Insights4u Terms of Use

Last Updated: 11/17/09

Welcome to www.gfkinsights4u.com (the “Service”) which is operated by GfK Custom Research North America (“GfK” or “we”). 

Please read these Terms of Use carefully before registering or using the Service. If you do not accept these Terms of Use, then you may not use the Service.  By using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use.

1. PERMITTED USE OF THE SERVICE

You may use this Service only for your personal use and subject to these Terms of Use, all applicable laws, rules and regulations and any agreements or terms with third parties to which you are subject. 

2. COMMENTING GUIDELINES

Member participation is critical for the success for any online community. We encourage you to post and reply to other posts on the Service.

Please keep the following guidelines in mind as you submit your comments:

• Remain on-topic: Discussion topics are intended to lend focus.
• Be courteous to your fellow participants.
• Do not advertise products or services.
• Respect copyright and other laws.
• Do not double-post comments.
• Respect the rights of your fellow participants, including their desire for privacy.

Comments of the following nature are not permitted on the Service, and may be edited or deleted:

• Offensive or abusive language or behavior.
• Misrepresentation.
• Trolling, flaming, and blog-spam of any kind.
• Off-topic comments, including requests or complaints about particular accounts, products, services, or programs, or customer service requests.

Note that you may flag abusive comments. Your alert will be sent to the Community Manager.

Please submit complaints about violations of these terms to: insights4u@gfk.com

While it’s crucial for participants to take responsibility for their own posted comments, GfK reserves the right, but is not obligated, to monitor and record any information that is posted or otherwise made available through the Service. GfK (through the insights4u Community Manager or otherwise) has sole discretion for determining whether a particular comment or other content is unacceptable or otherwise appropriate for the Service.

3.  UNAUTHORIZED USE OF THE SERVICE

You may not use spiders, robots, data mining techniques or other automated devices or programs to catalog, download or otherwise reproduce, store or distribute content available on the Service.  Further, you may not use any such automated means to manipulate the Service or attempt to exceed the limited authorization and access granted to you under these Terms of Use.  You may not resell use of, or access to, the Service to any third party.  You may not use the Service, or the content obtained therein, to compete with GfK or develop a competing service to the Service.

4. REGISTRATION OBLIGATIONS/USER NAME

You are not obligated to register in order to access the Service. However, the Service offers certain privileges for which registration is necessary. For example, in order to comment on a post, if you are not yet registered you will be asked to select a user name and password and to provide your email address to GfK. After registering, you will immediately receive an email notification from us that includes a link you must click to confirm your registration. Whenever you contribute to the Service, your user name and a link to your profile will automatically appear with your post.

We may refuse to grant you, and you may not use, a user name (or email address) that is already being used by someone else; that may impersonate another person; that belongs to another person; that violates the intellectual property or other rights of any person; that is vulgar or otherwise offensive; or that we reject for any other reason in our sole discretion.
In consideration of your use of the Service, you agree, where information is requested, to provide true, accurate, current, and complete information about yourself, and to maintain and update it promptly. You agree that if any information you provide is false, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, we may terminate your use of the Service. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password, and agree not to transfer your password or user name, or lend or otherwise transfer your use of or access to the Service to any third party. You are fully responsible for all interaction with the Service that occurs in connection with your password or user name.

You agree to immediately notify GfK of any unauthorized use of your password or user name or any other breach of security related to your account.

5. THIS IS A COMMUNITY SITE

The Service is provided for participants like you to share ideas and information. Comments may be made by the Community Manager and participants will be distinguishable from each other. Comments are made without any requirement of professional or business qualifications or expertise.

Selling and advertising are not permitted by anyone on the Service. GfK does not verify, correct, or endorse any comments for substance or content. You should not consider any comments posted on the Service to be a description or explanation of GfK products or services or otherwise attributable to GfK.

6. ACCESS

In order to use secure access, your browser must support 128-bit encryption, JavaScript, and cookies.

7. ADMINISTRATION

We reserve the right not to post comments, or to reject or remove comments, that we consider inappropriate for any reason, without notification or explanation.

Comments submitted by participants may be abbreviated or edited for brevity or grammar, but are not modified for content or accuracy.

Administration of the Service may result in a delay in the postings of comments to the Service, so your thoughts may not be visible immediately upon clicking the “add comment” button.

By submitting a comment, you agree that you take sole responsibility for the substance of your comments.

8. NO SALES OR MARKETING ON THE SERVICE

Any comments or other content found on the Service are intended for informational purposes only.
GfK is not responsible for any opinions or other content provided in or through the Service by other parties. The opportunity to interact with participants of this online community and any content or links to external sites is provided for informational purposes only and does not represent the opinions or advice of GfK.

You should exercise discretion before relying on any information or content posted on the Service.

9. MEMBER CONDUCT

We do not control the comments or other content posted on our Service by the participants and consequently we do not guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of any content. It is possible that you may be exposed to comments of other participants that may be inaccurate, offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will we be liable in any way for comments posted by any participants, including (without limitation) any errors or omissions in those comments, or any loss or damage incurred as a result of the use of any comments or other information posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via our Service.

You understand and acknowledge that you are entirely responsible for all content that you upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available via the Service.

By way of example and without limitation, you agree that you will not:

1. Upload or transmit content that is illegal, obscene, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, harmful to minors, infringing of intellectual property rights, or otherwise injurious to third parties or objectionable, or consists of or contains software viruses
2. Use a false email address, impersonate any person or entity, or otherwise mislead as to the origin information provided
3. Violate the restrictions in any robot exclusion headers on the Service or bypass or circumvent other measures employed to prevent or limit access to the Service
4. Take any action that imposes, or may impose an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the Service’s infrastructure
5. Upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation
6. “Stalk" or otherwise harass another
7. Intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, and any regulations having the force of law
8. Use the Service for any fraudulent or unlawful purpose; or post, transmit, or otherwise make available any material that would give rise to criminal or civil liability; that encourages conduct that constitutes a criminal offense; or that encourages or provides instructional information about illegal activities
9. Post, transmit, or otherwise make available any material that would violate another person's privacy or other rights, including any materials containing your own or others' personal phone numbers or addresses
10. Post, transmit, or otherwise make available any material, non-public information about a company without the proper authorization to do so
11. Post, transmit, or otherwise make available any virus, worm, Trojan horse, Easter egg, time bomb, spyware, or any other computer code, file, or program that is harmful or invasive or is intended to damage or hijack the operation of any hardware, software, or telecommunications equipment
12. Interfere with or disrupt the operation of the Service, or the servers or networks that provide the Service; or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies, or regulations of such networks
13. Restrict or inhibit any other user from using the Service, including by means of hacking or defacing any portion of the Service
14. Remove any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights notice contained on the Service
15. Frame or mirror any part of the Service without GfK’s prior written authorization

Any unauthorized use terminates the permission or license we have granted you.

10. RESPECT FOR YOUR PRIVACY

At GfK, we understand that your privacy is important to you.

To view the complete privacy policy for the Service, please visit: http://www.gfkinsights4u.com/privacy_policy.cfm

11. EXTERNAL LINKS

If you access linked sites provided by fellow participants or otherwise made available on or through the Service, you do so entirely at your own risk. We have no control over linked sites or materials, information, goods or services available or contained on these linked sites. We are not responsible for and do not endorse or warrant in any way any materials, information, goods or services available or contained on these linked sites or any privacy or other practices of such sites. We reserve the right to terminate any link at any time.

12. DISCLAIMER; LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

USE OF THIS SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS, WHERE IS,” AS AN ACCOMMODATION, AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL GFK OR ITS AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES TO YOU FOR ANY DEFICIENCY, ERROR OR INTERRUPTION IN THE SERVICE. YOUR SOLE REMEDY IN THE EVENT OF ANY DEFICIENCY, ERROR OR INTERRUPTION SHALL BE TO REQUEST THAT WE CORRECT THE MATTER OR, IF WE FAIL TO DO SO, TO DISCONTINUE USE OF THE SERVICE AT YOUR OPTION.

Our Service will occasionally experience outages during which you or other users will not be able to log in, view or operate the service. We do not warrant that this Service, its servers, or email are free of viruses or other harmful components. GfK and its affiliates will not be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the use or unavailability of the service.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL GFK, ITS AFFILIATES, OR EITHER OF ITS RESPECTIVE AGENTS OR EMPLOYEES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF, OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH, THE USE OF THE SERVICE OR WITH THE DELAY OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, OR FOR ANY INFORMATION, EQUIPMENT, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH THIS SERVICE, OR OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE SERVICE, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF WE, OUR AFFILIATES, OR OUR OR THEIR AGENTS OR EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGES.

13. LICENSE TO YOUR CONTENT

If you post information or submit material to the Service,  you hereby grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable, royalty-free license to use, display, catalog, modify, edit, adapt, compile or otherwise exploit any such content.  Such uses can include creating a compilation of posts, editing posts for any reason we deem appropriate or sharing those posts with third parties.  We may also use your name or screen name associated with the posts.  We shall not seek additional permission from you for any uses and you expressly waive any right of approval or compensation for such uses.

14. INDEMNITY

You agree to indemnify and hold GfK and its affiliates, and each of their respective agents and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of any comments or other information you submit, post, transmit or otherwise make available through the Service, your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms of Use, or your violation of any applicable law.

15. TERMINATION

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate access to your account or the Services, without notice or explanation, for any reason, at any time

16. COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK NOTICES

This Service and its contents are protected under copyright laws of the United States and other countries and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published, or broadcast without the prior written consent of GfK or, in the case of third-party materials, the owner of third-party materials. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you may download material from this Service for your personal, non-commercial use.  All rights not expressly granted to you are reserved by GfK.

You agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute, or create derivative works based on the content made available on or through the Service, in whole or in part, or to otherwise use any such content other than as expressly authorized herein.

Trademarks used on this Service are trademarks of GfK or third parties. GfK’s trademarks may not be used in connection with any product or service that is not provided by GfK or its affiliates or in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among customers. All other trademarks not owned by GfK or its affiliates that appear on this Service are the property of their respective owners, who may or may not be affiliated with, connected to, or sponsored by GfK and its affiliates.

For each submission, you represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to grant the licenses granted in this Terms of Use , and that such submission and your posting thereof through the Service complies with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations. You release GfK from any and all claims or liability (now known or hereafter arising) in connection with any submission made by you.

17. PROCEDURE FOR MAKING COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT CLAIMS

Materials may be made available via the Service by third parties not within our control. We are under no obligation to, and do not, scan content used in connection with the Service for the inclusion of illegal or impermissible content. However, we respect the copyright interests of others. It is our policy not to permit materials known by us to infringe another party’s copyright to remain on the Service.

If you believe any materials on the Service infringe a copyright, you should provide us with written notice that at a minimum contains:

1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material;
4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
5. A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

All DMCA notices should be sent to our designated agent as follows:

GfK Custom Research North America
Attn: Insights4u Team
75 Ninth Avenue, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10011
212-240-5300
Email: insights4u@gfk.com

It is our policy to terminate relationships regarding content with third parties who repeatedly infringe the copyrights of others.

18. MODIFICATION OF THESE TERMS OF USE

We reserve the right to change the terms, conditions, and notices under which the Service is offered, at any time.
You can determine if these terms have been revised since your last visit to this Service by referring to the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page.

By continuing to use the Service or act as a participant, you agree to accept and be bound by those terms, conditions, and notices that are in effect at the time of your use of the Service, including any such changes.

19. RELATIONSHIP OF THE PARTIES

You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employee/employer, franchiser/franchisee, or agency relationship exists between you and us or our affiliates as a result of this Terms of Use or use of the Service.

20. ENTIRE AGREEMENT

These Terms of Use (and any other terms referenced herein) constitute the entire agreement between you and us with respect to this Service and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral, or written, between you and us with respect to this Service. Headings are for reference purposes only and do not limit the scope or extent of such section.

Our failure to exercise or enforce any right hereunder, with respect to a breach by you or your designated agents, shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any such right nor operate so as to prevent the exercise or enforcement thereof or of any other right on any other occasion. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.

21. SEVERABILITY

If any part of these Terms of Use is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law - including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set forth above - then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision, and the agreement shall continue in effect.

22. APPLICABLE LAW, JURISDICTION, AND ARBITRATION

These Terms of Use are governed by the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A. You hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state or federal courts in New York County, New York, in all disputes arising out of or relating to the use of this Service.

Any claims asserted by you in connection with the Service must be asserted in writing to us within one (1) year of the date such claim first arose, or such claim is forever waived by you.  Each claim shall be adjudicated individually, and you agree not to combine your claim with the claim of any third party.

Should you have any questions you may contact us at insights4u@gfk.com.

© 2009 GfK Custom Research North America