BDO USA, LLP Terms of Use/Terms of Service
1. Introduction.
A) Governing Terms. This website, including the features and services available from the site such as RSS feeds, podcasts, and embeddable video, (collectively "BDO.com" or "Site") is an interactive on-line service operated by BDO USA, LLP ("BDO"). These Terms of Service, along with any additional terms and conditions that are referenced herein or that are presented elsewhere on the Site in relation to a specific service or feature (collectively "Terms of Service") and the BDO Privacy Policy, set forth the terms and conditions that apply to your use of BDO.com. By using BDO.com, you agree to comply with all of the terms and conditions hereof. If you do not agree to these Terms of Service, you should not access or use BDO.com.
(B) Changes to Terms of Service. BDO may modify the Terms of Service, or any part thereof, or add or remove terms at any time, and such modifications, additions or deletions will be effective immediately upon posting. Your use of BDO.com after such posting shall be deemed to constitute acceptance by you of such modifications, additions or deletions.
(C) Changes to Site. BDO may change or discontinue any aspect, service or feature of BDO.com at any time, including, but not limited to, content, hours of availability, and equipment needed for access or use.
(D) Registration. You may be given the opportunity to register via an online registration form to create a user account (your "Account") that may allow you to receive information from BDO and/or to participate in certain features on the Site. BDO will use the information you provide in accordance with the BDO Privacy Policy. By registering you represent and warrant that all information that you provide on the registration form is current, complete and accurate to the best of your knowledge. You agree to maintain and promptly update your registration information on the Site so that it remains current, complete and accurate. During the registration process, you may be required to choose a password. You acknowledge and agree that BDO may rely on this password to identify you. You are responsible for all use of your Account, regardless of whether you authorized such access or use, and for ensuring that all use of your Account complies fully with the provisions of these Terms of Service.
(E) Equipment. You are responsible for obtaining and maintaining all connectivity, computer software, hardware and other equipment needed for access to and use of BDO.com and all charges related to the same.
2. Community Guidelines & User Content
(A) Interactive Areas. BDO.com may contain comments sections, discussion forums, bulletin boards, or other interactive features ("Interactive Areas") in which you may post or upload comments or user-generated content such as video, photos, messages, other materials or items (collectively, "User Content"). You are solely responsible for your use of any Interactive Areas and you use them at your own risk. By submitting User Content to an Interactive Area, you represent that you are 18 years of age or older.
(B) Community Guidelines. If you submit any User Content or participate in an Interactive Area within or in connection with BDO.com, you agree to abide by the following rules of conduct:
- You agree not to upload, post or otherwise transmit any User Content that violates or infringes in any way upon the rights of others, including any statements which may defame, harass, stalk or threaten others;
- You agree not to upload, post or otherwise transmit any User Content that is offensive to the online community, including blatant expressions of bigotry, racism, abusiveness, vulgarity or profanity.
- You agree not to upload, post or otherwise transmit any material that contains or advocates any obscene material.
- You agree not to upload, post or otherwise transmit any User Content that violates any law or engage in activity that would constitute a criminal offense or give rise to a civil liability;
- You agree not to upload, post or otherwise transmit any User Content that advocates or provides instruction on illegal activity or discuss illegal activities with the intent to commit them;
- You agree not to upload, post or otherwise transmit, without BDO's express prior approval, User Content which contains advertising or any solicitation with respect to products or services;
- You agree not to upload, post or otherwise transmit User Content that does not generally pertain to the designated topic or theme of any Interactive Area;
- You agree not to impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
- You agree not to interfere with any other user's right to privacy, including by harvesting or collecting personally-identifiable information about BDO.com users or posting private information about a third party;
- You agree not to upload, post or otherwise transmit any User Content, software or other materials which contain a virus or other harmful or disruptive component;
- You agree not to interfere with or disrupt BDO.com or the servers or networks connected to the Site, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Site;
- You agree not to upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation;
- You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit for any commercial purpose, any portion of BDO.com, use of BDO.com, or access to BDO.com;
- You agree not to upload, post, or otherwise transmit any User Content protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, right of publicity or other proprietary right without the express permission of the owner of such copyright, trademark, trade secret, right of publicity or other proprietary right. The burden of determining that any User Content is not protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, right of publicity or other proprietary right rests with you. You shall be solely liable for any damage resulting from any infringement of copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, rights of publicity or other proprietary rights or any other harm resulting from such a submission. Any person determined by BDO, in its sole discretion, to have violated the intellectual property or other rights of others shall be barred from submitting or posting any further material on BDO.com;
- Any conduct that in BDO’s sole discretion restricts or inhibits anyone else from using or enjoying BDO.com will not be permitted. BDO reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove or edit User Content by you and to terminate your Account for any reason. BDO is not responsible for User Content submitted to BDO.com or posted in comments sections, chat rooms, on bulletin boards or on other Interactive Areas by users of BDO.com.
(C) Monitoring. BDO shall have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor User Content posted or uploaded to BDO.com to determine compliance with these Terms of Service and any operating rules established by BDO and to satisfy any law, regulation or authorized government request. Although BDO has no obligation to monitor, screen, edit or remove any of the User Content posted or uploaded to BDO.com, BDO reserves the right, and has absolute discretion, to screen, edit, refuse to post or remove without notice any User Content posted or uploaded to BDO.com at any time and for any reason, and you are solely responsible for creating backup copies of and replacing any User Content posted to the Site at your sole cost and expense.
(D) License to User Content. By submitting User Content to BDO.com, you automatically grant BDO the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, publish, reproduce, modify, adapt, edit, translate, create derivative works from, incorporate into other works, distribute, sub-license and otherwise exploit such User Content (in whole or in part) worldwide in any form, media or technology now known or hereafter developed for the full term of any copyright that may exist in such User Content. You warrant that such User Content is accurate and not misleading, and that use and posting or other transmission of such User Content does not violate these Terms of Service and will not violate any rights of or cause injury to any person or entity. You further grant BDO the right to pursue at law any person or entity that violates your or BDO's rights in the User Content by a breach of these Terms of Service.
(E) Moral Rights. If it is determined that you retain moral rights (including rights of attribution or integrity) in the User Content, you hereby declare that (a) you do not require that any personally identifying information be used in connection with the User Content, or any derivative works of or upgrades or updates thereto; (b) you have no objection to the publication, use, modification, deletion and exploitation of the User Content by BDO or its licensees, successors and assigns; (c) you forever waive and agree not to claim or assert any entitlement to any and all moral rights of an author in any of the User Content; and (d) you forever release BDO, and its licensees, successors and assigns, from any claims that you could otherwise assert against BDO by virtue of any such moral rights. You also permit any other user to access, view, store or reproduce the User Content for that user's personal use.
(F) User Content submitted by you will be considered non-confidential and BDO is under no obligation to treat such User Content as proprietary information except pursuant to the BDO Privacy Policy. Without limiting the foregoing, BDO reserves the right to use any User Content as it deems appropriate, including, without limitation, deleting, editing, modifying, rejecting, or refusing to post it. BDO is under no obligation to offer you any payment for User Content that you submit or the opportunity to edit, delete or otherwise modify User Content once it has been submitted to BDO. BDO shall have no duty to attribute authorship of User Content to you, and shall not be obligated to enforce any form of attribution by third parties.
3. Copyright Ownership.
BDO.com contains copyrighted material, trademarks and other proprietary information, including, but not limited to, text, software, photos, video, graphics, music and sound, and the entire contents of BDO.com are copyrighted as a collective work under the United States copyright laws. BDO owns copyright in the selection, coordination, arrangement and enhancement of such content, as well as in the content original to it. You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit, any of the content, in whole or in part. You may download copyrighted material for your personal use only. Except as otherwise expressly permitted under copyright law, no copying, redistribution, retransmission, publication or commercial exploitation of downloaded material will be permitted without the express permission of BDO and the copyright owner. In the event of any permitted copying, redistribution or publication of copyrighted material, no changes in or deletion of author attribution, trademark legend or copyright notice shall be made. You acknowledge that you do not acquire any ownership rights by downloading copyrighted material.
4. Third Party Content.
BDO is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties and users. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including information providers or users of BDO.com, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of BDO. Neither BDO nor any third-party provider of information guarantees the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content, nor its merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. (Refer to Section 6 below for the complete provisions governing limitation of liabilities and disclaimers of warranty.)
In many instances, the content available through BDO.com represents the opinions and judgments of the respective user or information provider not under contract with BDO. BDO neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on BDO.com by any third party. Under no circumstances will BDO be liable for any loss or damage caused by your use or reliance on information obtained through BDO.com. BDO is not responsible for any actions or inaction on your part based on the information that is presented on BDO.com. It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through BDO.com. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content.
5. Third Party Web Sites.
You acknowledge and agree that BDO has no responsibility for the information, content, products, services, advertising, code or other materials which may or may not be provided by or through web sites to which you may link from this Site (collectively, "Linked Sites"). Links to Linked Sites do not constitute an endorsement by BDO of such web sites or the information, content, products, services, advertising, code or other materials presented on or through such web sites. BDO shall not be held responsible should you encounter any material on Linked Sites that is or may appear indecent, illegal, or inaccurate. Such Linked Sites are governed by their own terms of use and their own privacy policies.
6. Disclaimer of Warranty; Limitation of Liability.
(A) YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT USE OF BDO.COM IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. NEITHER BDO, ITS SUBSIDIARIES, ITS OTHER AFFILIATES NOR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PARTNERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS WARRANT THAT BDO.COM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE; NOR DO THEY MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF BDO.COM, OR AS TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY OR CONTENT OF ANY INFORMATION, SERVICE, OR MERCHANDISE PROVIDED THROUGH BDO.COM.
(B) BDO.COM, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY DOWNLOADABLE SOFTWARE, IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OTHER THAN THOSE WARRANTIES WHICH ARE IMPLIED BY AND INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION, RESTRICTION OR MODIFICATION UNDER THE LAWS APPLICABLE TO THESE TERMS OF SERVICE.
(C) NEITHER BDO, ITS SUBSIDIARIES, ITS OTHER AFFILIATES NOR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PARTNERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS ARE LIABLE FOR THE DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF OTHER USERS OR THIRD-PARTIES AND THAT THE RISK OF INJURY FROM THE FOREGOING RESTS ENTIRELY WITH YOU.
(D) IN NO EVENT WILL BDO, ITS SUBSIDIARIES, ITS OTHER AFFILIATES NOR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PARTNERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS OR ANY PERSON OR ENTITY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DISTRIBUTING BDO.COM OR THE BDO.COM SOFTWARE, BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE BDO.COM..
(E) IN ADDITION TO THE TERMS SET FORTH ABOVE NEITHER, BDO, ITS SUBSIDIARIES, ITS OTHER AFFILIATES, NOR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PARTNERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS, LICENSORS, INFORMATION PROVIDERS OR CONTENT PARTNERS BE LIABLE REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE OR DURATION, FOR ANY ERRORS, INACCURACIES, OMISSIONS, OR OTHER DEFECTS IN, OR UNTIMELINESS OR UNAUTHENTICITY OF, THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN BDO.COM, OR FOR ANY DELAY OR INTERRUPTION IN THE TRANSMISSION THEREOF TO YOU, OR FOR ANY CLAIMS OR LOSSES ARISING THEREFROM OR OCCASIONED THEREBY. NONE OF THE FOREGOING PARTIES SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY THIRD-PARTY CLAIMS OR LOSSES OF ANY NATURE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOST PROFITS, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. NEITHER BDO, ITS SUBSIDIARIES, ITS OTHER AFFILIATES NOR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES, PARTNERS, AGENTS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS, LICENSORS, INFORMATION PROVIDERS OR CONTENT PARTNERS WARRANT OR GUARANTEE THE TIMELINESS, SEQUENCE, ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THIS INFORMATION. ADDITIONALLY, THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES AS TO THE RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE INFORMATION.
(F) BDO disclaims any and all liability of any kind for any unauthorized access to or use of your personally identifiable information. By accessing BDO.com, you acknowledge and agree to BDO’s disclaimer of any such liability. If you do not agree, you should not access or use BDO.com.
7. Indemnification.
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless BDO, its affiliates and their respective directors, officers, partners, employees and agents from and against all claims and expenses, including attorneys' fees, arising out of the use of BDO.com by you or your Account.8. Termination.
BDO may terminate or suspend these Terms of Service at any time without notice to You. Without limiting the foregoing, BDO shall have the right to immediately terminate your Account in the event of any conduct by you which BDO, in its sole discretion, considers to be unacceptable, or in the event of any breach by you of these Terms of Service. The provisions of Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 shall survive termination of these Terms of Service.
9. Trademarks.
BDO, its subsidiaries and affiliates, own all rights to their logos and trademarks used in connection with the Site. All other logos and trademarks appearing on BDO.com are the property of their respective owners.10. Miscellaneous.
These Terms of Service and any operating rules for BDO.com established by BDO constitute the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersede all previous written or oral agreements between the parties with respect to such subject matter. The provisions of these Terms of Service are for the benefit of BDO, its subsidiaries, other affiliates and its third party content providers and licensors and each shall have the right to assert and enforce such provisions directly or on its own behalf. These Terms of Service shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default. The section headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not be given any legal import.11. Copyrights and Copyright Agent.
BDO respects the rights of all copyright holders and in this regard, BDO has adopted and implemented a policy that provides for the termination in appropriate circumstances of users and account holders who infringe the rights of copyright holders. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide BDO's Copyright Agent the following information required by the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 512:
- A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
- Identification of the copyright 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;
- 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;
- Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party;
- 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
- 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.
For copyright inquiries under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act please contact:
Copyright Agent
130 East Randolph Street, Suite 2800
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: 312-240-1236
Fax: 312-240-3311
Email: copyrightagent@bdo.com
For web posting, reprint, transcript or licensing requests for BDO material, please contact licensingagent@bdo.com
For any questions or requests other than copyright issues or licensing requests, please contact nps@bdo.com.
These Terms of Service were last updated on May 31, 2012.
