Terms of Use

Culture Story, LLC, an Alaska limited liability company (“Culture Story,” “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our“), which operates the web site located at www.culturestory.co and other websites (collectively, the “Website”) and related application programming interfaces (“APIs”), mobile applications and online services, and any other products and services that Company may provide now or in the future (collectively, the “Services”).  The following Terms of Service are a legal contract between you (“you” and “your”) and Culture Story regarding your use of the Services.  Visitors and users of the Services are referred to individually as “User” and collectively as “Users”.  Use of the Services is governed by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy, where the Privacy Policy describes the personal information that we collect and how we use and share it.

 

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS OF SERVICE CAREFULLY. BY REGISTERING FOR, ACCESSING, BROWSING, OR USING THE WEBSITE OR SERVICES, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS, AND ANY ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES (AS DEFINED BELOW) (COLLECTIVELY,  THE “TERMS”), AND THAT YOU HAVE READ THE  PRIVACY POLICY.

 

IF YOU ARE A PARENT OR GUARDIAN AND YOU PROVIDE CONSENT FOR YOUR CHILD TO REGISTER WITH THE WEBSITE AND/OR USE THE SERVICES, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF SERVICE IN RESPECT OF SUCH CHILD’S USE OF THE WEBSITE.  IF YOU ARE SCHOOL PERSONNEL (AS DEFINED BELOW) AND YOU REGISTER A SCHOOL USER (AS DEFINED BELOW), YOU AGREE, ON BEHALF OF YOUR INSTITUTION, THAT THE SCHOOL USER IS BOUND BY THE TERMS, UNLESS YOUR INSTITUTION HAS A SEPARATE WRITTEN SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH CULTURE STORY THAT ACCEPTS THESE TERMS ON BEHALF OF SCHOOL USERS.

 

PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE TERMS INCLUDE A BINDING ARBITRATION PROVISION, INCLUDING A CLASS ACTION WAIVER. BY AGREEING TO BINDING ARBITRATION, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO LITIGATE DISPUTES THROUGH A COURT AND TO HAVE A JUDGE OR JURY DECIDE YOUR CASE.

Eligibility and Accounts

THE WEBSITE IS NOT AVAILABLE TO: (A) ANY USERS PREVIOUSLY SUSPENDED OR REMOVED FROM THE WEBSITE BY CULTURE STORY, OR (B) ANY PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF 13 WHOSE REGISTRATION HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED BY A LEGAL PARENT OR GUARDIAN (OR, FOR SCHOOL ACCOUNTS, BY SCHOOL PERSONNEL AS PERMITTED UNDER THE TERMS).

By clicking the “I Agree” button or by otherwise using or registering an account for the Services, you represent that (i) you are a US resident at least 13 years of age, or (ii) you are not a US resident, and are of legal age of consent to open an account under the laws of your country of residence, or (iii) your use of the Services has been approved by your parent or legal guardian, or by your school or teacher for school use.  You also represent that you have not been previously suspended or removed from the Services by Culture Story, and that your registration and your use of the Services is in compliance with any and all applicable laws.

In order to use certain features of the Services, you must register for an account. You may be asked to provide a password in connection with your account.  You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password, and you agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account or password.  You agree that the information you provide to Culture Story, whether at registration or at any other time, will be true, accurate, current, and complete.  You also agree that you will ensure that this information is kept accurate and up-to-date at all times.  If you have reason to believe that your account is no longer secure (e.g., in the event of a loss, theft, or unauthorized disclosure or use of your account ID or password), then you agree to immediately notify Culture Story at [email protected].  You may be liable for the losses incurred by Culture Story or others due to any unauthorized use of your Services account.

Culture Story may permit you to register for the Services through, or otherwise associate your account with, certain third party social networking or integrated services, such as Facebook Connect and Google (“Integrated Service”).  By registering for the Services using (or otherwise granting access to) an Integrated Service, you agree that Culture Story may access your Integrated Service’s account information, and may store and use certain information already associated with the Integrated Service consistent with our Privacy Policy, and you agree to any and all terms and conditions of the Integrated Service regarding your use of the Services via the Integrated Service. You may revoke Culture Story’s access to your account on any Integrated Service at any time by updating the appropriate account settings of the respective Integrated Service. You should check your privacy settings on each Integration Service to understand and change the information sent to us through each Integration Service. You agree that any Integrated Service is a Reference Site (as defined below) and you are solely responsible for your interactions with the Integrated Service as a result of accessing the Services through the Integrated Service.  Culture Story does not control the practices of Integrated Services, and you are advised to read the Privacy Policy and terms and conditions of any Integrated Service that you use to understand their practices.

If you are under the age of 13 (a “Child User“), you may not create or register an account for the Services without consent and approval from your legal parent or guardian, or from your school as provided in the section “School Use.”  If you are under the age of 18, you represent that your parent or legal guardian has reviewed and agreed to the Terms on your behalf. Except for accounts created for School Use as provided in the section “School Use,” a Child User that begins the registration process for himself or herself without a Parent User (as defined below) may have the registration process restricted until a parent approves or assumes responsibility for the Child User account.  A Child User may use the Services if registered through certain educational organizations or, in certain cases, by School Personnel that have entered into a relationship directly with Culture Story, so long as the education organization has obtained parent or guardian consent, or has complied with an exemption to parent consent requirements under applicable law. A Child User will only be permitted to use the Services for so long as Culture Story reasonably believes that such access has been consented to by the Child User’s parent or guardian, or by School Consent (as discussed in the section “School Use”).

If you are at least 18 years of age and you are the legal parent or guardian of a child that seeks to register as a Child User of the Services, you may register a parent account on the Services (“Parent User”).  Through a Parent User account, you may create, register, manage and approve Child User accounts only for your own child(ren) or child(ren) for whom you are a legal guardian.  IF YOU REGISTER, APPROVE OR CONSENT TO THE REGISTRATION OF, OR OTHERWISE ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY CHILD USER, YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT YOU ARE SUCH CHILD USER’S LEGAL PARENT OR GUARDIAN AND YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS ON BEHALF OF SUCH CHILD USER, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION BEING LIABLE FOR ALL USE OF THE WEBSITE BY THE CHILD USER.  You acknowledge that Culture Story may choose, but is not obligated, to make any inquiries, either directly or through third parties, that Culture Story deems necessary to validate your registration information, including without limitation engaging third parties to provide verification services.  Culture Story reserves all rights to take legal actions against anyone who misrepresents personal information or is otherwise untruthful about their identity. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT CULTURE STORY CANNOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY ANY USER AND CULTURE STORY IS NOT OBLIGATED TO VERIFY THE IDENTITY OF ANY USER, INCLUDING ANY USER’S CLAIM TO BE A PARENT USER, OR TO VERIFY THAT A PARENT IDENTIFIED BY A CHILD USER OR OTHER PARTY DURING REGISTRATION IS SUCH CHILD USER’S ACTUAL PARENT OR GUARDIAN.  A Parent User account, along with all associated Child User accounts, may be terminated by Culture Story at any time and without warning for any failure to abide by these Terms.

Culture Story may make available certain features and tools that permit Users registered as teachers, school leaders, aides, or other similar school personnel (“School Personnel“) to work with students and other Users through the Services in order to provide such students with tutorial, educational and other education-related services as part of the school’s curriculum, and to review and evaluate educational achievement and progress of such students.  If you are School Personnel accessing the Services on behalf of a school, school district, or other similar educational institution (an “Institution“), the following terms apply to you:

Limitations on Use.  The Services and Website are provided to you for educational purposes as part of the school curriculum.  You must use the Services and the Website in compliance with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations.  You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or otherwise exploit for any commercial purpose, any portion of the Services, the Website, or access to the Services or Website.

Responsibility for Consent and Notices.  You and/or the Institution assume sole responsibility for obtaining any consents required from parents or guardians, and for providing appropriate disclosures to School Users and their parents regarding the School Users’ use of the Services, our Terms, and our Privacy Policy.  You agree to be bound by these Terms on behalf of the School User, for so long as the School User account is not transferred to or assumed by a valid Parent User account or personal account for a Student of eligible age.  IF YOU ARE SCHOOL PERSONNEL AND YOU REGISTER AN ACCOUNT FOR A CHILD USER OR OTHER STUDENT (EITHER, A “SCHOOL USER”) OR DIRECT A SCHOOL USER TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT FOR SCHOOL USE, YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT YOU HAVE EITHER RECEIVED EXPRESS CONSENT FROM SUCH SCHOOL USER’S PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN OR THAT YOU (OR YOUR INSTITUTION) HAVE COMPLIED AND WILL COMPLY WITH ALL APPLICABLE REQUIREMENTS OF AN EXEMPTION FROM OR EXCEPTION TO PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENTS, NECESSARY FOR YOU TO REGISTER THE SCHOOL USER FOR THE WEBSITE AND PROVIDE TO CULTURE STORY THE INFORMATION YOU DISCLOSE IN CONNECTION WITH THE REGISTRATION OF SUCH SCHOOL USER.  Specifically, you agree, individually and on behalf of the Institution, that:

(i) You are familiar with and agree to be responsible for compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the US Department of Education’s implementing regulations at 34 CFR Part 99 (collectively, “FERPA“), and all other laws, rules or regulations concerning the collection, use, and disclosure of personally identifiable information about Users in your Institution (collectively, “Applicable Privacy Law“).

 

(ii) You assume sole responsibility (and hereby agree that Culture Story is not responsible for) for providing appropriate notices and disclosures to students using Culture Story for classroom use (“Students” or “Student Users“) and their parents regarding Student use of the Website, our Terms, and our Privacy Policy, including any notices required by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA“), FERPA, or other Applicable Privacy Law.

(iii) You assume sole responsibility (and hereby agree that Culture Story is not responsible) for obtaining any consents required from parents or guardians, to the extent required under COPPA, FERPA or other Applicable Privacy Law, in connection with the Services, use of the Website or Services for classroom use, and disclosure of personally identifiable information to Culture Story in connection therewith.  You represent and warrant to Culture Story that, prior to creation of accounts for School Use, you have either obtained all necessary parent or guardian consents, or have complied and will comply with all applicable requirements of an exemption from or exception to parental consent requirements, including:

  • under FERPA, you have complied and will comply with the “school official” exception, or the “directory information” exception thereunder; and

  • under COPPA, with respect to Students under the age of 13, you are acting as the agent of the parent and consenting on their behalf to the sharing of the Student’s personal information.

We refer to this as “School Consent“.  If a Parent User does not consent or rescinds such School Consent, School Personnel or the Institution shall immediately notify Culture Story to discontinue that Student’s access to the Services and ensure that such Student’s information is no longer accessible through the Services.  Under no circumstances will Culture Story be liable for the School Personnel’s failure to consult their school’s authorities and administrators or for failing to obtain School Consent when required.

Identification of School Accounts.  Students and School Personnel may have personal accounts, in addition to accounts established for use in the classroom and associated with the Institution’s use of the Services (“School Accounts“). If the Institution has a separate written service agreement with Culture Story that includes rostering services for your Institution, accounts provided for classroom use will be School Accounts.  In other cases, in order for accounts established for use in the classroom to be designated as “School Accounts,” the accounts must be (1) created by School Personnel (for example, when a teacher creates the user name, login and password to establish School Accounts, or when the teacher rosters a class using Google Classroom, Clever, or similar Integrated Service (to the extent we support use of such Integrated Service)), or (2) created by a School User at the direction of a School, in each case, using a School email address and associated with a School’s class on the Service. User accounts created with a personal email address will not be considered School Accounts, and will be administered as personal accounts.  If you have questions about how to create School Accounts that are associated with a School’s class on the Service, please contact our customer support team at support@[ADDRESS].

 

Use of Integrated Services in School Accounts.  If you are School Personnel and you choose to allow your students to log in on the Services using an Integrated Service, such as Google Classroom or Clever (to the extent we support use of such Integrated Service), you are responsible for educating your students on the proper use of Integrated Services and protecting their accounts.  (See Integrated Service.)

School Districts.  Culture Story may enter into supplemental written agreements with school districts with respect to use of the Services on a district-wide basis (“District Agreements“).  Pursuant to District Agreements, we may provide additional services to school districts, and/or may provide additional undertakings to school districts with respect to the Services.  Except as otherwise provided in a District Agreement, these Terms remain in effect for all individual Users of the Services in the relevant district.

Culture Story operates the Services in the United States.  If you choose to access our Services from locations outside the United States, you consent to the collection, transmission, use, storage and processing of content and data (including your personal information) in the United States.  You agree to comply with and are solely responsible for ensuring compliance with all local laws, regulations, and rules in the jurisdiction in which you reside or access the Services, if and to the extent local laws are applicable to use of our Services.  If you are under the age of 18 (or the age of majority in the jurisdiction in which you reside), you confirm that you have received parental consent, if required in your jurisdiction, to open an account for Service and enter into these Terms.  Unless we have entered into a separate, mutually executed written agreement with you that says otherwise, we do not represent that our Services are appropriate or available for use in jurisdictions outside the United States. The right to access and use the Services is not granted in jurisdictions, if any, where it may be prohibited, or where your use would render Culture Story in violation of any applicable laws or regulations, including without limitation, Applicable Privacy Laws.

Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to Culture Story.  Please read the Culture Story’s Privacy Policy carefully for information relating to Culture Story’s collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information.  Among other things, our Privacy Policy explains how we treat your personal information and protect your privacy when you use our Services, and explain the procedures by which Users, Parent Users and School Personnel may view, update, correct, or delete their account and personal information.

Other Guidelines

When using the Services, you will be subject to any additional posted guidelines or rules applicable to specific services and features which may be posted from time to time (the “Guidelines”).  All such Guidelines are hereby incorporated by reference into the Terms.

Modification of the Terms

Upon opening an account, you accept the Terms in the form posted on our website.  Culture Story reserves the right, at our discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of the Terms at any time.  Please check the Terms and any Guidelines periodically for changes that are made after you open your account.  Your continued use of the Services after the posting of changes constitutes your binding acceptance of such changes.  For any material changes to the Terms, Culture Story will make reasonable effort to provide notice to you of such amended Terms, such as by an email notification to the address associated with your account or by posting a notice on the Services, and such amended terms will be effective against you on the earlier of (i) your actual notice of such changes and (ii) thirty days after Culture Story makes reasonable attempt to provide you such notice.  However, changes addressing new functions for a service or changes made for legal reasons will be effective immediately.  If you do not agree to the modified Terms, you must discontinue your use of the Services. Disputes arising under these Terms will be resolved in accordance with the version of the Terms in place at the time the dispute arose.

The following provisions apply to School Accounts in addition to the provisions set forth in the paragraph above.  If a change with respect to how personal information contained in education records is used or shared has a material adverse impact on Student Users or an Institution, and the Institution does not agree to the change, the Institution must notify Culture Story within thirty days of receiving the notice of change as described under the section “Notice” below.  If Culture Story is notified as required, then the School Accounts held by that Institution will remain governed by the Terms in effect immediately prior to the change until the end of the end of the then current term of the Institution’s written service agreement with Culture Story, or, in the absence of such an agreement, the end of the current school term.  If the Services are renewed or continued after such time, they will be renewed or continued under Culture Story’s then-current Terms.

By submitting suggestions or other feedback related to our Services to us, you agree that we can (but do not have to) use and share such feedback for any purpose without compensation to you. We will honor any limits we agree to at the time we collect feedback.

Proprietary Materials and Licenses

PROPRIETARY MATERIALS. 

The Services are owned and operated by Culture Story.  The visual interfaces, graphics, design, compilation, information, computer code (including source code or object code), software, services, content, educational videos and exercises, and all other elements of the Services (the “Services Materials”) are protected by United States and international copyright, patent, and trademark laws, international conventions, and other applicable laws governing intellectual property and proprietary rights. Except as otherwise set forth in this section “Proprietary Materials and Licenses”, all Services Materials, and all trademarks, service marks, and trade names, contained on or available through the Services are owned by or licensed to Culture Story, and Culture Story reserves all rights therein and thereto not expressly granted by these Terms.

Prohibited Conduct

YOU AGREE NOT TO:

  1. use the Services for any commercial use or purpose unless expressly permitted by Culture Story in writing, it being understood that the Services and related services are intended for personal, non-commercial use only;
  2. except as expressly permitted under this Agreement of these Terms, rent, lease, loan, sell, resell, sublicense, distribute or otherwise transfer the licenses for any Services Materials;
  3. use the Services in any manner that is harmful to Culture Story’s reputation as determined by Culture Story’s sole discretion;
  4. impersonate any person or entity, falsely claim an affiliation with any person or entity, or access the Services accounts of others without permission, create accounts via bots or other automated means, or perform any other fraudulent activity;
  5. develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plugins and add-ons, or any other technology) to scrape the Services or otherwise copy lessons and other data from the Services;
  6. use bots or other automated methods to access the Services;
  7. delete (or otherwise obscure or alter) the copyright or other proprietary rights notices on the Services;
  8. assert, or authorize, assist, or encourage any third party to assert, against Culture Story or any of its affiliates or licensors any patent infringement or other intellectual property infringement claim regarding content made available on or through the Services;
  9. make unsolicited offers, advertisements, proposals, or send junk mail or spam to other Users of the Services (including, but not limited to, unsolicited advertising, promotional materials, or other solicitation material, bulk mailing of commercial advertising, chain mail, informational announcements, charity requests, and petitions for signatures);
  10. use the Services for any illegal purpose, or in violation of any local, state, national, or international law, including, without limitation, laws governing intellectual property and other proprietary rights, and data protection and privacy;
  11. defame, harass, bully, abuse, threaten or defraud Users of the Services, or collect, or attempt to collect, personal information about Users or third parties without their consent;
  12. probe, scan, remove, circumvent, disable, damage or otherwise interfere with or test the vulnerability of security-related features of the Services, features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any content accessible through the Services, or features that enforce limitations on the use of the Services, or otherwise access, tamper with, or use non-public portions of the Services without our authorization;
  13. reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise attempt to discover the source code of the Services or any part thereof, except and only to the extent that such activity is expressly permitted by applicable law (in which case you must Contact Culture Story to give notice of the proposed activity and discuss alternative means to obtain the desired information from Culture Story) notwithstanding this limitation;
  14. modify, adapt, translate or create derivative works based upon the Services or any part thereof, except and only to the extent expressly permitted by Culture Story herein or to the extent the foregoing restriction is expressly prohibited by applicable law (in which case you must Contact Culture Story to give notice of the proposed activity and discuss whether Culture Story is willing to provide the desired derivative works); or
  15. intentionally interfere with or damage operation of the Services or any user’s enjoyment of it, by any means, including without limitation by participation in any denial-of-service type attacks or by uploading or otherwise disseminating viruses, adware, spyware, worms, or other malicious code.

Third-party Sites, Products and Services

The Services may include links or references to other web sites or services solely as a convenience to Users (“Reference Sites”).  Culture Story does not endorse any such Reference Sites or the information, materials, products, or services contained on or accessible through Reference Sites.  ACCESS AND USE OF REFERENCE SITES, INCLUDING THE INFORMATION, MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES ON OR AVAILABLE THROUGH REFERENCE SITES, IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Term and Termination

These Terms shall remain in full force and effect while you use the Services unless your account is terminated as provided in these Terms, in which case you no longer have the right to use the Services.

Culture Story, in its sole discretion, for any or no reason, and without penalty, may: (a) restrict, suspend or terminate: (i) any account (or any part thereof) you may have with Culture Story or (ii) your use of the Services, and (b) remove and discard all or any part of your account, User profile, at any time.  Culture Story may also in its sole discretion and at any time discontinue providing access to the Services, or any part thereof, with or without notice.  You agree that any termination of your access to the Services or any account you may have, or portion thereof, may be affected without prior notice, and you agree that Culture Story will not be liable to you or any third party for any such termination. Any suspected fraudulent, abusive or illegal activity may be referred to appropriate law enforcement authorities. These remedies are in addition to any other remedies Culture Story may have at law or in equity.

Your only remedy with respect to any dissatisfaction with (i) the Services, (ii) any term of these Terms of Service, (iii) Guidelines, (iv) any policy or practice of Culture Story in operating the Services, or (v) any content or information transmitted through the Services, is to terminate the Terms and your account.  You may terminate these Terms at any time (prospectively only) by deleting your login account with the Services and discontinuing use of any and all parts of the Services.

Certain Users (e.g., Parent Users and School Personnel) may terminate these Terms with respect to their account or to a Child or Student User account that was created by them or at their direction, as provided in this Section.

Termination by School Personnel.  School Personnel may terminate use of the Services individually and/or with respect to School Accounts created by such School Personnel at any time by contacting us, provided, however, that an Institution may require satisfaction of certain requirements before School Personnel can terminate accounts created for school use.  Prior to termination of School Accounts at the direction of School Personnel, Culture Story may invite Users, or parents or legal guardians of Students, to establish and maintain a personal account for purposes of retaining any content generated or provided and owned by Users under these Terms (including such User’s learning activity).  Any such Personal accounts will be established under Culture Story’s standard account opening process, including parent consent for Users under the age of 13.

Termination by Parents.  As a Parent User, if you created a Child account on the Services and have a Parent User account associated with the Child account, you can terminate your Child’s login account through the account profile, or by contacting our customer support team, although we may need to verify your identity prior to taking any action with respect to the account.  Parents of Students who are using School Accounts created by or at the direction of your Child’s teacher in school may first need to contact your child’s school to request termination.

Termination of the Terms as to any User account will not limit Culture Story’s rights and remedies regarding any breach of these Terms occurring prior to such termination.

Representations and Warranties

You warrant, represent and agree that you will not use the Services in a manner that (i) infringes, violates or misappropriates another’s intellectual property rights, rights of publicity or privacy, or other rights; (ii) violates any international, federal, state or local law, statute, ordinance or regulation or which would render Culture Story in violation of any applicable laws or regulations, including without limitation, Applicable Privacy Laws (collectively, “Applicable Law“); (iii) is harmful, fraudulent, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, or otherwise objectionable; or (iv) jeopardizes the security of your account or the Services in any way, such as allowing someone else access to your account or password. Additionally, you represent, warrant and agree that (i) you will comply with Applicable Laws in connection with your use of the Service; and (ii), if you are School Personnel, you understand that you are solely responsible for providing notices and obtaining consents required by Applicable Laws for students to use the Services, including compliance with the applicable provisions of FERPA and COPPA when using School Consent.

Indemnification

You agree, to the extent permissible under your state’s laws, to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Culture Story, and its parent, successors, affiliated companies, contractors, officers, directors, employees, agents and its third-party suppliers, licensors, and partners (“Culture Story Parties”) from and against all losses, damages, liabilities, demands, judgments, settlements, costs and expenses of any kind (including legal fees and expenses), from any claim or demand made by any third-party relating to or arising out of (i) your access to, use or misuse of the Services; (ii) your breach or alleged breach of these Terms, or any violation of the Terms; (iii) any breach of the representations, warranties, and covenants made herein, whether by you or by any Child User or School User whose account you have approved as a Parent User or School Personnel; (iv) your failure to comply with Applicable Laws(including any failure to obtain or provide any necessary consent or notice); (v) the infringement by you or any third-party using your account of any intellectual property, privacy, or other right of any person or entity, or (vi) your breach or alleged breach of any interaction, agreement, or policy between you and any other Users. Culture Story reserves the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify Culture Story, and you agree to cooperate with Culture Story’s defense of these claims.  You agree not to settle any such matter without the prior written consent of Culture Story. Culture Story will use reasonable efforts to notify you of any such claim, action, or proceeding upon becoming aware of it.

Disclaimers

THE WEBSITE, AND ALL DATA, INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, WEBSITE MATERIALS, CONTENT (WHETHER OWNED OR LICENSED), REFERENCE SITES, SERVICES, OR APPLICATIONS MADE AVAILABLE IN CONJUNCTION WITH OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE (THE “CULTURE STORY OFFERINGS”), ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS,” “AS AVAILABLE,” AND “WITH ALL FAULTS” BASIS. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, THE CULTURE STORY PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, WHETHER STATUTORY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, QUALITY, AVAILABILITY, QUIET ENJOYMENT, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.  NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM CULTURE STORY OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED HEREIN.

CULTURE STORY, AND THE CULTURE STORY PARTIES, DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEBSITE OR ANY DATA, FUNCTIONS, OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION OFFERED ON OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, OR FREE OF ERRORS, VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, AND DO NOT WARRANT THAT ANY OF THE FOREGOING WILL BE CORRECTED.

CULTURE STORY AND THE CULTURE STORY PARTIES MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT (1) THE CULTURE STORY OFFERINGS WILL (A) MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR EXPECTATIONS, OR BE TO YOUR LIKING, OR (B) WILL BE TIMELY, SECURE, ACCURATE, FREE FROM ERRORS OR LOSS, OR UNINTERRUPTED, (2) THAT THE SERVICES ARE FREE FROM VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR (3) THAT ANY DEFECTS OR ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED. SOME FEATURES MAY BE NEW OR EXPERIMENTAL AND MAY NOT HAVE BEEN TESTED IN ANY MANNER.

YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOUR USE, ACCESS, DOWNLOAD, OR OTHERWISE OBTAINING OF CONTENT, WEBSITE MATERIALS, SOFTWARE, OR DATA THROUGH THE WEBSITE (INCLUDING THROUGH ANY API’S) IS AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR PROPERTY (INCLUDING YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM) OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS THEREFROM.

SOME STATES OR OTHER JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER RIGHTS THAT VARY FROM STATE TO STATE AND JURISDICTION TO JURISDICTION.

Limitation of Liability and Damages

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, NEGLIGENCE, WILL CULTURE STORY OR THE CULTURE STORY PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, RELIANCE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY UNSUCCESSFUL COURT ACTION OR LEGAL DISPUTE, LOST BUSINESS, LOST REVENUES OR PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, OR ANY OTHER PECUNIARY OR NON-PECUNIARY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER) EVEN IF CULTURE STORY OR A CULTURE STORY PARTIES HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING (i) TO THE TERMS; (ii) YOUR USE OF (OR INABILITY TO USE) THE WEBSITE OR THE CULTURE STORY OFFERINGS, OR (iii) ANY OTHER INTERACTIONS WITH CULTURE STORY OR ANY THIRD-PARTY THROUGH OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE CULTURE STORY OFFERINGS, INCLUDING OTHER USERS,.  APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN SUCH CASES, CULTURE STORY’S LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

IN NO EVENT WILL CULTURE STORY’S OR THE CULTURE STORY PARTIES’ TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR YOUR INTERACTION WITH OTHER WEBSITE USERS (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), WARRANTY, OR OTHERWISE), EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO CULTURE STORY, IF ANY, FOR ACCESSING THE WEBSITE DURING THE TWELVE MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE CLAIM OR ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100), WHICHEVER IS GREATER.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT CULTURE STORY HAS OFFERED THE WEBSITE AND ENTERED INTO THE TERMS IN RELIANCE UPON THE DISCLAIMERS AND THE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY SET FORTH HEREIN, THAT THE DISCLAIMERS AND THE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY SET FORTH HEREIN REFLECT A REASONABLE AND FAIR ALLOCATION OF RISK BETWEEN YOU AND CULTURE STORY, AND THAT THE DISCLAIMERS AND THE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY SET FORTH HEREIN FORM AN ESSENTIAL BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN YOU AND CULTURE STORY.  CULTURE STORY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE WEBSITE TO YOU ON AN ECONOMICALLY REASONABLE BASIS WITHOUT THESE LIMITATIONS.

User Disputes. Culture Story is not responsible for the actions, content, information or data of other third parties, including other Users. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users of the Services, and any other parties with whom you interact through the Service. You should make whatever investigation you feel necessary or appropriate before proceeding with any online or offline interaction with any other person. We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to become involved in any way with these disputes.

Release. If you have a dispute with one or more Users, you release us (and the Culture Story Parties) from all claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes, including damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, privacy or data. If you are a California resident, you waive your rights under California Civil Code §1542, which says: “A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by him or her must have materially affected his settlement with the debtor.” And, if you are not a California resident, you waive your rights under any applicable statutes of a similar effect, to the fullest extent permissible under applicable law.

Miscellaneous (Including Dispute Resolution and Arbitration)

Culture Story may provide you with notices, including those regarding changes to the Terms, by email, regular mail, postings on the Services, or other reasonable means.  Notice will be deemed given twenty-four hours after email is sent, unless Culture Story is notified that the email address is invalid.  Alternatively, we may give you legal notice by mail to a postal address, if provided by you through the Services.  In such case, notice will be deemed given three days after the date of mailing. Notices posted on the Services are deemed given 30 days following the initial posting.   Any notices directed to Culture Story shall be sent by first class U.S. Mail to Culture Story at 

3705 Arctic Blvd #1145
Anchorage, AK 99503

The failure of Culture Story to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms will not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. Any waiver of any provision of the Terms will be effective only if in writing and signed by Culture Story.

The Terms will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction.

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS. BY AGREEING TO BINDING ARBITRATION, YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO LITIGATE DISPUTES THROUGH A COURT AND TO HAVE A JUDGE OR JURY DECIDE YOUR CASE.

Generally. In order to expedite and control the cost of disputes, Culture Story and you agree that any legal or equitable claim, dispute, action or proceeding arising from or related to your use of the Services or these Terms (“Dispute”) will be resolved as follows to the fullest extent permitted by law:

Notice of Dispute. In the event of a Dispute, you or Culture Story must give the other a written statement that sets forth the name, address, and contact information of the party giving it, the facts giving rise to the Dispute, and a proposed solution (a “Notice of Dispute”). You must send any Notice of Dispute by first class U.S. Mail to Culture Story at 3705 Arctic Blvd #1145, Anchorage, AK 99503 with a copy sent by email to Culture Story at [email protected].  Culture Story will send any Notice of Dispute to you by first class U.S. Mail to your address if Culture Story has it, or otherwise to your email address.  You and Culture Story will attempt in good faith to resolve any Dispute through informal negotiation within sixty (60) days from the date the Notice of Dispute is sent. After sixty (60) days, you or Culture Story may commence arbitration.

Binding Arbitration. Any Dispute which has not been resolved by negotiation as provided herein within sixty (60) days or such time period as you and Culture Story may otherwise agree, shall be finally resolved by binding arbitration as described in this Section “Dispute Resolution and Arbitration.”  You are giving up the right to litigate (or participate in as a party or class member) all Disputes in court before a judge or jury.  Instead, all Disputes will be resolved before a neutral arbitrator, whose decision will be final except for a limited right of appeal under the Federal Arbitration Act.  The place of arbitration shall be Sacramento County, California.  Any court with jurisdiction over the parties may enforce the arbitrator’s award.

Class Action Waiver. Any proceedings to resolve or litigate any Dispute in any forum will be conducted solely on an individual basis.  Neither you nor Culture Story will seek to have any Dispute heard as a class action or in any other proceeding in which either party acts or proposes to act in a representative capacity.  No arbitration or proceeding will be combined with another without the prior written consent of all parties to all affected arbitrations or proceedings. You may file a Dispute only on your own behalf and cannot seek relief that would affect other Users. If there is a final judicial determination that any particular Dispute cannot be arbitrated in accordance with the limitations of this section “Dispute Resolution and Arbitration,” then only that Dispute may be severed and brought in court.

Arbitration Procedures. Any arbitration will be conducted by JAMS under the JAMS Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures (“JAMS Rules”) in effect at the time the Dispute is filed.  You may request a telephonic or in-person hearing by following the JAMS Rules.  In a dispute involving $10,000 or less, any hearing will be telephonic unless the arbitrator finds good cause to hold an in-person hearing instead. To the extent the forum provided by JAMS is unavailable, Culture Story and you agree to select a mutually agreeable alternative dispute resolution service and that such alternative dispute resolution service shall apply the JAMS Rules.  The arbitrator may award the same damages to you individually as a court could.  The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief to you only individually, and only to the extent required to satisfy your individual claim.

Arbitration Fees. Whoever files the arbitration will pay the initial filing fee.  If Culture Story files, then Culture Story will pay; if you file, then you will pay unless you get a fee waiver under the applicable arbitration rules.  Each party will bear the expense of that party’s attorneys, experts, and witnesses, and other expenses, regardless of which party prevails, but a party may recover any or all expenses from another party if the arbitrator, applying applicable law, so determines.

Filing Period.  To the extent permitted by law, any Dispute under these Terms must be filed within one (1) year in an arbitration proceeding.  The one-year period begins when the events giving rise to the Dispute first occur.  If a Dispute is not filed within one year, it is permanently barred.

Venue. In the event that any Dispute cannot be resolved by binding arbitration in accordance with this section, you agree that such Dispute will be filed only in the state or federal courts in and for Sacramento County, California, and each of you and Culture Story hereby consent and submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of such courts for the purpose of litigating any such action. Notwithstanding this, Culture Story shall still be allowed to apply for injunctive or other equitable relief to protect or enforce its intellectual property rights in any court of competent jurisdiction.

If any provision of the Terms or any Guidelines is held to be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision will be limited or eliminated from the Terms to the minimum extent necessary and will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

The Terms and related Guidelines, and any rights and licenses granted hereunder, may not be transferred or assigned by you without Culture Story’s prior written consent, but may be assigned by Culture Story without consent or any restriction.  Any assignment attempted to be made in violation of the Terms shall be null and void.

Upon termination of the Terms, any provision which, by its nature or express terms should survive, will survive such termination or expiration, including, but not limited to, the following sections: “Privacy Policy,” “Modification of the Terms,” “Proprietary Materials,” “Non-Commercial Use,” Prohibited Conduct,” “Third-Party Sites, Products and Services,” “Term and Termination,” “Representations and Warranties,” “Indemnification,” “Disclaimers,” “Limitation of Liability and Damages,” and “Miscellaneous.”

The heading references herein are for convenience purposes only, do not constitute a part of the Terms, and will not be deemed to limit or affect any of the provisions hereof.

The Terms, the Privacy Policy and Guidelines constitute the entire agreement between you and Culture Story relating to the subject matter herein and will not be modified except in writing, signed by both parties, or by a change to the Terms, Privacy Policy or Guidelines made by Culture Story as set forth in the section “Modification of the Terms” above.

Version 1.0
Last revised on: August 31, 2022

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