JobGrades Terms of Service

The effective date of this Agreement is January 15, 2008.

By using the JobGrades.com Services (as defined below) which are owned and operated by JobGrades.com. ("JobGrades") and by accessing the JobGrades Site located at http://www.jobgrades.com, and all linked pages owned and operated by JobGrades (the "JobGrades Site"), you agree to be bound by these terms of service, as well as any other guidelines, rules and additional terms referenced herein, and all such guidelines, terms and rules are hereby incorporated herein by this reference (collectively, "Terms of Service").

JobGrades's on-line services which are available at the JobGrades Site will, among other things, help you find companies you are looking for by allowing you to get job reviews from other JobGrades users, post and share these reviews with JobGrades users, and view third party postings/reviews regarding similar companies ("JobGrades Service"). These Terms of Service set out the legally binding terms with respect to your use of and our provision of the JobGrades Site and JobGrades.com Services. Please read these Terms of Service carefully. Your access to or use of the JobGrades Service constitutes your acceptance of all the provisions of these Terms of Service. If you are unwilling to be bound by these Terms of Service, do not access or use the JobGrades Service.

  1. Eligibility.
    You must be 18 or over, or the legal age to form a binding contract in your jurisdiction if that age is greater than 18 years of age, to contribute to JobGrades or use the JobGrades Site and JobGrades.com Services. If you are under the age of 18 or the applicable legal age in your jurisdiction, you can use the JobGrades Service only in conjunction with, and under the supervision of, your parent or guardian who has agreed to the Terms of Service. If you do not qualify, do not use the Service. Membership in the JobGrades Service is void where prohibited by applicable law, and the right to access the JobGrades Site is revoked in such jurisdictions. You must be 13 or older to use the site, in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act(COPPA). By using the JobGrades Site and/or JobGrades.com Services, you represent and warrant that you have the right, authority, and capacity to enter into these Terms of Service and to abide by all of the terms and conditions set forth herein. The JobGrades website is administered in the US and intended for US users; any use outside of the US is at the user's own risk and users are responsible for compliance with any local laws applicable to their use of the service or the website.

  2. Changes to the Agreement or the JobGrades.com Services.
    You agree and understand that these Terms of Service, the JobGrades Site and the JobGrades.com Services may be modified by JobGrades at any time without prior notice, and such modifications will be effective upon JobGrades's posting of the new terms and/or upon implementation of the new changes on the JobGrades Site. You agree to review the Terms of Service periodically so that you are aware of any modifications. Your continued use of the JobGrades Service after any modifications indicates your acceptance of the modified Terms of Service. Unless expressly stated otherwise by JobGrades, any new features, new services, enhancements or modifications to the JobGrades Service implemented after your initial access to the Service shall be subject to these Terms of Service.

  3. Use of the Site/Services by Members.
    Subject to the restrictions on use and on posting set forth in this Agreement, you may: use the JobGrades Site to solicit reviews from, and share reviews with other JobGrades users; search the JobGrades database for reviews and business contact information; forward reviews to people you know, whether or not they are existing JobGrades users; invite people you know to join JobGrades; and download or copy the portions of the information, data, text, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages and other materials available via the JobGrades Service ("Content"), and other items displayed on the JobGrades Site, for your own use. You may not copy or distribute any portion of the JobGrades Site and/or JobGrades Service for any purpose not authorized above without the express written permission of JobGrades. JobGrades does not control the Content posted by third parties via the JobGrades Service, including the content of any messages or reviews, and does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content. You understand that by using the JobGrades Service you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will JobGrades be liable in any way for any Content, including any errors or omissions in any Content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of your use of any Content. You are responsible for complying with all laws applicable to the Content you submit via the JobGrades Service. You agree that you must evaluate and bear all risks associated with the use of any Content, including any reliance on the content, integrity, and accuracy of such Content.

  4. Restrictions on Rights to Use.
    You agree that you shall not (and you agree not to allow any third party to):
    • modify, adapt, translate, or reverse engineer any portion of the JobGrades Site and/or JobGrades Service;
    • remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices contained in or on the JobGrades Site and/or JobGrades Service or in or on any Content or other material obtained via the JobGrades Site and/or JobGrades Service;
    • use any robot, spider, site search/retrieval application, or other automated device, process or means to access, retrieve or index any portion of the JobGrades Site and/or JobGrades Service;
    • access, retrieve or index any portion of the JobGrades Site and/or JobGrades Service for purposes of constructing or populating a searchable database of business reviews;
    • collect any information about other users or members (including usernames and/or email addresses) for any purpose other than to solicit and share reviews with other JobGrades users or members;
    • reformat or frame any portion of the web pages that are part of the JobGrades Site and/or JobGrades Service;
    • create user accounts by automated means or under false or fraudulent pretenses;
    • create or transmit unwanted electronic communications such as "spam" to other users or members of the JobGrades Site and/or JobGrades Service or otherwise interfere with other user's or member's enjoyment of the JobGrades Site and/or JobGrades Service;
    • transmit any viruses, worms, defects, Trojan horses or other items of a destructive nature;
    • use of the JobGrades Site or JobGrades.com Services to violate the security of any computer network, crack passwords or security encryption codes, transfer or store illegal material including that are deemed threatening or obscene;
    • copy or store any Content offered on the JobGrades Site for other than your own use;
    • use any device, software or routine that interferes with the proper working of the JobGrades Site and/or JobGrades Service, or otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the JobGrades Site and/or JobGrades Service;
    • take any action that imposes, or may impose in our sole discretion, an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our IT infrastructure;
    • use the JobGrades Site and/ or JobGrades Service, intentionally or unintentionally, to violate any applicable local, state, national or international law; or
    • collect or store personal data about other users in connection with the prohibited activities described in this paragraph.

  5. Content Posted By You on the JobGrades Site.
    • You are solely responsible for any Content and other material that you submit, publish or display on the JobGrades Site or transmit to other members and/or other website users (hereinafter, "Posted Content").
    • You may not post, distribute, or reproduce in any way any copyrighted material, trademarks, or other proprietary information without obtaining the prior written consent of the owner of such proprietary rights. You may not submit any Content or material that infringes, misappropriates or violates the intellectual property, publicity, privacy or other rights of any party.
    • You may not provide any Posted Content that falsely express or imply that such Content or material is sponsored or endorsed by JobGrades.
    • You may not provide any Posted Content that is unlawful or that promotes or encourages illegal activity.
    • You understand and agree that JobGrades may review and delete any business listings (including business name, address, phone, fax, distance, reviews, rating, reviews) or other Posted Content that in the sole judgment of JobGrades violates these Terms of Service or which might be offensive, illegal, or that might violate the rights of, harm, or threaten the safety of other users or members of the JobGrades Site and/or other website users.
    • You are solely responsible for your ratings and reviews of businesses listed on JobGrades. JobGrades reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and any entity which you have reviewed.
    • You agree that you will only provide Posted Content that you believe to be true and you will not purposely provide false or misleading information.
    • By posting Posted Content on the JobGrades Site, you agree to and hereby do grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, JobGrades, its contractors, and the users of the JobGrades Site an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, fully sublicensable, fully paid up, worldwide license to use, copy, publicly perform, digitally perform, publicly display, and distribute such Posted Content and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such Posted Content. This license is non-exclusive, except you agree that JobGrades shall have the exclusive right to practice this license to the extent of combining your Posted Content with the Posted Content of other JobGrades users for purposes of constructing or populating a searchable database of business reviews.
    • The following is a partial list of the kind of Content and communications that are illegal or prohibited on/through the JobGrades Site. JobGrades reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action in its sole discretion against anyone who violates this provision, including without limitation, removing the offending communication from the JobGrades Service and terminating the membership of such violators or blocking your use of the JobGrades Service and/or JobGrades Site. You may not post Content that:

      • is false or intentionally misleading;
      • is patently offensive to users of the JobGrades Site, such as Content or messages that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
      • harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
      • involves the transmission of unsolicited mass mailing or "spamming";
      • violates the intellectual property or other rights of any person;
      • promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive;
      • is threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous;
      • is pornographic or sexually explicit in nature; and
      • seeks or recommends providers of material that exploits people under the age of 18 in a sexual or violent manner, or seeks or recommends providers that solicit personal information from anyone under 18.

  6. Copyright Dispute Policy.
    JobGrades has adopted the following general policy toward copyright infringement in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act or DMCA (posted at http://www.lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/legislation/dmca.pdf). The address of JobGrades's Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement ("Designated Agent") is provided at the bottom of this section.
    • JobGrades Policy.
      It is JobGrades's policy to (i) block access to or remove material that it believes in good faith to be copyrighted material that has been illegally copied and distributed by any of our advertisers, affiliates, Content providers, members or users; and (ii) remove and discontinue service to repeat offenders.

    • Procedure for Reporting Copyright Infringements.
      If you believe that material or Content residing on or accessible through the JobGrades Site or Service infringes a copyright, please send a notice of copyright infringement containing the following information to the Designated Agent listed below ("Proper Bona Fide Infringement Notification"):

      1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright that has been allegedly infringed;
      2. Identification of works or materials being infringed;
      3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing including information regarding the location of the infringing materials that the copyright owner seeks to have removed, with sufficient detail so that JobGrades is capable of finding and verifying its existence;
      4. Contact information about the notifier including address, telephone number and, if available, email address;
      5. A statement that the notifier has a good faith belief that the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
      6. A statement made under penalty of perjury that the information provided is accurate and the notifying party is authorized to make the complaint on behalf of the copyright owner.

    • Address for Designated Agent. Please contact JobGrades's Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement at the following address:

      Copyright Agent, JobGrades Inc.
      Email to: legal@jobdud.com


  7. No Liability.
    If you enter into correspondence or engage in commercial transactions with third parties in connection with your use of the JobGrades Service, such activity is solely between you and the applicable third party. JobGrades shall have no liability, obligation or responsibility for any such activity. You hereby release JobGrades from all claims arising from such activity.

  8. Ownership.
    The JobGrades Site and JobGrades Service (including, but not limited to, text, photographs, graphics, video and audio Content) are protected by copyright as collective works or compilations under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries. All individual articles, Content and other elements comprising the JobGrades Site and JobGrades Service are also copyrighted works. Except for the Content submitted by members or users, the JobGrades Service and all aspects thereof, including all copyrights, trademarks, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights therein, is owned by JobGrades or its licensors. You acknowledge that the JobGrades Service and any underlying technology or software used in connection with the JobGrades Service contain JobGrades's proprietary information. You may not modify, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works of, publicly display or in any way exploit, any of the content, software, and/or materials available on the JobGrades Site, or JobGrades.com Services in whole or in part except as expressly provided in JobGrades's policies and procedures made available via the JobGrades Service. Except as expressly and unambiguously provided herein, JobGrades and its suppliers do not grant you any express or implied rights, and all rights in the JobGrades Service not expressly granted by JobGrades to you are retained by JobGrades.

  9. Disclaimer.
    THE JobGrades Site IS PROVIDED BY JOBDUD ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. AND ITS LICENSORS AND AFFILIATES MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, STATUTORY OR IMPLIED AS TO THE OPERATION OF THE JobGrades Site, SERVICE OR SOFTWARE OR THE INFORMATION, CONTENT, MATERIALS, OR PRODUCTS INCLUDED ON THE SITE OR IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE JobGrades.com Services. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, JOBDUD AND ITS LICENSORS AND AFFILIATES DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, STATUTORY, OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. JOBDUD AND ITS LICENSORS AND AFFILIATES FURTHER DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE INFORMATION, TEXT, GRAPHICS, LINKS OR OTHER ITEMS CONTAINED WITHIN THE JobGrades Site. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. JOBDUD IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONDUCT, OF ANY USER OF THE JobGrades Site. JobGrades does not warrant or covenant that the JobGrades Service will be available at any time or from any particular location, will be secure or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that the JobGrades Service is free of viruses or other potentially harmful components. Any material or Content downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of the JobGrades Service is accessed at your own discretion and risk and you will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data that results from the download of any such material. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY ANY USER FROM JOBDUD, THE JobGrades Site OR THROUGH OR FROM THE JOBDUD SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED HEREIN.

  10. Limitation on Liability.
    JobGrades shall not be liable for any failure to perform its obligations hereunder where such failure results from any cause beyond JobGrades's reasonable control, including, without limitation, mechanical, electronic or communications failure or degradation (including "line-noise" interference). WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, JOBDUD AND ITS AFFILIATES AND SUPPLIERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE UNDER ANY THEORY OF LAW, FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, AND/OR LOSS OF INFORMATION OR DATA. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, JOBDUD'S MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CAUSES WHATSOEVER, AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION, WILL AT ALL TIMES BE LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (i) THE AMOUNT PAID, IF ANY, BY YOU TO JOBDUD FOR THE JobGrades.com Services IN THE 12 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACTION GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY OR (ii) $100 . IF YOU ARE A CALIFORNIA RESIDENT, YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE SECTION 1542, WHICH SAYS "A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS WHICH THE CREDITOR DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE, WHICH, IF KNOWN BY HIM MUST HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR."

  11. Indemnity.
    You agree to indemnify and hold JobGrades, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers and employees, harmless, including costs and attorneys' fees, from any claim or demand made by any third party due to or arising out of (i) your access to the JobGrades Site, (ii) your use of the JobGrades.com Services, (iii) the violation of these Terms of Service by you, or (iv) the infringement by you, or any third party using your account or User ID or password, of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity.

  12. Miscellaneous.
    If there is any dispute about or involving the JobGrades Site and/or the JobGrades Service, by using the JobGrades Site, you agree that the dispute will be governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You agree to personal jurisdiction by and venue in the state and federal courts of the State of California, City of San Francisco. No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment is created as a result of these Terms of Service and you do not have any authority of any kind to bind JobGrades in any respect whatsoever. JobGrades may provide you with notices, including those regarding changes to the Terms of Service by email, regular mail or postings on the JobGrades Service. These Terms of Service, accepted upon use of the JobGrades Site, and all terms, guidelines and rules referenced herein contain the entire agreement between you and JobGrades regarding the use of the JobGrades Site and/or the JobGrades Service. The failure of JobGrades to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. The failure of either party to exercise in any respect any right provided for herein shall not be deemed a waiver of any further rights hereunder. If any provision of these Terms of Service is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that these Terms of Service shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable. These Terms of Service are not assignable, transferable or sublicensable by you except with JobGrades's prior written consent. The section titles in these Terms of Service are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. These Terms of Service include JobGrades's acceptable use policy for Content posted on the JobGrades Site, JobGrades's Privacy Policy, and any notices regarding the JobGrades Site.

  13. Contact and Violations.
    Please contact us with any questions regarding these Terms of Service. Please report any violations of the Terms of Service to legal@jobdud.com.

  14. Mark.
    JobGrades is a proprietary service mark of JobGrades Inc.