Terms & Conditions

TERMS OF USE AND SUBSCRIBER AGREEMENT

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN AND READ THIS TERMS OF USE AND SUBSCRIBER AGREEMENT.

This Terms of Use and Subscriber Agreement (the “Agreement”) governs the use of the www.kirkusreviews.com (the “Website”), including without limitation, participation in its messaging services, forums, chat services, bulletin boards, blogs or any other forums or other such services available on or through the Website (the “Community Areas”) (except to the extent stated otherwise on a specific page) as provided by Kirkus Media LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Service Provider,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).

Please read this Agreement carefully BEFORE using this Website. This Agreement constitutes a legal agreement between you and us, whether you are either a Subscriber to or a Visitor of this Website, as these terms are defined below. You are only authorized to access the Website if you agree to abide by all applicable laws and this Agreement.  Any additional terms and conditions proposed by you which are in addition to or which conflict with this Agreement are expressly rejected by us and shall be of no force or effect.  If you do not agree with this Agreement, you should leave the Website immediately.

Your failure to follow these rules, whether listed below or in bulletins posted at various points in the Website, may result in suspension or termination of your access to the Website, without notice, in addition to Service Provider’s other remedies.

In addition to reviewing this Agreement, please read our Privacy Policy. Your use of the Website constitutes agreement to its terms and conditions as well.

You are a “Subscriber” if you choose to pay the subscription fees as discussed below in order to be able to use certain features of this Website, including, among others, accessing certain of our content, participating in the comments features or otherwise contributing content.  To become a Subscriber, you must read this Agreement and complete your registration as a Subscriber, thereby agreeing to be bound by the terms above and this Agreement in its entirety.

You are a “Visitor” if you are not a Subscriber, but are using or accessing those portions of the Website to which you have access.  If you are a Visitor, you are bound by the terms and conditions above and by those sections of this Agreement that are identified as applicable to Visitors.

TERMS APPLICABLE TO ALL VISITORS AND SUBSCRIBERS

Changes to Terms of Use and Subscriber Agreement

We may change the terms of this Agreement from time to time by notifying you of the change in writing or electronically (including without limitation, by email or by posting a notice on the Website that the terms have been updated).  The changes also will appear in this document, which you can access at any time by going to the Term of Use Section.  You signify that you agree to be bound by such changes by using the Website after changes are made to this Agreement.

Age of Use

This Website is not intended for use by children, especially those under age 13.  No one under age 13 is allowed to provide any personal information or use our Community Areas. Minors between the ages of 13 and 17 must get the permission of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s) before making purchases, including subscriptions, on this site.

Limitation on Use

The text, graphics, images, video, metadata, design, organization, compilation, look and feel, advertising and all other protectable intellectual property (the “Content”) available through the Website are our property or the property of our advertisers and licensors and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws.  The copying, reproduction, publication, display, rearrangement, redistribution, modification, revision, alteration, cropping, re-sizing, reverse engineering, movement, removal, deletion, or other use or change by you, directly or indirectly, of any such Content, including but not limited to the removal or alteration of advertising, is strictly prohibited.

You agree not to otherwise create abstracts from, scrape or display our Content for use on another Website or service or post any Content from the Website to weblogs, newsgroups, mail lists or electronic bulletin boards, without our written consent.  Please consult Meg LaBorde Kuehn (mkuehn@kirkus.com) if you need to distribute reviews from the Website on a regular basis or in any other manner not expressly permitted by this Agreement.

Except for any exceptions that consitute "fair use" under applicable law, you may not sell, publish, distribute, retransmit or otherwise provide access to the Content received through the Website to anyone without our permission.  However, you may occasionally distribute a copy or a portion of a review from the Website in electronic or non-electronic form, including, without limitation, on weblogs, newsgroups, Twitter or other social media, without charge, if you include all copyright and other proprietary rights notices in the same form in which the notices appear in the Service and the phrase “Used with permission from Kirkus Reviews Online.”

You agree not to rearrange or modify the Content.  You agree not to disrupt, overwhelm, attack, modify, reverse engineer or interfere with the Website or its associated software, hardware and/or servers in any way, and you agree not to impede or interfere with others’ use of the Website.

You agree not to use the Website for any unlawful purpose. We reserve the right to terminate or restrict your access to a Service if, in our opinion, your use of the Service may violate any laws, regulations or rulings, infringe upon another person's rights or violate the terms of this Agreement.

Other than connecting to our servers by http requests using a Web browser, you may not attempt to gain access to our servers by any means, including, without limitation, by using administrator passwords or by masquerading as an administrator while using the Website or otherwise.

Linked Sites

We may link to, or promote, web sites or services from other companies or offer you the ability to download software from other companies. You agree that we have not reviewed and do not endorse the content of all sites linked to from this Website and we are not responsible for the content or actions of any other sites linked to from this Website.  Your linking to any service or site is at your sole risk.

Limitation of Liability

THIS WEBSITE AND ALL INFORMATION, CONTENT, SERVICES, GOODS, ADVERTISEMENTS, DOCUMENTS AND RELATED GRAPHICS PROVIDED HEREIN ARE PROVIDED “AS IS,” “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. THE DOCUMENTS AND RELATED GRAPHICS PUBLISHED ON THIS WEBSITE COULD INCLUDE TECHNICAL INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE OPERATION OF THE WEBSITE OR THE INFORMATION, CONTENT MATERIALS, OR PRODUCTS INCLUDED ON THIS WEBSITE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY FOR INFORMATION, DATA, DATA PROCESSING SERVICES, UPTIME OR UNINTERRUPTED ACCESS, ANY WARRANTIES CONCERNING THE AVAILABILITY, PLAYABILITY, DISPLAYABILITY, ACCURACY, PRECISION, CORRECTNESS, THOROUGHNESS, COMPLETENESS, USEFULNESS OR CONTENT OF INFORMATION. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT POSSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, SERVICE PROVIDER AND ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS AND EMPLOYEES HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH REGARD TO THIS INFORMATION, INCLUDING ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. SERVICE PROVIDER DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEBSITE IS COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR EQUIPMENT OR THAT THE RELATED SERVICES THEREIN ARE FREE OF ERRORS, VIRUSES, WORMS, “TROJAN HORSES” OR ANY OTHER HARMFUL, INVASIVE OR CORRUPTED FILES AND IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES YOU MAY SUFFER AS A RESULT OF SUCH DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. IN NO EVENT SHALL SERVICE PROVIDER AND/ OR ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS OR EMPLOYEES BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTUOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS WEBSITE OR INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM SERVICE PROVIDER THROUGH THIS WEBSITE.

Release and Indemnification

You release us and our officers, directors, agents, employees, consultants, affiliates, joint ventures, licensors, suppliers, advertisers, and sponsors from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, arising out of or in any way connected with your breach of this Agreement and your activities in connection with the Website. If you are a California resident, you waive 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.”

You will indemnify and hold us and our officers, directors, agents, affiliates, joint ventures and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, due to or arising out of this Agreement and your use of the Website.

Intellectual Property

All Content and otherwise protectable features of this Website, including but not limited to the design, arrangements, layout, software, text, graphics and images were created by or at our direction, are protected by United States and international trademark and copyright law and other applicable law, and are the property of Service Provider, except as otherwise identified. NO PORTION OF THIS WEBSITE MAY BE COPIED, IMITATED OR RETRANSMITTED UNLESS EXPRESS PERMISSION TO DO SO IS GIVEN BY US IN WRITING. The compilation, collection, arrangement, and assembly of all Content on this site is the exclusive property of Service Provider and is protected by United States and international copyright laws. All software used on this site is the property of Service Provider or its software suppliers and is protected by United States and international copyright laws. The text and images used on this Website that are not the property of Service Provider are the property of their respective copyright owners, and are used by Service Provider pursuant to express authorization from the copyright owners or their agents. Any use, including, the reproduction, modification, distribution, transmission, republication, or display, of the content, images and software on this Website is strictly prohibited.  Nothing contained in the Website shall be construed in granting you or any other party a license or other right to any copyright, trademark, patent or other property of Service Provider or any third party, whether by implication, laches, estoppel or explicit grant.  Because the contents of the Website are proprietary, any unauthorized use of the materials on the Website by you or any other party may violate the law.

“Kirkus Reviews” and “Kirkus” along with all logos, other trade names, trademarks, services marks, whether registered or not, set forth on this Website (the “Kirkus Trademarks”) are our sole property.  The Kirkus Trademarks may not be used in connection with any product or service that is not owned by us in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among customers, or in any manner that disparages or discredits us.  Any trademarks not owned by us that appear on this Website are the property of their respective owners and may not be used in connection with any product or service that is not owned by the trademark owners in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among customers, or in any manner that disparages or discredits the trademark owners.  All of the above trademarks may not be copied, downloaded or otherwise exploited without the permission of Service Provider or the owner of such trademark, service mark or trade name, except as explicitly permitted by the trademark owner.

Copyright Infringement Policy

You may not use the Website to transmit, route, provide connections to or store any material that infringes copyrighted works, trademarks or otherwise violates or promotes the violation of the intellectual property rights of any third party.

Service Provider, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. Section 512 as amended by Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “Act”), reserves the right, but not the obligation, to terminate your license to use this Website if it determines in its sole and absolute discretion that you are involved in infringing activity, including alleged acts of first-time or repeat infringement, regardless of whether the material or activity is ultimately determined to be infringing. Service Provider accommodates and does not interfere with standard technical measures used by copyright owners to protect their materials. In addition, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. Section 512(c), Service Provider has implemented procedures for receiving written notification of claimed infringements and for processing such claims in accordance with the Act. All claims of infringement must be submitted to Service Provider in a written complaint that complies with the requirements below and is delivered to our designated agent to receive notification of claimed infringement:

By mail:

Kirkus Media LLC
6411 Burleson Rd.
Austin, Texas 78744
United States of America

By phone:

(512) 386-7220

By email:

KirkusNotices@kirkusreviews.com

In addition, any written notice regarding any defamatory or infringing activity, whether of a copyright, patent, trademark or other proprietary right must include the following information:

• A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of (1) the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed or (2) the person defamed.
• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site is covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site. Similarly, for materials that are defamatory or infringe patent, trademark, or other proprietary rights of a third party, please submit a list of such materials.
• Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing, to be the subject of infringing activity, or that is claimed to be defamatory 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 Service Provider to contact you, such as your address, telephone number, and/or electronic mail address.
• A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright or other proprietary right owner, its agent, or the law.
• A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright or other proprietary right owner, its agent, or the law.
• A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed or on behalf of the person defamed.

Severability

If any provision of these terms, conditions and notices is found to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the remaining provisions with remain in full force.

Resolution of Disputes

The parties submit any claims or actions arising, directly or indirectly, out of or related to the use of the Website to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state or federal courts having jurisdiction over Travis County, Texas.  The parties stipulate that the venue referenced in this Agreement is convenient.

TERMS APPLICABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS

Subscription Fees and Payments

You agree to pay in full the subscription fees and any other charges incurred in connection with your user name and password for access to the Website (including any applicable taxes) at the rates in effect when the charges were incurred.  If your subscription includes access to areas containing premium content or services, your access to such areas may be subject to additional fees, terms and conditions, which will be separately disclosed in such areas. We will bill all charges automatically to your credit, debit or charge card.  Subscription fees will be billed at the beginning of your subscription or any renewal.  Unless we state in writing otherwise, all fees and charges are nonrefundable.  We may change the fees and charges then in effect, or add new fees or charges, by giving you notice in advance.  If you want to use a different credit, debit or charge card or there is a change in card validity or expiration date, or if you believe someone has accessed the Website using your user name and password without your authorization, you must follow the procedures outlined on our Website. You are responsible for any fees or charges incurred to access the Website through an Internet access provider or other third-party service.  If payment is not received by us from your credit, debit or charge card issuer or its agents, you agree to pay all amounts due upon demand by us.

If you submit your credit, debit or charge card information to us upon subscription or otherwise, you give us permission to charge all fees incurred through your account to the credit, debit or charge card you designate.  Any additional fees (other than renewal fees) will be charged at the time they are incurred.  If payment cannot be charged to your credit, debit or charge card or your payment is returned to us for any reason, including charge back, we reserve the right to either suspend or terminate your account and all its obligations under this Agreement.

Privacy and Your Account

In the course of your use of the Website, including subscribing to and registering to the Website, you will provide certain personalized information to us, and you may be provided, or required to choose, a password, user ID, and/or other registration information (collectively, the “User Information”) which is subject to our Privacy Policy. User Information may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country where we have facilities, and by subscribing to the Website, you consent to the transfer of information outside of your country. If your access to the Website has been provided by or through a third party (for example, your employer or an education institution where you are a student) (each, a “Third Party”), the Third Party may have provided us with User Information to enable us to provide you with access to the Website and distinguish you from other subscribers (such as your email address or name).  You agree and represent that all Subscription Information provided by you is accurate and up-to-date. You may not impersonate, imitate or pretend to be somebody else when subscribing and/or setting up an account on the Website.  You agree to notify us promptly if you change your address or email so we can continue to contact you and send any notices required hereunder.  If you fail to notify us promptly of a change, then any notice we send to your old address or email shall be deemed sufficient notice.  

We reserve the right to disclose any information about you, including User Information, in order to comply with any applicable laws and/or requests under legal process, to operate our systems properly, to protect our property or rights, and to safeguard the interests of others.

Use of Password

You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the password you use to access the Website (the “Password”).  It is your responsibility to choose your Password wisely.  You may not authorize others to use your Password.  If you provide someone else with access to your Password, they will have the ability to view information about your account and make changes through the Website.

You are solely responsible for all usage or activity on your account including, but not limited to, use of the account by any person who uses your Password, with or without authorization, or who has access to any computer on which your account resides or is accessible.

If you have reason to believe that your account is no longer secure (for example, in the event of a loss, theft or unauthorized disclosure or use of your Password or any credit, debit or charge card number stored on the Website), you must promptly change the affected Password by using the appropriate update mechanism on the Website, if available, or notify our Customer Service Team as described in our  Privacy Policy.

We may refuse to grant you a user name or Password that impersonates someone else, is protected by trademark or other proprietary right law, or is vulgar or otherwise offensive.

Only one individual may access the Website at the same time using the same user name or Password, unless we agree otherwise.

Community Areas and User Generated Content

(a) User Content. We may offer you the opportunity to comment on and engage in discussions regarding review, books and various related topics in the Community Areas.  Any content, information, graphics, audio, images, and links you submit as part of creating your profile or in connection with any of the foregoing activities is referred to as “User Content” in this Agreement and is subject to various terms and conditions as set forth below.

(b) Cautions Regarding Other Users and User Content.  You understand and agree that User Content includes information, views, opinions, and recommendations of many individuals and organizations.  Importantly, you are responsible for your own decisions and for properly analyzing and verifying any information you intend to rely upon. We do not endorse any recommendation or opinion made by any user. We do not routinely screen, edit, or review User Content. However, we reserve the right to monitor or remove any User Content from the Website or any Community Area at any time without notice. You should also be aware that other users may use the Website or the Community Areas for personal gain. As a result, please approach messages with appropriate skepticism.  User Content may be misleading, deceptive, or in error.

(c) Grant of Rights and Representations by You.  If you upload, post or submit any User Content on the Community Areas, you represent to us that you have all the necessary legal rights to upload, post or submit such User Content and it will not violate any law or the rights of any person.  You agree that upon uploading, posting or submitting information on Community Areas, you grant us, and our respective affiliates and successors a non-exclusive, transferable, worldwide, fully paid-up, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use, distribute, publicly perform, display, reproduce and create derivative works from your User Content in any and all media, in any manner, in whole or part, without any duty to compensate you.  You also grant us the right to authorize the use of User Content, or any portion thereof, by users and other users in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including the rights to feature your User Content specifically on the Community Areas and to allow other users or users to request access to your User Content, such as for example through an RSS Feed.  We may also remove any User Content for any reason and without notice to you.  This includes all materials related to your use of the Services or membership, including email accounts, postings, profiles or other personalized information you have created while using the Services.
(d) Prohibited Use of Community Areas.  You agree that you will not upload, post, transmit, distribute or otherwise publish through the Website or the Community Areas or any service or feature made available on or through the Website or any of the Community Areas, any materials which (i) restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying the Website or the Community Areas, (ii) are fraudulent, unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, offensive, pornographic, profane, sexually explicit or indecent, (iii) constitute or encourage conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any local, state, national or international law, (iv) violate, plagiarize or infringe the rights of third parties including, without limitation, copyright, trademark, trade secret, confidentiality, contract, patent, rights of privacy or publicity or any other proprietary right, (v) contain a virus, spyware, or other harmful component, (vi) contain embedded links, advertising, chain letters or pyramid schemes of any kind, or (vii) constitute or contain false or misleading indications of origin, endorsement or statements of fact. You further agree not to impersonate any other person or entity, whether actual or fictitious, including anyone from Service Provider. You also may not offer to buy or sell any product or service on or through your comments submitted to our forums. You alone are responsible for the content and consequences of any of your activities.

(e) Right to Monitor and Editorial Control.  We reserve the right, but do not have an obligation, to monitor and/or review all materials posted to Website or the Community Areas by users, and we are not responsible for any such materials posted by users. However, we reserve the right at all times to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any law, regulation or government request, or to edit, refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, that in our sole discretion are objectionable or in violation of this Agreement, our policies or applicable law. We may also impose limits on certain features of the Community Areas or restrict your access to part or all of the forums without notice or penalty if we believe you are in breach of the guidelines set forth in this paragraph, the Agreement or applicable law, or for any other reason without notice or liability.

(f) Private or Sensitive Information on Community Areas.  You understand and agree that comments submitted to any Community Area may be recorded and stored in multiple places, both on the Website and elsewhere on the Internet, which are likely to be accessible for a long time and you have no control over who will read them eventually.