Last Updated: February 5, 2010
This Membership Agreement governs your membership in TheAuroran.com website, allowing you full access to the membership portions of the website located at the "Site". This Membership Agreement is in addition to the Terms of Use applicable to the Site. The Site is owned by TheAuroran.com/The Auroran, Aurora's Independent Community Newspaper.
Access to, and use of, the membership portions of the Site are provided upon payment of $240 – a total sum of $20 per month payable up front on a yearly basis. Yearly memberships, in the amount of $240, are paid through TheAuroran.com, and will be returned to the member’s account in credits equivalent to the membership fee, i.e. 240 credits.
Access and use of the membership portions of the Site are provided by TheAuroran.com to you on condition that you accept the terms and conditions of this Membership Agreement and the Terms of Use, and by accessing or using the membership portions of the Site, you agree to the terms and conditions of this Membership Agreement and the Terms of Use. If you do not agree to accept and abide by this Membership Agreement and the Terms of Use, you should not access or use the membership portions of the Site. In the event of any inconsistency between this Membership Agreement and the Terms of Use, the terms of this Membership Agreement shall govern.
TheAuroran.com reserves the right, in its discretion, to change or modify all, or any part of, this Membership Agreement at any time, effective immediately upon notice published on the Site. Your continued use of the membership portions of the Site, after such notice, constitutes your binding acceptance of the terms and conditions in this Membership Agreement, including any changes or modifications made by TheAuroran.com as permitted above. If, at any time, the terms and conditions of this Membership Agreement are no longer acceptable to you, you should immediately cease use of the membership portions of the Site.
MADVERTISING ON SITE
MADvertising is marketing and advertising within a prominent niche, namely TheAuroran.com – designed to empower the user.
MADvertising includes the following:
Download Credits
Download credits can be purchased from within the membership portion(s) and or member profile portion of the Site. Credits can be purchased online with VISA, MasterCard, AMEX, or PayPal, or by mail, with cheque or money order.
The price of credits purchased through the Site will be the price specified in the Site at the time of your purchase. Upon presentation of credit card information, the purchaser warrants that he/she is the cardholder and that the billing information provided is accurate. By approving the purchase of the product or service, you authorize a company authorized by TheAuroran.com to charge the designated credit card, or PayPal account, for the total amount of the purchase.
Free Draw
Rules of Free Draw:
Each member agrees to purchase and make available to the public “three” free draws each year on dates specified by the member to occur within 12 months from the start of the membership date of payment. Each FREE DRAW will deduct 50 credits from the member’s account totalling 150 credits per year paid by the member from the member account and credit system provided by TheAuroran.com to all members.
Within the membership area, members may purchase the right to a FREE DRAW. The business or person(s) representing and/or responsible for your member account, and placing the order, agree(s) to have, in their possession, the item for the draw, prior to the actual draw date. This may be a tangible object, a product, a service, or a certificate, representing the service, to be provided to the “winner” of the draw. The member agrees to present this prize to the winner within one week of the actual draw. The member also agrees to provide the Site representative with a photo, as well as consent to it being published on the Site, and in the local newspaper, The Auroran, as part of the publication, or as a separate piece, for promotion purposes only, or any other promotional material deemed necessary by TheAuroran.com. Submission of any such photos will be considered publication consent by TheAuroran.com.
Coupons
Rules for Coupons:
Within the membership area, members may purchase the right to place coupons strategically within the Site. Once a coupon is placed, it is considered consent for publication. The member must honour the coupon up to, and until, the expiry date on the coupon. The purchasing member agrees that TheAuroran.com, and The Auroran will not be responsible for any coupon commitments on behalf of its members. All coupons are the sole responsibility of the member posting the coupon, and may be held liable if not properly honoured within the specified, published timeframe.
Events
Rules of posting Events:
Within the membership area, members may purchase the right to post events on the EVENT CALENDAR for public and family viewing. The member agrees not to post any inappropriate words, comments or phrases, and will be held liable for any words, phrases or comments posted that are considered inappropriate – legally or otherwise – for adults or children.
Articles
Rules of posting Articles:
Within the membership area, members may purchase the right to attach articles to their member listing identified by an icon for articles. The member agrees not to post any inappropriate words, comments or phrases, and will be held liable for any words, phrases or comments posted that are considered inappropriate – legally or otherwise – for adults or children.
USE OF CONTENT
You acknowledge that the Site contains or may contain information, software, photographs, illustrations, audio files, video files, animations, flash files, data files, code snippets and other material (collectively, "Content") which is protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights of TheAuroran.com and its affiliates or other third parties (including other members).
You may not modify, publish, transmit, transfer or sell, reproduce, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, display, reverse engineer, or in any way exploit any of the Content, in whole or in part, except as otherwise expressly permitted in this Membership Agreement.
Content is provided to the Site through members entering into a Member’s agreement. You may post on the Site any Content owned wholly by you. You may download Content only in accordance with the terms of this Membership Agreement.
PASSWORDS
You acknowledge and agree that the user identification provided by TheAuroran.com, so that you may access and utilize the membership portions of the Site exclusive to your membership, and the password selected by and used by you in conjunction with your Member Name, are to be kept secret and confidential. You agree that you shall not disclose such Member Name or password to any other party without the express written permission of TheAuroran.com.
You acknowledge and agree that you will be responsible for each and every access or use of the membership portions of the Site that occurs in conjunction with your Member Name and such passwords, and that TheAuroran.com is authorized to accept your Member Name and password as conclusive evidence that you have accessed or utilized the membership portions of the Site. You acknowledge that such password(s) are unique to you and that, although TheAuroran.com does have the ability to require password(s) to meet certain requirements (such as a minimum or maximum number of characters) and to reset such password(s), TheAuroran.com does not have the ability to access the password(s) themselves.
RULES OF CONDUCT
You agree that you will not use the Site for any purpose that is unlawful or not permitted by this Agreement.
Members of TheAuroran.com agree, on the Site, NOT to:
• Abuse, harass, stalk, defame, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights of others.
• Distribute, publish, post, or disseminate any defamatory, infringing, obscene, pornographic, sexual, indecent or unlawful material or information.
• Upload or otherwise transfer files that contain software or other material protected by intellectual property laws or by rights of privacy or confidentiality, unless you own or control the rights thereto or have received all necessary consents.
• Upload or otherwise transfer files that contain viruses, corrupted files or any other similar software or programs that may damage or inhibit the operation of another computer.
• Falsify the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is uploaded.
• Post anything on the Site that is directly against the original purpose of the marketing intent and original concept of TheAuroran.com.
• Use any communications or Content or other information obtained through the Site in a manner that is competitive with the Site or TheAuroran.com business.
You also agree not to use the Site in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Site or interfere with any other party's use and enjoyment of the Site. You also agree not to attempt to gain unauthorized access to any other TheAuroran.com member accounts, computer systems or networks associated with the Site. You also agree not to obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available, or provided for, through the Site.
MANAGING CONTENT
TheAuroran.com does not, and cannot, review all communications or Content uploaded to the Site and is not responsible for the content of such communications or Content. Notwithstanding the foregoing, members are allowed to post articles attached to the member listing within their category, and may post promotional events on the event calendar under ‘events’ for public viewing.
TheAuroran.com reserves the right to delete, move or edit any communication or Content that it may determine, in its sole discretion, violates, or may violate, this Membership Agreement or is otherwise unacceptable. You shall remain solely responsible for all communications made or Content uploaded under your Member Name. TheAuroran.com shall have the right but not the obligation to correct any errors or omissions in any Content, as it may determine, in its sole discretion. You acknowledge that any screening of Content performed by TheAuroran.com, to determine Accepted Content is done as a courtesy only. TheAuroran.com respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, please provide TheAuroran.com with notice of such infringement.
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
You acknowledge that the Confidential Information (defined below) which you obtain through the entering into of this Membership Agreement, and the use of the Site, constitutes valuable, confidential, proprietary information of TheAuroran.com and its licensors, and you agree that during the term of this Membership Agreement, and thereafter, you shall not, without the express written consent of TheAuroran.com, use or disclose to any other person, any such Confidential Information, except as specifically authorized under this Membership Agreement, or as required by applicable law.
For the purposes of this Membership Agreement, “Confidential Information” means any and all data, information, documents, software or materials relating to the business and management of TheAuroran.com, The Auroran and its members, affiliates, licensors or licensees, that is designated as confidential or ought reasonably to be considered confidential, including, but not limited to, their business model and operations, processes, products, designs, pricing, promotions, business plans, business opportunities, finances, research, development, know-how, trade secrets, training materials, personnel, clients, methodologies, Site content belonging to others, and other intellectual property.
INDEMNITY
You agree to indemnify, defend and hold TheAuroran.com and its affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, employees, shareholders, partners and agents (collectively, the "TheAuroran.com Parties") harmless from and against any and all claims, liability, losses, costs and expenses (including lawyers’ fees on a solicitor and client basis) incurred by any TheAuroran.com Party in connection with: (i) any use or alleged use of the Site under your Member Name by any person, whether or not authorized by you; (ii) or resulting from any communication made or Content uploaded under your Member Name; or (iii) any breach by you of this Membership Agreement. TheAuroran.com reserves the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, and in such case, you agree to cooperate with TheAuroran.com defense of such claim.
TERM AND TERMINATION
This Membership Agreement is effective until terminated. You may terminate this Membership Agreement at any time by emailing help@TheAuroran.com, or by such other means of written notice acceptable to TheAuroran.com that enables confirmation of your identity and your intention to terminate. TheAuroran.com reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to restrict, suspend or terminate your right to access the membership portions of the Site, at any time, for any reason, without prior notice or liability. TheAuroran.com may change, suspend or discontinue all, or any aspect, of the Site at any time, including the availability of any feature, database, or Content, without prior notice or liability.
TheAuroran.com may terminate or suspend your access to the membership portions of the Site for non-payment of membership dues – defined as the amount paid in advance to access the membership portions of the Site for a specific and defined period of time determined by TheAuroran.com in the membership itself. Under this Membership Agreement, your obligations are to not use the membership portions of the Site or any Content other than in the manner permitted under this Membership Agreement or any other agreement entered into at the time such Content was downloaded. Termination of this Membership Agreement shall operate without prejudice to the TheAuroran.com’s rights, defenses and limitations of liability provided under this Membership Agreement, which rights, defenses and limitations of liability shall survive termination of this Membership Agreement.
Upon termination of your access to the membership portions of the Site, you agree to forfeit all download credits remaining in your account.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
THE SITE, INCLUDING ANY CONTENT CONTAINED THEREIN, ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THEAURORAN.COM DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE SITE OR THE CONTENT WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT THEIR USE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE. THEAURORAN.COM DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE SITE OR ANY CONTENT AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOADING THROUGH THE SITE WILL BE FREE OF VIRUSES OR SIMILAR CONTAMINATION OR DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
IN NO EVENT SHALL THEAURORAN.COM OR ANY OF ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, PARTNERS, LICENSORS OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, OR ANY OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS) IN CONNECTION WITH ANY CLAIM, LOSS, DAMAGE, ACTION, SUIT OR OTHER PROCEEDING ARISING UNDER OR OUT OF THIS MEMBERSHIP AGREEMENT, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION YOUR USE OF, RELIANCE UPON, ACCESS TO, OR EXPLOITATION OF THE SITE, THE CONTENT OR ANY PART THEREOF, OR ANY RIGHTS GRANTED TO YOU HEREUNDER, EVEN IF PROMINICHE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER THE ACTION IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OR OTHERWISE.
IN ANY EVENT, THEAURORAN.COM’S TOTAL MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY UNDER THIS MEMBERSHIP AGREEMENT OR IN RESPECT OF THE USE OR EXPLOITATION OF ANY OR ALL PART OF THE SITE OR THE CONTENT IN ANY MANNER WHATSOEVER SHALL BE LIMITED TO FIVE ($5.00) CANADIAN DOLLARS.
SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW FOR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS, THE LIABILITY OF THEAURORAN.COM OR ANY OF ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, PARTNERS, OR AGENTS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
AGE AND RESPONSIBILITY
You represent and warrant that you are of sufficient legal age to use the Site (18 years of age and older in the Province of Ontario, Canada) and to create binding legal obligations for any liability you may incur as a result of the use of the Site. You agree to be responsible for all of your use of the Site (as well as for use of your Member Name and password(s) by others, including without limitation, minors living with you). You agree to supervise all usage by minors of the Site under your name or account.
APPLICABLE LAW
The Site is controlled, operated and administered by TheAuroran.com from within the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Site can be accessed from all provinces and territories of Canada, as well as from other countries around the world. As each of these jurisdictions has laws that may differ from those of the Province of Ontario, by accessing the Site, you acknowledge and agree that this Membership Agreement will be governed under the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein (without reference to conflicts of laws or principles). You hereby irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of the Province of Ontario, Canada, with respect to the subject matter of this Membership Agreement.
You consent to service of any required notice or process upon you by email, registered mail or overnight courier with proof of delivery notice, addressed to the address or contact information provided by you at the time you are first granted access to the membership portions of the Site, or such other address as you may advise us in writing to use, from time to time.
Any and all disputes arising out of, under or in connection with this Membership Agreement, including without limitation, its validity, interpretation, performance and breach, shall be submitted to arbitration in Calgary, Alberta, pursuant to the rules of the Arbitration Act (Alberta) in effect at the time arbitration is demanded.
If TheAuroran.com is obligated to go to court, rather than arbitration, to enforce any of its rights, or to collect any fees, you agree to reimburse TheAuroran.com for its legal fees, costs and disbursements if TheAuroran.com is successful.
GENERAL
You specifically agree and acknowledge that you have, in addition to the terms of this Membership Agreement, reviewed the Terms of Use and any other agreements which may be incorporated by reference therein, and to the extent of their incorporation herein, you agree to be bound by them.
TheAuroran.com failure to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision of this Membership Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right.
If any provision or part thereof of this Membership Agreement is wholly or partially unenforceable, the parties or, in the event the parties are unable to agree, a court of competent jurisdiction, shall put in place thereof an enforceable provision or provisions, or part thereof, that as nearly as possible reflects the terms of the unenforceable provision or part thereof. This Agreement is personal to you and is not assignable by you without TheAuroran.com prior written consent. TheAuroran.com may assign this Agreement without your consent to any other party so long as such party agrees to be bound by its terms.
The parties have requested that this Membership Agreement and all documents relating thereto be drawn up in English. Les parties ont demand que cette convention ainsi que tous les documents qui s'y rattachent soient en anglais.
CONTACT
If you have concerns relating to the Site or this Membership Agreement, please contact theauroran.com at help@TheAuroran.com.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
You acknowledge that you have read this membership agreement, understand it, and agree to be bound by its terms and conditions. You further agree that it is the complete and exclusive statement of the agreement between you and TheAuroran.com, which supersedes any proposal or prior agreement, oral or written and any other communication between you and TheAuroran.com relating to the subject of this membership agreement.
TheAuroran.com,
95 Edward Street, Aurora, Ontario L4G 1W1
Technical Department
325 Industrial Parkway South,
Aurora, Ontario L4G 3V8