VCAST.TV Terms of Service
Last Updated: September 2008
1. Acceptance of Terms.
VCAST provides its Service (as defined in paragraph 2 below) to you subject to this Terms of Service agreement ("TOS"). VCAST may update this TOS from time to time and will make commercially reasonable efforts to include notices regarding any such updates or changes on the VCAST.TV website at www.vcast.tv (together with its directly associated domains, the "Site"). By using, and continuing to use, the Service, you signify your binding acceptance of the TOS, as published on the Site from time to time, and you represent that you are of legal age to form a binding contract. In this TOS, "VCAST" means Vcast (Asia) Ltd.
Additionally, you acknowledge and agree that by clicking on the "I AGREE" button (or similar buttons or links as may be designated by VCAST to show your acceptance of this TOS), you are entering into a legally binding contract. You hereby agree to the use of electronic communication in order to enter into contracts, place orders and create other records and to the electronic delivery of notices, policies and records of transactions initiated or completed through the Service. Furthermore, you hereby waive any rights or requirements under any laws or regulations in any jurisdiction which require an original (non-electronic) signature or delivery or retention of non-electronic records, to the extent permitted under applicable mandatory law.
2. Description of Service.
The "Service" includes (a) the Site, (b) the services, features, tools and applications provided by or through the Site (including by the VCAST browser plug-in), and (c) all data, text, images, sounds, video, content, programming and software (including the VCAST browser plug-in) made available through the Site. Any new features added to or augmenting the Service are also subject to this TOS.
You may be required to download certain software and other applications made available through the Service in order to use certain aspects of the Service, and may elect to download other such applications. These applications may be subject to additional terms and conditions of use and you are encouraged to read the terms and other policies published by VCAST or the applicable third parties on their websites or otherwise.
3. Permission to Use the Service
You may access the Service for personal use only, provided that you are in compliance with all provisions of this TOS and any other applicable terms and other policies applicable to the Service or any portion thereof, including the end user license agreement applicable to the VCAST browser plug-in. By using or accessing this Service you agree to comply with the copyright, trademark, service mark, and all other applicable laws that protect the Service. You agree not to copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, modify, rent, sell, or create derivative works of any portion of the Service.
You are welcome to link to the Site from your website, provided that your website does not imply any endorsement by or association with VCAST. You acknowledge that VCAST may, in its sole discretion and at any time, discontinue providing any part of the Service without notice.
4. User Conduct.
Through your use of the Service, you agree that you will not violate any applicable laws, the rights of others, or the operational and security mechanisms of the Service. Examples of such prohibited behavior include, but are not limited to:
Additionally, portions of the Service, including specifically, certain content and programming available on the Service, have recommendations regarding the suitability of content or programming for certain ages. By using the Service and/or the Site, you acknowledge and agree that you will not access or view any content and programming in violation of the specified age recommendations.
5. User Account, Password and Security
Use of most aspects of the Service, including viewing content on the Site, requires registration by selecting a unique email address ("User Account") and password, and by providing certain personal information. You agree to (a) keep your password confidential and use only your User Account and password when logging in, and (b) immediately notify VCAST of any unauthorized use of your User Account and/or password. You are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your User Account. VCAST will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from unauthorized use of your password or your failure to comply with this Section.
You agree that VCAST may for any reason, in its sole discretion and without notice or liability to you or any third party, immediately terminate your User Account, and remove or discard from the Service any User Contribution associated with your User Account. Grounds for such termination may include, but are not limited to, extended periods of inactivity or violation of the letter or spirit of this TOS.
6. User Contributions.
VCAST does not claim ownership of any profile information, comments, tags, ratings, chat message or other information that you post or upload to the Service or otherwise transmit to the Site by any means (any and all such information and materials submitted by you are referred to as a "User Contribution"); however, VCAST has the right to remove any User Contribution that violates this TOS or any other written policy or terms of use published by VCAST from time to time, or is otherwise objectionable, as determined solely by VCAST.
You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for any User Contribution made by you on or through the Service. Without limitation to the foregoing, you are solely responsible for the accuracy, reliability, nature, rights clearance, and compliance with law and legal restrictions associated with any User Contribution.
You acknowledge and agree that any User Contribution is not considered confidential by VCAST and may be disseminated or used by VCAST or its affiliates without compensation or liability to you for any purpose whatsoever, including, but not limited to, developing, manufacturing and marketing products.
You hereby grant VCAST and its successors a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable and transferable license to use, copy, distribute, transmit, modify, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, and publicly perform each User Contribution on, through or in connection with the Service in any media formats and through any media channels, including without limitation, for promoting and redistributing any part of the Service (and its derivative works). This license granted by you will continue for as long as VCAST determines to use your User Contribution. You understand that your User Contribution may be transmitted over various networks and may be changed to conform and adapt to technical requirements. You also acknowledge and agree that VCAST and/or other third parties may independently develop software, applications, interfaces, products and modifications and enhancements of the same which are identical or similar in function, code or other characteristics to the ideas set out in your User Contribution.
By making or submitting any User Contribution, you represent and warrant that you have all necessary permissions to grant the foregoing licenses to VCAST. Without limitation to the provisions of Section 13 below, you agree, at your own expense, to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless VCAST, its affiliates, employees, agents, and representatives against any claim, alleged claim, suit, action, or administrative proceeding arising out of, or related to, your breach of the foregoing representation and warranty, or any use, display or distribution by VCAST or its affiliates of any User Contribution submitted by you.
7. Privacy Policy.
VCAST agrees to protect your personal information as described in the Privacy Policy published on the Site. You agree that VCAST can export your information to any country as operationally necessary, even if that country's privacy laws are weaker or different from the privacy laws of your country and that VCAST can use and transfer your personal information to the extent provided in the Privacy Policy.
8. Third-Party Content
Each contributor to the Service of data, text, images, sounds, video, and other materials (including without limitation third party licensors of audio-visual content, and the contributors of User Contributions) is solely responsible for the accuracy, reliability, nature, rights clearance, compliance with law and legal restrictions associated with their contribution. As such, VCAST is not responsible to, and shall not, regularly monitor or check for the accuracy, reliability, nature, rights clearance, compliance with law and legal restrictions associated with any such contribution. You will not hold VCAST responsible for any action or inaction on the part of any third party licensor of content, or any other user, including without limitation the things they post or otherwise make available via the Service.
You acknowledge and understand that all title and intellectual property rights in and to any third party trademarks, logos, photographs, images, audio-visual content, programming, advertising and other intellectual property contained on or through the Service is the property of the respective third parties, including the respective content owners or advertisers, and may be protected by applicable copyright, trademark or other intellectual property laws and treaties. Each such third party expressly reserves all rights into such intellectual property. You understand that you are not granted any commercial, sale, resale, reproduction, distribution or promotional use rights for or to any such third party intellectual property, including any rights for uses that require a synchronization or public performance license with respect to the underlying musical composition. Additionally, the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of such third party intellectual property, including, without limitation, any content, programming, advertising, services and/or features contained on or through the Service, is prohibited by applicable law.
In addition, the Service may contain links to third party text and video feeds and podcasts (collectively, "third party feeds"), websites and offers, links to download third party software applications and/or actual widgets that have been developed by third parties using the VCAST API. Additionally, third parties may make available, on their own websites, third party feeds, and widgets developed by them using the VCAST API. These third party links, third party feeds, websites and widgets are not owned or controlled by VCAST. Rather, they are operated by, and are the property of, the respective third parties, and may be protected by applicable copyright or other intellectual property laws and treaties. VCAST has not reviewed, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, functionality, security, services, privacy policies, or other practices of these third-parties. You are encouraged to read the terms and other policies published by such third parties on their websites or otherwise. By using the Service, you agree that VCAST shall not be liable in any manner due to your use of, or inability to use, any third-party feed, website or widget. You further acknowledge and agree that VCAST may disable your use of, or remove, any third party links, third party feeds, or widgets on the Service to the extent they violate this TOS or the VCAST API Terms of Use, as applicable.
9. Making Claims of Copyright Infringement.
VCAST respects the intellectual property rights of others and we ask our users to do the same. If you believe that your work (as included on the Service) has been copied, displayed, or distributed in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please notify VCAST.
A notification of claimed infringement must be a written communication as set forth below, and must include substantially all of the following: (a) a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest that is allegedly infringed; (b) a description of such copyrighted work(s) and an identification of what material in such work(s) is claimed to be infringed; (c) a description of the exact name of the infringing work and the location of the infringing work on the Service; (d) information sufficient to permit VCAST to contact you, such as your physical address, telephone number and email address; (e) a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material identified in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; (f) a statement by you that the information in the notification is accurate and, under penalty of perjury that you are authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.
10. RSS Feeds
Your use of any RSS feed of the Site is subject to the following terms and conditions:
By accessing the RSS feeds of the Site, you agree that you will not use these feeds in contravention of the above conditions. VCAST reserves the right to discontinue any or all of these feeds at any time. VCAST further reserves the right to require that you immediately cease any specific use of any feed (and/or to prevent you from using the Service, as necessary).
This section 10 applies to VCAST’s own RSS feeds, and not to the third party feeds discussed in section 8 above.
11. Disclaimer of Warranties.
*READ THIS CAREFULLY*
You understand and agree that your use of the Service is at your sole risk. The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis and to the fullest extent permitted by law, VCAST expressly disclaims all warranties, express or implied, in connection with the Service and your use thereof, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, and non-infringement. VCAST makes no representations or warranties about the accuracy or completeness of any content made available through the Service (whether audio-visual content, User Contributions or otherwise) or the content of any websites linked to the Site. VCAST does not warrant, endorse, guarantee, or assume responsibility for any product, application or service advertised or offered by a third party through the Service or any hyperlinked website or featured in any banner or other advertising, and VCAST will not be a party to or in any way be responsible for monitoring any transaction between you and third-party providers of products, applications or services. As with the purchase of a product or service, or installation or download of any application, through any medium or in any environment, you should use your best judgment and exercise caution where appropriate. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by you from VCAST or through the Service shall create any warranty not expressly stated in this TOS.
12. Limitation of Liability.
*READ THIS CAREFULLY*
You understand and agree that VCAST shall not be liable to you for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages, including without limitation damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data or other intangible losses (even if VCAST has been advised of the possibility of such damages), resulting from: (a) the use or the inability to use the Service; (b) the cost of procurement of substitute services resulting from any services obtained through or from the Service; (c) unauthorized access to or alteration of your transmissions or data; (d) statements or conduct of any third party on the Service; (e) inaccuracies, mistakes, or errors of content; (f) personal injury or property damage of any nature whatsoever resulting from your access to and use of the Service; (g) any bugs viruses, Trojan horses, or the like, which may be transmitted to or though the Service by a third party; or (h) any other matter relating to the Service, whether based on warranty, contract, tort, or any other legal theory.
13. Indemnification.
You agree, at your own expense, to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless VCAST, its affiliates, employees, agents, and representatives against any claim, alleged claim, suit, action, or administrative proceeding arising out of, or related to use of or access to the Service, or violation of this TOS by you or, when due to your cooperation or negligence, by someone else using your User Account.
14. Waiver and Severability.
The failure of either party to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the TOS shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any of the TOS provisions, including the Disclaimer of Warranty or Limitation of Liability, are held invalid, unenforceable, or void by a court, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the TOS remain in full force and effect.
15. Investigation; Disclosure.
VCAST reserves the right to investigate occurrences which may involve any violations of this TOS, its Privacy Policy or the end user license agreement applicable to the VCAST browser plug-in, and may involve, and cooperate with, law enforcement authorities in prosecuting users who have participated in such violations. You expressly acknowledge and agree that VCAST may disclose information provided by you to comply with law enforcement or any legal, governmental or regulatory order or action.
16. Governing Law.
The English language version shall prevail in the event of any discrepancy between the interpretation of the English and the Chinese versions of this TOS. This TOS shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
You and VCAST hereby consent to attempt to resolve any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of this TOS through good faith consultation and negotiations. If you and VCAST fail to resolve the dispute through negotiation, such dispute shall be referred to and be resolved by arbitration in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules as may be amended from time to time. The place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong. The language to be used in the arbitral proceedings shall be English. There shall be one arbitrator to be agreed by Parties. If the Parties are unable to agree on an arbitrator, the International Chamber of Commerce shall appoint one.
17. Statute of Limitations.
You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of the Service or the TOS must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.
18. Assignment
This TOS and the rights and licenses it grants or receives may be assigned or transferred by VCAST without restriction.
19. Comments/Inquiries
If you have any comments or inquiries regarding this TOS or the Service, please contact VCAST as follows:
or
Attention: Customer Service
Vcast (Asia) Ltd
109-110, Enterprise Place,
No. 5 Science Park West Avenue,
Hong Kong Science Park,
N.T., Hong Kong