Official version of Docracy TOS, always updated. We cut legalese as much as possible and simplified boilerplates for a short and agile read. Feel free to branch this and make your own, but make sure it fits to your site! Some of our provisions are very specific to what we do. This document is a part of Docracy's Terms of Service Tracker project, which tracks changes to terms of service and privacy policy documents of many of the world's top websites.
Terms of Service
1. Acceptance of the Terms of Service
Welcome to Docracy! (a.k.a. "we" or "us" or the "Company"). We are excited to have you as user an member of the community. The following terms and conditions (collectively, these "Terms of Service") apply to your use of www.docracy.com, including any content, functionality and services offered on or via Docracy.com (the "Website"). The Terms of Service also include our Privacy Policy, that you can review here: https://www.docracy.com/65/privacy-policy-of-docracy-com
We want to keep our relationship with you as lean and informal as possible, but please read the Terms of Service carefully before you start using Docracy, because by using the Website you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these Terms of Service.
Should you disagree with some of the provisions herein, you can either leave the Website (although we'll be sad to see you go!), or contact us at support@docracy.zendesk.com. Docracy is all about collaborating for improving legal documents, and we'll be happy to hear your comments and suggestions and work out a better version of this agreement.
2. Changes to the Terms of Service and the Website
Docracy is a work in progress, meaning that a lot will change in the near future. We reserve the right to update the Website and these Terms of Service from time to time, at our discretion and without notice. Nevertheless, this document is public on Docracy, and you will be able to track the changes for any new version. Your continued use of the Website following the publishing of updated Terms of Service means that you accept and agree to the changes.
3. Accessing the Website,Security and Privacy
We are working hard on improving Docracy, but we can't guarantee that the Website will be up and running 24/7. We also reserve the right to suspend or restrict access to some features to users. In any case, we will not be liable if for any reason all or any part of the Website is unavailable at any time or for any period, nor for any data loss (see also section 7 below).
To access certain features of the Website you have to register by entering your email and choosing a password as part of our security procedures. You must treat such information as confidential, not disclosing it to any third party and only using Docracy in person. There is a password reset procedure in case you forget your password, but please notify us of any breach of security. We highly recommend to choose a strong password (e.g. "correcthorsebatterystaple") and you log out from your account at the end of every session.
It is a condition of your use of the Website that all the information you provide on the Website is correct, current and complete. In the future, you may be asked to provide certain registration details or other information. As custom for internet websites, we reserve the right to change your login information or disable any user account, at any time in our sole discretion for any or no reason, including, if in our opinion you have failed to comply with any provision of these Terms of Service.
We use SSL encrypted browsing for all logged-in user, and we are currently working on implementing further security protections, but we do not guarantee that the Website is error free. We manage your personal data according to our Privacy Policy, that you can review in detail here: https://www.docracy.com/65/privacy-policy-of-docracy-com.
4. Intellectual Property Rights and Use Guidelines.
The Website and its entire content, features and functionality (including look!), are owned by Docracy and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws. Docracy is about copying, branching and modifying documents, not Website, design or code. So you will not copy, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, any of our copyrighted material, except to the extent allowed by the Website itself. If you have doubts about weather and how to use of material on the Website, please address your concerns to: support@docracy.zendesk.com
All user generated public documents on Docracy are in the public domain, and are free to take and use without limitations. If some content is distributed by the author under a specific license (e.g. Creative Commons Share Alike), you agree to abide the terms of said license. You must not delete or alter any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices from copies of materials from the Website. As per the non-user generated content of Docracy, covered by copyright (e.g. blog posts, website copy, illustrations, logos, etc.), we grant you a license to use it with attribution to Docracy. See the legal treatment of user generated content in more detail in section 5 below).
You are permitted to use the Website for your personal, non-commercial use, or legitimate business purposes, provided that your activities are lawful and in accordance with these Terms of Service. Prohibited uses include violation of laws and regulations, hacking the the Website in any manner, or violating the Content Standards set below. No right, title or interest in or to the Website or any content on the site is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved. Any use of the Website not expressly permitted by these Terms of Service is a breach of these Terms of Service and can lead to account termination.
5. User Contributions and Content Standards. Special Disclaimer for legal content.
Docracy contains user generated content, and also may contain (in the future) message boards, personal web pages, forums or other interactive features (collectively, "Interactive Services") that allow you to upload, post, submit, publish, display or transmit to other users content or materials (collectively, "User Content") on or through the Website. All User Content must be lawful, not spammy, and clear of virus or other malware. More specifically, but without limiting the foregoing, it must comply with the following Content Standards:
- Contain any material which is defamatory, obscene, indecent, abusive, offensive, harassing, violent, hateful, inflammatory or otherwise objectionable.
- Promote sexually explicit or pornographic material, violence, or discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.
- Infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual property rights of any other person.
- Violate the legal rights (including the rights of publicity and privacy) of others or contain any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable laws or regulations or that otherwise may be in conflict with these Terms of Service.
- Be likely to deceive any person.
- Promote any illegal activity, or advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act.
- Cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety or be likely to upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy any other person.
- Be used to impersonate any person, or to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or organization.
- Involve commercial activities or sales , such as contests, sweepstakes and other sales promotions, barter oradvertising.
- Give the impression that they emanate from us or any other person or entity, if this is not the case.
As stated above, all the user generated legal documents are in the public domain, unless otherwise specified by the author. The rest of the content (e.g. private documents, comments, description, guides, etc) is creative work, therefore covered by copyright. We claim no intellectual property rights over the User Content. Your content remain yours. However, by setting your documents to be viewed publicly, or commenting in public, you agree to allow others to view, comment, edit and branch your content, and you grant us the right to use, copy, distribute and disclose to third parties the content for any purpose.
You represent and warrant that you own or control all rights of the User Content, including the right to grant us the aforementioned rights, and that all of your User Content do and will comply with these Terms of Service. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its affiliates and licensors for any breach of that representation and warranty. In any event, we reserve the right to remove any User Content in our sole discretion. Any feedback, comments, or suggestions you may provide regarding Docracy will be free for us to use without any obligation to you.
You understand and acknowledge that you are responsible for any User Content you submit or contribute, and you, not Docracy, have fully responsibility for such content, including its legality, reliability, accuracy and appropriateness. Any content and/or opinions uploaded, expressed or submitted to the Website, other than the content provided by the Company itself, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity submitting them and do not reflect the opinion of the Company. We are not responsible, or liable to any third party, for the content or accuracy of any materials posted by you or any other user of the Website. In particular, User Content is not intended to be legal advice nor form an attorney-client relationship, nor among the users, nor between the users and Docracy.Use of the Website should never be understood to be replacing use of a qualified attorney, and Docracy's relationship to all documents and transactions completed using the Website is that of a trusted, disinterested third party.
6. Law and Copyright Infringment
We do not undertake to review all material before it is posted on the Website, and cannot ensure prompt removal of objectionable material after it has been posted. Accordingly, we assume no liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications or content provided by any user or third party. In the unlikely event we receive a disclosure request from an authorized party, we reserve the right to disclose user identities when required to do so by the law, including in response to a law enforcement request supported by a valid court order. You waive and hold harmless the Company from any claims resulting from any action taken by the Company during or as a result of its investigations and from any actions taken as a consequence of investigations by either the Company or law enforcement authorities.
If you believe that any User Content violate your copyright, please follow the procedure set forth by article 512(c) of the DMCA and provide us a written takedown notice including the following information:
- A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site.
- Identification of the material that is claimed 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 reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material.
- Information reasonably sufficient for us to contact you, such as email, address, telephone number.
- A statement that you 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 is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
The notice should be addressed to dmca@docracy.com, or via snail mail to DMCA Designated Agent, c/o Docracy Inc, 307 7th Ave, #701, New York, NY 10001.
7. Disclaimer of Warranties, Limitations of Liability and Indemnification.
Your use of Docracy is at your sole risk. The service is provided "as is" and "as available". We disclaim all warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We are not liable for damages, direct or consequential, resulting from your use of the Website, and you agree to defend, indemnify and hold us harmless from any claims, losses, liability costs and expenses (including but not limites to attorney's fees) arising from your violation of any third-party's rights. You acknowledge that you have only a limited, non-exclusive, nontransferable license to use the Website. Because the Website is not error or bug free, you agree that you will use it carefully and avoid using it ways which might result in any loss of your or any third party's property or information.
8. Geographic Restrictions
For now, we provide this Website for use only by persons located in the United States. We make no claims that the Website or any of its content is accessible, appropriate or legal outside of the United States. If you access the Website from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.
9. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms of Service and any dispute or claim arising out of, or related to them, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule.
Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of, or related to, these Terms of Service or the Website shall be instituted exclusively in the federal courts of the United States or the courts of the State of New York.
10. Waiver and Severability
Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. The Terms of Service constitutes the entire agreement between you and Docracy and govern your use of the service, superseding any prior agreements (including, but not limited to, any prior versions of the Terms of Service). If any provision of these Terms of Service is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be eliminated or limited to the minimum extent such that the remaining provisions of the Terms of Service will continue in full force and effect.
11. Feedback
We welcome any comment, question and communication at support@docracy.zendesk.com
