Open Town Hall Terms of Service
1.Relationship
1.1.OpenGov, Inc’s products, software, services and web sites are referred to collectively as “Services” in this document. OpenGov Inc., whose principal place of business is in 955 Charter St, Redwood City, CA 94063, United States, is referred to as “OpenGov” in this document. Your use of the Services is subject to the terms of a legal agreement between you and OpenGov.
1.2.Unless otherwise agreed in writing with OpenGov, your legal agreement with OpenGov will always include, at a minimum, the terms set forth in this document. These terms are referred to as the “Universal Terms” in this agreement.
1.3.In addition to the Universal Terms, your agreement with OpenGov may also include the terms of any Legal Notices applicable to the Services. All of the terms of any Legal Notices are referred to as the “Additional Terms” in this agreement. Where Additional Terms apply to a Service, these will be accessible for you to read either within, or through your use of, that Service.
1.4.The Universal Terms, together with the Additional Terms, form a legally binding agreement between you and OpenGov in relation to your use of the Services. Collectively, this legal agreement is referred to as the “Terms” in this document. If there is any contradiction between the Additional Terms and the Universal Terms, then the Additional Terms will take precedence in relation to that Service
1.5.It is important that you take the time to read the Terms carefully. Before you continue, you should print or save a local copy of the Universal Terms for your records.
2.Terms Acceptance
2.1.In order to use the Services, you must first agree to the Terms. You may not use the Services if you do not accept the Terms.
2.2.You can accept the Terms by:
2.2.1.clicking to accept or agree to the Terms, where this option is made available to you by OpenGov in the user interface for any Service; or
2.2.2.by actually using the Services. In this case, you understand and agree that OpenGov will treat your use of the Services as acceptance of the Terms from that point onwards.
2.3.You may not use the Services and may not accept the Terms if
2.3.1.you are not of legal age to form a binding contract with OpenGov, or
2.3.2.you are a person barred from receiving the Services under the laws of the United States or other countries including the country in which you are resident or from which you use the Services.
3.Service Provisioning
3.1.OpenGov may have subsidiaries and affiliated legal entities around the world. These entities are referred to as “Subsidiaries and Affiliates” in this agreement. Sometimes, these Subsidiaries and Affiliates will provide the Services to you on behalf of OpenGov itself. You acknowledge and agree that Subsidiaries and Affiliates will be entitled to provide the Services to you.
3.2.OpenGov is constantly innovating in order to provide the best possible experience for its users. You acknowledge and agree that the form and nature of the Services that OpenGov provides may change from time to time without prior notice to you.
3.3.As part of this continuing innovation, you acknowledge and agree that OpenGov may stop (permanently or temporarily) providing the Services (or any features within the Services) to you or to users generally at OpenGov’s sole discretion, without prior notice to you.
3.4.You acknowledge and agree that while OpenGov may not currently have set a fixed upper limit on the number of transmissions you may send or receive through the Services or on the amount of storage space used for the provision of any Service, such fixed upper limits may be set by OpenGov at any time, at OpenGov’s discretion
3.5.You may stop using the Services at any time. You do not need to specifically inform OpenGov when you stop using the Services.
4.Service Use
4.1.In order to access certain Services, you may be required to provide information about yourself (such as identification or contact details) as part of the registration process for the Service, or as part of your continued use of the Services. You agree that any registration information you give to OpenGov will always be accurate, correct and up to date.
4.2.You agree to use the Services only for purposes that are permitted by:
4.2.1.the Terms; and
4.2.2.any applicable law, regulation or generally accepted practices or guidelines in the relevant jurisdictions.
4.3.You agree not to access (or attempt to access) any of the Services by any means other than through the interface that is provided by OpenGov, unless you have been specifically allowed to do so in a separate agreement with OpenGov. You specifically agree not to access (or attempt to access) any of the Services through any automated means (including use of scripts or web crawlers).
4.4.You agree that you will not engage in any activity that interferes with or disrupts the Services (or the servers and networks which are connected to the Services).
4.5.Unless you have been specifically permitted to do so in a separate agreement with OpenGov, you agree that you will not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade or resell the Services for any purpose.
4.6.You agree that you are solely responsible for (and that OpenGov has no responsibility to you or to any third party for) any breach of your obligations under the Terms and for the consequences (including any loss or damage which OpenGov may suffer) of any such breach.
5.Passwords and Account Security
5.1.You agree and understand that you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of passwords associated with any account you use to access the Services.
5.2.Accordingly, you agree that you will be solely responsible to OpenGov for all activities that occur under your account.
5.3.If you become aware of any unauthorized use of your password or of your account, you agree to notify OpenGov immediately.
6.Privacy and Personal Information
6.1.For information about OpenGov’s data protection practices, please read OpenGov’s privacy policy at https://www.opentownhall.com/privacy. This policy explains how OpenGov treats your personal information, and protects your privacy, when you use the Services.
6.2.You agree to the use of your data in accordance with OpenGov’s privacy policies. In order to facilitate discussions about local issues, you agree to allow OpenGov to show the neighborhood in which you live or work.
6.3.In order to improve the site and provide more convenient, relevant experiences to you, we may use 'cookies' to track your activities. A cookie is a small amount of data that is transferred to your browser by a web server and can only be read by the server that gave it to you. It functions as your identification card and enables OpenGov to record your passwords and preferences. It cannot be executed as code or deliver viruses.
6.4.OpenGov uses temporary session cookies to track your identity while you are logged in. OpenGov also uses persistent cookies to track your preferences and your site visit frequency. Persistent cookies are designed to improve the overall quality of our service. For example, we track whether you have subscribed to receive announcements in a persistent cookie; with that information, we are able to suppress the invitation to subscribe after you have done so. In no case do we share or sell any of this information without your consent, unless we are required by law to do so.
6.5.Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, giving you the chance to decide whether or not to accept it. For some web pages that require an authorization, cookies are not optional. Users choosing not to accept cookies or similar devices will probably not be able to access those pages.
7.Service Content
7.1.You understand that all information (such as data files, written text, computer software, music, audio files or other sounds, photographs, videos or other images) which you may have access to as part of, or through your use of, the Services are the sole responsibility of the person from which such content originated. All such information is referred to as the “Content” in this document.
7.2.You should be aware that Content presented to you as part of the Services may be protected by intellectual property rights which are owned by the providers of that Content to OpenGov (or by other persons or companies on their behalf). You may not modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on this Content (either in whole or in part) unless you have been specifically told that you may do so by OpenGov or by the owners of that Content, in a separate agreement.
7.3.OpenGov reserves the right (but will have no obligation) to pre-screen, review, flag, filter, modify, refuse or remove any or all Content from any Service. For some of the Services, OpenGov may provide tools to filter out explicit sexual or otherwise offensive content.
7.4.You understand that by using the Services you may be exposed to Content that you may find offensive, indecent or objectionable and that, in this respect, you use the Services at your own risk.
7.5.You agree that you are solely responsible for (and that OpenGov has no responsibility to you or to any third party for) any Content that you create, transmit or display while using the Services and for the consequences of your actions (including any loss or damage which OpenGov may suffer) by doing so.
7.6.It is OpenGov’s policy to respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with applicable international intellectual property law (including, in the United States, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and to terminating the accounts of repeat infringers.
8.Proprietary Rights
8.1.You acknowledge and agree that OpenGov (or OpenGov’s licensors) own all legal right, title and interest in and to the Services, including any intellectual property rights which subsist in the Services (whether those rights happen to be registered or not, and wherever in the world those rights may exist).
8.2.Unless you have agreed otherwise in writing with OpenGov, nothing in the Terms gives you a right to use any of OpenGov’s trade names, trade marks, service marks, logos, domain names, and other distinctive brand features.
8.3.Other than the limited license set forth in this agreement, OpenGov acknowledges and agrees that it obtains no right, title or interest from you (or your licensors) under these Terms in or to any Content that you submit, post, transmit or display on, or through, the Services, including any intellectual property rights which subsist in that Content (whether those rights happen to be registered or not, and wherever in the world those rights may exist). Unless you have agreed otherwise in writing with OpenGov, you agree that you are responsible for protecting and enforcing those rights and that OpenGov has no obligation to do so on your behalf.
8.4.You agree that you will not remove, obscure, or alter any proprietary rights notices (including copyright and trade mark notices) that may be affixed to or contained within the Services.
8.5.Unless you have been expressly authorized to do so in writing by OpenGov, you agree that in using the Services, you will not use any trade mark, service mark, trade name, logo of any company or organization in a way that is likely or intended to cause confusion about the owner or authorized user of such marks, names or logos.
9.Content License
9.1.You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content that you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.
9.2.By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give OpenGov a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This license is referred to as “Content License” in this document. Content License is for the sole purpose of enabling OpenGov to display, distribute and promote the Services.
9.3.You agree that the Content License includes a right for OpenGov to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom OpenGov has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.
9.4.You understand that in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to its users, OpenGov may:
9.4.1.transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and
9.4.2.make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this Content License will permit OpenGov to take these actions.
9.5. You understand that Content you submit through the Services may be provided to government agencies. Such Content may or may not be considered public information or public records under applicable state and federal laws. To the extent that Content you contribute to the website, including your personal information, is considered a public record or as otherwise belonging to a governmental agency and, therefore, subject to certain local, state or federal disclosure laws, such applicable laws will govern the use and required disclosure of such Content.
9.6.You confirm and warrant to OpenGov that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the above Content License.
9.7 OpenGov respects the intellectual property rights of others and requires those that visit our website to do the same. OpenGov may, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, remove or disable access to material on its website that infringes upon the copyright rights of others. OpenGov also may, at its discretion, remove or disable links or references to an online location that contains infringing material or infringing activity. In the event that any visitors to our website repeatedly infringe on others' copyrights, we may in our sole discretion terminate those individuals' rights to use our website.
If you believe that your work has been used on our website in any manner that constitutes copyright infringement, please notify OpenGov's copyright agent by written notice. The notice should include the following information:
- An electronic or physical signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright allegedly infringed;
- A description of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed, including a copy of the copyrighted work or the web page address where the copyrighted work may be found;
- Identification of the location on our website of the material you claim has been infringed, or the link or reference to another website that contains the material you claim has been infringed;
- Your name, address, telephone number and email address;
- A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use of the material at issue is not authorized by the copyright owner, the agent of the copyright owner or the law; and
- A statement by you that the information in this notification is accurate and a statement, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner of the material allegedly infringed or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.
OpenGov's copyright agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement on our website is Robert Vogel, CEO, who can be reached at following:
By mail: OpenGov, Inc., 955 Charter St, Redwood City, CA 94063
By email: support@opengov.com
By telephone: 866-535-8894
By facsimile: 866-506-4598
10.Terminating Agreement
10.1.The Terms will continue to apply until terminated by either you or OpenGov as set forth in this agreement.
10.2.If you want to terminate your legal agreement with OpenGov, you can do so by:
10.2.1.notifying OpenGov at any time (such notice should be sent, in writing, to the OpenGov address that is set forth at the beginning of these Terms), and
10.2.2.closing your accounts for all of the Services which you use, where OpenGov has made this option available to you..
10.3.OpenGov may at any time, terminate its legal agreement with you if:
10.3.1.you have breached any provision of the Terms (or have acted in manner which clearly shows that you do not intend to, or are unable to comply with the provisions of the Terms); or
10.3.2.OpenGov is required to do so by law (for example, where the provision of the Services to you is, or becomes, unlawful); or
10.3.3.the partner with whom OpenGov offered the Services to you has terminated its relationship with OpenGov or ceased to offer the Services to you; or
10.3.4.OpenGov is transitioning to no longer providing the Services to users in the country in which you are resident or from which you use the service; or
10.3.5.the provision of the Services to you by OpenGov is, in OpenGov’s opinion, no longer commercially viable.
10.4.Nothing in this Section will affect OpenGov’s rights regarding provision of Services under this agreement.
10.5.When these Terms come to an end, all of the legal rights, obligations and liabilities that you and OpenGov have benefited from, been subject to (or which have accrued over time whilst the Terms have been in force) or which are expressed to continue indefinitely, will be unaffected by this cessation, and the provisions of this agreement will continue to apply to such rights, obligations and liabilities indefinitely.
11.EXCLUSION OF WARRANTIES
11.1.NOTHING IN THESE TERMS WILL EXCLUDE OR LIMIT OpenGov’S WARRANTY OR LIABILITY FOR LOSSES THAT MAY NOT BE LAWFULLY EXCLUDED OR LIMITED BY APPLICABLE LAW. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE, BREACH OF CONTRACT OR BREACH OF IMPLIED TERMS, OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, ONLY THE LIMITATIONS THAT ARE LAWFUL IN YOUR JURISDICTION WILL APPLY TO YOU AND OpenGov’S LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
11.2.YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND THAT THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND “AS AVAILABLE.”
11.3.IN PARTICULAR, OpenGov, ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES, AND ITS LICENSORS DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT TO YOU THAT:
11.3.1.YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; or
11.3.2.YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR FREE FROM ERROR; or
11.3.3.ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED BY YOU AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE; AND
11.3.4.THAT DEFECTS IN THE OPERATION OR FUNCTIONALITY OF ANY SERVICE PROVIDED TO YOU AS PART OF THE SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED.
11.4.ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICES IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR OTHER DEVICE OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.
11.5.NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM OpenGov OR THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICES WILL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE TERMS.
11.6.OpenGov FURTHER EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
12.LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
12.1.SUBJECT TO OVERALL PROVISIONS IN THIS AGREEMENT, YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT OpenGov, ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES, AND ITS LICENSORS WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR:
12.1.1.ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES THAT MAY BE INCURRED BY YOU, HOWEVER CAUSED AND UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY.. THIS WILL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, ANY LOSS OF PROFIT (WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY), ANY LOSS OF GOODWILL OR BUSINESS REPUTATION, ANY LOSS OF DATA SUFFERED, COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSS;
12.1.2.ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE THAT MAY BE INCURRED BY YOU, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OR DAMAGE AS A RESULT OF:
12.1.2.1.ANY RELIANCE PLACED BY YOU ON THE COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY OR EXISTENCE OF ANY ADVERTISING, OR AS A RESULT OF ANY RELATIONSHIP OR TRANSACTION BETWEEN YOU AND ANY ADVERTISER OR SPONSOR WHOSE ADVERTISING APPEARS ON THE SERVICES;
12.1.2.2.ANY CHANGES THAT OpenGov MAY MAKE TO THE SERVICES, OR FOR ANY PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY CESSATION IN THE PROVISION OF THE SERVICES (OR ANY FEATURES WITHIN THE SERVICES);
12.1.2.3.THE DELETION OF, CORRUPTION OF, OR FAILURE TO STORE, ANY CONTENT AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS DATA MAINTAINED OR TRANSMITTED BY OR THROUGH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES;
12.1.2.4.YOUR FAILURE TO PROVIDE OpenGov WITH ACCURATE ACCOUNT INFORMATION;
12.1.2.5.YOUR FAILURE TO KEEP YOUR PASSWORD OR ACCOUNT DETAILS SECURE AND CONFIDENTIAL;
12.2.THE LIMITATIONS ON OpenGov’S LIABILITY TO YOU IN THIS AGREEMENT WILL APPLY WHETHER OR NOT OpenGov HAS BEEN ADVISED OF OR SHOULD HAVE BEEN AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY SUCH LOSSES ARISING.
13.Advertisements
13.1. OpenGov only provides our service to government agencies and their partners, and accordingly, we do not post advertising on our Services.
14.Other Content
14.1.The Services may include hyperlinks to other web sites or content or resources. OpenGov may have no control over any web sites or resources that are provided by companies or persons other than OpenGov.
14.2.You acknowledge and agree that OpenGov is not responsible for the availability of any such external sites or resources, and does not endorse any advertising, products or other materials on or available from such web sites or resources.
14.3.You acknowledge and agree that OpenGov is not liable for any loss or damage which may be incurred by you as a result of the availability of those external sites or resources, or as a result of any reliance placed by you on the completeness, accuracy or existence of any advertising, products or other materials on, or available from, such web sites or resources.
15.Term Changes
15.1.OpenGov may make changes to the Universal Terms or Additional Terms from time to time. When these changes are made, OpenGov will make a new copy of the Universal Terms available to you, and any new Additional Terms will be made available to you from within, or through, the affected Services.
15.2.You understand and agree that if you use the Services after the date on which the Universal Terms or Additional Terms have changed, OpenGov will treat your use as acceptance of the updated Universal Terms or Additional Terms.
16.General Legal Terms
16.1.Sometimes when you use the Services, you may (as a result of, or through your use of the Services) use a service or download a piece of software, or purchase goods, which are provided by another person or company. Your use of these other services, software or goods may be subject to separate terms between you and the company or person concerned. If so, the Terms do not affect your legal relationship with these other companies or individuals.
16.2.The Terms constitute the whole legal agreement between you and OpenGov, and govern your use of the Services (but excluding any services that OpenGov may provide to you under a separate written agreement), and completely replace any prior agreements between you and OpenGov in relation to the Services.
16.3.You agree that OpenGov may provide you with notices, including those regarding changes to the Terms, by email, regular mail, or postings on the Services.
16.4.You agree that if OpenGov does not exercise or enforce any legal right or remedy which is contained in the Terms (or which OpenGov has the benefit of under any applicable law), this will not be taken to be a formal waiver of OpenGov’s rights and that those rights or remedies will still be available to OpenGov.
16.5.If any court of law, having the jurisdiction to decide on this matter, rules that any provision of these Terms is invalid, then that provision will be removed from the Terms without affecting the rest of the Terms. The remaining provisions of the Terms will continue to be valid and enforceable.
16.6.You acknowledge and agree that each member of the group of companies of which OpenGov is the parent will be third party beneficiaries to the Terms and that those other companies will be entitled to directly enforce, and rely upon, any provision of the Terms which confers a benefit on (or rights in favor of) them. Other than this, no other person or company will be third party beneficiaries to the Terms.
16.7.The Terms, and your relationship with OpenGov under the Terms, will be governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. You and OpenGov agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within the county of Alameda, California to resolve any legal matter arising from the Terms. Notwithstanding this, you agree that OpenGov will still be allowed to apply for injunctive remedies (or an equivalent type of urgent legal relief) in any jurisdiction.