Acceptance
True the Vote, Inc., PO Box 3019 #19128, Houston, Texas 77253 (hereinafter “we,” “us,” the “company”) is the operator both of the website
www.truethevote.org (“website”) and VoteAlert Software (“VoteAlert” or “Software”) (hereinafter “Services”).
These Terms of Use (“Agreement”) and Privacy Policy set forth the conditions under which you, the user, may access the Services and images and content, including but not limited to text, images, graphics, voter data, messages, or any other information, and any other application content owned, operated, licensed, or controlled by the Company (“Materials).
By accessing and using the website, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy then in effect and by all applicable law. If you do not agree with any of the Terms of Use or our Privacy Policy, you should not access or use the website for any purpose. Even if you do agree to the foregoing, we reserve the right to terminate or limit your access for any violation of the Terms of Use or our Privacy Policy, or for any other reason, in our sole discretion. We also reserve the right to amend these Terms of Service from time to time. We will inform you of such changes to be provided to you in writing. Registration, signing in, or using the website signifies your agreement to those additional terms. Your continued use of the website after being put on notice of such changes in the terms waives your right to object or otherwise to contest them.
Age Restriction
You are prohibited from using or accessing the website if you are under the age of eighteen (18). You understand we reserve the right to confirm your age of majority at the time of registration and reserve the right to prohibit you from accessing the website, or the company’s VoteAlert Software if you are under the age of eighteen (18).
About Our Service And The Software
Website
The website and related VoteAlert Software are designed to help you get involved with your states’ voter rolls. We hope that you thoroughly enjoy the website and VoteAlert and anticipate that you will find VoteAlert useful and informative. Should you have any questions or comments regarding the website, VoteAlert, or its policies, please feel free to contact us via info@truethevote.org
SoftwareVoteAlert Software is provided to more efficiently distribute otherwise publicly available voter information. We are offering this software free of charge so as to empower voters like you to get involved with your state’s voter roll. By accessing the software, you not only agree to the license terms below in Section 4(c), but also to the restricted uses of the data set forth below.
Limited License
Our conditions – Services generally
The company provides you a limited license to access the Services under the following conditions. You:
1. Are using the website solely for noncommercial purposes. If you are a business entity or commercial concern, your presence on the website is not allowed unless it is expressly authorized in writing by us. We reserve the right to pursue legal action against unauthorized login by business and commercial entities.
2. Will use the Services and Materials found on the website solely for lawful purposes;
3. Will not copy or distribute any part of the Services or Materials without our prior written authorization;
4. Will fully comply with these Terms and Conditions as well as the Privacy Policy;
5. Will not use VoteAlert or any Services it offers to contact any voters that you flag for a challenge;
6. Will not use the Services to seek private information about celebrities or public figures;
7. Will not use the Services to seek information about, or locate, individuals under the age of eighteen (18);
8. Will not use the Services to facilitate or commit any act of identity theft;
9. Will not use the Services to promote or provide instructional information about illegal activities or promote physical harm or injury against any group or individual;
10. Will not create any derivative works based on VoteAlert or any of the Materials contained therein or received via the Services, and You agree and stipulate that any and all derivative works are NOT “fair use”;
11. May not translate, reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or make derivative works from any of our Materials or any other materials from VoteAlert, except as otherwise provided by law. User hereby agrees not to use any automatic device or manual process to monitor or reproduce the Software or Materials, and will not use any device, software, or computer code to interfere or attempt to disrupt or damage the website or software or any communications thereon. If you do not adhere to this provision of this Agreement, you hereby stipulate to and agree to pay liquidated damages of ($5,000.00) and all fees associated with recovery of these damages, including attorney’s fees and costs;
12. Will not use VoteAlert or Services, or any of the Materials contained therein, for any public display, public performance, sale or rental, and You hereby agree and stipulate that any and all such uses are NOT “fair use”;
13. Will not re-distribute or “scrape” VoteAlert or any of the Materials contained therein or received through the Services, and you hereby agree and stipulate that any and all such uses are NOT “fair use”;
14. Will not remove any copyright or other proprietary notices from VoteAlert or any of the Materials contained therein;
15. Will not frame or utilize any framing techniques in connection with VoteAlert or any of the Materials contained therein;
16. Will not use any meta-tags or any other “hidden text” using VoteAlert’s name or marks, and you hereby stipulate that any use of the Site’s name or marks, or any other marks owned by VoteAlert is an infringement upon our trademark rights, and you stipulate to liquidated damages of five thousand dollars ($5,000) per such infringement, and you agree to pay any and all fees incurred in the recovery of this amount, including attorney’s fees and all associated costs;
17. Will not circumvent any encryption or other security tools used anywhere in conjunction with the Services (including the theft of usernames and passwords or using another person’s username and password in order to gain access to any restricted area of the website);
18. Will not sell, rent, lease, license, sublicense, transfer, distribute, re-transmit, time-share, use as a service bureau or otherwise assign to any third party the Materials or Services or any of your rights to access and use the Materials or Services as granted specifically by this Agreement;
19. Will not use or permit the use of data accessed via the Services to prepare a database or a comparison to other databases that are sold, rented, published, or furnished in any manner to a third-party;
20. Will not use or permit the use of data accessed via the Services for the purpose of compiling, enhancing, verifying, supplementing, adding to, deleting from, or operating any telemarketing list, direct mail service, mailing list, business directory, or other compilation of information that is sold, rented, published, or furnished in any manner to a third-party;
21. Will not download any file that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally distributed in such manner;
22. Will not falsify or delete any author attributions, legal or other proper notices or proprietary designations or labels of the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is uploaded; and
23. Will not harvest or otherwise collect information about others, including any personally-identifiable information.
Legal conditions – use of data
State laws prohibiting commercial use – misdemeanor
You will not use the website, Materials, or the VoteAlert Software for commercial purposes in contravention of applicable state law. Various states prohibit commercial use of voter data obtained from them and criminalize such use. It is a misdemeanor in the State of Texas to use voter data that we obtained from the state for commercial purposes. See § 18.067. Unlawful Use of Master File Information (a) A person commits an offense if the person uses information in connection with advertising or promoting commercial products or services that the person knows was obtained under Section 18.066. (b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 864, § 13, eff. Sept. 1, 1997. The same is true for voter data that we obtained from Georgia or Montana. See Ga. Code Ann., §21-2-225 and MCA 13-2-115, 13-2-122 Mont. Admin. R. 44.3.1102.
For the use of voter data from other states, please review the following chart to determine lawful uses: https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/access-to-and-use-of-voter-registration-lists.aspx.
Other legal restrictions
You will not use the Services or information derived from the Services in a way that violates other applicable state, federal and international laws including, but not limited to: Can Spam Act of 2003; Telephone Consumer Act; the federal and state Do Not Call List; Federal Trade Commissions amended Telemarketing Sales Rule 16 CFR Part 310; Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA); Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”); Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); or the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Legal restrictions – use of software
Authorized user
You are the only Authorized User of the Software under this Agreement.
Use of the Software
Your License Rights. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, we grant you a non-exclusive, non-sublicensable and non-transferable license to use the Software during the applicable License Term for your own non-commercial purposes, in accordance with this Agreement.
Restrictions. You will not: (a) reproduce, modify, adapt or create derivative works of any part of the Software; (b) rent, lease, distribute, sell, sublicense, transfer, or provide access to the Software to a third party; (c) interfere with any license key mechanism in the Software or otherwise circumvent mechanisms in the Software intended to limit your use; (d) reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile, translate, or otherwise seek to obtain or derive the source code, underlying ideas, algorithms, to the Software, except to the extent expressly permitted by applicable law (and then only upon advance notice to us); (e) remove or obscure any proprietary or other notices contained in the Software; (f) use the Software for competitive analysis or to build competitive products; (h) publicly disseminate information regarding the performance of the Software; (i) encourage or assist any third party to do any of the foregoing; and (j) utilize the voter data distributed by the software in contravention of the company’s restrictions or applicable state law from whence the data came as elsewhere provided in this Agreement (hereinafter collectively referred to “Scope of Use”).
License Term
The License Term is nonexclusive, worldwide, perpetual, and revocable at will by us.
License Certifications and Audits.
At our request, you agree to provide a signed certification that you are using all Software pursuant to the terms of the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. You agree to allow us, or our authorized agent, to audit your use of the Software. We will provide you with at least ten (10) days advance notice prior to the audit, and the audit will be conducted during normal business hours. We will bear all out-of-pocket costs that we incur for the audit, unless the audit reveals that you have exceeded the foregoing agreements. You will provide reasonable assistance, cooperation, and access to relevant information in the course of any audit at your own cost. If you exceed your scope of use, we may invoice you for any past or ongoing excessive use, and you will pay the invoice promptly after receipt. This remedy is without prejudice to any other remedies available to company at law or equity or under this Agreement.
Feedback
From time to time, you may choose to submit feedback to us. Company may in connection with any of its products or services freely use, copy, disclose, license, distribute and exploit any feedback in any manner without any obligation, royalty or restriction based on intellectual property rights or otherwise. No feedback will be considered your Confidential Information, and nothing in this Agreement limits company’s right to independently use, develop, evaluate, or market products or services, whether incorporating feedback or otherwise.
Export restrictions
The Software is subject to export restrictions by the United States government and may be subject to import restrictions by certain foreign governments, and you agree to comply with all applicable export and import laws and regulations in your download of, access to, and use of the Software. You shall not (and shall not allow any third-party to) remove or export from the United States or allow the export or re-export of any part of the Software or any direct product thereof: (a) into (or to a national or resident of) any embargoed or terrorist-supporting country; (b) to anyone on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Denied Persons, Entity, or Unverified Lists or the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals and Consolidated Sanctions list (collectively, “Prohibited Persons”); (c) to any country to which such export or re-export is restricted or prohibited, or as to which the United States government or any agency thereof requires an export license or other governmental approval at the time of export or re-export without first obtaining such license or approval; or (d) otherwise in violation of any export or import restrictions, laws or regulations of any United States or foreign agency or authority.
Non-transferable
Subject to your acceptance of this Agreement, we grant you a limited, nonexclusive, nontransferable personal license to access and use the website. Users of this website are granted a single license to access it.
TerminationWe reserve the right to terminate this license at any time if you breach or violate any provision of this Agreement, in which case you will be obligated to immediately destroy any information, or Materials you have downloaded, printed or otherwise copied from this Site. Violators of this limited license may be prosecuted to the fullest extent under the applicable law.
Warranty Disclaimer
You agree that your use of the website and software shall be at your sole risk. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the company, its officers, directors, employees, and agents disclaim all warranties, express or implied, in connection with the services and your use thereof. The company makes no warranties or representations about the accuracy or completeness of the materials and assumes no liability or responsibility for any:
1. Errors, mistakes, or inaccuracies of content;
2. Personal injury, emotional distress, or property damage, of any nature whatsoever, resulting from your access to and use of the website and VoteAlert;
3. Unauthorized access to or use of our secure servers and/or any and all personal information and/or financial information stored therein;
4. Interruption or cessation of transmission to or from the website or VoteAlert, any bugs, viruses, malware, trojan horses, or the like which may be transmitted to or through VoteAlert by any third-party;
5. Errors or omissions in any content or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any materials posted, emailed, transmitted, or otherwise made available via the site.
6. Third party-provided product or service advertised on, offered by, or featured on the website or software, and the company will not be a party to or in any way be responsible for monitoring any transaction between you and third- party providers of products or services. As with the purchase of a product or service through any medium or in any environment, you should use your best judgment and exercise caution where appropriate.
7. Inaccuracies in public data as part of the materials appearing on the website or via VoteAlert are sourced from official government public records that were released under foia and/or public record laws. No claim is made as to the accuracy of the data or other information presented. All data is provided “As is” and should not be relied upon for any legal or official use. VoteAlert is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by the fair credit reporting act (fcra) and as such you are not permitted to use the services for any fcra governed activities such as but not limited to eligibility to determine employment, housing, credit, loans, insurance or any other activity that would require fcra compliance.
All software is “as is.” company expressly disclaims any and all warranties and representations of any kind, including any warranty of non-infringement, title, fitness for a particular purpose, functionality, or merchantability, whether express, implied, or statutory. Company will not be liable for delays, interruptions, service failures or other problems outside the reasonable control of company. To the maximum extent permitted by law, company does not make any representation, warranty or guarantee as to the reliability, timeliness, quality, suitability, truth, availability, accuracy or completeness of any software or any content therein or generated therewith, or that:
(a) the use of any software will be secure, timely, uninterrupted or error-free;
(b) the software will operate in combination with any other hardware, software, system, or data;
(c) the software (or any products, services, information, or other material purchased or obtained by you through the software) will meet your requirements or expectations);
(d) errors or defects will be corrected; or
(e) the software is free of viruses or other harmful components. You may have other statutory rights, but the duration of statutorily required warranties, if any, will be limited to the shortest period permitted by law.
Limitation Of Liability
In no event shall the site, its officers, directors, employees, or agents, be liable to you for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages whatsoever resulting from any:
1. Errors, mistakes, or inaccuracies of content
2. Personal injury or property damage, of any nature whatsoever,resulting from your access to and use of the website or VoteAlert;
3. Unauthorized access to or use of our secure servers and/or any and all personal information and/or financial information stored therein;
4. Interruption or cessation of transmission to or from VoteAlert;
5. Bugs, viruses, trojan horses, or the like, which may be transmitted to or through VoteAlert by any third-party;
6. Errors or omissions in any content or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of your use of any content posted transmitted, or otherwise made available via the site, whether based on warranty, contract, tort, or any other legal theory, and whether or not the company is advised of the possibility of such damages;
7. Claim based on the site’s good faith disabling of access to, or removal of, material or activity which has been claimed to be infringing, or based on facts or circumstances from which infringing activity appears likely, regardless of whether the material or activity is ultimately determined to be infringing;
8. Use in other locations. Those who access or use the services from other jurisdictions do so at their own volition and are responsible for compliance with local law;
9. Content that is defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of any third party and that the risk of harm or damage from the foregoing rests entirely with you;
10. From time to time due to technological factors, scheduled software uploads and other factors beyond our control, service may be temporarily interrupted. You agree to hold VoteAlert harmless against any such interruption of service, including direct or consequential damages that result.
Intellectual Property
CopyrightVoteAlert(s) and Services contain images and content, including but not limited to text, software, images, graphics, data, messages, or any other information, and any other application owned, operated, licensed, or controlled by VoteAlert(defined in above as “Materials”).
You acknowledge and stipulate that all of the Materials constitute expressive content that is fully protected by the U.S. Copyright Act.
TrademarkThe name of the Software is considered a service mark licensed by us. We aggressively defend our licensed intellectual property rights.
Other manufacturers’ product and service names referenced herein may be trademarks and service marks of their respective companies and are the exclusive property of such respective owners and may not be used publicly without the express written consent of the owners and/or holders of such trademarks and service marks.
All of the marks, logos, domains, and trademarks that you find in connection with the Services may not be used publicly except with express written permission from us and may not be used in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among consumers, or in any manner that disparages or discredits us.
Other Legal Issues
Informal Resolution
In the event of any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the parties will consult and negotiate with each other and, recognizing their mutual interests, attempt to reach a solution satisfactory to both parties. If the parties do not reach settlement within a period of thirty (30) days, either party may pursue relief as may be available under this Agreement below. All negotiations pursuant to this section will be confidential and treated as compromise and settlement negotiations for purposes of all rules and codes of evidence of applicable legislation and jurisdictions.
Notices
Any notice under this Agreement must be given in writing. We may provide notice to you via email or through your account. You agree that any such electronic communication will satisfy any applicable legal communication requirements, including that such communications be in writing. Our notices to you will be deemed given upon the first business day after we send it. You will provide notice to us by e-mail to info@truethevote.org. Your notices to us will be deemed given upon our receipt.
IndemnificationYou agree to indemnify and hold company harmless: from and against all loss, cost, expense or liability (including reasonable attorney’s fees) arising out of a claim by a third party against the company, its officers, directors, employees, shareholders, legal representatives, agents, successors and assigns, or owner of the VoteAlert software (“Company Indemnified Parties”), and defend such suit at its expense, based upon Your use of the Services in contravention of this Agreement or the Privacy Policy.
In addition, you agree to indemnify and hold the Company Indemnified Parties harmless: from and against all loss, cost, expense or liability (including reasonable attorney’s fees) arising out of a claim by a third party against the Company Indemnified Parties based upon your use of the Software; from any loss or damages to the company related to, or associated with your customizations, updates and/or corrections to the Software; from any action brought against Company Indemnified Parties, and defend such suit at its expense, to the extent that it is based on a claim that the customizations, updates and/or corrections developed by you infringe any intellectual property rights of any third parties or, in the alternative, that your use violate the conditions pertaining to non-commercial use of the data in elsewhere in this agreement. Finally, the Company Indemnified Parties shall have no liability to you for any damage sustained by you as a result of your use of the Software, whether such damages are direct or consequential, and regardless if they would arise as a result of breach of contract, tort or otherwise.
Non-Assignment
This Agreement is personal to you, and you may assign this agreement only with our prior written approval. Any other attempt to assign, transfer, or delegate this Agreement shall be null and void.
Choice of Law
This Agreement and all matters relating to your access to, or use of, the Service shall be governed by U.S. federal law or the laws of the State of Texas, excluding that body of laws known as conflicts of laws. If any provision of this Agreement is invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, it is, to that extent, deemed omitted, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect. All of our rights and obligations under this Agreement are freely assignable by us in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, or by operation of law or otherwise.
Entire Agreement
These Terms embody the entire agreement between you and the company. It may not be orally altered, modified, or amended by any prior, contemporaneous, or subsequent oral agreement unless the same is reduced to a writing signed by the parties.
ArbitrationAny controversy, claim, or dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be resolved through binding arbitration conducted in accordance with the commercial rules of JAMS in neutral jurisdiction of Cobb County, Georgia, pursuant to the Georgia Arbitration Code, with discovery permitted to the full extent allowed by the Georgia Rules of Court and governed by Georgia law. The arbitration award will be enforceable in any state or federal court. In any arbitration court proceeding, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
Absent an agreement to the contrary, the arbitration will be conducted by an arbitrator experienced or familiar with the law pertaining to the permissible and impermissible uses of voter data. An award of arbitration is final and binding on the parties and may be confirmed in a court of competent jurisdiction. The prevailing party has the right to collect from the other party its reasonable costs and attorney’s fees incurred in enforcing this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, your misuse of this website for commercial purposes or the data provided by the Services in contravention of applicable federal or state law does not “arise under this Agreement.” You agree that, by entering into this Agreement, you and the company are waiving the right to a trial by jury.
You and the company agree that YOU AND THE COMPANY MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative proceeding. Further, you agree that the arbitrator may not consolidate proceedings or more than one person’s claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding.
