|
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM USER AGREEMENT
Summary
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM welcomes you to its Website. POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM is a public policy
auction system that attempts to promote legislative adoption of more efficient
public policies by creating a free market for the savings gained for consumers
by such policies, thereby giving a monetary incentive for the research and
development of more efficient public policies for consumers by allowing the
public and the innovators of such policies to share in the resulting economic
benefit.
Policy innovators and
PoliticalSheepdog.com negotiate for the right to receive the monetary incentive
(which is a portion of the savings generated from the improved efficiency of a
given public policy) PoliticalSheepdog.com auctions off some of that right to
constituents, who lobby for that legislation. In the registration process,
information is collected on the participants of the PoliticalSheepdog.com
system. The savings gained by implementation of the efficient public policy is
forecast, and shares are established each representing a portion of the
approximate savings.
An “innovators auction” may then be
conducted to determine the proportion of savings due to competing innovators’,
when there are competing innovators.
An active auction for constituents begins once the ownership for the
initial innovator and an estimate of savings
for consumers is established. In the
constituent lobbyist auction, constituents bid for shares in the savings
developed from the implementation of the policy. A constituent or group wins a bid if
their bid is among the lowest in their
particular legislative district or area to
win support of the legislator, if their legislator supported the enactment of
the policy, if the policy is enacted and enforced, and if the policy produced
savings for the consumer.
This user agreement (“Agreement”)
describes the terms and conditions applicable to your use of our basic services,
including but not limited to registration and participation in auctions,
available under the domain name www.politicalsheepdog.com (the
“Site”). Politicalsheepdog.com, L.L.C. (“Politicalsheepdog”) will allow you to
use the Politicalsheepdog.com website (the “Site”), including participating in
auctions, on the condition that you accept the terms and conditions as set forth
in the Agreement below.
RULES FOR CONSTITUENT LOBBYISTS,
INNOVATORS, ACTIVIST/ORGANIZERS, CANDIDATES, AND POLITICAL
CONSULTANTS.
A complete set of Rules for
registration and participation in various auctions can be found in RULES FOR
CONSTITUENT LOBBYISTS, RULES FOR INNOVATORS, RULES FOR ACTIVIST/ORGANIZERS,
RULES FOR CANDIDATES, AND RULES FOR POLITICAL CONSULTANTS. If you intend to participate in auctions
as a Constituent Lobbyist, Innovator, and or Activist/Organizer, you hereby
confirm that you have carefully read and familiarized yourself with the
respective Rules posted by POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM on this Site.
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM reserves the
right to update this Agreement at any time without notice to you. Unless
explicitly stated otherwise, any new features that augment or enhance the
current Politicalsheepdog.com Services, shall be subject to this User
Agreement. The most current version
of the Agreement can always be viewed by clicking on the “Terms of Use”
hypertext link located at the bottom of our Web pages.
IMPORTANT –READ CAREFULLY BEFORE
USING POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM. BY USING ALL OR ANY PORTION OF
THIS WEBSITE OR BY CLICKING ON THE “I ACCEPT” BUTTON BELOW, YOU AGREE TO BE
BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT AND YOU AGREE THAT
THIS AGREEMENT IS ENFORCEABLE JUST AS ANY WRITTEN NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT SIGNED BY
YOU. IFYOU CLICK ON THE “I DO NOT
ACCEPT” BUTTON, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE THIS WEBSITE AND PARTICIPATE IN
AUCTIONS. DO NOT CLICK ON THE “I
ACCEPT” BUTTON UNTIL YOU CAREFULLY READ, UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING
TERMS AND CONDITIONS. IF YOU DO NOT
WISH TO AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, CLICK ON THE “I DO NOT ACCEPT”
BUTTON, DO NOT USE OR ACCESS OUR SERVICES,
AND EXIT THE WEBSITE.
PRIVACY AND PROTECTION OF PERSONAL
INFORMATION.
You hereby confirm that you have
carefully read and familiarized yourself with the Privacy Policy posted by
POLITICAL SHEEPDOG.COM on this Site.
DEFINITIONS.
1. A “User” is anyone who accesses
and uses the PoliticalSheepdog.com Website.
2. “Politicalsheepdog” means the limited
liability company, Politicalsheepdog.com, L.L.C.
3. “Politicalsheepdoc.com” means the Web
site located at www.politicalsheepdog.com.
4. “Registration” means providing address and
personal information to identify the participants and to align constituents with
their candidates and legislators.
5. “Site” means the URL www.politcalsheepdog.com.
6. “Auction” means the process in which
constituents bid and lobby for shares in the savings developed from
implementation of the proposed policy.
7. “Participant” means a user of this Site
that has registered on this Site and 1) actively
engages in an Auction as a constituent lobbyist, 2) designs a policy for
legislation as an innovator, 3) promotes PoliticalSheepdog.com and its policies
as an activist/organizer, 4) uses PoliticalSheepdog.com to contact political
consultants or their constituents as a candidate, or 5) uses PoliticalSheepdog.com to contact
candidates or the constituents’ of candidates as a political consultant. Activist/organizers may also bid for
their constituent client, inform their constituent clients, and organize their
clients to lobby.
8. “Constituent Lobbyist” means a user of this Site who has registered on this Site as a
constituent.
9. “Activist/Organizers” are
participants who promote PoliticalSheepdog.com and its supported policies to
their communities.
Activist/organizers may also bid for their constituents, help them with
candidate selection, and explain politics and legislation to their
constituents.
10. An “Innovator” is a participant
involved in the creation and development of the design of a public policy.
11. A “Candidate” is anyone who has
registered to campaign for public legislative office with the state, local or
federal election board.
12. A “Political Consultant” is anyone
who sells their services to candidates to help them win their
campaigns.
13. “Services” means the user registration,
E-mail, auctions, poster boards and any other services provided by
politicalsheepdog.com on this Site.
ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATIONS.
When you visit Politicalsheepdog.com
or send E-mails to us, you are communicating with us electronically. You consent to receive electronic
communications from PoliticalSheepdog.com,
from Activists/Organizers, from Constituents, and from Candidates and their political consultants, from
Innovators and their political consultants, and from their Political
Consultants, who use the PoliticalSheepdog.com Web site. We will communicate with you by E-mail
or by posting notices on this Site.
Such electronic communications include, but are not limited to,
newsletters and announcements for the initiation of auctions for new
legislation. You agree that all notices, agreements, disclosures and other
communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal
requirements that such communications be in writing. You agree to receive
communication through PoliticalSheepdog.com from Candidates, from their
Political Consultants and from PoliticalSheepdog.com Activist/Organizers. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION OBTAINED BY YOU FROM
CANDIDATES, FROM CONSTITUENTS, FROM POLITICAL CONSULTANTS AND FROM
ACTIIVIST/ORGANIZERS THROUGH THE SITE SHALL CREATE ANY OBLIGATION OR LIABIILITY
ON THE PART OF POLITICAL SHEEPDOG.COM NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS
AGREEMENT.
YOUR POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM
ACCOUNT.
If you use this Site, your are
responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password and
for restricting your computer, and you agree to accept responsibility for all
activities that occur under your account or password. You agree to immediately notify
Politicalsheepdog.com of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any
other breach of security.
POLITICALSHEEPDOG reserves the right to refuse service, remove content,
or terminate accounts in their sole discretion.
PARTICIPANT ELIGIBILITY.
Our services are available to, and
may only be used by individuals who can form legally binding contracts under
applicable law. Without limiting
the foregoing, our services are not available to persons under the age of
eighteen or to temporarily or permanently terminated participants. If you do not qualify, do not use this
Site.
Your Politicalsheepdog.com account
and Login ID may not be transferred or sold to another
party.
FEES AND
SERVICES.
Registering, participating in our
E-mail and/or constituent lobbyist services, and participating in an auction are
free services. We reserve the right
to request a copy of your voter registration card and, if you participate in a
primary and general election, proof of payment to your legislator’s campaign in
primary and general election auctions.
You understand and agree that the
services provided by Politcalsheepdog.com are provided AS-IS and that
Politcalsheepdog.com assumes no responsibility for the timeliness, deletion,
mis-delivery or failure to store any user communications.
YOUR REGISTRATION
OBLIGATIONS.
In consideration of your use of the
Site, you represent that you are of legal age to form a binding contract, that
you are legally registered to vote under your registered name in a state or
territory of the United States, that you have not registered to vote under any
other name, and are not a person barred from voting under the laws of the United
States.
You agree to (1) Provide true,
current, complete and accurate information about yourself in the Site’s
Registration form (Registration Information; and (2) maintain and promptly
update the Registration Information to keep it true, current, complete, and
accurate. If you provide any
information that is untrue, not current, incomplete, or inaccurate, or
Politcalsheepdog.com has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is
untrue, not current, incomplete, or inaccurate, Politcalsheepdog.com has the
right to suspend or terminate your use of the Site.
You agree not to reproduce,
duplicate, copy, sell, trade, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes, any
portion of the Site, use of the Site, or access to the Site without the prior
consent of PoliticalSheepdog.com.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
RIGHTS.
All intellectual property rights,
including without limitation any and all copyright, patent and trade secrets, in
the software, text, images, photographs, graphics, and other content or
technology provided on or through the Site ("Content"), and the selection,
coordination, and arrangement of such Content, are owned by
Politicalsheepdog.com and are protected under all copyright, patent and other
applicable intellectual property and proprietary right laws of the United States
and other countries.
You agree not to modify, rent,
lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on the Services
or Content, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of
Politicalsheepdog.com.
Unless specifically and expressly
permitted by Politcalsheepdog.com, you agree not to modify, adapt or translate
the Software for the Politcalsheepdog.com Web site.
No Content, Services, or other
part of this Site may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, except that
Politicalsheepdog.com authorizes you to view, copy, download and print pages or
documents available from the Site, subject to the following conditions:
1. The pages or documents may be used solely for personal,
non-commercial and informational purposes, except as
permitted by PoliticalSheepdog.com.
2. The pages or documents may
not be modified in any way.
3. No copyright, trademark, or other
proprietary notices may be removed from any of the pages or documents.
NOTICE SPECIFIC TO
DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE ON THIS WEB SITE.
Permission to use
Documents (such as white papers, press releases, datasheets and FAQs) from the
Services is granted, provided that (1) the Politicalsheepdog.com copyright
notice appears in all copies and that both the copyright notice and this
permission notice appear, (2) use of such Documents from the Services is for
informational and non-commercial or personal use only and will not be copied or
posted on any network computer or broadcast in any media, and (3) no
modifications of any Documents are made. Accredited educational institutions,
such as K-12, universities, private/public colleges, and state community
colleges, may download and reproduce the Documents for distribution in the
classroom. Distribution outside the classroom requires express written
permission. Use for any other purpose is expressly prohibited by law, and may
result in severe civil and criminal penalties. Violators will be prosecuted to
the maximum extent possible.
Documents specified
above do not include the design or layout of the Politicalsheepdog.com Site. Elements of the Politicalsheepdog.com Site are protected by trade dress, trademark, unfair
competition, and other laws and may not be copied or imitated in whole or in
part. No Politicalsheepdog.com logo, graphic,
or image from the Politicalsheepdog.com Site
may be copied or retransmitted unless expressly permitted by
Politicalsheepdog.com.
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM AND/OR ITS RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS
ABOUT THE SUITABILITY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE DOCUMENTS AND RELATED
GRAPHICS PUBLISHED ON THE SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE. ALL SUCH DOCUMENTS AND RELATED
GRAPHICS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM AND/OR ITS RESPECTIVE
SUPPLIERS HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH REGARD TO THIS
INFORMATION, INCLUDING ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, WHETHER
EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND
NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM AND/OR ITS RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL,
INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS
OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER
TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF
INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM THE SITE.
THE DOCUMENTS AND
RELATED GRAPHICS PUBLISHED ON THE SITE COULD INCLUDE TECHNICAL INACCURACIES OR
TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. CHANGES ARE PERIODICALLY ADDED TO THE INFORMATION HEREIN.
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM AND/OR ITS RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS MAY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS
AND/OR CHANGES IN THE SERVICES DESCRIBED HEREIN AT ANY TIME.
COPYRIGHT
COMPLAINTS.
POLITICALSHEEPDOG
respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that your work has been
copied in any way that constitutes copyright infringement, please follow our
Notice and Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement.
NOTICE AND PROCEDURE
FOR MAKING CLAIMS OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.
If you believe that
your work has been copied in any way that constitutes copyright infringement,
please provide the written information described below to
Politicalsheepdog.com’s copyright agent.
This procedure is exclusively for notifying Politicalsheepdog.com that
you believe that your copyrighted work has been infringed.
1.
An
electronic or physical signature of the copyright owner or the person authorized
to act on his or her behalf.
2.
A
description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been
infringed.
3.
A
detailed description of the material and location on the Site that you believe
is infringing your work.
4.
Your statement that
you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the
copyright owner, its agent, or law.
5.
Your address,
telephone number, and E-mail address.
6.
A
statement by you, under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your
notice is accurate and that your are the copyright owner or one authorized to
act on his or her behalf.
Politicalsheepdog.com’s
Copyright Agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement on this Site can
be reached as follows:
Copyright Agent
Politicalsheepdog.com
P.O. Box 12258
Baltimore, Maryland 21281-2258
TRADEMARK
RIGHTS.
All rights in the
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM trademarks, service marks and logos, and in all other
marks, logos, and product or service names displayed on the Site (collectively,
the " POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM Marks") are owned
by POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM or its third-party licensors and are protected from
reproduction, imitation, dilution or confusing or misleading uses under national
and international trademark and copyright laws. The use or misuse of the
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM Marks is expressly prohibited and nothing herein or
implied through the use of the Site, Services or Content confers on you any
license or right in or to the POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM Marks.
COPYRIGHT
NOTICE.
Copyright © 2004
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM, L.L.C., P.O. Box 12258, Baltimore, Maryland
21281-2258. All rights
reserved.
EXTERNAL
SITES.
The Site may contain links to
other sites on the Internet. These other sites are not under the control of
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM, and you hereby acknowledge that POLITICALSHEEPDOG is not
and cannot be responsible or liable for the accuracy, copyright compliance,
legality, decency, or any other aspect of the content or accessibility of such
sites. The inclusion of such a link does not in any way imply endorsement of the
linked site by POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM or, except as expressly stated in the Site,
any association with the operators of such linked sites.
SECURITY.
You are prohibited from violating,
or attempting to violate, the security of this Site or of any Services or
Content provided herein. Any violations may result in criminal or civil
liability. Politicalsheepdog.com reserves the right to investigate any alleged
violations and to cooperate with law enforcement agencies. Examples of security
violations include, but are not limited to, the following:
Providing
false or inaccurate biographical information or other information for the
purposes of contacting POLITICALSHEEPDOG, using the Services, and/or requesting
information from POLITICALSHEEPDOG;
Accessing data not intended for
you;
Attempting to probe, scan, or test
the vulnerability of the Site and its Services; and/or
Attempting to
interfere with the Site.
UNACCEPTABLE
USE.
You agree to access this Site and to
use the Services and Content only for legitimate purposes. As a condition
of your use of the Site, you will not use the Site for any purpose that is
unlawful or prohibited by these terms, conditions, and notices. You may not use
the Site in any manner that could interfere with any other party's use and
enjoyment of the Site. You may not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the
Site through hacking, password mining or any other means. You may not obtain or
attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not
intentionally made available through the Site.
YOUR
INFORMATION.
“Your Information” is
any information you provide to us or to other users in the registration, auction
or E-mail features. You are solely
responsible for Your Information.
RESTRICTED
ACTIVITIES.
Your Information and
your use of the Site shall not: (1) be false, inaccurate, fraudulent, or
misleading; (2) infringe any third party’s copyright, patent, trademark, trade
secret or other proprietary right or right of privacy or publicity; (3) violate
any law, statute, ordinance or regulation; (4) be defamatory, libelous,
unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing; (5) be obscene; (6) contain any
viruses, worms, Trojan horses, time bombs, or other computer program routines
that are meant to damage, interfere with, or expropriate any system, data or
personal information; (7) generate
commercial solicitation, chain letters, or any form of “SPAM”; and (8) create
liability for POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM or cause POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM to lose (in
whole or in part) the services of our ISPs.
RESTRICTION OF SERVICES; AND RIGHT
OF REFUSAL.
You agree that
PoliticalSheepdog.com, in its sole discretion without liability to you, may
refuse to accept the registration of any policy or delete any text on its
bulletin boards.
PoliticalSheepdog.com also may in its sole discretion and without
liability to you, delete any registered policy or delete any text on its
bulletin boards.
.
It is PoliticalSheepdog.com’s policy
to refuse any policy, which is efficient for auction, designed to harm or unduly
prejudice any particular group of nationals, based on race, religion,
nationality or origin
It is PoliticalSheepdog.com’s policy
to encourage the use of markets, wherever possible. As a result, PoliticalSheepdog.com may
refuse any policy, which allows the government to dictate prices or fees for
goods and services, unless such dictates can not be avoided due to the
impossibility of a market, because we at PoliticalSheepdog.com believe that such acts
would result in dynamic inefficiency for consumers.
PoliticalSheepdog.com may refuse any
policy, which PoliticalSheepdog.com, by its own discretion, believes may impair
dynamic efficiencies or result in excessive transaction costs.
PoliticalSheepdog.com reserves the
right to refuse any policy that may otherwise be efficient for
auction.
CENSORSHIP OF TEXT ON BULLETIN
BOARD.
PoliticalSheepdog.com also may in
its sole discretion delete any text on its bulletin boards, which it feels is
morally objectionable. Morally
objectionable activities will include, but not be limited to: activities
designed to defame, embarrass, harm, abuse, threaten, slander or harass third
parties; activities design to encourage unlawful behavior by others, such as
hate crimes, terrorism and child pornography; activities that are tortuous,
vulgar, obscene, invasive of the privacy of third parties, racially, ethnically
or otherwise objectionable; activities designed to impersonate the identity of a
third party; and activities designed to harm minors in any way.
PoliticalSheepdog.com’s failure to censor material posted on the Bulletin Board
by third parties does not constitute endorsement by PoliticalSheepdog.com and
PoliticalSheppdog.com shall not be held liable for communications placed on the
Bulletin Board by third parties.
GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES.
PoliticalSheepdog.com may not
directly pay out winnings in an auction, either as a Constituent Lobbyist, an
Activist/Organizer or as a Policy Innovator, to government employees at any
level of government, including state, local, and United States federal
governments, because of state laws prohibiting a
conflict of interest, federal laws, perceptions of impropriety, or for other
political reasons. If you
are paid in error, you agree to void any payments by PoliticalSheepdog.com to
you and to return those payments to PoliticalSheepdog.com. If you are a government employee, you
can only place a zero bid in the auction.
You agree to protect PoliticalSheepdog.com and accept complete
responsibility and liability for any disruption in the auction or acceptance of
payments as a bidding lobbying constituent or as a policy innovator for policies
involving PoliticalSheepdog.com.
LINKS TO OTHER WEB
SITES.
Our Site may provide
links to other Web Sites. Because
Politicalsheepdog.com has no control over such sites, you acknowledge and agree
that Politicalsheepdog.com is not responsible or liable for the availability of
any such site, or the content or other materials available from such site. You further acknowledge and agree that
Politicalsheepdog.com shall not be responsible or liable, directly or
indirectly, for any damage or loss cause or alleged to be caused by or in
connection with use or reliance on any such content, goods or services available
on or through any such site.
TERMINATION
RIGHTS.
POLITICALSHEEPDOG reserves the
right, in its sole discretion, to suspend or terminate your access to all or
part of the Site or to any of the Services or Content and/or to remove any
Content posted on the Site or through your use of the Services, at any time and
for any reason, with or without notice.
REPRESENTATIONS AND
WARRANTIES.
You hereby represent, warrant and
covenant to POLITICALSHEEPDOG as follows:
1. You have the authority to
enter into this Agreement and to perform the obligations hereunder;
2.
You shall be and will continue to be in compliance with this Agreement and all
applicable laws, statutes, rules, regulations and policies of all applicable
worldwide jurisdictions and the instrumentalities and political subdivisions
thereof, including, without limitation, all nations, states, provinces and
territories;
3. You shall not use this Site, Services or Content for any
unauthorized or unlawful purpose. You shall not use or allow any third party to
use this Site or the Services for any unauthorized or unlawful purpose or in
furtherance of any unauthorized or unlawful purpose;
4. You shall take
all necessary precautions to preserve the privacy of other users and the
security of the Site, Services and Content in accordance with this Agreement;
and
5. You shall not upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make
available via the Site or Services any false or inaccurate biographical or other
information.
INDEMNITY.
You agree to defend,
indemnify and hold harmless POLITICALSHEEPDOG, and its subsidiaries, affiliates,
officers, agents, co-branders or other partners, and employees, from and against
any and all claims, demands, losses, damages, liabilities, obligations,
judgments, costs, charges and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees,
arising out of, in connection with or based upon, (i) your breach of any
representation or warranty made herein; (ii) your use of, or inability to use,
the Site, Services or Content, (iii) the content or information you submit,
post, transmit or make available through the Site; (iv) your connection to the
Site, or (v) your violation of any rights of another. You shall not settle or dispose of any
threatened or pending claim in a manner that would prejudice POLITICALSHEEPDOG,
without POLITICALSHEEPDOG’s prior written consent.
DISCLAIMER.
YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE
THAT:
1. THE SITE, SERVICES AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS"
BASIS. POLITICALSHEEPDOG EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
NON-INFRINGEMENT.
2. POLITICALSHEEPDOG MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT (i) THE
SITE, SERVICES OR CONTENT OFFERED HEREIN WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (ii) YOUR
ACCESS AND USE OF THE SITE, SERVICES OR CONTENT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY,
OR ERROR-FREE, (iii) and THE QUALITY OF ANY INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL
OBTAINED BY YOU IN THE PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE AREAS OF THE SITE, SERVICES OR
CONTENT WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS.
3. DOWNLOADING OR ACCESSING ANY
CONTENT OR SERVICES THROUGH THIS SITE IS AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND
YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY RESULTING DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM
OR LOSS OF DATA.
4. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN,
OBTAINED BY YOU FROM POLITICALSHEEPDOG OR THROUGH OR FROM THE SITE, SERVICES OR
CONTENT SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS
AGREEMENT.
5. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM IS A START-UP COMPANY AND MAY SUFFER FROM LACK OF
FUNDING. AS A RESULT, YOU AGREE TO
HOLD POLITICALSHEEPDOG AND ITS OFFICERS FREE FROM LIABILITY AS THE RESULT OF
INADEQUATE FUNDING, INCLUDING INADEQUATE FUNDING TO DETERMINE IF AND HOW AN
AUCTION CAN RUN IN A STATE.
6. POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM CANNOT
GUARANTEE THAT THERE WILL BE SUITABLE LEGISLATION FOR ITS
AUCTIONS.
7. POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM CAN NOT
GUARANTEE THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO ATTRACT ENOUGH BIDDING CONSTITUENTS TO
PERSUADE LEGISLATORS TO PASS THE POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM SUPPORTED
LEGISLATION.
8. POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM WILL RESERVE THE
DISCRETIONARY RIGHT TO SET THE SCHEDULE FOR AUCTIONS IN A WAY THAT BALANCES THE
EFFICIENT SCHEDULING OF THE LOBBYING ACTIVITY FOR CONSTITUENTS WITH THE
FLEXIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT THE LOWEST BIDDING CONSTITUENTS OBTAIN AN OPPORTUNITY
TO LOBBY, WHEN WE ARE UNABLE TO CONTACT THEM AT THE APPOINTED TIME. WE RESERVE THE DISCRETIONARY RIGHT TO
CHANGE APPOINTMENTS.
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM RESERVES THE DISCRETIONARY RIGHT TO PLACE
AVAILABLE, BUT HIGHER BIDDING CONSTITUENTS AHEAD OF LOWER BIDDING CONSTITUENTS,
WHEN A CONSTITUTENT MISSES THEIR SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT TO ALLOW AS MANY
CONSTITUENTS AS POSSIBLE TO LOBBY.
9. IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE AN
ACTIVITIST/ORGANIZER OR POLITICAL CONSULTANT LISTED WITH POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM,
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THEIR LISTING IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT AND THAT
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY ACTIONS BY THE RESPECTIVE
ACTIVIST/ORGANIZER OR POLITICAL CONSULTANT.
10. YOU UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM HAS NO CONTROL OVER LEGISLATORS OR LEGISLATURES. IF LEGISLATORS OR LEGISLATURES CHANGE
THE LAW TO REDUCE OR EXCLUDE POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM FROM ITS NEGOTIATED PAYMENT
AGREED TO BY THE LEGISLATORS THAT POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM CAN REDUCE YOUR WINNINGS
OR REFUSE TO PAY ANY WINNERS UNTIL THE PREVIOUSLY AGREED TO LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE
HAS BEEN REPLACED. YOU AGREE TO
SUPPORT THE PAYMENT OF POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM, ITS LEGISLATIVE INNOVATORS, AND
ITS CONSTITUENT LOBBYISTS THEIR CONTRACTUAL OR NEGOTIATED PAYMENTS. LEGISLATORS
MAY CLICK ON THE “SUPPORT” BUTTON DURING THE SECOND PHASE OF AN AUCTION,
SIGNALING THEIR SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION AND MAY CHANGE THEIR MINDS AND VOTE
AGAINST THE LEGISLATION.
11. THE ESTIMATE OF AVAILABLE FUNDS FOR AN
AUCTION IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE INNOVATOR OF THE POLICY. THE INNOVATOR ACCEPTS FULL AND COMPLETE
LIABILITY FOR THE ESTIMATE OF AVAILABLE FUNDING AND POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM
ACCEPTS NO LIABILITY FOR THAT CLAIM.
IT IS CALLED AN ESTIMATE BECAUSE IT
IS ONLY AN ESTIMATION, WHICH MAY BE DIFFERENT THAN THE FINAL SAVINGS AGREED TO
BY POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM, THE INNOVATOR AND THE APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT. AS A RESULT,
YOU WILL NOT HOLD POLITICALSHEEPDOG RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY INACCURACY
RELATED TO AN ESTIMATE, UNLESS POLITICALSHEEPDOG IS THE INNOVATOR.
12. WHILE POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM WILL TRY TO
ENSURE THAT CONSTITUENTS ONLY CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR RESPECTIVE CANDIDATES AND
LOBBY THEIR RESPECTIVE LEGISLATORS, YOU WILL NOT HOLD POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM
LIABLE FOR MISTAKES IN ALIGNMENT OR OUR EFFORTS TO FIND A FAIR SOLUTION TO THOSE
MISTAKES.
PARTICIPATION IN AN AUCTION SHALL
CONSTITUTE ACCEPTANCE OF THESE CONDITIONS.
YOU UNDERSTAND THAT
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM AUCTION SYSTEM IS IN THE EARLY STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. AS A RESULT, THE AUCTION SOFTWARE MAY
FAIL TO WORK AS PLANNED AND MAY CONTAIN BUGS, ERRORS AND OTHER PROBLEMS THAT
COULD CAUSE THE SYSTEM OR OTHER FAILURES AND DATA LOSS. THE AUCTION DESIGN MAY FAIL TO WORK AS
PLANNED. CONSTITUENT LOBBYISTS MAY
NOT PERSUADE LEGISLATORS ADEQUATELY OR ACTIVELY ENOUGH TO PASS LEGISLATION. LEGISLATORS MAY REFUSE TO WORK WITH THE
CONSTITUENTS, WHO PARTICIPATE IN AUCTIONS AND LOBBYING WITH
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM. THEY MAY
REFUSE TO ACCEPT THE CONCEPT OF POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM PROPERTY RIGHTS FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF LEGISLATION OR PAID CONSTITUENT LOBBYISTS. THEY MAY REFUSE TO ALLOW
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM TO HAVE A SHARE OF THE SAVINGS CREATED FROM THE SAVINGS
DEVELOPED BY POLICIES, ASSOCIATED WITH POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM. AS A RESULT, YOU WILL HOLD
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM FREE FROM LIABILITY AS THE RESULT OF THESE UNKNOWNS. YOU ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT
POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM RETAINS THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THE AUCTIONS RULES TO PROMOTE
FAIRNESS OR PARTICIPATION IN THE AUCTION.
YOU UNDERSTAND THAT IF POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM FAILS TO FIND THE CORRECT
BALANCE BETWEEN FAIRNESS AND PARTICIPATION THAT POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM WILL FAIL
AND THAT FAILURE WILL BE BORNE BY POLITICALSHEEPDOG.COM, WHICH WILL BE THE
EXTENT OF ITS LIABILITY TO YOU.
THIS SECTION SHALL SURVIVE ANY
TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT.
LIMITATION OF
LIABILITY.
YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND
AGREE THAT POLITICALSHEEPDOG SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR
DATA, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF POLITICALSHEEPDOG HAS BEEN ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (a) THE USE OR THE INABILITY
TO USE THE SITE, SERVICES OR CONTENT; (b) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION
OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (c) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY IN
CONNECTION WITH THE SITE, SERVICES OR CONTENT, INCLUDING USERS OF THE BULLETIN
BOARD AND COMMUNICATION BY INNOVATORS, ACTIVIST/ORGANIZERS, POLITICAL
CONSULTANTS AND CANDIDATES; OR (d) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SITE,
SERVICES OR CONTENT.
IF YOU PARTICIPATE IN AN AUCTION FOR
CONSTITUENT LOBBYISTS, IN NO EVENT SHALL POLITICALSHEEPDOG BE LIABLE FOR MORE
THAN THE TOTAL OF YOUR LOST BIDS, AND ONLY IF YOU ARE IN THE WINNING POOL, ONLY
IF THE LAW IS PASSED AND ONLY IF THE SAVINGS FROM THE POLICY ARE AGREED TO AS
ADEQUATE.
THIS
SECTION SHALL SURVIVE ANY TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO
NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF
LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. POLITICALSHEEPDOG S LIABILITY
IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
MODIFICATION OF THIS
AGREEMENT.
POLITICALSHEEPDOG reserves the right
to amend this Agreement at any time. You are bound by any such revisions and
should therefore periodically visit this page to review the then-current terms
of this Agreement. Your use of the Site, Services or Content after the posting
of modifications to this Agreement will constitute your acceptance of this
Agreement, as modified. If, at any time, you do not wish to accept this
Agreement, you may not use the Site, Services, or Content. The date of the last
revisions made to the terms of this Agreement is indicated below.
GENERAL
INFORMATION.
Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire
agreement between you and Politicalsheepdog.com and governs your use of the Site
and Content offered herein, unless superceded by any other agreements between
you and Politicalsheepdog.com. You also may be subject to additional terms and
conditions that may apply when you use affiliated services, third-party content
or third-party software.
Governing Law. THIS AGREEMENT AND THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN YOU AND POLITICALSHEEPDOG SHALL BE GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF
MARYLAND WITHOUT REGARD TO ITS CONFLICT OF LAW PROVISIONS. YOU AND
POLITICALSHEEPDOG AGREE TO SUBMIT TO THE PERSONAL AND EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF
THE COURTS LOCATED WITHIN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.
Dispute Resolution. Except for the right of either party
to apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for a temporary restraining order
or preliminary injunction to preserve the status quo or prevent irreparable harm
pending the selection and confirmation of a panel of arbitrators, and for the
right of PoliticalSheepdog.com to bring suit on an open account for simple
monies owed and past due to PoliticalSheepdog.com, any dispute arising under
this Agreement shall be resolved through a mediation-arbitration approach. The parties agree to first try to
resolve the dispute informally with the help of a mutually agreed-upon
mediator. If it proves impossible
to arrive at a mutually satisfactory solution through mediation, the parties
agree to submit their dispute to binding arbitration in accordance with the
Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration
Association.
The arbitration may be conducted by
one impartial arbitrator by mutual agreement or by three arbitrators, if the
parties are unable to agree on a single arbitrator within 30 days of first
demand for arbitration. All
arbitrators are to be selected from a panel provided by the American Arbitration
Association. The chair shall be an
attorney at law, and the other arbitrators shall have a background or training
in computer law, computer software technology or marketing of computer software
products.
Upon request of a party, the
arbitrators shall have the authority to permit discovery to the extent they deem
appropriate. A court reporter shall
record the arbitration hearing and the reporter’s transcript shall be the
official transcript of the proceeding.
The arbitrators shall have no power to add or detract from the agreements
of the parties and may not make any ruling an award that does not conform to the
terms and conditions of the Agreement.
The arbitrators shall have the authority to grant injunctive relief in a
form substantially similar to that which would otherwise be granted by a court
of law. The arbitrators shall not
have authority to award punitive damages or any other damages not measured by
the prevailing party’s actually damages.
The arbitrators shall specify the basis for any damage award and the
types of damages awarded. The
decision of the arbitrators shall be final and binding on the parties and may be
entered and enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction by either
party.
The prevailing party in the
arbitration proceedings shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees, expert
witness costs and expenses, and all other costs and expenses incurred directly
or indirectly in connection with the proceeding, unless the arbitrators shall
for good cause determine otherwise.
No Waiver. The failure of POLITICALSHEEPDOG to
exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not
constitute a waiver of such right or provision.
Severability. If any provision of this Agreement
is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties
nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties'
intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of this
Agreement remain in full force and effect.
General Guidance. Any information
supplied by POLITICALSHEEPDOG or any of its employees or agents, through this
Site or any other means of communication, is intended solely as general
guidance, and does not constitute legal, tax, accounting or other professional
advice. Individual situations and state laws vary and users are encouraged to
obtain appropriate advice from qualified professionals in the applicable
jurisdictions.
Printed
Version. A printed version of this Agreement and of any notice given in
electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings
based upon or relating to this Agreement to the same extent and subject to the
same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and
maintained in printed form.
CONTACT
INFORMATION.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS RELATED TO
THIS AGREEMENT, PLEASE USE THE CONTACT INFORMATION ON THE
SITE.
|