17 U.S. Code 512. Limitations on liability relating to material.
17 U. S. Code 512. Limitations on liability relating to material online
U.S. CODE
(a) TRANSITORY DIGITAL NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS.—A service provider shall not be liable for monetary relief , or, except as provided in subsection (j), for injunctive or other equitable relief, for infringement of copyright by reason of the provider’s transmitting, routing, or providing connections for, material through a system or network controlled or operated by or for the, service provider , or by reason of the intermediate and transient storage of that material in the course of such transmitting, routing, or providing connections, if—
(1) the transmission of the material was initiated by or at the direction of a person other than the service provider;
(2) the transmission, routing, provision of connections, or storage is carried out through an automatic technical process without selection of the material by the service provider;
(3) the service provider does not select the recipients of the material except as an automatic response to the request of another person;
(4) no copy of the material made by the service provider in the course of such intermediate or transient storage is maintained on the system or network in a manner ordinarily accessible to anyone other than anticipated recipients, and no such copy is maintained on the system or network in a manner ordinarily accessible to such anticipated recipients for a longer period than is reasonably necessary for the transmission, routing, or provision of connections; and
(5) the material is transmitted through the system or network without modification of its content.
(b) SYSTEM CACHING.—
(1) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—A service provider shall not be liable for monetary relief, or, except as provided in subsection (j), for injunctive or other equitable relief, for infringement of copyright by reason of the intermediate and temporary storage of material on a system or network controlled or operated by or for the service provider in a case in which—
(A) the material is made available online by a person other than the service provider;
(B) the material is transmitted from the person described in subparagraph (A) through the system or network to a person other than the person described in subparagraph (A) at the direction of that other person; and
(C) the storage is carried out through an automatic technical process for the purpose of making the material available to users of the system or network who, after the material is transmitted as described in subparagraph (B), request access to the material from the person described in subparagraph (A), if the conditions set forth in paragraph (2) are met.
(2) CONDITIONS.—The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) are that—
(A) the material described in paragraph (1) is transmitted to the subsequent users described in paragraph (1)(C) without modification to its content from the manner in which the material was transmitted from the person described in paragraph (1)(A);
(B) the service provider described in paragraph (1) complies with rules concerning the refreshing, reloading, or other updating of the material when specified by the person making the material available online in accordance with a generally accepted industry standard data communications protocol for the system or network through which that person makes the material available, except that this subparagraph applies only if those rules are not used by the person described in paragraph (1)(A) to prevent or unreasonably impair the intermediate storage to which this subsection applies;
(C) the service provider does not interfere with the ability of technology associated with the material to return to the person described in paragraph (1)(A) the information that would have been available to that person if the material had been obtained by the subsequent users described in paragraph (1)(C) directly from that person, except that this subparagraph applies only if that technology—
(i) does not significantly interfere with the performance of the provider’s system or network or with the intermediate storage of the material;
(ii) is consistent with generally accepted industry standard communications protocols; and
(iii) does not extract information from the provider’s system or network other than the information that would have been available to the person described in paragraph (1)(A) if the subsequent users had gained access to the material directly from that person;
(D) if the person described in paragraph (1)(A) has in effect a condition that a person must meet prior to having access to the material, such as a condition based on payment of a fee or provision of a password or other information, the service provider permits access to the stored material in significant part only to users of its system or network that have met those conditions and only in accordance with those conditions; and
(E) if the person described in paragraph (1)(A) makes that material available online without the authorization of the copyright owner of the material, the service provider responds expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material that is claimed to be infringing upon notification of claimed infringement as described in subsection (c)(3), except that this subparagraph applies only if—
(i) the material has previously been removed from the originating site or access to it has been disabled, or a court has ordered that the material be removed from the originating site or that access to the material on the originating site be disabled; and
(ii) the party giving the notification includes in the notification a statement confirming that the material has been removed from the originating site or access to it has been disabled or that a court has ordered that the material be removed from the originating site or that access to the material on the originating site be disabled.
(c) INFORMATION RESIDING ON SYSTEMS OR NETWORKD AT DIRECTION OF USERS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—A service provider shall not be liable for monetary relief, or, except as provided in subsection (j), for injunctive or other equitable relief, for infringement of copyright by reason of the storage at the direction of a user of material that resides on a system or network controlled or operated by or for the service provider, if the service provider—
(A)
(i) does not have actual knowledge that the material or an activity using the material on the system or network is infringing;
(ii) in the absence of such actual knowledge, is not aware of facts or circumstances from which infringing activity is apparent; or
(iii) upon obtaining such knowledge or awareness, acts expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material;
(B) does not receive a financial benefit directly attributable to the infringing activity, in a case in which the service provider has the right and ability to control such activity; and
(C) upon notification of claimed infringement as described in paragraph (3), responds expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity.
(2) DESIGNATED AGENT.—The limitations on liability established in this subsection apply to a service provider only if the service provider has designated an agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement described in paragraph (3), by making available through its service, including on its website in a location accessible to the public, and by providing to the Copyright Office, substantially the following information:
(A) the name, address, phone number, and electronic mail address of the agent.
(B) other contact information which the Register of Copyrights may deem appropriate.
The Register of Copyrights shall maintain a current directory of agents available to the public for inspection, including through the Internet, and may require payment of a fee by service providers to cover the costs of maintaining the directory.
(3) ELEMENTS OF NOTIFICATION.—
(A) To be effective under this subsection, a notification of claimed infringement must be a written communication provided to the designated agent of a service provider that includes substantially the following:
(i) A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
(ii) Identification of the copyrighted 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.
(iii) 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 the service provider to locate the material.
(iv) Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted.
(v) 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.
(vi) 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.
(B)
(i) Subject to clause (ii), a notification from a copyright owner or from a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner that fails to comply substantially with the provisions of subparagraph (A) shall not be considered under paragraph (1)(A) in determining whether a service provider has actual knowledge or is aware of facts or circumstances from which infringing activity is apparent.
(ii) In a case in which the notification that is provided to the service provider’s designated agent fails to comply substantially with all the provisions of subparagraph (A) but substantially complies with clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv) of subparagraph (A), clause (i) of this subparagraph applies only if the service provider promptly attempts to contact the person making the notification or takes other reasonable steps to assist in the receipt of notification that substantially complies with all the provisions of subparagraph (A).
(d) INFORMATION LOCATION TOOLS.—A service provider shall not be liable for monetary relief, or, except as provided in subsection (j), for injunctive or other equitable relief, for infringement of copyright by reason of the provider referring or linking users to an online location containing infringing material or infringing activity, by using information location tools, including a directory, index, reference, pointer, or hypertext link, if the service provider—
(1)
(A) does not have actual knowledge that the material or activity is infringing;
(B) in the absence of such actual knowledge, is not aware of facts or circumstances from which infringing activity is apparent; or
(C) upon obtaining such knowledge or awareness, acts expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material;
(2) does not receive a financial benefit directly attributable to the infringing activity, in a case in which the service provider has the right and ability to control such activity; and
(3) upon notification of claimed infringement as described in subsection (c)(3), responds expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity, except that, for purposes of this paragraph, the information described in subsection (c)(3)(A)(iii) shall be identification of the reference or link, to material or activity claimed to be infringing, that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate that reference or link.
(e) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY OF NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.—
(1) When a public or other nonprofit institution of higher education is a service provider, and when a faculty member or graduate student who is an employee of such institution is performing a teaching or research function, for the purposes of subsections (a) and (b) such faculty member or graduate student shall be considered to be a person other than the institution, and for the purposes of subsections (c) and (d) such faculty member’s or graduate student’s knowledge or awareness of his or her infringing activities shall not be attributed to the institution, if—
(A) such faculty member’s or graduate student’s infringing activities do not involve the provision of online access to instructional materials that are or were required or recommended, within the preceding 3-year period, for a course taught at the institution by such faculty member or graduate student;
(B) the institution has not, within the preceding 3-year period, received more than two notifications described in subsection (c)(3) of claimed infringement by such faculty member or graduate student, and such notifications of claimed infringement were not actionable under subsection (f); and
(C) the institution provides to all users of its system or network informational materials that accurately describe, and promote compliance with, the laws of the United States relating to copyright.
(2) For the purposes of this subsection, the limitations on injunctive relief contained in subsections (j)(2) and (j)(3), but not those in (j)(1), shall apply.
(f) MISREPRESENTATIONS.—Any person who knowingly materially misrepresents under this section—
(1) that material or activity is infringing, or
(2) that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification,
shall be liable for any damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, incurred by the alleged infringer, by any copyright owner or copyright owner’s authorized licensee, or by a service provider, who is injured by such misrepresentation, as the result of the service provider relying upon such misrepresentation in removing or disabling access to the material or activity claimed to be infringing, or in replacing the removed material or ceasing to disable access to it.
(g) REPLACEMENT OF REMOVED OR DISABLED MATERIAL AND LILMITON ON OTHER LIABILITY.—
(1) NO LIABILITY FOR TAKING DOWN GENERALLY.—
Subject to paragraph (2), a service provider shall not be liable to any person for any claim based on the service provider’s good faith disabling of access to, or removal of, material or activity claimed to be infringing or based on facts or circumstances from which infringing activity is apparent, regardless of whether the material or activity is ultimately determined to be infringing.
(2 ) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to material residing at the direction of a subscriber of the service provider on a system or network controlled or operated by or for the service provider that is removed, or to which access is disabled by the service provider, pursuant to a notice provided under subsection (c)(1)(C), unless the service provider—
(A) takes reasonable steps promptly to notify the subscriber that it has removed or disabled access to the material;
(B) upon receipt of a counter notification described in paragraph (3), promptly provides the person who provided the notification under subsection (c)(1)(C) with a copy of the counter notification, and informs that person that it will replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it in 10 business days; and
(C) replaces the removed material and ceases disabling access to it not less than 10, nor more than 14, business days following receipt of the counter notice, unless its designated agent first receives notice from the person who submitted the notification under subsection (c)(1)(C) that such person has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the subscriber from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material on the service provider’s system or network.
(3) CONTENTS OF COUNTER NOTIFICATION.—To be effective under this subsection, a counter notification must be a written communication provided to the service provider’s designated agent that includes substantially the following:
(A) A physical or electronic signature of the subscriber.
(B) Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled.
(C) A statement under penalty of perjury that the subscriber has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.
(D) The subscriber’s name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that the subscriber consents to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if the subscriber’s address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and that the subscriber will accept service of process from the person who provided notification under subsection (c)(1)(C) or an agent of such person.
(4) LIMITATION ON OTHER LIABILITY.—
A service provider’s compliance with paragraph (2) shall not subject the service provider to liability for copyright infringement with respect to the material identified in the notice provided under subsection (c)(1)(C).
(h) SUBPOENA TO IDENTIFY INFRINGER.—
(1) REQUEST.—
A copyright owner or a person authorized to act on the owner’s behalf may request the clerk of any United States district court to issue a subpoena to a service provider for identification of an alleged infringer in accordance with this subsection.
(2) CONTENTS OF REQUEST.—The request may be made by filing with the clerk—
(A) a copy of a notification described in subsection (c)(3)(A);
(B) a proposed subpoena; and
(C) a sworn declaration to the effect that the purpose for which the subpoena is sought is to obtain the identity of an alleged infringer and that such information will only be used for the purpose of protecting rights under this title.
(3) CONTENTS OF SUBPOENA.—
The subpoena shall authorize and order the service provider receiving the notification and the subpoena to expeditiously disclose to the copyright owner or person authorized by the copyright owner information sufficient to identify the alleged infringer of the material described in the notification to the extent such information is available to the service provider.
(4) BASIS FOR GRANTING SUBPOENA.—
If the notification filed satisfies the provisions of subsection (c)(3)(A), the proposed subpoena is in proper form, and the accompanying declaration is properly executed, the clerk shall expeditiously issue and sign the proposed subpoena and return it to the requester for delivery to the service provider.
(5) ACTIONS OF RECEIVING SUBPOENA.—
Upon receipt of the issued subpoena, either accompanying or subsequent to the receipt of a notification described in subsection (c)(3)(A), the service provider shall expeditiously disclose to the copyright owner or person authorized by the copyright owner the information required by the subpoena, notwithstanding any other provision of law and regardless of whether the service provider responds to the notification.
(6) RULES APPLICABLE TO SUBPOENA.—
Unless otherwise provided by this section or by applicable rules of the court, the procedure for issuance and delivery of the subpoena, and the remedies for noncompliance with the subpoena, shall be governed to the greatest extent practicable by those provisions of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governing the issuance, service, and enforcement of a subpoena duces tecum.
(i) CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY.—
(1) ACCOMMODATION OF TECHNOLOGY.—The limitations on liability established by this section shall apply to a service provider only if the service provider—
(A) has adopted and reasonably implemented, and informs subscribers and account holders of the service provider’s system or network of, a policy that provides for the termination in appropriate circumstances of subscribers and account holders of the service provider’s system or network who are repeat infringers; and
(B) accommodates and does not interfere with standard technical measures.
(2) DEFINITION.—As used in this subsection, the term “standard technical measures” means technical measures that are used by copyright owners to identify or protect copyrighted works and—
(A) have been developed pursuant to a broad consensus of copyright owners and service providers in an open, fair, voluntary, multi-industry standards process;
(B) are available to any person on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms; and
(C) do not impose substantial costs on service providers or substantial burdens on their systems or networks.
(j) INJUNCTIONS.—The following rules shall apply in the case of any application for an injunction under section 502 against a service provider that is not subject to monetary remedies under this section:
(1) SCOPE OF RELIEF.—
(A) With respect to conduct other than that which qualifies for the limitation on remedies set forth in subsection (a), the court may grant injunctive relief with respect to a service provider only in one or more of the following forms:
(i) An order restraining the service provider from providing access to infringing material or activity residing at a particular online site on the provider’s system or network.
(ii) An order restraining the service provider from providing access to a subscriber or account holder of the service provider’s system or network who is engaging in infringing activity and is identified in the order, by terminating the accounts of the subscriber or account holder that are specified in the order.
(iii) Such other injunctive relief as the court may consider necessary to prevent or restrain infringement of copyrighted material specified in the order of the court at a particular online location, if such relief is the least burdensome to the service provider among the forms of relief comparably effective for that purpose.
(B) If the service provider qualifies for the limitation on remedies described in subsection (a), the court may only grant injunctive relief in one or both of the following forms:
(i) An order restraining the service provider from providing access to a subscriber or account holder of the service provider’s system or network who is using the provider’s service to engage in infringing activity and is identified in the order, by terminating the accounts of the subscriber or account holder that are specified in the order.
(ii) An order restraining the service provider from providing access, by taking reasonable steps specified in the order to block access, to a specific, identified, online location outside the United States.
(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—The court, in considering the relevant criteria for injunctive relief under applicable law, shall consider—
(A) whether such an injunction, either alone or in combination with other such injunctions issued against the same service provider under this subsection, would significantly burden either the provider or the operation of the provider’s system or network;
(B) the magnitude of the harm likely to be suffered by the copyright owner in the digital network environment if steps are not taken to prevent or restrain the infringement;
(C) whether implementation of such an injunction would be technically feasible and effective, and would not interfere with access to noninfringing material at other online locations; and
(D) whether other less burdensome and comparably effective means of preventing or restraining access to the infringing material are available.
(3) NOTICE AND EX PARTE ORDERS.—
Injunctive relief under this subsection shall be available only after notice to the service provider and an opportunity for the service provider to appear are provided, except for orders ensuring the preservation of evidence or other orders having no material adverse effect on the operation of the service provider’s communications network.
(k) DEFINITIONS.—
(1) SERVICE PROVIDER.—
(A) As used in subsection (a), the term “service provider” means an entity offering the transmission, routing, or providing of connections for digital online communications, between or among points specified by a user, of material of the user’s choosing, without modification to the content of the material as sent or received.
(B) As used in this section, other than subsection (a), the term “service provider” means a provider of online services or network access, or the operator of facilities therefor, and includes an entity described in subparagraph (A).
(2) MONETARY RELIEF.—
As used in this section, the term “monetary relief” means damages, costs, attorneys’ fees, and any other form of monetary payment.
(l) OTHER DEFENSES NOT AFFECTED.—
The failure of a service provider’s conduct to qualify for limitation of liability under this section shall not bear adversely upon the consideration of a defense by the service provider that the service provider’s conduct is not infringing under this title or any other defense.
(m) PROTECTION OF PRIVACY.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to condition the applicability of subsections (a) through (d) on—
(1) a service provider monitoring its service or affirmatively seeking facts indicating infringing activity, except to the extent consistent with a standard technical measure complying with the provisions of subsection (i); or
(2) a service provider gaining access to, removing, or disabling access to material in cases in which such conduct is prohibited by law.
(n) CONSTRUCTION.—
Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) describe separate and distinct functions for purposes of applying this section. Whether a service provider qualifies for the limitation on liability in any one of those subsections shall be based solely on the criteria in that subsection, and shall not affect a determination of whether that service provider qualifies for the limitations on liability under any other such subsection.
(Added Pub. L. 105–304, title II, § 202(a), Oct. 28, 1998, 112 Stat. 2877; amended Pub. L. 106–44, § 1(d), Aug. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 222; Pub. L. 111–295, § 3(a), Dec. 9, 2010, 124 Stat. 3180.)
Arbitation Clause.
Arbitration Clause, Class Action Waiver, and Jury Waiver
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS CAREFULLY BECAUSE THEY REQUIRE YOU AND QUIRQUS INC. TO AGREE TO RESOLVE ALL DISPUTES BETWEEN US THROUGH BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION.
• Applicability of Arbitration Agreement. You and Quirqus Inc. agree that all claims and disputes (whether contract, tort, or otherwise), including all statutory claims and disputes, arising out of or relating to these Terms or the use of the Services that cannot be resolved in small claims court will be resolved by binding arbitration on an individual basis, except that you and Quirqus Inc. are not required to arbitrate any dispute in which either party seeks equitable relief for the alleged unlawful use of copyrights, trademarks, trade names, logos, trade secrets, or patents. To be clear: The phrase “all claims and disputes” also includes claims and disputes that arose between us before the effective date of these Terms.
• Arbitration Rules. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this dispute-resolution provision. Arbitration will be initiated through the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) and will be governed by the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879. If the AAA is not available to arbitrate, the parties will select an alternative arbitral forum. The rules of the arbitral forum will govern all aspects of this arbitration, except to the extent those rules conflict with these Terms. The arbitration will be conducted by a single neutral arbitrator. Any claims or disputes where the total amount sought is less than $10,000 USD may be resolved through binding non-appearance-based arbitration, at the option of the party seeking relief. For claims or disputes where the total amount sought is $10,000 USD or more, the right to a hearing will be determined by the arbitral forum’s rules. Any judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
• Additional Rules for Non-appearance Arbitration. If non-appearance arbitration is elected, the arbitration will be conducted by telephone, online, written submissions, or any combination of the three; the specific manner will be chosen by the party initiating the arbitration. The arbitration will not involve any personal appearance by the parties or witnesses unless the parties mutually agree otherwise.
• Fees. If you choose to arbitrate with Quirqus Inc., you will not have to pay any fees to do so. That is because Quirqus Inc. will reimburse you for your filing fee and the AAA’s Consumer Arbitration Rules provide that any hearing fees and arbitrator compensation are our responsibility. To the extent another arbitral forum is selected, Quirqus Inc. will pay that forum’s fees as well.
• Authority of the Arbitrator. The arbitrator will decide the jurisdiction of the arbitrator and the rights and liabilities, if any, of you and Quirqus Inc. The dispute will not be consolidated with any other matters or joined with any other cases or parties. The arbitrator will have the authority to grant motions dispositive of all or part of any claim or dispute. The arbitrator will have the authority to award monetary damages and to grant any non-monetary remedy or relief available to an individual under law, the arbitral forum’s rules, and the Terms. The arbitrator will issue a written award and statement of decision describing the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based, including the calculation of any damages awarded. The arbitrator has the same authority to award relief on an individual basis that a judge in a court of law would have. The award of the arbitrator is final and binding upon you and Quirqus Inc.
• Waiver of Jury Trial. YOU AND QUIRQUS INC. WAIVE ANY CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY RIGHTS TO GO TO COURT AND HAVE A TRIAL IN FRONT OF A JUDGE OR A JURY. You and Quirqus Inc. are instead electing to have claims and disputes resolved by arbitration. Arbitration procedures are typically more limited, more efficient, and less costly than rules applicable in court and are subject to very limited review by a court. In any litigation between you and Quirqus Inc. over whether to vacate or enforce an arbitration award, YOU AND QUIRQUS INC. WAIVE ALL RIGHTS TO A JURY TRIAL, and elect instead to have the dispute be resolved by a judge.
• Waiver of Class or Consolidated Actions. ALL CLAIMS AND DISPUTES WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT MUST BE ARBITRATED OR LITIGATED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT ON A CLASS BASIS. CLAIMS OF MORE THAN ONE CUSTOMER OR USER CANNOT BE ARBITRATED OR LITIGATED JOINTLY OR CONSOLIDATED WITH THOSE OF ANY OTHER CUSTOMER OR USER. If, however, this waiver of class or consolidated actions is deemed invalid or unenforceable, neither you nor we are entitled to arbitration; instead all claims and disputes will be resolved in a court as set forth in Section 18.
• Right to Waive. Any rights and limitations set forth in this arbitration agreement may be waived by the party against whom the claim is asserted. Such waiver will not waive or affect any other portion of this arbitration agreement.
• Opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement. If you do so, neither you nor Quirqus Inc. can force the other to arbitrate. To opt out, you must notify Quirqus Inc. in writing no later than 30 days after first becoming subject to this arbitration agreement. Your notice must include your name and address, your Quirqus username and the email address you used to set up your Quirqus account (if you have one), and an unequivocal statement that you want to opt out of this arbitration agreement. You must either mail your opt-out notice to this address: Quirqus Inc., ATTN: Arbitration Opt-out, 201 Spear Street, Suite 1100, San Francisco, CA 94105, or email the opt-out notice to: legal@quirqus.com.
• Small Claims Court. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either you or Quirqus Inc. may bring an individual action in small claims court.
• Arbitration Agreement Survival. This arbitration agreement will survive the termination of your relationship with Quirqus Inc.
Community Guidelines.
Community Guidelines
At Quirqus, we contribute to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, be active in the world, and have fun together. We created these Community Guidelines to support our mission by encouraging the broadest range of self-expression while making sure Quirqers can use our services safely every day.
Quirqus Inc. expects users to treat others the way you would want to be treated.
This basic concept of treating each other with kindness and respect has largely gone missing these past several years. It is our hope to instill this ‘lost’ art of communication between people by promoting a Zero Tolerance Policy for unacceptable behavior of our users. We hope you view this policy in a positive light and enjoy all that Quirqus offers you and your friends.
If, however, you use the Services, or enable anyone else to use the Services deemed unacceptable by Quirqus Inc. the consequences may be severe. We believe people engaged in unacceptable activities just one time will repeat bad behavior. So a FIRST TIME OFFENSE is all it takes for us to remove the offending content, terminate your account permanently, and/or notify law enforcement (if required).
If you are unsure about specific activity we suggest you err on the side of caution. If you have questions or comments please email us at support@quirqus.com.
These Guidelines apply to all content on Quirqus.
Unacceptable Activities Include Those That:
• Bullies, Harasses, or Intimidates users.
Includes coercion and threats. As these can be considered crimes, Quirqus Inc. may notify law
enforcement (if necessary).
• Defames other users.
Damaging the good reputation of another user by slander (a false spoken statement) or
libel (a false written statement).
• Spams or solicits users.
Sending inappropriate messages to large numbers of users for either commercial or non-
commercial use.
• Incites, or attempts to Threaten or Cause Harm to oneself or others.
Threat is the crime of intentionally or knowingly putting another person in fear of bodily
injury. Quirqus Inc. may notify law enforcement (if necessary).
• Users Language that is Vulgar, or relates to Hard Drug Usage.
Vulgar language is obscene words that are offensive by acceptable standards of morality and
decency. Hard Drug Usage includes language promoting the use, sale, and distribution of
“Hard” (addictive) drugs to others.
• Uses Hate Speech.
Includes attacks on users based on their race, religion, ethnic origin, national origin, sex, sexual
orientation, gender or gender identity, disability or disease.
• Uses Pornography.
Pornography is the portrayal of erotic behavior designed to cause sexual excitement. It
includes words, acts, or representations. Examples include people displaying their genitals,
buttocks or breasts, even if shown through art mediums such as a painting, sculpture,
photograph, video, or the like. While breastfeeding is normal and natural an exposed breast
is however considered pornography and therefore not allowed.
• Engages in, or promotes Illegal Activities.
Includes an act committed in violation of the law where the consequence of conviction by a
court is punishment. As these are considered crimes, Quirqus Inc. may notify law
enforcement (if necessary).
• Engages in, or promotes Sexually Explicit Activities.
Includes sexual harassment, assault, rape, sexual exploitation, and sexual misconduct
(voyeurism, exhibitionism and fondling). As these are considered crimes, Quirqus Inc. may
notify law enforcement (if necessary).
• Engages in, or promotes Dangerous Activities.
Creates a foreseeable and highly significant risk of physical harm even when reasonable care
is exercised.
• Engages in, or promotes Violence toward people or animals.
Includes behavior which is intended to hurt, injure, or kill people and animals. As these are
considered crimes, Quirqus Inc. may notify law enforcement (if necessary).
• Engages in, or promotes Elder Abuse.
Includes an intentional act by another person in a relationship involving an expectation of
trust that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult (defined as someone age 60 or
older). As this is considered a crime, Quirqus Inc. may notify law enforcement (if
necessary).
Please take these Guidelines seriously and honor them in the spirit in which they are intended. We’ll do our best to enforce them consistently and fairly, and ultimately we’ll try to do what we think best reflects these values in each situation in our sole discretion.
Cookies Policy.
Cookies Policy
Effective: March 23, 2020
A browser cookie is a small piece of data that is stored on your device to help websites and mobile apps remember things about you. Other technology, including Web storage associated with your device, may be used for similar purposes. In this policy, we say “cookies” to refer to all of these technologies.
Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect and use information from and about you when you use Quirqus and certain other Quirqus Inc. services. This policy explains more about how we use cookies.
How We Use Cookies
Like most providers of online services, Quirqus Inc. uses cookies, including third-party cookies, for a number of reasons, like protecting your Quirqus data and account, helping us see which features are most popular, counting visitors to a page, improving our users’ experience, keeping our services secure, providing relevant advertising, and just generally providing you with a better, more intuitive, and satisfying experience. The cookies we use generally fall into one of the following categories.
Category of Cookies
Why we use these cookies
Necessary
We use these cookies to run our site, and to identify and prevent security risks.
For example, we may use these cookies to store your session information to prevent others from changing your password without your username and password.
Preferences
We use these cookies to remember your settings and preferences, and to improve your experience on our site.
For example, we may use these cookies to remember your language preferences.
Performance
We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience.
For example, we can use these cookies to learn more about which features are the most popular with our users and which ones might need some tweaks.
Marketing
We use these cookies to deliver advertisements, to make them more relevant and meaningful to consumers, and to track the efficiency of our advertising campaigns, both on our services and on other sites or mobile apps.
Your Choices
Browser Cookies
Your browser may provide you with the option to refuse some or all browser cookies. You may also
be able to remove cookies from your browser. For more information about how to manage browser
cookies, please follow the instructions provided by your browser.
Mobile Device Identifiers
Your mobile operating system may let you opt-out from having certain device identifiers used for
interest-based advertising. You should refer to the instructions provided by your mobile device’s
manufacturer; this information is typically available under the “settings” function of your mobile
device.
And of course, if your mobile device offers an uninstall process, you can always stop us from
collecting information through the app by uninstalling the Quirqus app.
Change Your Settings
You can also block certain cookies by adjusting your settings.