Legal Trends Network Terms of Service

Welcome to Legal Trends Network (“LTN”). This is a user-driven Network for lawyers and the free exchange of information about legal news, trends, and events. Before publishing to LTN, you must read and agree to this Terms of Service and Content Policy (“Agreement”) document.

We will attempt to notify you when necessity requires that we make changes to this Agreement. This document in its most current state will be available at the LTN site located at http://www.legaltrends.net/legal-trends-network/terms-and-agreements. In the event we modify this Agreement, you agree to be bound by those modifications. If you don’t accept and abide by this Agreement, you will not be permitted a user account. This document is neither intended to, nor shall it be deemed to confer any third party rights or benefits.

1. Description of the Network. LTN is a news and trends user-driven information Network for lawyers (the "Network"). You are responsible for all activities occurring under your username and for keeping your password secure. The Network is provided to you on an as-is and as-available basis. LTN accepts no responsibility and liability for the availability, timeliness, security or reliability of the Network. LTN reserves the right to modify, suspend or discontinue the Network with or without notice at any time and without any liability to you.

This network is intended for lawyers, legal professionals, academicians, and collaborative and restorative practitioners for the purpose of publishing and discussing issues inherent and specific to the practice of law and to provide a forum for networking. As such, we do not anticipate non-professional users. In any case, you must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to use the Network. LTN reserves the right to refuse or ban access to the network to anyone at any time without notice for any reason.

2. Proper Use. You are responsible for your use of the Network, for posts you make, and the consequences of them. You agree that you will use the Network in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations irrespective of jurisdiction, including laws that may apply to the exchange of information internationally.

You agree to abide by the Network Content Policy located at http://www.legaltrends.net/legal-trends-network/content-policy and the rules and restrictions it requires.

Violation of any of the foregoing, including the Network Content Policy may result in immediate termination of this Agreement, and may subject you to state and federal penalties and other legal consequences. LTN reserves the right, but shall have no obligation, to investigate your use of the Network in order to (a) determine whether a violation of the Agreement has occurred or (b) comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request.

Much of the content of the Network is provided by and is the responsibility of the user(s) who made the postings. LTN does not monitor the content published to the Network, instead, it allows the users themselves to do so through the user-rating system. We take no responsibility for content posted by users. We merely provide access to publish and view such content as a service to you.

Some post and blogs may carry mislabeled, deceptive, offensive, inaccurate, harmful or otherwise inappropriate material. Please report inappropriate use of or postings to the Network by sending a private email through the contact form on the Network website.
This Network is a user-driven service for lawyers by lawyers. The developers are not lawyers. LTN does not endorse, support, represent or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any material posted to the Network. We expect this Network to be as self-regulating as the profession it intends to serve. You acknowledge that any reliance on material posted via the Network will be at your own risk.

3. Privacy Policy.

Information you provide. LTN will not provide your information to any third party for any reason save by Order of a Court of competent jurisdiction.

Cookies. LTN will install a cookie on your computer only if you click the “Remember Me” box under the login area.

Log Information: LTN will automatically log information uch as your web request, Internet Protocol address, browser type, browser language, the date and time of your request.

User Communications: When you send email or other communication to LTN, we may retain those communications to respond to your requests and improve our services.

Links: The LTN advertising module tracks viewing and clicking of advertisement links.
LTN only processes personal information for the purpose of:

• Providing our products and services to users, including the display of customized content and advertising;
• Auditing, research and analysis in order to maintain, protect and improve our Network;
• Ensuring the technical functioning of our Network; and
• Developing new services.

LTN will make a good faith effort to provide access to your personal information to correct or delete such data at your request if it is required by law or for other legitimate purposes. Users are asked to identify themselves, and the information to be accessed, corrected or removed before processing such requests. We may decline requests unreasonably repetitive or systematic requests, those that require excessive technical effort, or are otherwise impractical We will provide this service free of charge when the service can be preformed.

4. General Practices Regarding Use and Storage. The Network has no responsibility or liability for the deletion of, or the failure to store or to transmit, any Content and other submission maintained by the Network. The Network retains the right to set limits on use and storage at our discretion at any time with or without notice.

5. Content of the Network. LTN is not responsible for third-party content (including, without limitation, any viruses or other disabling features), and the Network is not obligated to monitor content and attachments. The Network reserves the right to remove or refuse to distribute any content on the Network. We reserve the right to access, and disclose information as is necessary to satisfy applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, to enforce or investigate potential violations to this agreement, to detect, prevent, or address fraud, security or technical issues, to respond to user support requests, or to protect the rights of the Network We are not liable for exercising or not exercising our rights under this Agreement.

6. Intellectual Property Rights. Legal Trends Network is built on open-source code.

Your Intellectual Property Rights. LTN claims no ownership or control over any Content submitted, posted or displayed by you on or through the Network. You retain all patent, trademark and copyright to any Content you submit, post or display on or the Network and you are responsible for protecting those rights, as appropriate. By submitting, posting or displaying Content on the Network, you grant LTN a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, publish and distribute such Content over the Internet. LTN reserves the right to refuse to accept, post, display or transmit any Content in its sole discretion.

You represent and warrant that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the rights granted herein to any Content submitted.

7. No Resale of the Network. Unless authorized in writing by LTN, you agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes (a) any portion of the Network, (b) use of the Network, or (c) access to the Network.

8. Publicity. Any use of LTN’s trade names, trademarks, service marks, logos, domain names, and other distinctive brand features are permitted in limited circumstances with written permission from the Network.

9. Representations and Warranties. You represent and warrant that the information provided by you to LTN in order to participate in the Network is correct and current and that you have all necessary authority to enter into this Agreement.

10. Termination; Suspension. LTN may at any time and for any reason, terminate the Network, this Agreement, or suspend or terminate your account. In the event of termination, your account will be disabled and you may not be granted access to your account or any files or other content contained in your account although residual copies of information may remain in our system for some time for back-up purposes.

11. Indemnification. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless LTN, and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, and employees from and against any third-party claim arising from or in any way related to your use of the Network, including any liability or expense arising from all claims, losses, damages (actual and consequential), suits, judgments, litigation costs and attorneys' fees, of every kind and nature.

12. Entire Agreement. This Agreement and the Content Policy referenced above constitutes the entire agreement between you and LTN and governs your use of the Network.

13. Waiver and Severability of Terms. The failure of LTN to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not be considered a waiver of that right or provision. If any provision of this Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, then we agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the intentions as reflected in the provision. All other provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect even if one term is held invalid.

14. Statute of Limitations. Regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim arising from the use of the Network or this Agreement must be filed within one (1) year after such claim arose or be forever barred.

15. Choice of Law; Jurisdiction; Forum. This Agreement will be governed by and in accordance with the laws of the State of North Carolina, USA, regardless of any conflict of laws in your actual state or country of residence. Any claims arising in connection with the Network will be brought solely in Buncombe County, North Carolina, USA, and you consent to the jurisdiction of such courts.

16. Copyright Information. It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If you believe that your copyright has been infringed on the Network, please:

1.Identify the copyrighted work that you believe has been infringed upon. Include identification of the specific posts, as opposed to entire sites. Posts must be referenced by the permalink of the post. For example, “The copyrighted work at issue is the text that appears on http://test-test.com/test/2008_06_01.html#20080601.

2. Identify the material that you claim is infringing the copyrighted work listed in item #1 above.

YOU MUST IDENTIFY EACH POST BY PERMALINK OR DATE THAT ALLEGEDLY CONTAINS THE INFRINGING MATERIAL. The permalink for a post is usually found by clicking on the timestamp of the post. For example, “The blog where my copyrighted work is published on is http://test.test.com/test/2006_01_02_test.html.”

3. Provide information reasonably sufficient to permit the Network to contact you (email address is preferred).

4. Include the following statement: "I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted material described above on the allegedly infringing web pages is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.".

5. Include the following statement: "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed."

6. Sign the paper.

7. Send the written communication to the following address:

Legal Trends Network
Attn:Copyright Infringement
129 Bleachery Boulevard, #111
Asheville, NC 28805

See our Content Policy