Terms of Service
General
Welcome to www.openatalk.com (the “website”). This domain name and website are owned and operated by Openatalk and team.
You are advised to read and understand these Terms and conditions carefully as moving past the home page, or using any of the services shall be taken to mean that You have read and agreed to all of the policies, which constitute a legally binding agreement between you and the website. These terms are to be read along with any other policies on the website.
This document is an electronic record published in accordance with the provisions of the Information Technology (Intermediaries guidelines) Rules, 2011 that require publishing the Rules and Regulations, Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for access or usage of www.openatalk.com and being generated by a computer system, it does not require any physical or digital signatures.
For the purpose of these Terms of Use, along with any amendments to the same, and wherever the context so requires “You” or “User” or “Reader” shall mean any natural or legal person who has agreed to become a user of the Website by the Website. The Website also provides certain services without registration/acceptance, and such provision of services does not absolve You of this contractual relationship. The term “We”, “Us”, “Our” shall mean Openatalk, “Agreement” shall mean and refer to this Terms of Service, including any amendments that may be incorporated into it. “Third Party” shall mean and refer to any individual(s), Website or entity apart from the User and Openatalk.
The headings of each section in this Agreement are only for the purpose of organizing the various provisions of this Agreement in an orderly manner. These headings shall not be used by either party to interpret the provisions contained under them in any manner. Further, the headings have no legal or contractual value.
We hold the sole right to modify the Terms of Service without prior permission from You or providing notice to You. The relationship creates on You a duty to periodically check the Terms of Service and stay updated on its requirements. If You continue to use the Website or avail any of its services without registration following such change, this is deemed as consent by You to the so amended policies. Your continued use of the Website is conditioned upon your compliance with the Terms of Service, including but not limited to compliance with the Terms of Service even after alterations if any.
About The Website
We aggregate and curate digital content from various sources and present them on the Website in a unique manner. We largely cover news and social issues, which may not be covered by the traditional media or news reporters. We collect news from various sources including but not limited to Blogs, Social Media Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and other websites such as Reddit, etc. and present it in a unique and interesting manner, for informative purposes.
The articles, news, pictures, graphics or other content uploaded on the Website (“Content”) is available to the Users to access for free. The User can share the content via various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Google Plus, Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Pocket, and E-mail (collectively referred to as ‘Social Media’). A User can also make their content available to Us that they would want Us to share on the Website. We shall review the content, and at Our sole discretion, shall share the content if We think it is a story to be shared.
Membership and Registration
To fully avail of the services of the Website, registration is not required presently. However, Readers shall have the option of creating their own Profiles on the Website. You may link their Social Media accounts with their Openatalk Profile.
We will collect some basic information about you if you choose to do this or if you subscribe to our newsletters. Please read our Privacy Policy for more information on the data we collect from you.
Only those above the age of 15 years, barring those “Incompetent to Contract” which inter alia include insolvents, may use and access this Website and content provided. If You are minor and wish to use the Website, You may do so through Your legal guardian and the Openatalk reserves the right to limit Your access to knowledge of You being a minor.
Further, at any time during Your use of this Website, any activity under Your Social Media Account or Openatalk Profile shall be deemed to have been done by You. In the case that You provide Us with false and/or inaccurate details or We have reason to believe You have done so, We hold the right to permanently suspend Your profile or access to the Website.
Terms
These Terms shall continue to form a valid and binding contract between the Parties, and shall continue to be in full force and effect until the User continues to access and use the Website.
You may terminate your use of the Service at any time by ceasing to use the Website. We may terminate these Terms and close your account at any time without notice if we cease to provide the Services. We may suspend or terminate your use of and access to the Website at any time and for any reason, in our sole discretion. Such suspension or termination shall not limit our right to take any other action against you that we consider appropriate.
Communications And Advertisements
By using this Website, it is deemed that You have consented to receive telephonic calls, SMS and/or emails from Us at any time we deem fit. We may reach out to communicate with you regarding various social or other causes to increase Your awareness or seek your support. This communication includes, but is not limited to, contacting you through information received from Third Parties. Such communication by Us is for purposes that inter alia include clarification calls. These communications shall be sent to You on the telephone number and/or e-mail address provided by You for the use of this Website which is subject to our Privacy Policy. In case You wish to stop receiving notifications from Us with regard to our newsletters or any other promotional notifications you may unsubscribe from our Services. From time to time, we may display advertisements on the Website and You may be contacted by Service Providers with whom We have entered into a contract in furtherance of our rights, duties, and obligations under this document and other policies followed by Us. Such contact shall be made only in pursuance of such objectives, and no other calls shall be made.
In addition, You may also be contacted by Third Parties who may have access to the information disclosed by You or to whom We may have disclosed Your information for purposes such as, but not limited to, statistical compilations.
The sharing of any information about You shall be governed by our Privacy Policy.
Charges
The use of the Website is free of cost and shall be governed by its terms of service and privacy policy. However, We reserve the right to amend this no-fee policy and charge Users for use of the Website. In the event of such change in policy, Users shall be intimated of the same via email/telephone and such change shall be effective as soon as Users have been intimated. Subsequent to such change, it is the choice of the User whether or not to continue with the services offered by Us.
Taxes
The User takes full responsibility for payment of all taxes and fees that may arise in the course of use of the Website, including but not limited to use of the Website by the User.
User’s Obligations
The User undertakes to fulfil the following obligations. Failure to satisfy any of these obligations gives Us the right to permanently suspend Your account and/or claim damages for any losses that accrue to Us or additional costs that may be imposed on us. You hereby certify that you are at least 15 years of age.
1) You hereby agree to provide genuine credentials during the process of registration for the Website. You shall not use a fictitious identity to register.
2) You agree to ensure the email address provided in your account registration is valid at all times and shall keep your contact information accurate and up-to-date.
3) You agree to comply with all local laws and regulations governing the use of the Website, including, without limitation to, any usage rules set forth in this Agreement.
4 )You agree that it is your responsibility to ensure that your device complies with these requirements.
5) You agree that you are solely responsible for your use of the Website.
6) You agree that you are aware that any content you refer to Us, which is uploaded by Us, is made public to other Users of the Website.
7) You undertake not to:
Cut, copy, distribute, modify, recreate, reverse engineer, distribute, disseminate, post, publish or create derivative works from, transfer, or sell any information or software obtained from the Website. For the removal of doubt, it is clarified that unlimited or wholesale reproduction, copying of the content for commercial or non-commercial purposes and unwarranted modification of data and information within the content of the Website is not permitted. Should You want to engage in one or more such actions, prior permission from Us must be obtained;
access (or attempt to access) the Website and/or the materials or Services by any means other than through the interface that is provided by the Website. The use of deep-link, robot, spider or other automatic device, program, algorithm or methodology, or any similar or equivalent manual process, to access, acquire, copy or monitor any portion of the Website or Content, or in any way reproduce or circumvent the navigational structure or presentation of the Website, materials or any Content, to obtain or attempt to obtain any materials, documents or information through any means not specifically made available through the Website is prohibited. You acknowledge and agree that by accessing or using the Website or Services, You may be exposed to content from other Users or Third Parties that You may consider offensive, indecent or otherwise objectionable. We disclaim all liabilities arising in relation to such offensive content on the Website. Further, You may report such offensive content;
use the Website in any manner that may impair, overburden, damage, disable or otherwise compromise
(i) Website services;
(ii) any other party’s use and enjoyment of website services;
(iii) the services and products of any Third Party;
use the Services or Materials for any unlawful purposes or to conduct any unlawful activity, including, but not limited to, fraud, embezzlement, money laundering or identity theft;
abuse, harass, threaten, defame, disillusion, erode, abrogate, demean or otherwise violate the legal rights of others;
engage in any activity that interferes with or disrupts access to the Website or the Services (or the servers and networks which are connected to the Website);
upload or distribute files that contain viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of the Website or another’s mobile phone, systems, devises and software solutions that are extensions of the Website;
download any file posted on the Website that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally distributed in such manner;
a probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Website or any network, devises and software solutions to the Website, nor breach the security or authentication measures on the Website or any network, devices, and software solutions connected to the Website. You may not reverse look-up, trace or seek to trace any information on any other user, of or visitor to, the Website, or exploit the Website or Service or information made available or offered by or through the Website, in any way whether or not the purpose is to reveal any information, including but not limited to personal identification information, other than Your own information, as provided for by the Website;
disrupt or interfere with the security of, or otherwise cause harm to, the Website, systems resources, servers, software solutions or networks connected to or accessible through the Website or any affiliated or linked Websites;
use the Website or any material or Content for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms of Use, or to solicit the performance of any illegal activity or other activity which infringes the rights of this Website or other Third Parties;
violate any applicable laws or regulations for the time being in force within or outside your home country;
violate any code of conduct or other guidelines, which may be applicable for or to any particular Service;
threaten the unity, integrity, defence, security or sovereignty of your home country, friendly relations with foreign states, or public order or causes incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence or prevents investigation of any offence or is insulting any other nation;
disseminate information through the Website that is false, inaccurate or misleading, or violates any applicable laws or regulations for the time being in force in or outside your home country.
8) You agree that by uploading any content to the Server, you grant the website a worldwide, unrestricted, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable license to use any content that you upload to the server, along with your username, in connection with the Website, subject to these Terms and our Privacy Policy.
9) You agree that your use of the Website may vary in functionality, availability, and quality depending on the type of the device and the operating system that it uses and the website accepts no responsibility for any lack of functionality that is due to your equipment (including your device, internet connection, operating system or settings and software).
Intellectual Property Rights
All information, content, services, and software displayed on, transmitted through, or used in connection with the Website, (hereinafter referred to as the “Content”), as well as its selection and arrangement, is either owned by Us or the respective Author/Creator, who shall be duly credited. You may use the Content only through the Website, and solely for your personal, non-commercial use.
10) You may not, republish any portion of the Content on any Internet, Intranet or extranet site or incorporate the Content in any database, compilation, archive or cache. You may not distribute any Content to others, whether or not for payment or other consideration, and you may not modify, copy, frame, cache, reproduce, sell, publish, transmit, display or otherwise use any portion of the Content. You may not scrape or otherwise copy our Content without permission. You agree not to decompile, reverse engineer or disassemble any software or other products or processes accessible through the Website, not to insert any code or product or manipulate the content of the Website in any way that affects the user’s experience, and not to use any data mining, data gathering or extraction method.
Intellectual Property Complaints
We respect the intellectual property of others. If You believe Your work has been copied in a way that constitutes infringement or is aware of any infringing material on the Website, you can report the infringement by clicking the Report option on the Website and by emailing us at openatalk@gmail.com and by providing the following:
A statement that you have identified Content on the Platform that infringes your copyright or the copyright of a third party on whose behalf you are entitled to act;
a) A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
b) A description of the Content that you claim is infringing and details of where on the Platform the Content that you claim is infringing may be found;
c) Your contact information including your full name, address and telephone number and a valid email address on which you can be contacted;
d) A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
e) A statement by you that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
f) Your electronic or physical signature (which may be a scanned copy).
By providing information to, communicating with, and/or placing material on, the Website, including for example but not limited to, communication during any registration and communication on the bulletin board, message or chat area, You represent and warrant:
You own or otherwise have all necessary rights to the content you provide and the rights to use it as provided in this Terms of Service;
all information You provide is true, accurate, current and complete, and does not violate these Terms of Service; and,
the information and Content shall not cause injury to any person or entity. Using a name other than your own legal name is prohibited (except in those specific areas of the Website that specifically ask for unique, fictitious names such as, inter alia certain message boards and chat rooms).
For all such information and material, you grant us, a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, copy, modify, display, archive, store, distribute, reproduce and create derivative works from such information, in any form, media, software or technology of any kind now existing or developed in the future. Without limiting the generality of the previous sentence, you authorize us to share the information across all our affiliated Websites, to include the information in a searchable format accessible by users of the Website and other affiliated Websites, and to use your name and any other information in connection with its use of the material you provide.
11) You also grant the right to use any material, information, ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques contained in any communication you send to us for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to developing, manufacturing and marketing products using such information. All rights in this paragraph are granted without the need for additional compensation of any sort to you.
Geographical Extent
The Website can be used in all countries, worldwide. We make no representation that materials or Content available through our Website is appropriate or available for use outside any of these countries.
If You access or use the Website from a country or location apart from those specified above, You are solely responsible for compliance with necessary laws and regulations for use of the Website.
Amendment
We may modify, replace, refuse access to, suspend or discontinue the Services, partially or entirely, or add and change for all or part of the Services for You or for all Users at any time and in Our sole discretion. These changes shall become effective upon providing a notice of the same to You via email/the home screen of the Website. We further reserve the right to withhold, remove and/or discard any content available as part of Your account, with or without notice, if deemed by Us to be contrary to this Agreement.
We have no obligation to provide You with a copy of the information You or any other User provided on the Website or that the Website has accessed.
Further, We reserve the right, in Our sole discretion, to modify or replace any part of this Agreement at any time, effective upon the date of giving Users notice of the same. A notice shall be provided of such change via email to the Users and/or by posting a notice on the home screen of the Website.
You and We both understand that there may be instances of difficulty in accessing or receiving email communication. We are not responsible if any email notice gets caught by Your SPAM folder, or if You do not see the email, or if You have given us an incorrect email id or if for any other reason You do not receive the email notification. Therefore, we encourage you to frequently open the Website to monitor any changes. Your continued use of or access to the Services following the posting of any changes to this Agreement constitutes acceptance of those changes. We may also, in the future, offer new services and/ or features through the Website. Such new features and/ or services shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, hold harmless, and defend Us from and against any and all liability, loss, claim, damages, expense, or costs (including but not limited to attorneys’ fees), incurred by or made Us in connection with any claim arising from or related to:
1) Your use or any Third Party’s use via Your account of the Service provided by the Website and its Content;
2) Your disclosure of information to any Third Party, either through the Website or otherwise. (Please refer to our Privacy Policy for more details in this regard);
3) Any breach or violation of this Agreement, including any amendment, or of any statute or regulation by You, or any Third Party through Your account.
4) You agree to fully cooperate in indemnifying Us at Your expense. You also agree not to reach a settlement with any party without Our consent.
Hosting Of Third Party Information
The website hosts information provided by third parties. We are in no manner responsible to you for the accuracy, legitimacy, and trueness of the information so hosted. We take reasonable care to ensure such accuracy but we are not responsible for the information so furnished. You agree to not hold us liable for the falsification of any such provided information.
Disclaimers And Limitations
YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE IS ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. THE SERVICE AND ANY CONTENT OR MATERIAL DISPLAYED ON THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED WITHOUT ANY GUARANTEES, CONDITIONS OR WARRANTIES AS TO ITS ACCURACY, SUITABILITY, COMPLETENESS OR RELIABILITY. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR THE UNAVAILABILITY OR FAILURE OF THE WEBSITE.
WE EXPRESSLY EXCLUDE OUR LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE ARISING FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICE BY ANY PERSON IN CONTRAVENTION OF THESE TERMS. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT ALL CONTENT AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE IS PROVIDED BY USERS, NOT US, AND WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE TO YOU FOR THIS CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE.
WE EXPRESSLY EXCLUDE ANY LIABILITY FOR (A) ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE THAT WAS NOT REASONABLY FORESEEABLE BY US AND WHICH IS INCURRED BY YOU IN CONNECTION WITH THE WEBSITE, INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS; AND (B) ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE INCURRED BY YOU AS A RESULT OF YOUR BREACH OF THESE TERMS.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PARTY FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION OR BASIS OF ANY CLAIM. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR ANY DISPUTE WITH US IS TO TERMINATE YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE.
Nothing in these Terms shall limit or exclude our liability for:
(i) death or personal injury resulting from our negligence;
(ii) intentional acts, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
(iii) any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law.
Disputes Arising Out Of This Agreement
All disputes involving but not limited to rights conferred, compensation, refunds, and other claims will be resolved through a two-step Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism.
Stage 1: Mediation. In case of a dispute, the matter will first be attempted to be resolved by a sole mediator who is a neutral third party and will be selected at the mutual acceptance of a proposed mediator by both parties. Both parties may raise a name for the sole mediator and in the case, both parties accept the proposed name, the said person shall be appointed as sole mediator. In case the parties are not able to reach a consensus within two proposed mediators, the website reserves the right to decide who the final mediator is. The decision of the mediator is not binding on both parties.
Stage 2: Arbitration. If the dispute is not settled by mediation, it shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration, which shall be governed by the law, rules, and regulations of Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The Arbitral award is binding on both parties. The Arbitration Board shall comprise three members – one appointed by each party and the third member to be nominated by the two appointed members by mutual consent. The arbitration shall be held at Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The proceedings of arbitration shall be in the English language. The arbitrator’s award shall be final and binding on the Parties. The exclusive jurisdiction and venue for actions and disputes mentioned above shall be the courts located in Bangalore, Karnataka, India and You hereby submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.
Privacy
We encourage you to read the Privacy Policy and to use the information it contains to make informed decisions regarding Your personal information. Please also note that certain information, statements, data and content (such as but not limited to videos) which You provide on the Website are likely to reveal Your gender, ethnic origin, nationality, age, and/or other personal information about You. You acknowledge and agree that your submission of such information is voluntary on Your part. Further, You acknowledge, consent and agree that we may access, preserve, and disclose information You provide to Us at any stage during Your use of the Website. Disclosures of information to Third Parties are further addressed in Our Privacy Policy.
Notices
Any and all communication relating to any dispute or grievance experienced by the User may be communicated to the website by the User reducing the same to writing or Email openatalk@gmail.com.
Miscellaneous Provisions
Entire Agreement: This Agreement is the complete and exclusive statement of the agreements between You and Us with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all other communications or representations or agreements (whether oral, written or otherwise) relating thereto.
Waiver: The failure of the website at any time to require performance of any provision of this Agreement in no manner shall affect its right at a later time to enforce the same. No waiver by the Website of any breach of this Agreement, whether by conduct or otherwise, in any one or more instances, shall be deemed to be, or construed as, a further or continuing waiver of any other such breach, or a waiver of any other breach of this Agreement.
Liability: The Website shall not be liable in any way for User Content, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions contained therein, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any User Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via the Service or broadcast elsewhere.
Severability: If any provision of this Agreement shall to any extent be held invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality, and enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall in no way be affected or impaired thereby and each such provision of this Agreement shall be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law. In such a case, this Agreement shall be reformed to the minimum extent necessary to correct any invalidity, illegality or unenforceability, while preserving to the maximum extent the rights and commercial expectations of the parties hereto, as expressed herein.