Harnessphere Terms and Conditions
Introduction
Harnessphere (“the Site”) is an online community established and maintained by the U.S. Trotting Association for the purpose of encouraging the promotion of the sport of harness racing and Standardbred breeding and horses. It is intended to be user and family friendly and to respect the individuals participating in the Standardbred racing and breeding industries, and thus its users must adhere to the following rules and regulations (“Terms of Use”).
Your use of the site means you accept these Terms of Use; if you do not agree to the Terms of Use you may not use the site. The U.S. Trotting Association reserves the right to modify the Terms of Use from time to time, without notice.
Use of Content
Users may view, download, and print contents from the Site subject to the following conditions: (a) the content may be used solely for information purposes, and (b) the content may not be modified or altered in any way. You may not republish, distribute, prepare derivative works, or otherwise use the content other than as explicitly permitted herein.
You may not frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any trademark, logo, or other proprietary information (including images, text, page layout, or form) of Harnessphere without the express written consent of Harnessphere. You may not use any meta tags or any other "hidden text" utilizing Harnessphere's name or trademarks without the express written consent of Harnessphere. You may not use any Harnessphere logo or other proprietary graphic or trademark as part of the link without express written permission.
By utilizing content, users do not acquire any ownership rights to any content in the Site. Any unauthorized use terminates the permission or license granted by Harnessphere.
Forum Rules and Enforcement
Registration to the Harnessphere forum is free. Harnessphere expects that forum posters abide by the rules and policies detailed herein.
Although the administrators and moderators of Harnessphere’s forums attempt to keep all objectionable messages off this forum, it is impossible to review all messages. All messages express the views of the author, and the owners of Harnessphere will not be held responsible for the content of any message.
Content, in any form, posted by Users shall not contain, profanity, personal attacks or name-calling, unsubstantiated charges of legal wrongdoing, disrespect to a person’s sex, race, creed, or national origin, purposefully misleading statements as to fact, or any other such objectionable material.
The administrators and moderators of the Harnessphere forums will be the sole arbiters of whether a User has violated the forum rules, and will, at their discretion, edit or completely remove any objectionable content, and will also decide whether to deny any User limited or complete rights to participate in the forums or the posting of any other content on Harnessphere in the future.
Those who wish to appeal such actions by the administrators or moderators may do so by contacting, via electronic mail, the webmaster, at webmaster@ustrotting.com.
Reviews, Comments, Communications, And Other Content
You may submit comments and provide other content so long as the content is not obscene, illegal, threatening, or defamatory, and so long as the content does not invade the privacy or infringe the intellectual property of a third party. Further, such content may not contain software viruses, mass mailings, chain letters, or any form of "spam." You may not use a false e-mail address, impersonate any person or entity, or otherwise mislead as to the origin of the information.
By submitting information, you grant Harnessphere a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable right to reproduce, use, modify, publish, adapt, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, and display such content throughout the world in any media. By submitting information you also represent and warrant that that the content is accurate, you own or have permission to use the content that you submit, and that use of the content will not cause injury to any person or entity.
Copyright Information
The Site and the content within the Site are the property of Harnessphere or its suppliers and are protected by United States copyright laws and international treaty provisions. The compilation, organization and display of the content as well as all software and inventions used on and in connection with this Site are the exclusive property of Harnessphere. Harnessphere reserves all rights in the Site and its content not specifically granted in any agreements with Harnessphere or in the Terms of Use.
Copyright Complaints
Harnessphere respects the intellectual property of others. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please follow our Notice and Procedures for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement, below.
Notice and Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement Pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “DMCA”)
If you believe that you hold a claim of copyright infringement against Harnessphere, submit notice of your claim to the following Designated Agent:
Service Provider: Harnessphere
Email Address to Which Notification Should Be Sent: webmaster@ustrotting.com.
To be effective, the notification of your claim of copyright infringement should be written and should include the following:
(1) A statement that you are the owner of the exclusive right you claim has been infringed, or a statement that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that has allegedly been infringed.
(2) A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate.
(3) Your signature. (The signature may be electronic.)
(4) The identification of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed. (If you claim that multiple copyrighted works have been infringed you can submit one notification with a list of the allegedly infringed works.)
(4) Identification of the material that you claim to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to permit Harnessphere to locate the material.
(5) Information reasonably sufficient to permit Harnessphere to contact you, including your address, telephone number, fax number and, if available, an electronic mail address. You can provide contact information for the owner of the exclusive right that you claim has been infringed if you are not the owner, but rather authorized to act on behalf of the owner.
(6) A statement 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.
Harnessphere will respond to any DMCA complaints in a timely manner. Should you be the copyright holder of a specific piece of content featured on this site without your permission, Harnessphere will remove it in a timely manner once notified.
Trademark Information
HARNESSPHERE and other marks indicated on our site are pending registered trademarks of the U.S. Trotting Association in the United States and/or other countries. Other Harnessphere marks, graphics, logos, page headers, button icons, scripts noted on the Site are Harnessphere's service marks, trademarks and trade dress and are the sole and exclusive property of Harnessphere.
Harnessphere's service marks, trademarks and trade dress may not be used in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among customers, in any manner that disparages or discredits Harnessphere, and in connection with any service or product that is not sponsored, endorsed or produced by Harnessphere.
All other trademarks not owned by Harnessphere or its subsidiaries that appear on this site are the property of their respective owners, who may or may not be affiliated with, connected to, or sponsored by Harnessphere.
Privacy Statements
Because we respect the Users’ rights to privacy, the U.S. Trotting Association has developed a Privacy Policy to inform you about our privacy practices. Please view the Privacy Policy to learn more about the company's privacy guidelines: (Link Here to Privacy Policy).
Third Party Web Sites and Information
The Site may provide hyperlinks to third party Web sites or access to third party content. Harnessphere does not control, endorse, or guarantee content found in such sites. You agree that Harnessphere is not responsible for any content, associated links, resources, or services associated with a third party site. You further agree that Harnessphere shall not be liable for any loss or damage of any sort associated with your use of third party content. Links and access to these sites are provided for your convenience only.
Disclaimer
EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED IN AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND HARNESSPHERE, ALL CONTENT, SERVICES, PRODUCTS AND SOFTWARE PROVIDED ON THIS WEB SITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. HARNESSPHERE AND ITS SUPPLIERS AND LICENSORS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE SITE, ITS CONTENT, AND THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED BY HARNESSPHERE ON THE SITE FOR YOUR INTENDED APPLICATION AND USE. HARNESSPHERE DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE, ITS CONTENT, OR THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IT OFFERS ON THE SITE MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS. SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF ANY AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND HARNESSPHERE, HARNESSPHERE, ITS SUPPLIERS AND LICENSORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, EVEN IF HARNESSPHERE, ITS SUPPLIERS OR LICENSORS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. CERTAIN STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS, OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MIGHT HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.
Indemnity
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Harnessphere and the U.S. Trotting Association and its employees, attorneys, and agents ("Indemnitees") against all claims, expenses, liabilities, losses, costs, and damages, including reasonable attorney's fees, that the Indemnities may incur (a) in connection with your use of the Site or any hyperlinked Web site or (b) resulting from content you supply.
Miscellaneous
These Terms of Use, together with the Privacy Policy, represent the entire understanding of the parties regarding the use of the Site and supersede any previous documents, correspondence, conversations, or other oral or written understanding related to use of the Site. It is important to note that the terms of use for the U.S. Trotting Association, which can be viewed here [provide link], are separate and distinct from these Terms of Use for the Site. All matters relating to your access to and use of the Site shall be governed by the laws of the State of Ohio without regard to its conflict of law principles. Any legal action or proceeding relating to your access to or use of the Site shall be instituted in the state or federal courts located in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, and you irrevocably consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio.
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. Harnessphere reserves the right to disclose any personal information about you or your use of the Site, including its contents, without your prior permission if Harnessphere has a good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (1) conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process; (2) protect and defend the rights or property of Harnessphere or its affiliates; (3) enforce the Terms of Use; or (4) act to protect the interests of its members or others. Harnessphere’s performance of this agreement is subject to existing laws and legal process, and nothing contained in this agreement is in derogation of Harnessphere’s right to comply with governmental, court and law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of the Site or information provided to or gathered by Harnessphere with respect to such use. If there is a determination that any provision of these Terms of Use is invalid or unenforceable, that determination will not affect the rest of the Terms of Use, and the Terms of Use shall be deemed amended to the minimum extent necessary to make them valid and enforceable.
Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding these Terms of Use, please contact Harnessphere at webmaster@ustrotting.com.
ND: 4851-9209-0626, v. 1
Hold Harmless of Service Provider
Technology and hosting for aspects of this website are provided by KickApps Corporation, a Third Party Application Service Provider ("Service Provider"). However, "Harnessphere" controls the content, membership and policy of this website, including those pages served by the Service Provider on behalf of this website. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, by participating on this website you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Service Provider on all matters related to your interaction with others using this website and participation with this website, including your representation that you are at least thirteen years old. As such, the Service Provider is a third party beneficiary to your agreement with this website; such agreement with this website is defined above.