NOTE: The following Terms of Use are still being reviewed and edited.

LAST UPDATED February 8, 2011

“Site” hereinafter refers to the website found at www.publicadvocates.org. This Site, together with any successor Site(s), is operated by Public Advocates Inc. (“we,” “us”). The Site is offered to you conditioned on your acceptance without modification of the terms, conditions, and notices contained herein. This agreement governs regardless of how you access the Site, including through the Internet, through Wireless Access Protocol, through a mobile network, or otherwise.

1. Acceptance of Terms. By using the Site, you agree to the terms of this Agreement and to any additional rules and guidelines that we post on the Site. You should not use this Site if you have any objections to the User Agreement. We may make changes to this Agreement from time to time. These changes will be prominently noted, and you can determine when we last changed this Agreement by referring to the “LAST UPDATED” notation above.
2. No Attorney Client Relationship Is Created Through Use Of This Site.

While the information on this Site concerns legal issues, it is not legal advice. Use of the Site is not intended to constitute, and does not constitute, a solicitation for the formation of an attorney-client relationship. No attorney-client relationship is created through your use of the Site. Anyone accessing information on the Site should not act without first seeking legal counsel.

Neither receipt of information presented on this site nor any email or other electronic communication sent through this site will create an attorney-client relationship. Any such email or communication will not be treated as confidential.
3. Permitted Distribution

Public Advocates uses a Creative Commons license to dictate permissible uses of Site content. Please refer to the full license, found athttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/legalcode. Below is a summary of restrictions on the distribution of Site content:

Users may:

• Share — copy, distribute and transmit Site content

Under the following conditions:

·       Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).

·       Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

·       No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

With the understanding that:

• Waiver — Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder.
• Public Domain — Where the work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
• Other Rights — In no way are any of the following rights affected by the license:
  • Your fair dealing or fair use rights, or other applicable copyright exceptions and limitations;
  • The author’s moral rights;
  • Rights other persons may have either in the work itself or in how the work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights.
• Notice — For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this web page.

For further information regarding permission to use material, please contact Public Advocates at info@publicadvocates.org.

4. Trademarks

The trademarks and logos displayed on the Site identify the products and services of Public Advocates and third parties, and inform the public as to the source of those products and services.

You may not use our trade names, trademarks and service marks in connection with any product or service that is not ours, or in any manner that is likely to cause confusion, disparages or dilutes the marks.  Nothing contained on the Site should be construed as granting any license or right to use any trade names, trademarks or service marks without express prior written consent of the owner. All trademarks and service marks on the Site not owned by us are the property of their respective owners.

5. Information You Submit.

Public Advocates does not claim ownership of the information or materials you provide, post, upload, input or submit to the Site. However, when voluntarily posting material to the Public Advocates Site, you automatically grant Public Advocates an irrevocable, perpetual worldwide license for Public Advocates to display such material.  Further, unless otherwise agreed in writing by you and Public Advocates, by posting material on the Site you are representing, covenanting, and warranting that those materials are original to you or you have obtained permissions, releases, rights or licenses if any are required, and that you assume full responsibility for the posting of such material, including but not limited to making any payments to third parties with respect to displaying such third party material.

Public Advocates reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to review, edit, or delete any material posted by users on the Public Advocates Site or Public Advocates Facebook Page that Public Advocates determines may be harmful, defamatory, unlawful, or otherwise objectionable.

When you submit personal information through the Site, for example through making a donation, you may be directed to a webpage that is hosted by a third-party service. Any information that you provide through a third party is governed by the privacy policy of the third party service.
6. Rules of Conduct. If you use the Site, you agree to obey the law, respect the rights of others and avoid objectionable, defamatory or disruptive behavior. We may terminate your use of the Site for any conduct that we consider to be inappropriate. You agree that you will not post, transmit, or make available through or in connection with the Site:

·      Anything that is or may be (a) threatening, harassing, degrading, hateful or intimidating; (b) defamatory; (c) fraudulent or tortious; (d) obscene, indecent, pornographic or otherwise objectionable; or (e) protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, right of publicity or other proprietary right without the express prior consent of the owner of such right.

·      Any material that would give rise to criminal or civil liability; that encourages conduct that constitutes a criminal offense; or that encourages or provides instructional information about illegal activities or activities.

·      Any virus, worm, or any other program that is harmful or invasive or may or is intended to damage or monitor the use of, any hardware, software or equipment.

·      Any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional material, “junk mail,” “spam,” or any other form of solicitation.

·      Any personal information about or pertaining to any third party without such party’s prior written consent.

·      Any material, non-public information about a company without the proper authorization to do so.

You also agree not to:

·      Use the Site to defame abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights of others, including without limitation others’ privacy rights or rights of publicity, or collect personally identifiable information about other users of the Site.

·      Restrict or inhibit any other person from using the Site.

·      Use the Site to advertise or offer to sell or buy any goods or services without our express prior written consent.

·      Modify any portion of the Site.

·      Remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notice from the Site or materials originating from the Site.

7. Donations. Donations are handled by A Network for Good. Information related to financial transactions will not be held on Public Advocates servers. Public Advocates is not liable if any financial institution refuses to accept or honor your check or credit card for any reason. You acknowledge and agree that we are not, and will not be, responsible or liable for Payment Service’s services, its site or any acts or omissions of Payment Service. We note that we reserve the right to discontinue or change any third-party payment service used in connection with this Site.

8. Registration. You may need to register to use part(s) of the Site. We may reject, or require that you change, any user name, password or other information that you provide to us in registering. Your user name and password are for your personal use only and should be kept confidential; you are responsible for any use of your user name and password, and you agree to promptly notify us of any confidentiality breach or unauthorized use of your user name and password, on your Site account.

9. Links. The Site may provide links to other web Sites and online resources. We are not responsible for and do not endorse such external Sites or resources. Other Sites may link to the Site with or without our authorization, and we may block any links to or from the Site. YOUR USE OF THIRD PARTY WEB SITES AND RESOURCES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK.

10. Limitations of Liability and Disclaimers. PUBLIC ADVOCATES MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ANY OF ANY OF THE MATERIALS/SERVICES AVAILABLE FROM THE SITE, ALL OF WHICH ARE OFFERED “AS IS.” THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES INCLUDED IN OR AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE MAY INCLUDE INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, LOSS, OR INJURY BASED ON ERRORS, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS OR OTHER INACCURACIES IN THE PUBLIC ADVOCATES SITE, NOR ANY CLAIM, LOSS OR INJURY THAT RESULTS FROM YOUR USE OF THE PUBLIC ADVOCATES SITE OR YOUR BREACH OF ANY PROVISION OF THIS USER AGREEMENT.

While we try to maintain the security of the Site, we do not guarantee that the Site will be secure or that any use of the Site will be uninterrupted. Additionally, third parties may make unauthorized alterations to the Site. If you become aware of any unauthorized third-party alterations to the Site, please contact us atinfo@publicadvocates.org with a description of the material(s) at issue and the URL or location of such materials.

11. Termination. This Agreement is effective until terminated. Public Advocates reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate your access to the Site and the related services or any portion thereof at any time, without notice.  If we terminate your access to the Site, you will not have the right to bring claims against us with respect to such termination. We shall not be liable for any termination of your access to the Site or to any such information or files, and shall not be required to make such information or files available to you after any such termination. We may take steps that we believe are appropriate to enforce or verify compliance with any part of this Agreement (including our right to cooperate with any legal process relating to your use of the Site).

12. Governing Law; Jurisdiction. This Agreement is governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, U.S.A., without regard to its principles of conflicts of law. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the State of California and County of San Francisco and waive any jurisdictional, venue or inconvenient forum objections to such courts.

13. Contact Us. If you have any questions regarding the meaning of application of this Agreement, please direct such questions to info@publicadvocates.org. Please note that e-mail communications will not necessarily be secure; accordingly you should not include credit card information or other sensitive information in your e-mail correspondence with us.

14. Claims of Copyright Infringement. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) provides recourse for copyright owners who believe that material appearing on the Internet infringes their rights under U.S. copyright law. If you believe in good faith that materials available on the Site infringe your copyright, you (or your agent) may send us a notice requesting that we remove the material or block access to it. If you believe in good faith that someone has wrongly filed a notice of copyright infringement against you, the DMCA permits you to send us a counter-notice.

Notices and counter-notices must meet the then-current statutory requirements imposed by the DMCA. See http://www.copyright.gov/ for details. Notices and counter-notices should be sent to:

We suggest that you consult your legal advisor before filing a notice or counter-notice.

15. Ability to Enter Into This Agreement. By using the Site, you affirm that you are of legal age to enter into this Agreement or, if you are not, that you have obtained parental or guardian consent to enter into this Agreement.