These Terms govern your use of our websites, mobile and tablet applications, and other online products and services linked to these Terms (collectively referred to as the “Services”). These Terms constitute a legal agreement between you and Proud Retirements, so please review them thoroughly before using our Services. By using the Services, you agree to adhere to and be bound by these Terms, including the Discussion and Submission Guidelines. If you disagree with any part of these Terms, you should not use the Services.
**PLEASE NOTE: THESE TERMS INCLUDE DISCLAIMERS OF WARRANTIES (SEE SECTION 11) AND DISCLAIMERS OF LIABILITY (SEE SECTION 12).**
1. Modifications
We reserve the right to update these Terms or alter any aspect of the Services at our discretion. The most recent version of the Terms is available via the “Terms of Service” link on our Services. Continuing to use the Services after changes are made constitutes acceptance of those changes.
2. Legal Compliance
By accessing and using the Services, you agree not to engage in any activities that are illegal or prohibited by these Terms. You also agree to comply with all relevant laws and any specific conditions or restrictions outlined in these Terms. The Services are intended solely for personal and non-commercial use, and any other use is prohibited.
3. Privacy
Your use of the Services implies your understanding of our practices regarding information collection, use, and disclosure as outlined in our Privacy Policy.
4. Copyright
The content available through the Services, including text, images, graphics, videos, audio, metadata, and computer code, is protected by copyright laws in the United States and internationally. This protection covers all individual elements such as articles, photos, graphics, and other media. All copyrights related to the Services are held by us or our third-party licensors, as permitted under relevant copyright laws. Unless you have posted the content yourself or have received explicit written permission from Proud Retirements, you are not allowed to copy, reproduce, distribute, display, perform, modify, create derivative works from, or otherwise exploit any part of the Services. This restriction includes using our content for training or development of machine learning or artificial intelligence tools. You may, however, create one machine-readable or printed copy for personal use of individual articles of interest. For permission to use copyrighted material beyond personal use, please refer to our Reprints & Permissions section.
We respect the copyrights of others as we expect our users to respect ours. If you believe your copyrighted material has been used on our site without permission in a manner that infringes copyright law, please contact our designated copyright agent by mail at Copyright Agent, Legal Department by address 212 E 22nd St Cheyenne, WY 82001, or by email at support@proudretirements.com. When notifying our agent, please provide:
– An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner;
– Identification of the copyrighted work or a list of the works claimed to be infringed;
– Identification of the material claimed to be infringing and sufficient details to locate it;
– Your contact information, including name, address, phone number, and email;
– A statement asserting your good faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
– A declaration under penalty of perjury affirming the accuracy of the information in your notice and your authority to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
5. Trademark and Service Mark Rights
All rights associated with product names, company names, trademarks, logos, service marks, trade dress, slogans, product packaging, and design elements related to the Services are the exclusive property of Proud Retirements or its licensors. These elements are protected by national and international trademark and copyright laws, preventing unauthorized reproduction, imitation, dilution, or misleading uses. Unauthorized use or misuse of these trademarks or materials is strictly prohibited, and nothing in the Services grants you any rights or licenses under any patents or trademarks belonging to Proud Retirements, its affiliates, or third parties.
6. Prohibited Activities
You are prohibited from accessing, using, or attempting to access or use the Services in any way that may damage, disrupt, or interfere with the Services or violate any applicable laws. Specifically, you may not:
– Use the Services’ content in any manner that infringes on our or any third parties’ rights, including copyright.
– Access restricted areas of the Services or attempt to bypass any access limitations.
– Copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, modify, create derivative works from, or otherwise exploit any part of the Services, except for your own personal use, such as making a single machine-readable or printed copy of articles of personal interest. Unauthorized uses include creating derivative works or employing content in machine learning or artificial intelligence models.
– Distribute any part of the Services over networks or sell it. Content may not be used to create databases or datasets. For distribution inquiries, consult our Reprints & Permissions section.
– Utilize the Services’ content for developing or training machine learning or AI models, or generating text, images, or other materials using such models.
– Employ automated tools, such as crawlers, robots, or scripts, to harvest or scrape information from the Services, except for public search engine indexing.
– Impose excessive load on our network or infrastructure.
– Interfere with the functioning of the Services or any activities conducted on the Services using devices, software, or routines.
– Use automated means for navigating or searching the Services, other than standard search engines and web browsers.
– Attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse-engineer any software related to the Services.
– Engage in any behavior that restricts or inhibits other users from enjoying the Services.
– Act in a way that threatens or compromises system or network security.
Violations of these Terms may result in civil or criminal penalties. We may investigate breaches and collaborate with law enforcement to address violations.
7. Account Creation and Security
To access certain features of our Services, you need to create an account by providing an email address and selecting a username and password. During registration, you’ll also supply additional information, which you agree to keep accurate and up-to-date. Each login is intended for individual use only, and sharing your login credentials is strictly prohibited. If you do share your credentials, we may suspend or terminate your access to the Services.
You may also use your existing Amazon, Facebook, Google, or Apple credentials to sign in to some Services.
You are responsible for all activity on your account, including any actions taken by others who use your credentials, as well as for any associated charges. This includes liability for any content posted or statements made under your account. Transfer, sale, or assignment of your account or obligations under these Terms is not permitted.
You must be at least 13 years old to use the Services. Any fraudulent, abusive, or illegal activities may result in account termination at our discretion, and we may report such activities to law enforcement authorities.
8. Service Fees
Certain parts of the Services may require a fee, and we reserve the right to adjust these fees or subscription costs at any time. If changes occur, we will notify you in advance and offer you the chance to adjust your subscription status accordingly. Detailed information about subscriptions and fees can be found on relevant sections of the Services, including the Digital Products Terms of Sale and the Print Products Terms of Sale. You are responsible for paying any applicable taxes and additional charges from third parties, such as mobile data fees and text message costs, which are not included in the service fees.
9. Third-Party Content and External Links
Our Services may feature content owned by third parties and provide links to external websites (“External Sites”). Proud Retirements does not endorse, sponsor, or assume responsibility for the content of these External Sites. Additionally, we do not control the content or privacy practices of these sites.
10. Disclaimer of Warranties
THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS.” WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. THERE MAY BE DELAYS, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, AND INACCURACIES IN THE NEWS, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICES. PROUD RETIREEMENTS DISCLAIMS TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW ANY AND ALL SUCH REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES. IF YOU RELY ON THE SERVICES AND ANY MATERIALS MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICES, YOU DO SO SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK
WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, PROUD RETIREEMENTS DISCLAIMS TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW ANY AND ALL (A) WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, (B) WARRANTIES AGAINST INFRINGEMENT OF ANY THIRD-PARTY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR PROPRIETARY RIGHTS, (C) WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE TRANSMISSION OR DELIVERY OF THE SERVICE, (D) WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CORRECTNESS, TIMELINESS OR COMPLETENESS OF DATA MADE AVAILABLE ON THE SERVICES OR OTHERWISE BY PROUD RETIREEMENTS, INCLUDING ANY ADVICE, OPINION, STATEMENT, OR OTHER MATERIAL OR DATABASE DISPLAYED, UPLOADED OR DISTRIBUTED IN THE SERVICES OR AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICES, AND WARRANTIES OTHERWISE RELATING TO PERFORMANCE, NONPERFORMANCE, OR OTHER ACTS OR OMISSIONS BY PROUD RETIREEMENTS OR ANY THIRD PARTY. FURTHER, THERE IS NO WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS OR THE NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS OF ANY OTHER PERSON.
PROUD RETIREEMENTS MAKES NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED (A) THAT THE INFORMATION PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICES WILL BE FREE FROM ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DEFECT, OR DELAY IN OPERATION, OR FROM TECHNICAL INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS, (B) THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME OR LOCATION (C) THAT DEFECTS OR ERRORS IN THE SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED, OR (D) THAT THE CONTENT ON THE SERVICES ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. ANY INFORMATION ON THE SERVICES IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE, AND PROUD RETIREEMENTS DISCLAIMS ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SERVICES. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CORRECT ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE SERVICES.
IN NO EVENT WILL PROUD RETIREEMENTS OR ITS AFFILIATES OR ANY PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DELIVERING THE SERVICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS, USE, MISUSE, OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES OR ANY LINKED SITES, OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, TRANSMISSION, COMPUTER VIRUS, OR LINE OR SYSTEM FAILURE. THESE LIMITATIONS APPLY WHETHER THE ALLEGED LIABILITY IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER BASIS, EVEN IF PROUD RETIREEMENTS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, PROUD RETIREEMENTS’S LIABILITY IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
11. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Proud Retirements, along with its parent company, subsidiaries, affiliates, and their respective owners, directors, officers, managers, employees, shareholders, agents, and licensors, from any claims, losses, damages, expenses, or costs, including reasonable attorney fees, that arise from your breach of these Terms, including the Discussion and Submission Guidelines, or from any failure to meet your account obligations. If a claim is made for which we are entitled to indemnification under this provision, we retain the right to assume exclusive control of the defense. In such cases, you agree to cooperate as reasonably requested.
12. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
This Agreement will be governed by the laws of the United States and the District of Columbia. By using the Services, you agree to waive any claims under the laws of any other state, country, or jurisdiction. Any disputes or legal actions related to these Terms or your use of the Services must be filed in the state or federal courts located in the District of Columbia. You consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of these courts and waive any objections to them being an inconvenient forum.
13. Termination
Proud Retirements reserves the right to terminate this Agreement at any time, for any reason. We may also choose to restrict, suspend, or end your access to and use of the Services at our discretion, with or without prior notice. Sections of the Terms that are meant to survive termination will remain in effect. We also retain the right to enforce and address any violations of these Terms even after termination.
14. General Provisions
Additional Terms: When using the Services, you may encounter additional policies or terms that require your consent. It is important to review these supplemental terms carefully before using those specific features of the Services. Such additional terms will not alter or replace the core Terms unless explicitly stated otherwise.
No Waiver: Proud Retirements’s failure to enforce any provision of these Terms or to address a breach by you or others does not waive our right to enforce any future provisions or to take action in response to similar breaches.
No Partnership: These Terms do not create any joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship between you and Proud Retirements.
Entire Agreement: Except as otherwise stated, these Terms represent the complete agreement between you and Proud Retirements regarding your use of the Services. If any part of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, it will be interpreted in a way that reflects the parties’ original intentions as closely as possible, while the remaining terms will continue to be effective.