This statement covers all of the Gawker Media sites ("GM Sites") and any associated content including email and RSS feeds. Please read this statement carefully before proceeding to access any of the GM Sites. Your use of the GM Sites indicates your agreement to abide by the Terms in effect.
Use of Content
Gawker Media provides two feeds for each of its Sites:
Full, ad-supported RSS feeds at http://feeds.gawker.com/[sitename]/full.
Ad-free Excerpt feeds at http://feeds.gawker.com/[sitename]/excerpts/.
Gawker Media provides a general license to use these feeds, provided that they are not modified in anyway (including the stripping of ads) with the exception of image stripping as detailed below:
All commercial uses of feeds (e.g. websites generating revenue through advertisements including AdSense) must strip all images from the feed to ensure copyright compliance with our third party photographic agency licenses.
Web Syndication Terms of Use
- The Site logo and URL must appear prominently at the top of each page displaying site content.
- Internal links in the Site content must not be removed.
- The format or branding of the headlines, text and other information provided in the RSS feeds must not be modified.
- "More From…" links back to original Site at the end of each post must be included on content pages and may not be removed.
Print Syndication Terms of Use
- The Site logo and URL must appear prominently at the top of each section displaying site content.
- Content will appear unedited, except for replacement of hyperlinks with full URLs and use of product manufacturer’s site links where appropriate.
- Images from a Site must not be used in print without you obtaining the appropriate copyright clearances yourself.
General Terms of Use
- The RSS feeds may not be spliced into or otherwise redistributed by third-party RSS providers.
- No content, including any advertisements or other promotional content, shall be added to the RSS feeds.
- Images must be removed from open syndication feeds and commercial feeds (please contact Gawker for more details)
- Gawker Media reserves the right to object to your presentation of the RSS feeds and the right to require you to cease using the RSS feeds at any time.
- Gawker Media further reserves the right to terminate its distribution of the RSS feeds or change the content or formatting of the RSS feeds at any time without notice to you.
- Gawker Media provides this content "as is" and Gawker Media shall not be held liable for your use of the information or the feeds.
- Use of a Site’s content, including text and images, on your site, or in print, is entirely at your discretion. Gawker Media is not responsible for any complaints regarding content or images that you choose to display on your site or in print.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED, GAWKER MEDIA DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES INCLUDING WARRANTIES FOR MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. By accessing the RSS feeds or the XML instructions provided above, you indicate that you understand and agree to these terms and conditions.
Corresponding with Gawker Media
Any correspondence with the GM Sites or with Gawker Media, including any documentation or images, are considered property of Gawker Media. Gawker Media reserves the right to reproduce such correspondence, in whole or in part, on any of the GM Sites or its affiliates.
Comments Terms of Use
The comments sections on GM Sites are accessible to users by invitation only (such invitations coming either from Gawker Media editors directly or by referral from existing comment users). GM's comment user registration system has been designed so that, if the user so chooses, they can remain completely anonymous, even to us.
In order to make our comments useful and interesting, the following guidelines have been established for comment users:
- Do not post threatening, harassing, defamatory, or libelous material.
- Do not intentionally make false or misleading statements.
- Do not offer to sell or buy any product or service.
- Do not post material that infringes copyright.
- Do not post information that you know to be confidential or sensitive or otherwise in breach of the law.
- Keep all comments relevant to the particular GM Site where the comment is being posted.
- Gawker Media will not accept responsibility for material posted in the Comments.
Please note that once you post a comment to one of our sites, it becomes part of the public conversation. Our policy is that we will not remove a user's comments unless we deem them to be in violation of our Terms of Service. So if you want to say something that you will later regret personally, it is advisable that you use a username that does not identify you. We cannot remove your comments simply because you have a change of heart about making them.
However, Gawker Media reserves the right to remove comments entirely at its discretion, including for alleged violations of our Terms of Service or other legal rights.
We specifically reserve the right to remove images from comments where we are properly notified, in accordance with our Image Terms of Use (below), that the image in question infringes the copyright of a third person. If we do so remove an image, we may choose to leave the accompanying text on the site.
In appropriate circumstances, Gawker will terminate users judged to be repeat infringers of copyright.
Gawker is not responsible for the content of user comments. If a third party complains that your comment violates our TOS or their rights, we will invite them to respond in the comments themselves. If they pursue the complaint, we will make reasonable efforts to contact you by the means you have provided us, to alert you to the situation. We will protect your contact information as described in our privacy policy, but may be compelled to turn it over pursuant to legal process.
Image Terms of Use
Gawker Media sites typically display images as part of blog posts written by our editors. The types of images editors and commenters are authorized to use on Gawker Media sites include:
- Images licensed from photographic archive vendors
- Images supplied to our editors or released into the public domain by public relations and marketing companies for press purposes
- Reader-submitted images, with the implied representation that the person submitting the image owns the copyright in the image and the right to give it to us for use on our site(s)
- Images published on Flickr or other public photo sites with licenses granted under Creative Commons, with attribution in accordance with the CC license granted in each case
- Images commissioned by Gawker Media
- Images that we believe to be covered by the Fair Use Doctrine, such as:
- Thumbnail images of 150x150 pixels or less, cropped or reduced in size from the original source
- Images used to illustrate a newsworthy story, where the image itself is the story
- Images used in a transformative manner, such as for parody
- Images so widely distributed that they are deemed to have become part of the news
If Gawker Media receives notice that an image posted is not in keeping with these terms and conditions or the intended use of the Comments section where it is posted, we reserve to right to remove that image.
If you think we have published an image or text that infringes your copyright, we will address your concerns; however, if the image falls into one of the categories listed above, we believe that our use of the image is legitimate and we will not remove it from the site.
Please note that we will respond only to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The text of the Act can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office Web Site, http://lcWeb.loc.gov/copyright/
To file a notice of infringement with us, you must provide a written communication (by email with an attached and signed PDF or by fax) that sets forth the items specified below. Please do not send us regular mail, as we may not receive it in a timely fashion. In all cases, if you do not hear a response from us within 10 days of submitting a complaint, please telephone us at (212) 655-9524 x432 to confirm that we received your original complaint. Spam blockers sometimes devour important emails from strangers!
To enable us to address your concerns, please provide the following information:
- For each allegedly infringing image or piece of text that you wish to have removed from one of our sites, provide the exact permanent URL for the page containing the material.
- Provide information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you: an email address is preferred, as well as a telephone contact number.
- Provide the following information detailing your claim to ownership of the copyright in the allegedly infringing material:
- Proof of copyright in the image or text concerned, namely proof of registration of the Image under the DMCA,
OR, absent such registration,
- a detailed description of where the photograph was taken, by whom, who or what the subject of the image is, AND
- Evidence to support your claim that you own the copyright in the image.
We will not comply with requests to remove an image where the complainant cannot prove that they own the copyright in the image in question.
- Include the following statement: "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed."
- Sign the document and fax it to: (917) 591-7090, Attn: Gawker Legal / DMCA Complaints OR email it to: legal AT gawker DOT com
Please note that you will be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys' fees) if you materially misrepresent that any material on our sites is infringing your copyrights.
Indeed, in a recent case a company that sent an infringement notification seeking removal of online materials that were protected by the Fair Use doctrine was ordered to pay such costs and attorneys’ fees. The company agreed to pay over $100,000. Accordingly, if you are not sure whether material available online infringes your copyright, we suggest that you first contact an attorney.
Please note that a copy of each legal notice we receive will be sent (with your personal information removed) to Chilling Effects for publication.
You can see an example of such a publication at http://www.chillingeffects.org/dmca512/notice….
We also reserve the right to publish your letter on the site(s).
External Links Disclaimer
GM Sites routinely contain links to external, third party websites. By providing links to other sites, Gawker Media does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to the GM Site in question.
Gawker Media does not operate or control and has no responsibility for the information, products and/or services found on any external sites. Nor do such links represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any information, products and/or services provided on or through any external sites, including, without limitation, warranties of any kind, either express or implied, warranties of title or non-infringement or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Visitors to GM Sites assume complete responsibility and risk in their use of any external sites. Visitors should direct any concerns regarding any external link to its site administrator or webmaster.
Notification of Changes
Whenever Gawker Media changes its Terms of Use, it will post those changes to this Statement, and other places we deem appropriate to make users aware of such changes.
User Privacy
Though we make every effort to preserve user privacy, Gawker Media may need to disclose personal information when required by law wherein we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on any of the GM Sites. Please refer to our privacy policy for more information.
Contact Information
If you have any questions or notices of violations to these terms and conditions, please contact the editor of the GM Site in question, or send an email to questions AT gawker.com, or by mail to Gawker Media, 76 Crosby St, New York, NY 10012.
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