Term of Services

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR USE OF AND ACCESS TO OUR SERVICES (DEFINED BELOW) ARE SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING TERMS; IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THE FOLLOWING, YOU MAY NOT USE OR ACCESS THE SERVICES IN ANY MANNER.

Effective Date: July 13, 2021

 

Welcome to stateaffairs.com (“Website”). Please read on to learn the rules and restrictions that govern your use of our Website. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding these terms or the Services, please contact us at [email protected]

State Affairs (“State Affairs,” “we” and “us”) is a company, registered in Delaware. Our registered office is at 12966 Treaty Line Street Carmel, IN 46032.

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) are a binding contract between you and us. You must agree to and accept all of the Terms, or you don’t have the right to use the Services. Your using the Services in any way means that you agree to all of these Terms, and these Terms will remain in effect while you use the Services. These Terms include the provisions in this document, as well as those in the Privacy Policy and Copyright Dispute Policy.

We are constantly trying to improve our Services, so these Terms may need to change along with the Services over time. We may suspend or discontinue any part of the Services, or we may introduce new features or impose limits on certain features or restrict access to parts or all of the Services. We reserve the right to change the Terms at any time, but if we do, we will bring it to your attention by placing a notice on the Website, by sending you an email, and/or by some other means.

If you don’t agree with the new Terms, you are free to reject them; unfortunately, that means you will no longer be able to use the Services. If you use the Services in any way after a change to the Terms is effective, that means you agree to all of the changes.

We’ll try to give you notice when we make a material change to the Services that would adversely affect you, but this isn’t always practical. However, we will not, unless you agree, make any changes in respect of any Services you have already paid for that would significantly reduce the type or level of service you receive (except if we need to do so for security, legal or regulatory reasons) and/or increase the charges you are obliged to pay.

We will always give you as much notice as we reasonably can of such significant changes, including notice of when the changes go into effect, on the understanding that you have the option of accepting them or cancelling your Subscription (as defined below) without penalty, in which case, you should notify us that you wish to cancel your Subscription through your account page you used for the purchase. If you do not cancel your Subscription before the date on which the changes come into effect (which we will notify to you), this will mean that you have accepted them.

We may, from time to time, with or without prior notice, temporarily suspend the operation of any Service (in whole or in part) for repair or maintenance work or in order to update or upgrade any contents, features or functionality. Similarly, we reserve the right to remove any Content (as defined below) from the Services at any time, for any reason (including, but not limited to, if someone alleges you contributed that Content in violation of these Terms), in our sole discretion, and without notice.

Except for changes by us as described here, no other amendment or modification of these Terms will be effective unless in writing and signed by both you and us.

State Affairs takes the privacy of its users very seriously. Please refer to the current State Affairs Privacy Policy.

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) requires that online service providers obtain parental consent before they knowingly collect personally identifiable information online from children who are under 13. We do not knowingly collect or solicit personally identifiable information from children under 13 (or children under 16 in the European Union); if you are a child under 13 (or 16 where applicable), please do not attempt to register for the Services or send any personal information about yourself to us. If we learn we have collected personal information from a child under 13 (or 16 where applicable), we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that a child under 13 (or 16 where applicable) may have provided us personal information, please contact us at [email protected].

You can sign up for an account, and select a password and user name (“State Affairs ID”). You promise to provide us with accurate, complete, and updated registration information about yourself. You may not select as your State Affairs User ID a name that you don’t have the right to use, or another person’s name with the intent to impersonate that person. You may not transfer your account to anyone else without our prior written permission.

You represent and warrant that you are of legal age to form a binding contract (or if not, you’ve received your parent’s or guardian’s permission to use the Services and gotten your parent or guardian to agree to these Terms on your behalf). If you’re agreeing to these Terms on behalf of an organization or entity, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to agree to these Terms on that organization or entity’s behalf and bind them to these Terms (in which case, the references to “you” and “your” in these Terms, except for in this sentence, refer to that organization or entity).

You will only use the Services for your own internal, personal, non-commercial use, and not on behalf of or for the benefit of any third party, and only in a manner that complies with all laws that apply to you. If your use of the Services is prohibited by applicable laws, then you aren’t authorized to use the Services. We can’t and won’t be responsible for your using the Services in a way that breaks the law.

You must not share your account or password with anyone, and you must protect the security of your account and your password. You’re responsible for any activity associated with your account.

Your use of the Services is subject to the following additional restrictions:

You represent, warrant and agree that you will not contribute any Content or User Submission (each of those terms is defined below) or otherwise use the Services or interact with the Services in a manner that:

  1. infringes or violates the intellectual property rights or any other rights of anyone else (including State Affairs);
  2. violates any law or regulation, including any applicable export control laws;
  3. is harmful, fraudulent, deceptive, threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable;
  4. jeopardizes the security of your account with State Affairs or anyone else’s (such as allowing someone else to log in to the Services as you);
  5. attempts, in any manner, to obtain the password, account, or other security information from any other user;
  6. violates the security of any computer network, or cracks any passwords or security encryption codes;
  7. runs Maillist, Listserv, any form of auto-responder or “spam” on the Services, or any processes that run or are activated while you are not logged into the Services, or that otherwise interfere with the proper working of the Services (including by placing an unreasonable load on the Services’ infrastructure);
  8. “crawls,” “scrapes,” or “spiders” any page, data, or portion of or relating to the Services or Content (through use of manual or automated means);
  9. copies or stores any significant portion of the Content;
  10. decompiles, reverse engineers, or otherwise attempts to obtain the source code or underlying ideas or information of or relating to the Services;
  11. bypasses the measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Services or Content, including without limitation features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any Content or enforce limitations on use of the Services or the Content; or
  12. Monetizes the Content through advertising, subscriptions or other means.

A violation of any of the foregoing is grounds for our termination of your right to use or access the Services.

The materials displayed or performed or available on or through the Services, including, but not limited to, text, graphics, data, articles, photos, images, illustrations, User Submissions (as defined below), and so forth (all of the foregoing, the “Content”) are protected by copyright and/or other intellectual property laws. You promise to abide by all copyright notices, trademark rules, information, and restrictions contained in any Content you access through the Services, and you won’t use, copy, reproduce, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, transmit, distribute, perform, upload, display, license, sell or otherwise exploit for any purpose any Content not owned by you, (i) without the prior consent of the owner of that Content or (ii) in a way that violates someone else’s (including State Affairs’) rights.

You acknowledge that State Affairs and its licensors own the Services. You must not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce (except as expressly provided in this Section), create derivative works based on, post on other websites any copies of or otherwise exploit any of the Services.

The Services may allow you to copy or download certain Content; please remember that just because this functionality exists, doesn’t mean that all the restrictions above don’t apply – they do!

Anything you post, upload, share, store, or otherwise provide through the Services is your “User Submission.” Some User Submissions are viewable by other users. In order to display your User Submissions on the Services, and to allow other users to enjoy them (where applicable), you grant us certain rights in those User Submissions. Please note that all of the following licenses are subject to our Privacy Policy to the extent they relate to User Submissions that are also your personally-identifiable information.

You agree that the licenses you grant are royalty-free, perpetual, sublicenseable, irrevocable, and worldwide.

For all User Submissions, you hereby grant State Affairs a license to translate, modify (for technical purposes, for example making sure your content is viewable on an iPhone as well as a computer) and reproduce and otherwise act with respect to such User Submissions, in each case to enable us to operate the Services, as described in more detail below. This is a license only – your ownership in User Submissions is not affected.

If you store a User Submission in your own personal State Affairs account, in a manner that is not viewable by any other user except you (a “Personal User Submission”), you grant State Affairs the license above, as well as a license to display, perform, and distribute your Personal User Submission for the sole purpose of making that Personal User Submission accessible to you and providing the Services necessary to do so.

Finally, you acknowledge and agree that State Affairs, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users (including you), may need to make changes to your User Submissions to conform and adapt those User Submissions to the technical requirements of connection networks, devices, services, or media, and the foregoing licenses include the rights to do so.

You may have heard of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “DMCA”), as it relates to online service providers, like State Affairs, being asked to remove material that allegedly violates someone’s copyright. We respect others’ intellectual property rights, and we reserve the right to delete or disable Content alleged to be infringing, and to terminate the accounts of repeat alleged infringers. To review our complete Copyright Dispute Policy and learn how to report potentially infringing content, CLICK HERE. To learn more about the DMCA, CLICK HERE.

Any information or content publicly posted or privately transmitted through the Services is the sole responsibility of the person from whom such content originated, and you access all such information and content at your own risk, we aren’t liable for any errors or omissions in that information or content or for any damages or loss you might suffer in connection with it. We cannot control and have no duty to take any action regarding how you may interpret and use the Content or what actions you may take as a result of having been exposed to the Content, and you hereby release us from all liability for you having acquired or not acquired Content through the Services. We can’t guarantee the identity of any users with whom you interact in using the Services and are not responsible for which users gain access to the Services. If the Services provide professional information (for example, financial, legal or medical), such information is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice. No action should be taken based upon any information contained in the Service. You should seek independent professional advice from a person who is licensed and/or qualified in the applicable area.

You are responsible for all Content you contribute, in any manner, to the Services, and you represent and warrant you have all rights necessary to do so, in the manner in which you contribute it. You will keep all your registration information accurate and current. You are responsible for all your activity in connection with the Services.

The Services may contain links or connections to third party websites or services that are not owned or controlled by State Affairs. When you access third party websites or use third party services, you accept that there are risks in doing so, and that State Affairs is not responsible for such risks. We encourage you to be aware when you leave the Services and to read the terms and conditions and privacy policy of each third party website or service that you visit or utilize.

State Affairs has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, accuracy, privacy policies, or practices of or opinions expressed in any third party websites or by any third party that you interact with through the Services. In addition, State Affairs will not and cannot monitor, verify, censor or edit the content of any third party site or service. By using the Services, you release and hold us harmless from any and all liability arising from your use of any third party website or service.

Your interactions with organizations and/or individuals found on or through the Services, including payment and delivery of goods or services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such organizations and/or individuals. You should make whatever investigation you feel necessary or appropriate before proceeding with any online or offline transaction with any of these third parties. You agree that State Affairs shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings.

If there is a dispute between participants on this site, or between users and any third party, you agree that State Affairs is under no obligation to become involved. In the event that you have a dispute with one or more other users, you release State Affairs, its officers, employees, agents, and successors from claims, demands, and damages of every kind or nature, known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to such disputes and/or our Services.

Subscriptions. Certain portions of the Services may require you to sign up for a subscription in order to access them (“Subscription”). Subscriptions may be purchased by clicking on the service or subscription term you wish to subscribe to and then following the prompts that will appear on-screen. You may check and correct any input errors in your purchase up until the point at which you submit your purchase request to us by clicking the “Subscribe” button on the checkout page.

You acknowledge that by clicking on the “Subscribe” button you enter into an obligation to pay for the Subscription and a contract will be formed between you and us in relation to the Subscription ordered.

When you sign up for a Subscription, you will be charged a subscription fee, based on the type of Subscription you select and the length of your Subscription (the “Subscription Term”). The subscription fee for the Services (“Subscription Fee”) will be charged to you in advance as further described below.

We may add new services for additional fees and charges, or amend fees and charges for existing services, at any time, but we will notify you before any such change comes into effect.

Auto-Renewal for Subscriptions. Your Subscription will be automatically renewed at the end of each Subscription Term and your Payment Method (defined below) will be charged for the next Subscription Term. If you wish to cancel auto-renewal of your Subscription for the following Subscription Term, you must cancel your plan through your account page at least one (1) day prior to the end of your then-current Subscription Term. State Affairs may change the Subscription Fee upon notice to you, but such change will only take effect once your then-current Subscription Term has ended. If you do not wish to pay the new Subscription Fee, your only remedy will be to cancel your Subscription for the following Subscription Term, prior to the expiration of your then-current Subscription Term.

Cancellation; No Refunds. You may cancel your Subscription at any time on your account page; however, there are no refunds for cancellation. If you cancel before the end of your Subscription Term you will have access to your account for the remainder of the Subscription Term. In the event that State Affairs suspends or terminates your account for your breach of these terms, you acknowledge and agree that you will receive no refund or exchange for any unused time on a Subscription, any Subscription Fees for any portion of the Services, any Content associated with your account, or for anything else.

Billing. We use a third-party payment processor (the “Payment Processor”) to bill you through a payment account linked to your account on the Services (your “Billing Account”) for your Subscription Fees. The processing of payments will be subject to the terms, conditions and privacy policies of the Payment Processor in addition to these Terms. We are not responsible for error by the Payment Processor. By signing up for a Subscription, you agree to pay us, through the Payment Processor, all charges at the prices then in effect for such Subscription in accordance with the applicable payment terms, and you authorize us, through the Payment Processor, to charge your chosen payment provider (for example, a credit or debit card you provide) (your “Payment Method”). You agree to make payment using that selected Payment Method. We reserve the right to correct any errors or mistakes that the Payment Processor makes even if it has already requested or received payment.

Payment Method. The terms of your payment will be based on your Payment Method and may be determined by agreements between you and the financial institution, credit card issuer or other provider of your chosen Payment Method. If we, through the Payment Processor, do not receive payment from you on time, you agree to pay all amounts due on your Billing Account upon demand. If you do not pay us charges you owe us on time (including if any correct charge to your credit or debit card is not authorized), we may suspend or terminate your access to the Services (and we reserve the right to pursue any available legal remedy to collect the amount owed by you). However, charges will continue to be incurred until your Subscription is cancelled.

Reaffirmation of Authorization. Your non-termination or continued use of a Subscription reaffirms that we are authorized to charge your Payment Method for the applicable Subscription Fees. We may submit those charges for payment and you will be responsible for such charges. This does not waive our right to seek payment directly from you. Your charges may be payable in advance, in arrears, per usage, or as otherwise described when you initially selected your Subscription (or as your payment terms may be amended thereafter).

Current Information Required. You must provide current, complete and accurate information for your billing account. You must promptly update all information to keep your billing account current, complete and accurate (such as a change in billing address, credit card number, or credit card expiration date), and you must promptly notify us or our Payment Processor if your Payment Method is cancelled (e.g. for loss or theft) of if you become aware of a potential breach of security, such as the unauthorized disclosure or use of your username or password. Changes to such information can be made in your account settings. If you fail to provide any of the foregoing information, you agree that we may continue charging you for any use of your Subscription under your billing account unless you have terminated your Subscription as set forth above.

Promotional Discounts and Free Trials. State Affairs may offer discounted Subscriptions from time to time subject to the terms under which they are offered (as indicated in our relevant promotion). Unless otherwise noted, the promotional Subscription Fee pricing is available for the first year, after which regular Subscription Fee pricing will apply. Any free trial or other promotion that provides access to Subscription must be used within the specified time of the trial. You must cancel your Subscription before the end of the trial period in order to avoid being charged for that Subscription. If you cancel prior to the end of the trial period and are inadvertently charged for a Subscription, please contact us at [email protected].

You’re free to do that at any time, by contacting us at [email protected]; please refer to our Privacy Policy, as well as the licenses above, to understand how we treat information you provide to us after you have stopped using our Services.

State Affairs is also free to terminate (or suspend access to) your use of the Services or your account, for any reason in our discretion, including if:

  • you have breached any of these Terms;
  • you fail to pay any correctly billed charges when due; or
  • you become insolvent or make composition with your creditors or petition
    for your own bankruptcy or have a bankruptcy petition presented against you,
    or are subject to any event or proceedings which are equivalent or
    substantially similar under any applicable jurisdiction.

State Affairs has the sole right to decide whether you are in violation of any of the restrictions set forth in these Terms. If you have breached these Terms, we may take such action as we deem appropriate. Such a breach by you may result in our taking, with or without notice, all or any of the following actions:

  • issue a warning to you;
  • immediately withdraw your right to use any of the Services (either temporarily or permanently);
  • institute legal proceedings against you for reimbursement of all recoverable loss and damage resulting from the breach; and/or
  • disclose of all relevant information to law enforcement authorities as we reasonably feel is necessary.

The responses described above are not limited, and we may take any other action we deem appropriate.

Account termination may also result in destruction of any Content associated with your account, so keep that in mind before you decide to terminate your account.

Upon termination of any Subscription or Service or your account, for any reason (including where, in accordance with these Terms, you cancel or do not renew your Subscription):

  • all rights granted to you under these Terms will immediately cease;
  • you must promptly discontinue all use of the relevant Services; and
  • you must pay us all outstanding amounts that you owe us

Any of these terms that, by their nature, should survive termination of the agreement between you and us shall survive termination. By way of example, all of the following will survive termination: any obligation you have to pay us or or indemnify us, any limitations on our liability, any terms regarding ownership or intellectual property rights, and terms regarding disputes between us.

Warranty Disclaimer. Neither State Affairs nor its licensors or suppliers makes any representations or warranties concerning any content contained in or accessed through the Services, and we will not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality, or decency of material contained in or accessed through the Services. We (and our licensors and suppliers) make no representations or warranties regarding suggestions or recommendations of services or products offered or purchased through the Services. We cannot and do not guarantee that any content of the Services will be free from viruses and/or other code that may have contaminating or destructive elements. It is your responsibility to implement appropriate IT security safeguards (including anti-virus and other security checks) to satisfy your particular requirements as to the safety and reliability of Content. THE SERVICES AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED BY State Affairs (AND ITS LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS) ON AN “AS-IS” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR THAT USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Limitation of Liability. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, TORT, CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE) SHALL State Affairs (OR ITS LICENSORS OR SUPPLIERS) BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON FOR (A) ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, ACCURACY OF RESULTS, OR COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR (B) ANY AMOUNT, IN THE AGGREGATE, IN EXCESS OF THE GREATER OF (I) $100 OR (II) THE AMOUNTS PAID BY YOU TO State Affairs IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTH PERIOD PRECEDING THIS APPLICABLE CLAIM, OR (C) ANY MATTER BEYOND OUR REASONABLE CONTROL. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Indemnity. To the fullest extent allowed by applicable law, You agree to indemnify and hold State Affairs, its affiliates, officers, agents, employees, and partners harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages (actual and consequential), losses and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) arising from or in any way related to any third party claims relating to (a) your use of the Services (including any actions taken by a third party using your account), and (b) your violation of these Terms. In the event of such a claim, suit, or action (“Claim”), we will attempt to provide notice of the Claim to the contact information we have for your account (provided that failure to deliver such notice shall not eliminate or reduce your indemnification obligations hereunder).

Choice of Law; Arbitration. These Terms are governed by and will be construed under the laws of the State of Indiana, without regard to the conflicts of laws provisions thereof. Any dispute arising from or relating to the subject matter of these Terms shall be finally settled in Carmel County, Indiana, in English, in accordance with the Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. (“JAMS”) then in effect, by one commercial arbitrator with substantial experience in resolving intellectual property and commercial contract disputes, who shall be selected from the appropriate list of JAMS arbitrators in accordance with such Rules. Judgment upon the award rendered by such arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Notwithstanding the foregoing obligation to arbitrate disputes, each party shall have the right to pursue injunctive or other equitable relief at any time, from any court of competent jurisdiction. For all purposes of these Terms, the parties consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the state or federal courts located in Carmel County, Indiana. Any arbitration under these Terms will take place on an individual basis: class arbitrations and class actions are not permitted. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT BY ENTERING INTO THESE TERMS, YOU AND State Affairs ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.

Miscellaneous. You will be responsible for paying, withholding, filing, and reporting all taxes, duties, and other governmental assessments associated with your activity in connection with the Services, provided that State Affairs may, in its sole discretion, do any of the foregoing on your behalf or for itself as it sees fit. The failure of either you or us to exercise, in any way, any right herein shall not be deemed a waiver of any further rights hereunder. If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated, to the minimum extent necessary, so that these Terms shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable. You and State Affairs agree that these Terms are the complete and exclusive statement of the mutual understanding between you and State Affairs, and that it supersedes and cancels all previous written and oral agreements, communications and other understandings relating to the subject matter of these Terms.

You hereby acknowledge and agree that you are not an employee, agent, partner, or joint venture of State Affairs, and you do not have any authority of any kind to bind State Affairs in any respect whatsoever. Except as expressly set forth in the section above regarding the Application, you and State Affairs agree there are no third party beneficiaries intended under these Terms.