Terms of Service

Last Updated November 22, 2021

Changes to Terms

No Children Under 16

Username, Passwords, and Security

Users Outside the United States

Functionality; Disclaimers

Right to Make Changes

No Misuse of Website

Proprietary Content

Third-Party Content

User Content – What You Can and Cannot Submit

User Content – Your License

Consent to Receive Electronic Communications

DMCA Copyright Notice and Repeat Infringer Policy

Indemnity

Governing Law/Choice of Forum

No Obligation to Participate in Disputes Between Users

Termination

Miscellaneous

These terms of use, together with any documents they expressly incorporate by reference (collectively, the “Terms”) are entered into by and between you and Shacknews Ltd. (“Shacknews,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). These Terms govern your access to and use of websites owned and operated by Shacknews, including the website located at https://www.shacknews.com (the “Website”), and on the Shacknews and Shackpets mobile applications (the Website together with all Shacknews controlled mobile and desktop applications collectively known as the “Platform”), and any content, functionality, and services offered on or through the Platform (collectively, the “Services”), whether you access or us them as a visitor, account holder, or Mercury subscriber.

Please read the Terms carefully before you start to use the Platform. By using the Platform, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these Terms and our Privacy Policy , which is incorporated herein by reference. If you do not agree to be bound by the Terms, then do not create an account or otherwise access or use the Platform. Your use of certain areas or features of the Platform may be subject to additional terms and conditions as posted, such as our Shack Community Guidelines the End User License Agreement^[a] for Shackpets.

Changes to Terms

You acknowledge that you have read and accept these Terms and our Privacy Policy . If you do not agree to these Terms, or any amendment to these Terms, you may not access or otherwise use the Platform and you should exit the Platform immediately.

We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to update or change these Terms, in our sole discretion, from time to time. If we do so, we will publish an announcement on this Website and in other appropriate places on the Platform. Your continued usage after such changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

No Children Under 16

The Platform is not directed at or intended for use by children under 16 years old. If you are under the age of 16 you should not be visiting the Platform without parental consent. If you are under the age of 16 and are visiting or otherwise using the Platform without your parent’s knowledge and consent please discontinue such use immediately and do not disclose or provide any personally information to us. By continuing to use the Platform you warrant and represent that you are at least 16 years of age. For more information about our privacy practices and the choices parents have with respect to minors who are visiting this website without parental consent please see our Privacy Policy .

Username, Passwords, and Security

You are responsible for maintaining security and control over your account username and password that you create to use certain features of the Platform. We are not responsible for any losses arising out of the unauthorized use of your account on the Platform. You will notify us immediately of any known or suspected unauthorized use of, or disclosure related to, your account. At our discretion, we may require you to change your username and/or password if it has been compromised.

Users Outside the United States

If you are a resident of a country other than the United States, please be advised that we may transfer the personal information we collect about you to the United States and other jurisdictions that may not be deemed to provide the same level of data protection as your home country for the purposes set out in our Privacy Policy . Your consent to these Terms and our Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer, to the fullest extent allowed under the law. In all such instances where your personal information is transferred to the United States, we will take all reasonable steps necessary to ensure that appropriate safeguards designed to protect your personal information are implemented (e.g. entering into approved standard contractual clauses to protect personal information).

Functionality; Disclaimers

Shacknews may limit the amount of storage space, activity, bandwidth, or any other resources available on the Platform in its discretion. Periodically, the Platform may become unavailable due to required maintenance or other reasons. Shacknews assumes no responsibility for any errors, omissions, interruptions, deletions, defects, delays in operation or transmission, communications line failures, theft, destruction, or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, any content or information that you submit on, to, or through the Platform.

THIS PLATFORM, INCLUDING ALL CONTENT, SOFTWARE, FUNCTIONS, SERVICES, MATERIALS AND INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THIS PLATFORM, IS PROVIDED “AS IS.” TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY LAW, SHACKNEWS MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER FOR THE CONTENT ON THE PLATFORM OR THE MATERIALS, INFORMATION, SERVICES, AND FUNCTIONS MADE ACCESSIBLE BY THE SOFTWARE USED ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THE PLATFORM, FOR ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OR HYPERTEXT LINKS TO THIRD PARTIES OR FOR ANY BREACH OF SECURITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRANSMISSION OF SENSITIVE INFORMATION THROUGH THE WEBSITE, ANY LINKED SITE, OR MOBILE APPLICATION. FURTHER, SHACKNEWS DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ACCURACY, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. SHACKNEWS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THE PLATFORM OR ANY MATERIALS OR CONTENT CONTAINED THEREIN WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE PLATFORM OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. IN NO EVENT SHALL SHACKNEWS BE LIABLE FOR THE USE OF THE PLATFORM. FURTHER, IN NO EVENT SHALL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE 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 PLATFORM.

Right to Make Changes

Shacknews may change, enhance, suspend, or discontinue all or any aspect of the Platform at any time, including but not limited to the availability of any feature, database, or content made available through the Platform. We may also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict your access to parts or all of the Platform without notice or liability.

No Misuse of Website

You will not and agree not to, and understand that you violate these Terms when you, do any of the following:

comment, post or otherwise engage in communication in a way that is contrary to the Shack Community Guidelines , including, but not limited to by posting content that threatens violence, consists of personal attacks, trolling, or slurs, or is racist, homophobic, or sexist.

use or attempt to use the Platform for any illegal, abusive or unethical activities as determined by us in our sole discretion, which include by way of example and not limitation, distributing computer viruses or other malware, adware, spyware, or distribution of other harmful or malicious materials, code, programs or scripts;

breach any applicable data protection statute by, for example, sending or storing personal information (as defined in applicable data protection statutes) in an unencrypted form;

impersonate another person, falsify the source of TCP/IP packets, spoof any portion of an email or TCP/IP header, or misrepresent authorization to act on behalf of others or us.

undermine or circumvent the security or integrity of the Platform or computing systems or networks or gain unauthorized access or control of the Website or any other portion of the Platform or our computers or servers or any other person’s computers or servers;

permit another person to use your resources or the Platform to conduct any of the matters you are prohibited from doing;

take any action that would cause us to violate any terms of an upstream service provider’s acceptable use policy;

use this Website for any purpose other than your personal, non-commercial use; and

engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone's use or enjoyment of the Platform, or which, as determined by us, may harm Shacknews users or account holders, or expose them to liability.

The above list of prohibited, unacceptable uses of the Platform are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather illustrative of the range of unacceptable uses. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to determine whether any particular conduct is an acceptable use of the Platform.

Proprietary Content

All content used on and in the Platform and the functionality of the Platform, including without limitation the text, logos, designs, icons, software, scripts, source code, graphics, photos, images, likenesses, domain names, interactive features, and the like, and the trade secrets, trademarks, trade names, service marks, copyrights, and logos contained therein, but excluding User Content as defined below (collectively, “Shacknews Content”), are owned by or licensed to Shacknews and are proprietary and protected by applicable intellectual property law. No express or implied rights are conferred on you to use Shacknews Content. Except as explicitly permitted by these Terms or the functionality of the Platform, Shacknews Content may not be used, copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, broadcast, displayed, sold, licensed, modified, adapted, sideloaded, used in derivative works, or otherwise exploited for any other purposes whatsoever without our prior written consent. We may change any Shacknews Content without notice.

Any requests for permissions should be directed to administrator@shacknews.com.

Third-Party Content

This Website contains links and pointers to other websites, resources, and sponsors of Shacknews. Links to and from the Platform to other third-party sites, maintained by third parties, do not constitute an endorsement by Shacknews of any third-party resources, or their contents. We have no control over these third parties and are not responsible or liable for any such third-party material, or its accuracy or quality. You assume full responsibility when you choose to access third-party content or follow any links that lead you to third-party websites. Your visit to any third-party website is governed by the terms of use and privacy policies applicable to that website. It is always a good idea to read the terms of use and privacy policy on any third-party website that you visit.

User Content – What You Can and Cannot Submit

Subject to these Terms, you may submit, upload, and/or post to the Platform data and digital media as may be permitted from time to time by the Platform, which may include text, pictures, audio, video, electronic files, and other content supplied by you and other users (“User Content”). User Content includes, but is not limited to, posts submitted via Cortex, comments on the Chatty, and uploads or submissions of any content or other material via the Platform. By submitting, uploading, or posting User Content, you acknowledge that Shacknews will store User Content on Shacknews’ or our technical service providers’ servers for use on or by the Platform. Shacknews does not review, approve, or otherwise assist in the creation of User Content.

For each piece of your User Content, you agree that:

You are responsible for your User Content . You are solely responsible for all of your User Content submitted, posted, uploaded, and/or displayed on the Platform and for your interactions with other users of the Platform.

You must have the rights to all content in your User Content . Your User Content, and each and every part of it, is an original work by you, or you have all full and necessary legal rights and authority, including but not limited to, copyrights, trademarks, rights of attribution, rights to credit, neighboring rights, moral rights, or any other intellectual property or proprietary rights, to use and to authorize Shacknews to use, or, where relevant, to grant Shacknews the licenses to the content pursuant to these Terms, on behalf of yourself and any composers, publishers, authors, or other third parties.

You will not infringe on the rights of others . Your User Content does not and will not infringe upon or violate the rights of any third party, including, without limitation, copyright, trademark, intellectual property rights, rights of privacy or publicity, real property rights, or rights in confidential information. You further agree not to disclose any third-party’s personal information on the Platform without their express permission. Please be aware that any information that is posted or shared on the Platform becomes public information to other users. Shacknews is not responsible for the disclosure of any information through our online forums. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information.

You will not submit prohibited content . Your User Content does not contain falsehoods, misrepresentations, or deceptive material that is unlawful, obscene, patently offensive, defamatory, libelous, threatening, sexually explicit, harassing, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, and does not encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, trespass, give rise to civil liability, violate any law, and is not otherwise inappropriate or objectionable. In short, you will abide by our Shack Community Guidelines .

You will not use the Platform for commercial activities, spam, scams, or advertising . Your User Content does not contain any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional messages, mass email, spam, or any other form of solicitation involving commercial activities and/or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes, gambling, advertising, or pyramid schemes.

You waive moral rights in your User Content . You hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waive any and all moral and like rights that you may have in your User Content and hereby agree not to make any claim based on such moral or like rights with respect to our use of your User Content in keeping with these Terms.

We are free to use your User Content on the Platform. We are free to use your User Content in keeping with these Terms and our Privacy Policy .

You will not be paid for your User Content. We are not be required to pay you or any person or entity for your User Content.

Your User Content will not harm anyone. Your User Content does not include information that poses or creates a safety or security risk to any person.

We are under no obligation to post or use any User Content, and we may remove (or nuke) User Content that violates our Shack Community Guidelines at any time for any reason in our sole discretion.

We reserve the right to decide whether User Content is appropriate and complies with these Terms. We assume no responsibility or liability for the deletion, corruption, or loss of User Content or failure to receive or store User Content for any reason, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any network, hardware, or software. Removal of User Content from the Platform may not automatically result in the deletion of the relevant files from our or our technical providers’ systems and servers. Shacknews is not obligated to ensure the deletion of User Content from any servers or systems operated or used by Shacknews. Our Privacy Policy provides additional information on retention of and access to your personal information.

User Content – Your License

You hereby grant to Shacknews a perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable, unrestricted, non-exclusive, royalty free license to use, copy, license, sublicense, adapt, distribute, display, publicly perform, reproduce, transmit, modify, edit and otherwise exploit your User Submissions, in all media now known or hereafter developed.

Consent to Receive Electronic Communications

If you agree to register to receive alerts, emails, services, or other communications via web forms on the Platform or via email, you consent to receive all such communications from us concerning any subject matter via email (unless specifically prohibited by applicable law). You further agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications that we provide via email satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. It is your responsibility to maintain a valid email address. You may opt out of receiving commercial communications at any time using the prompts contained at the bottom of our emails.

DMCA Copyright Notice and Repeat Infringer Policy

If you are a copyright holder who believes that any of the products, services, or content which are directly available via the Platform contain infringing copies of your work, please notify our copyright agent, as set forth in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “DMCA”). For your request to be valid under the DMCA, you must provide the following information in writing:

an electronic or physical signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner;
identification of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and where it Is located on the Platform;
information reasonably sufficient to permit Shacknews to contact you, such as your address, telephone number, and email address;
a statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
a statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information is accurate, and that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the owner.

The above information must be submitted to our copyright agent via email at administrator@shacknews.com or by writing to us at:

Attn: DMCA Administrator

Shacknews Ltd.

7257 Fulton Dr. NW

Suite #59-102

Canton, OH 44718

We reserve the right to terminate a user’s access to the Platform if we determine, in our sole discretion, that the user is a repeat infringer. For purposes of the DMCA, a repeat infringer is a user who has been notified of infringing activity and has had User Content removed from the Platform more than once.

Indemnity

You hereby agree to indemnify, defend and hold Shacknews, and all its officers, directors, owners, agents, employees, information providers, licensors and licensees (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) harmless from and against any and all loss, liability, claim, demand, damage, cost, and expense (including reasonable legal fees) incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising out of your use of the Platform, your postings on the Platform, forums or discussions, any breach by you of these Terms or the foregoing representations, warranties and covenants, including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and costs. You shall cooperate as fully as reasonably required in the defense of any claim. Shacknews reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you and you shall not in any event settle any matter without the written consent of Shacknews.

Governing Law/Choice of Forum

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, without regard to its or any other jurisdiction’s conflict of law provisions. You expressly agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or dispute with Shacknews concerning these Terms or relating in any way to your use of this Platform resides in the federal and state courts located in Ohio. YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT YOU WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OR CLASS ACTION ARBITRATION OR CLAIMS BROUGHT IN A PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL OR REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY, IF SHACKNEWS IS A PARTY TO SUCH A PROCEEDING.

No Obligation to Participate in Disputes Between Users

If there is a dispute between users of the Platform, or between a user and any third party, you understand and agree that we are under no obligation to become involved. In the event that you have a dispute with one or more other users, you release Shacknews and its officers, employees, agents, representatives, and successors from any and all claims, demands, and damages of every kind or nature, known or unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to such disputes and/or the Platform.

Termination

If you fail, or if we suspect that you have failed, to comply with any of the provisions of these Terms, we may, in our sole discretion, without notice to you, terminate, suspend, disable, or prohibit your access to the Platform to the fullest extent available to us. If your access has been terminated, we may, but we are not obligated to, delete any and all content we have stored pertaining to activity related to your account. You may terminate this agreement at any time by simply discontinuing access to and use of the Platform.

Miscellaneous

Failure by Shacknews to enforce any provision of these Terms shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. Nothing in these Terms shall be deemed to confer any third-party rights or benefits. These Terms, and any rights and licenses granted hereunder, may not be transferred or assigned by you, but may be assigned by Shacknews without restriction. If any provision of these Terms, or any portion thereof, is held to be invalid and unenforceable, then the remainder of these Terms nevertheless remain in full force and effect.

Questions regarding these Terms of Use should be directed to us at administrator@shacknews.com .

You may also write to us at:

Shacknews Ltd.

7257 Fulton Dr. NW

Suite #59-102

Canton, OH 44718