Acceptable Use Policy

Scope and Application of Policy

Pride and Pixel maintains this Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") to provide users of its Services (as such term is defined in the Terms of Service located at www.valueweb.com/tos.htm for purposes of this AUP, the term "Services" shall also be deemed to include Pride and Pixel’s various systems and network) with a clear statement of rules and use restrictions that apply to the use of Pride and Pixel’s Services.

This AUP forms an integral part of the Terms of Service that govern your use of Pride and Pixel’s Services. Your compliance with and cooperation in Pride and Pixel’s enforcement of this AUP is an express condition to your continuing contractual rights to use Pride and Pixel’s Services. This AUP also applies to your employees, agents, contractors and end users. The evolving nature of the Internet and on-line commerce makes it necessary for Pride and Pixel to reserve the right to make changes to this AUP at any time. You agree that any changes will be effective when posted on-line at this location and that your continued use of Pride and Pixel’s Services will constitute your acceptance of any changes or additions to this AUP. You may determine the date of posting at the Effective Date section at the end of this AUP.

This AUP is not intended to address all possible unacceptable uses of Pride and Pixel’s Services. As a result, Pride and Pixel reserves complete discretion to determine what constitutes an unacceptable use of its Services and reserves the right to suspend or terminate your Services, or take such other action as Pride and Pixel deems appropriate in its sole discretion.

Prohibited Uses

YOUR USE OF PRIDE AND PIXEL’S SERVICES MAY NOT VIOLATE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING PROVISIONS. PRIDE AND PIXEL MAY SUSPEND OR TERMINATE YOUR SERVICES IF IT DETERMINES, IN ITS SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE DISCRETION, THAT YOU HAVE ENGAGED IN ANY ACTIVITY THAT VIOLATES THIS AUP. YOU VIOLATE THIS AUP WHEN YOU, YOUR END USERS OR ANY THIRD PARTY ACTING ON YOUR OR YOUR END USERS’ BEHALF, ENGAGE IN ANY ACTIVITY, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, OR ATTEMPT TO ENGAGE IN AN ACTIVITY, WHETHER SUCCESSFULLY OR OTHERWISE, CONTRARY TO THE TERMS OF THIS AUP.

PRIDE AND PIXEL WILL NOT INTERVENE OR BECOME INVOLVED IN ANY DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND A THIRD PARTY. CONSEQUENTLY, PRIDE AND PIXEL RESERVES THE RIGHT, IN ITS SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE DISCRETION, TO SUSPEND OR TERMINATE YOUR SERVICES UPON ITS RECEIPT OF ANY THIRD PARTY COMPLAINT THAT YOU HAVE ENGAGED IN ANY ACTIVITY THAT VIOLATES THIS AUP, THAT MAY OTHERWISE SUBJECT PRIDE AND PIXEL TO LIABILITY FOR ANY REASON, OR THAT MAY CAUSE PRIDE AND PIXEL TO INCUR LEGAL FEES OR OTHER EXPENSES.

PRIDE AND PIXEL MAY SUSPEND AND TERMINATE YOUR SERVICES UNDER THIS AUP WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU AND YOUR END USERS. PRIDE AND PIXEL MAY ALSO REPORT YOUR ACTIVITIES TO FEDERAL AND/OR STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

1. Lawful Purpose You may use Pride and Pixel’s Services only for lawful purposes. You may not transmit, store or present any information, software, data, file or material in violation of any applicable law or regulation. You may not use Pride and Pixel’s Services to facilitate, or otherwise assist in, the violation of any law or regulation.
2. Spamming and Related Activities

   Pride and Pixel strictly prohibits your use of Pride and Pixel’s Services to transmit SPAM or to host a site that is advertised or announced via SPAM. "SPAM" is any form of unsolicited advertisement or informational announcement that is transmitted, whether singularly or in bulk, via any Internet-based communications medium including, but not limited to, Microsoft Messenger Service; Chat Programs such as AIM, YIM and MSN; e-mail, Internet facsimile, Internet phone, instant and text messaging (SMS) and IRC applications.

   Activities that violate this policy may also subject you to civil liability to third parties and to criminal penalties.

3. Permission Based Communications

   You may use Pride and Pixel’s Services to transmit permission-based communications for purposes of marketing your goods and services, provided that you otherwise comply with the standards set out in this AUP and all applicable laws including, but not limited to, the CAN-SPAM Act. All marketing conducted using Pride and Pixel’s Services must be permission (opt-in) based. You must keep adequate and verifiable records to prove that your marketing is strictly permission-based. In addition, should you purchase mailing lists or other types of data that are to be used to contact third parties via Pride and Pixel’s Services, you must verify that the lists have been compiled on a strict "opt-in" basis.

   In addition to the foregoing general requirements, all permission-based communications sent using Pride and Pixel’s Services must include the following (and you are required to take the corresponding actions set forth below):

   1. A working "unsubscribe" link. (You must honor all unsubscribe requests within 72 hours from the time they enter Pride and Pixel’s Services.)
   2. The recipient’s accurate e-mail address in the "to" line and the sender’s accurate e-mail address in the "from" line.
   3. A working link to your privacy policy.
   4. A working "abuse" address and/or link. (You must answer all complaints forwarded to this address within 72 hours from the time they enter Pride and Pixel’s Services.)
   5. An up-to-date website that corresponds with the domain portion of the response e-mail. Your website must conspicuously display your up-to-date mailing address, telephone number and facsimile number.

   You are solely responsible for the transmission of all such permission-based communications. Pride and Pixel reserves the right to suspend or terminate your Services in the event Pride and Pixel receives an excessive number of complaints related to your permission-based communications, whether such complaints are made by parties whom "opt-in" or otherwise. You agree that Pride and Pixel may determine what constitutes an excessive number of complaints in its sole and exclusive discretion.

4. Copyright Infringement

   The Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") sets forth the law regarding the use of copyrighted materials on the Internet. All Pride and Pixel customers are subject to the requirements of the DMCA. Individuals or entities submitting notifications of copyright infringement by an Pride and Pixel customer (per the DMCA) to Pride and Pixel must follow the below procedures. Customers who are the subject of a DMCA notification that meets the below criteria may be subject to account termination at Pride and Pixel's sole discretion.

   DMCA Copyright Infringement Notification Requirements:

   1. Physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf (the "Claimant").
   2. Identification of the copyrighted work(s) claimed to have been infringed.
   3. Identification of the material claimed to infringe the copyright(s), and enough information for Pride and Pixel to locate it including URLs and specific descriptions of the infringing material at each URL.
   4. The Claimant's name, address, and telephone number(s).
   5. A statement that the Claimant has a good faith belief that use of the disputed material is not authorized by the copyright owner or his agent.
   6. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification of copyright infringement is accurate and that the Claimant is authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
   7. Send the notification via mail, email, or fax to:
   
   

   The DMCA contains very specific guidelines as to what proper notification of claimed infringement must contain. Copyright owners may obtain a copy of the DMCA, including these guidelines, by visiting the web site of the U.S. Copyright Office at http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html#512.

   Pride and Pixel is not required to respond to notices that do not meet the requirements of the DMCA. Copyright owners should be aware that there are substantial penalties for false claims and that Pride and Pixel will actively refer complainants who use the DMCA for improper purposes to relevant law enforcement agencies.

   In the event that Pride and Pixel must remove, or disable access to, material on your web site that is alleged to infringe another’s copyright under the DMCA, you acknowledge and agree that Pride and Pixel may do so by disabling access to your entire web site.

   DMCA Counter Notification Requirements:

   1. Physical or electronic signature of the Customer (ie., allegedly infringing web site’s owner) or a person authorized to act on the Customer's behalf.
   2. Identification of the copyrighted work(s) claimed to have been infringed.
   3. Identification of the material claimed to infringe the copyright(s), and enough information for Pride and Pixel to locate it including URLs and specific descriptions of the infringing material at each URL.
   4. The Customer’s name, address, and telephone number(s).
   5. A statement under penalty of perjury that the Customer has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled or is a result of a mistake or misidentification.
   6. A statement that the Customer consents to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the Customer’s address is located, or if the Customer’s address is outside the U.S., for any judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and that the Customer will accept service of process from the complainant (or agent thereof).
   7. Email the counter notification to gianna@prideandpixel.com.

5. Violations of Other Intellectual Property Rights

   You may not use Pride and Pixel’s Services in any manner that infringes or misappropriates any other intellectual property rights of a third party including, but not limited to, trademarks, trade names, trade dress, logos, domain names, patents, trade secrets and other proprietary rights of a third party.

   Although Pride and Pixel reserves the right to suspend or terminate your Services upon its receipt of a third party claim that alleges that you are using Pride and Pixel’s Services in a manner that infringes such third party’s intellectual property rights, Pride and Pixel may, in its sole and exclusive discretion, allow you to continue use of its Services provided that you confirm in a timely manner that you have discontinued the allegedly infringing activities or provide Pride and Pixel with a court order confirming that your activities do not infringe the intellectual property rights of such third party.

6. Disruptive or Abusive Activity

   You may not use Pride and Pixel’s Services:

   1. To forge, misrepresent, omit, or delete message headers, return mailing information and/or Internet Protocol addresses to conceal or misidentify the origin of a message;
   2. To create or transmit any Internet virus, worm, Trojan horse or computer code intended to disrupt services, destroy data, destroy or damage equipment, or disrupt the operations of the Services;
   3. To maintain open mail relays, forward or propagate "chain" mail or mail bomb;
   4. To engage in denial of service attacks including, but not limited to transmitting packets with an illegal packet size, UDP flooding, ping-flooding, half-open TCP connection flooding and any other use, or otherwise interfere with an Internet user’s terminal session;
   5. In a manner that encumbers or utilizes disk space, processors or other system requirements beyond those allowed by your specific account;
   6. To establish, create or otherwise make available any Internet Relay Chat (IRC) server;
   7. To hack, subvert, or assist others in hacking or subverting the security or integrity of Pride and Pixel’s Services;
   8. To disseminate or display indecent or obscene images or content;
   9. To solicit information that is considered to be confidential, such as passwords or credit card information, or to crack passwords or to defraud third parties into releasing their passwords;
   10. To solicit or facilitate the performance of any illegal activity, even if the activity itself is not performed; and/or
   11. In any manner that might potentially subject Pride and Pixel to unfavorable regulatory action, subject Pride and Pixel to any liability for any reason, or adversely affect Pride and Pixel’s public image, reputation, goodwill, business or operations.

7. United States Export Laws

   United States export control laws govern your use of Pride and Pixel’s Services. These laws apply to you and your use of Pride and Pixel’s Services regardless of whether you actually reside in the United States.

   You may not use Pride and Pixel’s Services for any purpose that violates these laws, which may include the sale of products that may be legal to sell in the United States, but illegal to export. You may not use Pride and Pixel’s Services to provide services to end users with whom United States citizens may not do business.

   For further information about United States export laws, you may visit the United States government’s portal to exporting and trade services at www.export.gov/exportcontrols.html.

8. Privacy

   Pride and Pixel’s privacy policy may be found at http://www.prideandpixel.com/policy.html.

   While Pride and Pixel is concerned with the privacy of on-line communications and websites, the Internet is no more secure than other means of communications. You should assume that all on-line communications are insecure. Pride and Pixel is not responsible for the security of any information transmitted over its Services, unless it has expressly agreed to do so. Such an agreement must be in writing and signed by an authorized officer of Pride and Pixel.

9. IP Addresses

   IIf you are the registered owner of an Pride and Pixel shared account:

   Your Services may not be transferred or used by anyone other than you. You may not sell, lease or assign the Services or any part of the Services to any party not named in Pride and Pixel’s records. You may allow ftp access and host websites for your end customers without violating this AUP.

   When you utilize an excessive amount of system resources, Pride and Pixel reserves the right to place CPU process limits on your account to prevent disruption of Pride and Pixel Services to other customers. Pride and Pixel reserves sole discretion to determine what constitutes excessive usage of system resources.

10. Certain Restrictions Applicable to Shared Customers

    If you are the registered owner of an Pride and Pixel shared account:

    Your Services may not be transferred or used by anyone other than you. You may not sell, lease or assign the Services or any part of the Services to any party not named in Pride and Pixel’s records. You may allow ftp access and host websites for your end customers without violating this AUP.

    When you utilize an excessive amount of system resources, Pride and Pixel reserves the right to place CPU process limits on your account to prevent disruption of Pride and Pixel Services to other customers. Pride and Pixel reserves sole discretion to determine what constitutes excessive usage of system resources.

11. Certain Restrictions Applicable to Dedicated Customers

    If you are the registered owner of an Pride and Pixel dedicated account:

    You are solely responsible for any breaches of security affecting servers under your control. If your server is involved in an attack on another server or system, it may be shut down and Pride and Pixel may launch an investigation to determine the cause and source of the attack. In such an event, you are responsible for all costs to rectify any damage done to your server and any other requirement affected by the security breach. You acknowledge and agree that Pride and Pixel will not be liable to you or your end users for any loss or corruption of data or information, inability to access the Internet or Pride and Pixel’s Services or inability to transmit or receive information as a result of any actions taken by Pride and Pixel in response to such security breaches. This foregoing sentence may not be construed to diminish or amend any limitations of liability, or restrict the applicability of such limitations, as to Pride and Pixel that are set forth in the Terms of Service or any other agreement between you and Pride and Pixel.

No Credits or Refunds for Suspension and/or Termination of Services

Pride and Pixel does not issue credits or refunds for outages incurred as a result of its decision to suspend or terminate its Services for a violation of this AUP. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Pride and Pixel from any claims by your end users and any third party that they have been damaged by reason of such suspension or termination of Pride and Pixel’s Services.

Monitoring of Services; Cooperation with Law Enforcement; Legal Documents

You are solely responsible for ensuring that materials disseminated or posted using Pride and Pixel’s Services comply with this AUP and all applicable laws and regulations. Pride and Pixel does not review, edit, censor or take responsibility for any information you, other customers or your end users may create.

Pride and Pixel may disclose information, including information that you may consider confidential, in order to comply with a court order, subpoena, summons, discovery request, warrant, regulation or governmental request. Pride and Pixel assumes no obligation to inform you that such information has been provided and, in some cases, may be prohibited by law from providing you with notice.

On occasion, Pride and Pixel may have a need to communicate with you about issues that relate to billing, service changes, additions and modifications to its Services. Pride and Pixel may choose the method of such communication in its sole discretion. The preferred method of communication is via e-mail.

It is your responsibility to provide and check the account and contact information, including a required valid e-mail address, that you provide to Pride and Pixel during the sign-up process. It is your responsibility to inform Pride and Pixel promptly of any changes to your account or contact information. Pride and Pixel has no responsibility for communications that are misdirected as a result of your failure to provide Pride and Pixel with updated contact information.