) RELATING TO ANY CONTENT OR PRODUCTS AVAILABLE OR SOLD ON OR THROUGH THE SERVICE, OR (C) IN CONNECTION WITH ANY THIRD PARTY CONTENT OR MATERIALS (INCLUDING USER MATERIALS) OR THE DEFAMATORY, INFRINGING, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY. IN NO EVENT WILL KPBS, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, MEMBERS OR THIRD PARTY PROGRAM PRODUCERS AND PODCAST PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY AMOUNT IN EXCESS OF $100.

RIGHT TO CHANGE KPBS WEB SITES

KPBS has the right to change the KPBS Web Sites, terminate or cease providing the KPBS Web Sites, or delete content, materials or features in any way, at any time or for any reason or no reason.

Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) Notices; Copyright Agent

KPBS respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement by any content or material on the KPBS Web Sites, please provide the following information in writing to KPBS:
a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright.
a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed.
a description of the material that you claim to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information sufficient to permit us to locate the material.
information so that we can contact you, such as address, telephone number and e-mail address.
a statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
a statement that the information in the notification is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of a copyright that is allegedly infringed.

International Users

The Service is controlled and operated within San Diego, California. KPBS makes no representation that content, materials or products available on or through the Service are appropriate or available for use outside of San Diego. If you access the Service from a location outside San Diego, you are responsible for compliance with applicable laws, including local laws regarding online conduct and content and U.S. export laws and regulations.

Miscellaneous

These Terms of Use, together with the Privacy Policy, represent the entire understanding of the parties regarding the use of the KPBS Web Sites and supersede any previous documents, correspondence, conversations, or other oral or written understanding related to the use of the KPBS Web Sites. These Terms of Use are separate and distinct from the terms of use governing the Web sites that may link to or from the KPBS Web Sites. A modification or waiver of a part of these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver or modification of any other portion of the Terms of Use.

Questions

If you have any questions about the terms of use, please contact KPBS.