Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Visible Vote Applications and Websites

The following Terms of Use (these “Terms”) govern the use of the websites and applications (each, an “Application”) created by Visible Vote LLC (“Visible Vote”) and available through social networking sites (each, a “SNS”), mobile devices or otherwise. By clicking on the “I Accept” button below, you, a user or viewer of the Application (“you”) acknowledge that you have read and understand and agree to be bound by and to follow these Terms, and all applicable laws and regulations governing the Application. These Terms may be revised by Visible Vote from time to time without notice. Please check this page periodically for updates. If you do not agree to these Terms, please click the “I Do Not Accept” button below and do not use the Application. These Terms are effective December, 2009.

Use of the Application

You may only visit, view and use the Application for your own personal use, and you agree not to copy, duplicate, alter, download, publish, modify, create derivative works, publicly display or otherwise distribute any Content (as defined below) of the Application for any purpose other than for personal use. The information, software, text, images, data, illustrations, files, audio and video clips, designs, documents, and other materials and content on the Application (collectively, the “Content”) is the property of Visible Vote and is protected by U.S. and other countries’ copyright laws. These Terms give you a non-exclusive, limited and revocable license to visit and use the Application for your own personal use only so long as you comply with all of these Terms. Any violation of these Terms exceeds the scope of that license and is prohibited. Nothing in this license, or in the Application, may be construed as granting you any other rights or privileges of any kind with respect to the Application or any Content.

By using the Application, you agree that you will (i) restrict your use of the Application and the Content of the Application to personal use; (ii) comply with all of these Terms; and (iii) not violate the rights of Visible Vote or any other person or entity.

Commercial Use Is Prohibited

The Application may not be used for commercial purposes of any kind, including but not limited to advertising, soliciting, linking or any other form of solicitation or communication, without Visible Vote’s prior written consent. Without limiting the foregoing, you may not use the Application to link to other Applications or websites for the purpose of selling merchandise or information of any kind, and you may not link to the Application without Visible Vote’s prior written consent. Visible Vote will investigate and take appropriate legal action against anyone who violates this provision, including but not limited to removing the offending communication from the Application and barring such violators from use of the Application.

Subscribers to VISIBLE VOTE CUSTOM POLLING™ may publish the results of the polls obtained through such subscription on the following conditions: (a) Subscribers must display “Poll Data Powered By Visible Vote” along with such results; (b) Subscribers must display the Visible Vote logo along with such results, with the logo linking to the URL of Visible Vote’s choice, and (c) Subscribers may not aggregate such results with data or results from any other polls or Visible Vote accounts.

Complying with Laws and Information You Provide

The use of the Application may be regulated by federal, state and local laws or regulations. You acknowledge that complying with laws is your responsibility, AND YOU AGREE NOT TO HOLD VISIBLE VOTE LIABLE FOR YOUR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ANY LAW OR VISIBLE VOTE’S FAILURE TO NOTIFY YOU OF, OR PROPERLY APPLY, ANY LAW. VISIBLE VOTE WILL COMPLY WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AND MAY PROVIDE THEM WITH ALL INFORMATION YOU SUBMIT TO VISIBLE VOTE TO ASSIST IN ANY INVESTIGATION OR PROSECUTION THEY MAY CONDUCT. You may be asked to provide information during various processes that you engage in on the Application. You represent and warrant that all information you provide, including but not limited to all information concerning your name, mailing address, phone number, email address and other identifying information of any nature will be true, complete and correct. You further agree that you will not attempt to conceal your identity by using multiple IP addresses or email addresses to improperly use the Application.

User Contributions to the Application

Visible Vote may provide you with opportunities to contribute to the Application, which may include but not be limited to uploading your user profile, participating in chats, blogging, using bulletin boards and providing ratings and reviews. Anything that is contributed to the Application by you or other users of the Application will be referred to in these Terms as “User Contributions”. User Contributions do not necessarily represent the view or opinions of Visible Vote. Visible Vote may not preview User Contributions before they appear on the Application. Visible Vote does not guarantee the accuracy, safety, completeness or usefulness of any User Contribution and does not adopt, endorse or accept responsibility for the accuracy or reliability of any User Contribution or any opinion, recommendation or advice expressed therein. Visible Vote hereby disclaims any and all liability in connection with User Contributions.

You may be exposed to User Contributions when using the Application. Visible Vote is not liable or responsible for the intellectual property rights of or relating to User Contributions. You agree and acknowledge that such content may be inaccurate, offensive, indecent or objectionable, and you hereby waive any legal or equitable rights or remedies you may have against Visible Vote with respect thereto. You may be held liable for any illegal or prohibited User Contributions you provide to the Application, including but not limited to infringing, defamatory or offensive materials. You agree to indemnify and hold Visible Vote harmless to the fullest extent permitted by law regarding all such matters relating to your use of the Application. If you discover this kind of material on the Application, please notify Visible Vote by using the information under “Contact Visible Vote.”

Prohibited User Contributions

Visible Vote strongly discourages you from publicly posting Information about yourself that can be used to identify or contact you. You will not submit prohibited User Contributions to the Application, including but not limited to a User Contribution which:

• Is patently offensive, such as a User Contribution that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
• Could be harmful to minors;
• Harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
• Involves the transmission of “junk mail,” “chain letters” or unsolicited mass mailing or “spamming”;
• Promotes information that is false, misleading or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous;
• Promotes an illegal or unauthorized copy of another person’s copyrighted work, such as providing pirated computer programs or links to them, providing information to circumvent manufacturer-installed copy-protect devices or providing pirated music or links to pirated music files;
• Contains restricted or password-only access pages, or hidden pages or images (those not linked to or from another accessible page);
• Displays pornographic or sexually explicit material of any kind;
• Provides material that exploits people under the age of 18 in a sexual or violent manner, or solicits personal information from anyone under 18;
• Provides instructional information about illegal activities such as making or buying illegal weapons, violating someone’s privacy or providing or creating computer viruses;
• Solicits passwords or personal identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes from other users;
• Engages in commercial activities such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising and pyramid schemes; or
• Infringes upon Visible Vote’s or any third party’s copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, rights of privacy or publicity or other proprietary or intellectual property rights of any nature.

Access and Interference

You agree that you will not use any robot, spider or other automatic device, process or means to (i) access the Application or (ii) circumvent, avoid or defeat any security measures or systems used on the Application. You will not use any manual process to monitor or copy the Content for any unauthorized purpose. You will not use any device, software or routine that interferes with the proper functioning of the Application, nor will you attempt to interfere with the proper functioning of the Application. You will not take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the infrastructure of the Application.

Unauthorized Use of the Application; Violation of these Terms or Law; Equitable Relief

Any illegal or unauthorized use of the Application will constitute a violation of these Terms. Unauthorized uses include but are not limited to using the Application to facilitate illegal sales, unauthorized framing of or linking to the Application or unauthorized use of any robot, spider or other automated process on the Application. Violations of these Terms may be investigated, and appropriate legal action may be taken, including but not limited to civil action, criminal prosecution and injunctive action. You understand and agree that in Visible Vote’s sole discretion, and without prior notice, Visible Vote may terminate and block your access to the Application, or the access of any person acting or believed to be acting in concert with you, cancel your postings, or exercise any other remedy available, if Visible Vote believes that your conduct or the conduct of any person with whom Visible Vote believes you act in concert violates or is inconsistent with these Terms or the law, or violates the rights of Visible Vote, a client of Visible Vote or another user of the Application. If Visible Vote is unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide during any download, registration, authentication or delivery process, or any other process, you may be prohibited from using the Application.

You agree that monetary damages may not provide a sufficient remedy to Visible Vote for violations of these Terms, and you consent to injunctive or other equitable relief for such violations without the necessity of proving that monetary damages are inadequate or cannot be measured and without posting any bond or other security.

Visible Vote reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, suspend or discontinue any part of the Application at any time, with or without notice to you. Visible Vote also reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to impose limits on certain features and services and to restrict access to any part or all of the Application without notice to you. Visible Vote will not be liable to you or any third party for any claim or cause of action arising out of its exercise of the foregoing rights.

Copyright Policy

The Content is the property of Visible Vote and is protected by copyright and other restrictions. Copyrights and other proprietary rights in the Content may also be owned by parties other than Visible Vote. You may not copy, modify, distribute or otherwise use any of the Content, except for your personal and non-commercial use. You may not use or frame any Visible Vote name, trademark or logo, images posted on the Application, any text, the design of any page, any form contained on a page or other proprietary materials without Visible Vote’s prior written consent. Visible Vote may withdraw any Content from the Application at any time in its sole discretion. Visible Vote will terminate the privileges of any user who uses the Application to unlawfully transmit copyrighted material without a license, express consent, valid defense or fair use exemption to do so.

DMCA Notices

For purposes of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), Visible Vote has designated an agent for notices of claimed infringement. If you have any objections governed by the DMCA, please contact the agent listed under “Contact Visible Vote.” You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all of the requirements of the DMCA guidelines, your DMCA notice may not be valid. You agree to waive, and hereby do waive, any legal or equitable rights or remedies you have or may have against Visible Vote with respect to any DMCA notice you send, and you agree to indemnify and hold Visible Vote, and its affiliates, members, managers, officers, employees, agents, representatives and licensors harmless to the fullest extent permitted by law regarding all matters relating to your sending of a DMCA notice.

Trademarks

The names, titles, trademarks, service marks and logos displayed on the Application (collectively, the “Trademarks”) are registered or unregistered common law trademarks of Visible Vote or third parties. Nothing contained in the Application grants any license or right to use any Trademark without the prior written consent of Visible Vote or the appropriate third party that owns the Trademark. Any unauthorized use of the Trademarks is prohibited.

Release and Waiver

By using the Application, you fully waive and release Visible Vote and its affiliates, and each of their respective members, managers, officers, employees, agents, representatives and licensors from any and all claims, demands, losses and damages of every kind and nature, whether known or unknown, arising out of or in any way relating to the Application, your use of the Application, other users’ use of the Application and any dispute you have or claim to have against Visible Vote or one or more users of the Application.

You acknowledge that you may have or may in the future have claims against Visible Vote which you do not know or suspect to exist in your favor when you agreed to these Terms and which if known, might materially affect your consent to these Terms. You expressly waive all rights you may have under Section 1542 of the California Civil Code, which states:

“A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in its favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by it must have materially affected its settlement with the debtor.”

Warranty Disclaimers

THE APPLICATION AND THE CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND THAT THE APPLICATION WILL PROVIDE SPECIFIC RESULTS. Visible Vote makes no guarantee of any specific result from use of the Application. Visible Vote does not warrant that the Application will be uninterrupted or free of errors or that any errors or that any errors or defects will be corrected. Visible Vote does not warrant that any of the Content will not infringe upon the rights of third parties.

General Disclaimers

Visible Vote assumes no responsibility and will not be liable for (i) any errors or omissions in the Content or (ii) damage to or viruses that may infect your computer equipment or other property on account of your use of the Application or your copying or downloading of any text, images or other Content from the Application.

Visible Vote disclaims any and all liability for the acts, omissions and conduct of any third party users of the Application or any platform or SNS hosting the Application, or otherwise related to your use of the Application. Visible Vote is not responsible for the products, services, actions or failure to act of any platform, SNS or other third party in connection with the Application.

Limitation of Liability

In no event will Visible Vote, its affiliates, members, managers, officers, employees, agents and representatives be liable for any indirect, consequential, special, punitive or incidental losses or damages, including but not limited to loss of business or lost profits, business interruption or loss of business information, incurred by you or any third party, regardless of the form of action, whether in contract, tort or otherwise, and regardless of whether the cause of action arises from use of the Application or any action or failure to act by Visible Vote, even if Visible Vote has been advised of the possibility of such damages or loss.

Privacy Policy

The following privacy policy explains how Visible Vote uses and protects the information you share with Visible Vote.

What Information Visible Vote Collects

When you visit the Application, you provide Visible Vote with two types of information: personal information that identifies you (such as your name and email address) and non-personal information that does not identify you personally, but gives Visible Vote information about you, your computer and your activities on the Application. Non-personal information includes but is not limited to your IP address, your browser type, the date and time you access the Application and the SNS or website that referred you to the Application. Visible Vote also collects and stores information from your computer using “cookies” and on your mobile device using registry settings or similar data. Visible Vote may also use “web beacons,” which track your use of the Application, in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalized experience the next time you visit. Your information contained in SNSs is also available to Visible Vote.

Visible Vote may require that you provide your mobile device cell phone number in order to verify your initial registration. Visible Vote does not store your cell phone number and will never provide any third party with your cell phone number.

Your Choices About Your Personal Information

You can choose not to provide Visible Vote with certain information. However, that may result in your not being able to use certain features of the Application, because such information may be required in order to use those features.

Except as noted below, you can opt out of Visible Vote sharing your name and email address with third parties by changing your Settings on the Application. Opting out of the sharing of personal information will not prevent Visible Vote from sharing your non-personal information with third parties. Opting out may limit your ability to participate in certain features and offerings of the Application. You may not opt out of Visible Vote sharing your name and email address with legislators and other parties to whom you send messages using the Application. ALL SUCH MESSAGES FROM YOU TO LEGISLATORS AND OTHERS WILL INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS AND CANNOT BE SENT ANONYMOUSLY. In addition, your name, email address and other personal information will be provided to any party to whom you make a monetary donation using the Application.

How Visible Vote Protects Your Information

Visible Vote protects the information you share through the Application. Visible Vote takes appropriate security measures to help safeguard this information from unauthorized access and disclosure. For example, only authorized employees are permitted to access your personal information, and they may do so only for limited reasons. Visible Vote also encrypts sensitive information before it is sent from your computer through the Application. Visible Vote also uses firewalls to help prevent unauthorized access to your personal information.

How Visible Vote Uses Your Information

Visible Vote may use information that it collects from and about you in the following ways:

• To deliver the services you request;
• To register you in the Application or other programs in which you choose to participate;
• To manage your profile and provide you with customer service;
• To perform research and analyze your use of the Application;
• To communicate with you by email, regular mail, telephone and/or mobile devices about products or services from Visible Vote, Visible Vote’s affiliated companies or other third parties that may be of interest to you;
• To enforce these Terms;
• To protect against and identify fraudulent transactions;
• To generally manage Visible Vote’s business; and
• To perform other functions, which Visible Vote will describe to you at the time it collects the information.

When you provide information through the Application, the information may be sent to servers located in the United States and other countries around the world.

Sharing Your Information

Except as noted below, you can opt out of Visible Vote sharing your name and email address with third parties by changing your Settings on the Application. Opting out of the sharing of personal information will not prevent Visible Vote from sharing your non-personal information with third parties. Opting out may limit your ability to participate in certain features and offerings of the Application.

Visible Vote will not share your name or email address with anyone except as described below or unless Visible Vote specifically informs you:

• Messages to Legislators and Others. You may not opt out of Visible Vote sharing your name and email address with legislators and other parties to whom you send messages using the Application. ALL SUCH MESSAGES FROM YOU TO LEGISLATORS AND OTHERS WILL INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS AND CANNOT BE SENT ANONYMOUSLY. In addition, your name, email address and other personal information will be provided to any party to whom you make a monetary donation using the Application.
• Authorized Service Providers. Visible Vote’s authorized service providers are companies that perform certain services on its behalf. These services may include providing customer service and marketing assistance, performing business and sales analyses, supporting the Application functionality, and supporting other features that Visible Vote offers. These service providers may have access to your personal information to the extent necessary to perform their functions, but Visible Vote does not allow them to share or use any of your personal information for any other purpose.
• Visible Vote Affiliates. Visible Vote may share information it collects, including personal information, with Visible Vote-owned or affiliated businesses. All Visible Vote companies comply with applicable privacy and security laws.
• Business Partners. Visible Vote may share information it collects, including personal information, with third parties offering certain products, services or promotions. When you use the Application, you authorize Visible Vote to share your email address and other information with such third parties. Visible Vote shares this information so that these third parties can contact you about certain products, services or promotions you may be interested in.
• Other Situations. Visible Vote also may disclose your information:
• In response to a subpoena or similar investigative demand, a court order or a request for cooperation from a law enforcement or other government agency; to establish or exercise Visible Vote’s legal rights; to defend against legal claims or as otherwise required by law. In such cases, Visible Vote may raise or waive any legal objection or right available to it.
• When Visible Vote believes disclosure is appropriate in connection with efforts to investigate, prevent or take other action regarding illegal activity, suspected fraud or other wrongdoing; to protect and defend the rights, property or safety of Visible Vote, the Application and its users, Visible Vote’s employees or others; to comply with applicable law or cooperate with law enforcement; or to enforce the these Terms or other agreements or policies.
• In connection with a substantial corporate transaction, such as the sale of Visible Vote’s business, a divestiture, merger, consolidation, or asset sale, or in the unlikely event of bankruptcy.

Visible Vote may share aggregated non-personal information with third parties, including but not limited to advisors, advertisers and investors, for general business analysis purposes. Such information may be used to develop and deliver targeted advertising on the Application and on applications and websites of third parties.

All User Contributions are received and treated by Visible Vote on a non-confidential and unrestricted basis. If you post any information to the Application, by electronic mail or otherwise, Visible Vote will treat it as non-confidential and non-proprietary to you. Information that is posted to the Application will not be protected by these Terms and may be publicly displayed and disclosed and otherwise used by Visible Vote or any third party in any way. By posting information to the Application, you authorize Visible Vote to use or allow others to distribute, reproduce or otherwise use such information. You assume the risks and sole liability for posting information about yourself on the Application that can be used to identify or contact you.

Visible Vote is not liable for any lost data resulting from the operation of the Application or the enforcement of these Terms. Visible Vote urges all users to maintain their own back-up versions of any information they submit to the Application.

How You Can Access Your Information

You can review and update your personal information in your Settings on the Application.

Third Party Websites or Applications

Third parties, including but not limited to SNSs, have their own privacy policies that govern their use of your information. There may be links on the Application where you may access other websites that do not operate under these Terms. Third-party websites or applications may independently solicit and collect information from you, including personal information. These third parties will have their own privacy policies describing how they use and disclose your personal information. Those policies will govern the use, handling and disclosure of your personal information once you or Visible Vote has shared it with those third parties. You should carefully review the privacy policies of those third parties’ websites and applications.

Your California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, you have the right to request information about how Visible Vote shares certain categories of personal information with third parties. California law gives you the right to send Visible Vote a request using the contact information provided under “Contact Visible Vote” to receive the following information:

• the categories of information Visible Vote disclosed to third parties for their direct marketing purposes during the preceding calendar year;
• the names and addresses of the third parties that received that information; and
• if the nature of the third party’s business cannot be determined from their name, examples of the products or services marketed.

Severance and Waiver

In the event any provision of these Terms is held by a court to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions contained in these Terms will not in any way be affected or impaired. Visible Vote’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision under these Terms will not constitute a waiver of such right or provision by Visible Vote, and no single or partial exercise by Visible Vote of any right or remedy precludes other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right or remedy.

Governing Law, Venue and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to its conflicts of laws principals. Any case, controversy, suit, action, or proceeding arising out of, in connection with or related to these Terms must be brought in a federal or state court located in Cook County, Illinois, and you hereby waive any objection to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts. You hereby consent and submit to the jurisdiction of any local, state, or federal court located within said county and state. You hereby waive any right or basis you may otherwise have to transfer or change or object to the venue of any litigation arising out of, in connection with or related to these Terms in accordance with this paragraph.

Entire Agreement

You agree that these Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Visible Vote with respect to your use of the Application. You agree that these Terms supersede any other agreements between you and Visible Vote with respect to your use of the Application.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold Visible Vote and its affiliates, and each of Visible Vote’s and its affiliates’ respective managers, members, officers, agents, employees, contractors and principals, harmless from any loss, liability, claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the Application.

Contact Visible Vote

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact Visible Vote by regular mail or email at the following address:

Visible Vote LLC

2052 W. North Ave., Suite 3W

Chicago, IL 60647

E-mail: info@visiblevote.us