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TERMS OF USE

Welcome to the Adoption Answers website. Adoption Answers, Inc., a Kansas not for profit company (collectively referred to as “Adoption Answers,” “we,” “us” or “our” as required by the context) is the owner of the website www.adoptionanswersinc.com and its affiliated webpages (including, but not limited to the Forums (as defined below)), and all information and content therein and thereon  (the “Website”).  The term “Terms of Use” means these terms of use and our Privacy Policy, as the same may exist from time to time. 

CAREFULLY READ ALL OF THESE TERMS OF USE THOROUGHLY BEFORE USING THE WEBSITE.  By USING THE WEBSITE, you represent that you have read and understood, and that you agree to all of these Terms of USE.  IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF USE, DO NOT USE THE WEBSITE. If you are using the Website on behalf of your employer, you represent that you are authorized to accept these Terms of Use on your employer's behalf.

Website License.  Subject to compliance with all of the terms and conditions of the Terms of Use, we grant to you a revocable, nontransferable, non-sublicensable, and nonexclusive license to access and make personal, non-commercial, use of the information available on the Website.  Adoption Answers reserves all rights not expressly granted to you in these Terms of Use.  You acknowledge that the Website belongs to Adoption Answers, and that Adoption Answers retains all right, title, and interest in and to the Website. 

Website Representations.  You represent and warrant that:

  1. You are an individual person at least 18 years of age;
  2. You possess the authority to create a binding legal obligation;
  3. You will not, intentionally or unintentionally, use the Website or any of the content on the Website in violation of any applicable law or rule having the force of law;
  4. You will not use the Website in any way that could or does harm or impair any of our computer systems, including, but not limited to, the servers, networks, and other components connected to or used for the Website;
  5. You will not use the Website in any way to monitor or extract information about usage or users from any of our computer systems, including, but not limited to, the servers, networks, and other components connected to or used for the Website;
  6. You will not interfere with any other person’s use and enjoyment of the Website or any of the content provided on the Website;
  7. Except as expressly permitted by the Terms of Use, you will not make any use of any of the trademarks, trade dress, copyrighted materials, works of art, architecture or other forms of intellectual property depicted on the Website.

Forum Conduct.  You further represent and warrant that you will not submit to the Adoption Answers public forums (the “Forums”), or use any of the Forum tools (such as private messaging) to send any of the following:

  1. Submissions that are threatening, harassing, defamatory, abusive, obscene, pornographic, inappropriate, profane, or that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable local, national, and international laws and regulations;
  2. Submissions that could infringe rights of privacy, publicity, patents, trademarks, trade secret, copyrights or other intellectual property rights (“Intellectual Property Rights”) without the permission of the owner of these rights and the persons (or their parents or legal guardians, where applicable) who are shown in the material, if applicable;
  3. Submissions that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred, or harm against any individual or group;
  4. Submissions that contains a virus or other harmful component, or link to a virus or other harmful component, or otherwise tampers with, impairs or damages the Forums, the Website, or any connected network, or otherwise interferes with any person or entity's use or enjoyment of the Website.
  5. Submissions that do not generally pertain to the designated topic or theme of the relevant sub-forum to which it is submitted;
  6. Submissions that violate any specific restrictions applicable to a sub-forum; or
  7. Submissions that are antisocial, disruptive, or destructive, including "flaming," "spamming," "flooding," "trolling," and "griefing" as those terms are commonly understood and used on the internet.

Use of Forums.  You acknowledge that the Forums and features offered therein are for public and not private communications, and you have no expectation of privacy with regard to any user submission to a public Forum.  Adoption Answers cannot guarantee the security of any information you disclose through any of the Forum or through private messages to other users; you make such disclosures at your own risk.  Adoption Answers has no duty to monitor the Forums.  Also, you should be skeptical about information provided by others, and you acknowledge that the use of, or reliance on, any information provided by another user is at your own risk.  Adoption Answers is not responsible for, and does not endorse, the opinions, advice or recommendations posted or sent by users to the Forums or through private messages.

Indemnity.  You will be solely responsible for the supervision, management, and control of your registration information (e.g., password) and use of the Website.  You hereby indemnify and hold harmless Adoption Answers and its affiliates (the “Indemnified Parties”) against any loss, liability, damages, costs, expenses, and/or attorneys’ fees suffered or incurred by the Indemnified Parties at any time as a result of any claim, action, or proceeding arising out of or relating to your use, operation, or implementation of the Website; your violation or alleged violation of any state, federal, international, or local law; your infringement of any intellectual property or other legal rights of any person or entity; or your violation of any of these Terms of Use.

Disclaimers.  Adoption Answers does not represent or warrant that the Website will be reliable, accurate, or completely error free or that any defects are correctable or will be corrected.  Adoption Answers grants no rights and makes no warranties with regard to the use of names, people, trademarks, trade dress, copyrighted materials, works of art, architecture, or other forms of intellectual property depicted on the Website or the Services.  Adoption Answers may use stock photographs and images on the Website.  Unless specifically stated otherwise, on the same webpage where an image is located, images of families and children on the Website are for illustrative purposes only and are not images of children who are currently available for adoption or who have previously been adopted.  The Website includes general information related to the adoption process.  The information available on this Website is intended to give visitors a general understanding of the adoption process and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.  The Forums may contain the opinions and views of other users; given the interactive nature of the Forums, Adoption Answers cannot endorse, guarantee, or be responsible for the accuracy, efficacy, or veracity of any submissions or content generated by our users.  USE OF THE WEBSITE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS ONLY, AND AMERICAN ADOPTIONS MAKES NO PROMISES, REPRESENTATIONS, OR WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESSED, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, REGARDING OR RELATING TO THE WEBSITE.  AMERICAN ADOPTIONS DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE USE OF THE WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE.  AMERICAN ADOPTIONS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS EXPRESS AND IMPLIED CONDITIONS, DUTIES, OR WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF RESPONSE, RESULTS, INTEROPERABILITY, WORKMANLIKE EFFORT, VIRUSES, SUPPORT SERVICES, TITLE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, QUIET POSSESSION, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. 

Limitation of Liability.  You expressly agree that in no event will Adoption Answers be liable for any special, indirect, incidental, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages, or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data, or profits, arising out of or in connection with Adoption Answers’ performance or non-performance under these Terms of Use or for any other reason, whether in an action of contract or tort (including, without limitation, strict liability, negligence, gross negligence, or willful act), whether or not Adoption Answers has been advised of the possibility of such damages.  In addition, without limiting the foregoing, in all events the remedies available to you will not exceed U.S. Ten Dollars ($10).  The limitation, exclusions, and disclaimers of these Terms of Use will apply to the maximum extent permitted by law, even if any remedy fails of its essential purpose.  Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to the Website or these Terms of Use must be brought within one year after the cause of action accrues. 

Exclusions.  The laws of some jurisdictions may prohibit certain disclaimers or limitations of liabilities.  These Terms of Use are amended to the extent and only to the extent necessary to strictly comply with any such applicable laws.

Privacy Policy.  Please read our Privacy Policy at http://www.adoptionanswersinc.com/home/privacy_policy for a description of our privacy practices, which are incorporated by reference herein.

Links to Third-Party Sites.  The Website contains links to third-party websites. The linked websites are not under the control of Adoption Answers, and Adoption Answers is not responsible for the contents or policies of any linked website. Adoption Answers provides these links as a convenience only, and a link does not imply endorsement of, sponsorship of, or affiliation with the linked site by Adoption Answers.

Headings.  The section headings used herein are for convenience only and will be of no legal force or effect.

Termination.  In addition to any other rights it may have, Adoption Answers may immediately terminate the license if you breach the Terms of Use, in which case you will immediately discontinue all uses of the Website.  Your obligations under the Terms of Use will survive the termination of the license.

Choice of Law.  These Terms of Use and any disputes arising out of or related to these Terms of Use or the Website will be governed by the laws of the State of Kansas, United States of America, without regard to conflicts of laws principles.  Any dispute arising out of or related to these Terms of Use or the Website must be brought exclusively in a court sitting in Kansas City, Kansas, except that Adoption Answers may seek to enforce the judgment or orders of such courts and to obtain temporary remedies in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Arbitration.  Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to the Website or these Terms of Use will be submitted to binding arbitration upon the demand of either party.  Such arbitration proceeding will be conducted in Kansas City, Kansas, United States of America, and will be heard by a single, neutral arbitrator in accordance with the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association then in effect.  In rendering a decision the arbitrator will apply the substantive law of the State of Kansas, and, as appropriate, the United States.  The arbitrator may give any award or remedy allowed under these Terms of Use or at law or in equity.  Unless otherwise decided, the parties will share the costs of the arbitrator equally.  The arbitrator’s decision may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.  The foregoing will not prohibit Adoption Answers from seeking temporary or preliminary injunctive or other equitable relief in any court, provided the matter is promptly submitted to arbitration hereunder.

Entire Agreement.  These Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and Adoption Answers relating to the Website, and they supersede all prior or contemporaneous oral or written communications, proposals, and representations with respect to the Website or any other subject matter covered by these Terms of Use.  These Terms of Use may not be amended except by Adoption Answers, and any such amendment will become effective upon the revised Terms of Use being publically available for viewing at the Website; the date these Terms of Use were last revised is posted at the end of these Terms of Use.  In the event that any provision of these Terms of Use is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, unenforceable or otherwise illegal, such provision will be deemed severed and the remainder of the Terms of Use will remain in full force and effect. No term or condition herein will be deemed waived, and no breach will be deemed excused, unless such waiver is in writing and is executed by the party against whom such waiver or excuse is claimed.  The waiver by a party of any breach of any provision will not be construed to be a waiver of any succeeding breach of such provision or a waiver of the provision itself.

Contacting Us.  If you have any questions about the Terms of Use, the Privacy Policy, or the practices of this Website, you can contact us at info@adoptionanswersinc.com.

[End of Terms of Use]

Last Revised February 10, 2012