Terms of Use - SnagFilms

Last Updated: July 17, 2008

Welcome to SnagFilms, the family of services operated by SnagFilms LLC ("SnagFilms," "we," or "us"). This document, the Terms of Use, describes the terms on which users ("you") are authorized to use our website, SnagFilms.com, and SnagFilms content or services provided on sites operated by third parties (collectively, the "Services"), and to use videos, video clips, music, text, and other content provided on or through the Services, whether or not owned by SnagFilms (collectively, "Content").

This document is a legal contract and, by using the Services, you agree to be bound by it. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, do not use the Services.

We may change these Terms of Use at any time, so we encourage you to review the Terms of Use periodically before using the Services. To assist you in reviewing the terms, we will make the most recent version of the Terms of Use available on our website, at http://www.snagfilms.com/films/terms, and we will indicate at the top of the Terms of Use the most recent date when they were modified.

If you continue to use the Services after we modify the Terms of Use, your use indicates your agreement to the new Terms of Use. Therefore, it is important that you read this page regularly to ensure you are familiar with the most updated Terms. If you do not agree to the changes, you should not continue to use the Services and instead should request termination of your account according to the procedures described in Section 14.

In exchange for your agreement to these Terms of Use, we grant you a limited license to access and make personal, non-commercial use of the Services. This agreement does not authorize you to make a use of the Services or the Content that is designed to generate revenue, nor does it authorize you to distribute or redistribute any portion of the Services, including Content, regardless of the purpose of method of distribution, except through our Widget, described in Section 10, or other technology that we may from time to time make available.

For the purpose of these Terms of Use, use of the Services – including use of the Widget – is considered revenue-generating if a third party is invited or required pay money, including for a subscription, in order to access the Services or Content. Without limitation, the following practices are revenue-generating for the purpose of these Terms of Use:

sale of subscription or the requirement of any payment or consideration in exchange for access to the Services or any website that includes Content;
inclusion of the Services or Content in commercial publications, including books, newspapers, magazines, documentaries, films, news reports, news features, and similar material; and
using the Services or incorporating the Services or Content into any third party service for the purpose of developing a service that competes with us or the Services, or for the purpose of learning about the Services in anticipation of the development of such Services.

Notwithstanding this definition, your use of the Widget to embed Content into or associate Content with a website that includes advertising is not considered revenue-generating.

By using the Services, you agree to waive any rights that you may otherwise have to use the Content in a manner that is not specifically authorized by these Terms of Use or in a separate agreement with SnagFilms.

Because our ability to provide services to you is limited by the scope of the licenses that we hold, we may restrict your ability to access certain Content in order to comply with our licenses. You agree not to attempt to defeat or avoid geographic or other access restrictions, and you agree to comply with any request by us that you not access specified Content.

If you wish to use the Services or Content in a manner that is prohibited by these Terms of Use, please contact us at to discuss licensing options.

Certain features or portions of the Services may be restricted to users that have registered with us ("Restricted Areas") and have received a login and password through which they are authorized to access these Restricted Areas. You agree not to access Restricted Areas except using your own login and password, and you agree not to share your login and password with anyone else. If, despite your agreement not to do so, you share your login and password with another person or if another person accesses the Services using your login and password without your permission, you agree to take full responsibility for the statements and actions of that other person, for any charges incurred by that other person, and for any damages caused by, resulting from, or accruing in connection with that other person's use of the Services. You agree to notify us immediately, by email to , if you become aware of any unauthorized use of your password or username, or any other breach of security so that we may terminate your access to the Services. You may not transfer, sell, or otherwise assign your rights or obligations under these Terms of Use.

The Services are intended for the use of adults 18 years or older and children over the age of 13. You agree not to use the Services if you are below the age of 13 and, if you are age 13 or older, not to assist any person under the age of 13 in accessing the Services.

Whenever we ask you for personal information in a registration form or elsewhere on the Services, you agree to provide truthful, accurate, current, and complete information, and to update this information anytime it changes.

In exchange for your access to the Services, you agree not to take any steps that are intended to or could damage, inhibit, or prevent operation of the Services or that could cause injury to yourself, to us, or to any third party. Without limitation, you agree not to attempt to:

modify, enhance, or otherwise alter in any way any portion of the SnagFilms Widget or its underlying technology, including by disabling or modifying any portion of the Services in a manner that enables users to view Content without using the Widget;
modify, enhance, edit or otherwise alter in any way any portion of the content streamed via (or contained on) the SnagFilms Widget;
use technology or other means to access the Services that is not authorized by SnagFilms, including accessing the Services through any automated system, including "robots," "spiders," or "offline readers" (other than public search engines for the sole purpose of, and solely to the extent necessary for, creating publicly available search indices – but not caches or archives – of the Services);
introduce viruses or any other computer code, files or programs that interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
damage, disable, overburden, impair, or gain unauthorized access to the Services or our servers, computer network, or user accounts;
collect information about other users for the purpose of sending, or to facilitate or encourage the sending of, unsolicited bulk or other communications, or for any other purpose not explicitly authorized by SnagFilms;
falsify, conceal, or modify information identifying yourself or another user, including Internet Protocol header information;
use our servers, networks, or other facilities for any purpose not explicitly authorized by SnagFilms, including for the transmission of messages not authorized by SnagFilms, or to interfere with or cause damage to the Services or any other service operated by us or any other party; or
take any other action that we, in our exclusive discretion, believe may damage or injure you, us, or any third party.

Your use of the Services is governed by our Privacy Policy (www.snagfilms.com/films/privacy) which are incorporated into this agreement by reference. By using the Services, you indicate that you understand and agree to the practices described in the Privacy Policy.

The Services contain features that allow users to post their own content and communicate with others. When your account is used to submit, post, or add content to the Services or to communicate with other users (collectively, "User Submissions"), you agree to accept sole responsibility for those User Submissions, including the information, statements, facts, and material contained in any form or medium (e.g., text, audio, video, and photographic) therein.

When you provide any User Submission to us, you grant us, our affiliates, and our partners and designees, licensees, or sublicensees, a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sublicensable right and license to make, use, sell, sublicense, reproduce, distribute, perform, display, prepare derivative works from and otherwise exploit all such content and material as if it were the full owner thereof, in any media formats and any media channels now known or later developed. In addition, you agree to allow us, our affiliates, and our partners and designees, licensees, or sublicensees, to use your name, identity, likeness, and other identifying characteristics for promotional or any other purposes without notifying or further compensating you.

The Services may allow other users to view your User Submissions and to comment upon, rate, or link to them, or to embed them into third-party websites, as described elsewhere in these Terms of Use. In addition, we may allow users to select Content, including User Submissions, for use in software applications, widgets, services, or properties in a manner that we may separately authorize, a functionality known as "Snagging." Without limiting the generality of the license created by these Terms of Use, by providing User Submissions to us, you agree to allow us to license your User Submissions to third parties for inclusion in other publications, including commercial publications, and to allow third parties to Snag or embed your User Submissions into other services, without notifying or further compensating you.

In order to ensure that all of our users enjoy their use of the Services, you agree that none of your User Submissions will:

infringe on the intellectual property, trade secret, privacy, or publicity rights of others;
contain any material that could be considered unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, indecent, sexually explicit, or hateful, or content that refers negatively to people or groups on the basis of their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or similar characteristics;
be posted in a false name or the name of another person, or include impersonations of any person, except where such impersonations are obvious and are included exclusively for the purpose of parody;
include illegal material or encourage, solicit, or glorify illegal activity;
contain false statements or misrepresentations that could damage you, us, or a third party;
include commercial advertisements or solicitations, except if we have specifically authorized their inclusion; or
include material that is otherwise objectionable to SnagFilms.

Although we may, from time to time, use the Services and review User Submissions, we do not routinely monitor User Submissions or edit or approve User Submissions prior to their publication. As a result, you agree that we cannot take responsibility for User Submissions and that we are not obligated to monitor User Submissions.

If we become aware of User Submissions that we believe to violate these Terms of Use or to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, we may – but are not required to – act in good faith to restrict access to or availability of such User Submissions. We may also take steps to terminate the access to the Services of the user who made the User Submissions or take other appropriate steps, including initiating legal action.

If you become aware of User Submissions or other Content on the Services that you believe to be objectionable or to violate these Terms of Use, or that you believe may cause injury to yourself, us, or any third party, you agree to notify us of such Content immediately by emailing .

The Services contain copyrighted material, trademarks and other proprietary information, including, but not limited to, text, software, photos, video, graphics, music and sound. The Services are protected by copyright as a collective work under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries. Except as otherwise specified in these Terms of Use, all individual videos, articles, and other elements comprising the Services are also copyrighted works. All copyright rights in the Services and these works are owned by SnagFilms or its third-party licensors to the full extent permitted under the United States Copyright Act and all international copyright laws, and are provided for your educational and non-commercial purposes only. You must abide by all additional copyright notices or restrictions contained on the Services.

Except for your own User Submissions, you may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit, any of the content, in whole or in part, except that you may use technology provided and authorized by SnagFilms, including the Widget, to Snag Content or embed Content into third party websites as described in Section 10, below.

Except as otherwise expressly permitted under copyright law, no copying, redistribution, retransmission, publication or commercial exploitation of content will be permitted without the express permission of SnagFilms and the copyright owner.

All rights in the product names, company names, trade names, logos, product packaging, and designs of all SnagFilms or third-party products or services, whether or not appearing in large print or with the trademark symbol, belong exclusively to SnagFilms or their respective owners, and are protected from reproduction, imitation, dilution, or confusing or misleading uses under national and international trademark and copyright laws. The use or misuse of these trademarks or any materials, except as permitted herein, is expressly prohibited, and nothing stated or implied on the Services confers on you any license or right under any patent or trademark of SnagFilms or any third party.

We respect the rights of all copyright holders, and we have adopted and implemented a policy that provides for the termination in appropriate circumstances of users who infringe the rights of copyright holders. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide our designated copyright agent with the following information:

identification of the copyright work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity 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 us to contact the complaining party;
a statement that the complaining party has a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
a statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; and
a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Our copyright agent for notice of claims of infringement on the Services is:

This contact information is only for suspected copyright infringement. If you would like to contact us about another matter, please email us at .

We will remove any content that infringes upon the copyright of any person under the laws of the United States upon receipt of such a statement (or any statement in conformance with 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3)), and will terminate the access privileges of those who repeatedly infringe on the copyright of others. United States law imposes substantial penalties for falsely submitting a notice of copyright infringement.

These Terms of Use create a limited license for you to embed Content into websites that you operate or control, or to incorporate Content into postings you make on other websites to the extent authorized by the operators of those websites, but only using the SnagFilms Widget or other technology that we may from time to time make available. As described in Section 3 of these Terms of Use, however, you are authorized to use the Services only for personal and non-commercial purposes.

In addition, you may not link to or embed Content or any other portion of the Services, from or on any website or other publication or service that contains content that is unlawful, pornographic, obscene, indecent, defamatory, libelous, threatening, harassing, vulgar, indecent, profane, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, encourages criminal conduct, gives rise to civil liability, violates any law, rule or regulation, infringes any right of any third party including intellectual property rights, or that we determine, in our exclusive discretion, to be otherwise inappropriate.

Finally, you agree to maintain control of any posting or publication of the Embeddable Widget technology that you initiate, and that control must be sufficient to allow you to delete the posting or publication upon our request. You agree that we may require that you delete any posting or publication of Content or Services, or to discontinue use of the Embeddable Player or the Services entirely, for any reason and at any time. You agree to comply with any such instruction, provided to the most recent email address that you provided to us or such other contact information that we may identify for you, as promptly as possible and, in any event, within 24 hours after the request was transmitted. You agree not to make any posting or publication of Content or Services, or to otherwise use the Embeddable Player, if you cannot retain this control or if you cannot respond to a deletion instruction from us within 24 hours.

As a convenience to users, we may provide links to third-party content, websites or services. We do not endorse, sponsor, control, or otherwise accept responsibility for this material.

You should be aware that third-party websites are not covered by these Terms of Use or our Privacy Policy, and we therefore cannot be responsible for the content or practices of any such website, even if it links to the SnagFilms Site or even if the website is operated by a company affiliated or otherwise connected with SnagFilms.

You understand that the Services are provided purely for your entertainment, and you agree that we will not be responsible for any damages that you claim result, directly or indirectly, from use of the Services, for any reason, including costs incurred while using the Services, the inaccessibility of the Services, or the costs associated with any claims you bring or try to bring against us.

We do not guarantee that we will continue to provide the Services, that the Services will be available at any particular time or from any particular place, or that they will continue to function in the manner that they currently function. You agree that we will not have liability to you or to others for these changes to the Services.

You agree not to hold us liable for damages you claim are caused by third parties who contact you using the Services or become aware of your identity through the use of the Services, and you understand that, while such behavior is a violation of these Terms of Use, we need not attempt to control or identify individuals who falsify their identities or provide false information to others through the use of the Services.

IN NO EVENT SHALL SNAGFILMS OR ITS AFFILIATES, AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE INVESTORS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS AND SUPPLIERS (COLLECTIVELY, THE "SNAGFILMS PARTIES"), BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO THE USE OF THE SERVICES (INCLUDING ANY INFORMATION, PRODUCTS OR SERVICES ADVERTISED IN, OBTAINED ON OR PROVIDED THROUGH THE SITES).

YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT USE OF THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. NEITHER THE SNAGFILMS PARTIES, NOR THEIR AFFILIATES OR RESPECTIVE INVESTORS, DIRECTORS,OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE; NOR DO THEY MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE SERVICES, OR AS TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY OR CONTENT OF ANY INFORMATION OR SERVICE PROVIDED BY SNAGFILMS.

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

THIS DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY APPLIES TO ANY DAMAGES OR INJURY CAUSED BY ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMPUTER VIRUS, COMMUNICATION LINE FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO, ALTERATION OF, OR USE OF RECORD, WHETHER FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORTIOUS BEHAVIOR, NEGLIGENCE, GROSS NEGLIGENCE, OR UNDER ANY OTHER CAUSE OF ACTION, EVEN IF THE CLAIM ALLEGES THAT THE SNAGFILMS PARTIES’ CONDUCT WAS WILLFUL. YOU SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE SNAGFILMS PARTIES ARE NOT LIABLE FOR THE DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF OTHER USERS OR THIRD-PARTIES AND THAT THE RISK OF INJURY FROM THE FOREGOING RESTS ENTIRELY WITH YOU.

IN NO EVENT WILL THE SNAGFILMS PARTIES, OR ANY PERSON OR ENTITY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DISTRIBUTING THE SERVICES, BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL APPLY TO ALL CONTENT PROVIDED ON OR THROUGH THE SERVICES. IN ADDITION TO THE TERMS SET FORTH ABOVE NEITHER THE SNAGFILMS PARTIES, NOR THEIR AFFILIATES, INFORMATION PROVIDERS OR CONTENT PARTNERS SHALL BE LIABLE, REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE OR DURATION, FOR ANY ERRORS, INACCURACIES, OMISSIONS, OR OTHER DEFECTS IN, OR UNTIMELINESS OR UNAUTHENTICITY OF, THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THE SERVICES, OR FOR ANY DELAY OR INTERRUPTION IN THE TRANSMISSION THEREOF TO THE USER, OR FOR ANY CLAIMS OR LOSSES ARISING THEREFROM OR OCCASIONED THEREBY. NONE OF THE FOREGOING PARTIES SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY THIRD-PARTY CLAIMS OR LOSSES OF ANY NATURE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOST PROFITS, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.

YOU AGREE TO DEFEND, INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE SNAGFILMS PARTIES FROM AND AGAINST ALL CLAIMS, DAMAGES, LOSSES, LIABILITIES, COSTS OF DEBT, AND EXPENSES (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ATTORNEY’S FEES) ARISING FROM OR IN CONNECTION WITH: (I) YOUR USE OF AND ACCESS TO THE SERVICES OR CONTENT; (II) YOUR VIOLATION OF ANY TERM OF THESE TERMS OF USE; (III) YOUR VIOLATION OF ANY THIRD-PARTY RIGHT, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY COPYRIGHT, PROPERTY, OR PRIVACY RIGHT; OR (V) ANY CLAIM THAT ONE OF YOUR USER SUBMISSIONS CAUSED DAMAGE TO A THIRD PARTY. THIS DEFENSE AND INDEMNIFICATION OBLIGATION WILL SURVIVE ANY TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT OR YOUR ACCESS TO THE SERVICES.

We may terminate your access to the Services, including your use of Content, at any time and for any reason by providing notification of our decision to the email address that you most recently provided to us or by notifying you by another method. In addition, if you have not submitted any films or other video content to us and have not entered into a Licensor Agreement with us, you may request that we terminate your access to the Services, including your use of the Content, by emailing us at . If you have submitted films or video content to us or have entered into a Licensor Agreement, your right to terminate this agreement is governed by the terms of the Licensor Agreement.

Otherwise applicable provisions of these Terms of Use, including, without limitation, the indemnification provisions included above, will survive any such termination. In addition, because the license you grant to us in the content that you provide is perpetual, termination of this agreement does not terminate our license to use your content as described elsewhere in these Terms of Use.

You agree that any dispute between you and SnagFilms will be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and that any legal action brought by one party against the other will be brought in the appropriate court within the Commonwealth of Virginia.

These Terms of Use, along with the Privacy Policy incorporated within them by reference, constitute the entire agreement between you and SnagFilms. They govern your use of the Services (but excluding services, if any, that SnagFilms may provide to you under a separate written agreement), and completely replace any prior agreements between you and SnagFilms in relation to the Services.

Even if we act in a way that you believe to be inconsistent with these Terms of Use, those actions will not be deemed a waiver or constructive amendment of these Terms. Similarly, our failure to object to your breach of your obligations under these Terms of Use does not constitute a waiver of any of our rights.

If any provision of these Terms of Use is ruled unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision shall be severed from these Terms of Use, and the other provisions shall remain effective and enforceable. In addition, the severed provision shall be deemed replaced with a comparable provision that most closely reflects the intent of the parties.

You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and SnagFilms as a result of these Terms of Use or your access to and use of the Services.

A printed version of this agreement and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to the Terms of Use to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.

Nothing contained in these Terms of Use is in derogation of our right to comply with governmental, court, and law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of the Services or information provided to or gathered by us with respect to such use.

Please contact if you have any questions or comments about these Terms of Use.

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BY CONTINUING TO USE THE SERVICES, YOU AGREE TO ABIDE BY THESE TERMS OF USE.