Friday, January 28, 2005

Terms of Use of EU Pundit


The IMPRESSUM required by German Law is found at the end of these Terms of Service
DEAR USER of EU PUNDIT : PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
This is the EU Pundit
Terms of Service Agreement and Privacy Policy
plus Impressum
(hereafter "Terms of Service").

Use of EU Pundit constitutes acceptance
of the following Terms of Service Agreement.

1. Terms of Service Agreement
The following Terms of Service Agreement is made between YOU

(hereafter the "User")
and the blog EU Pundit, its authors, contributors, parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers and employees

(hereafter "EU Pundit").

2. Acceptance of Terms of Service
EU Pundit is an online information service

provided to the User under these Terms of Service.

BY USING THESE PAGES, YOU, THE USER, SIGNIFY YOUR ASSENT
TO BE BOUND BY THE FOLLOWING TERMS OF SERVICE.

If you, the User,
do not agree to all of these Terms of Service,
please do not use EU Pundit.

Please be advised that EU Pundit may revise and update these Terms of Service at any time by posting such revised Terms of Service online to EU Pundit.

Your continued usage of EU Pundit or any of its services

will mean you accept those changes.


3. EU Pundit Graphic Images and Texts

All of the written materials on EU Pundit - to the degree that copyrights are not held by others - are copyrighted by EU Pundit. We reserve all of our rights in graphic images and texts created by us. At the same time we acknowledge intellectual property rights such as copyrights, trade names and trademarks held by others, subject to the fair use provisions of the copyright laws. Your use of these graphic images and texts may in no way be libelous, offensive, obscene or otherwise contrary to law, nor may you use them in violation of the copyright laws. Fair use - within the legal definition of that term - is permitted. We assume no responsibility for your use of these images and disclaim any and all liability for such use.

4. Disclaimer: EU Pundit DOES NOT guarantee that Information is accurate

EU Pundit does not provide a guarantee or warranty that Information is accurate, complete, up-to-date or in accordance with the law. The User, or third parties, should not act upon any Information provided on EU Pundit without seeking professional counsel. Furthermore, the User should be aware that any opinions, legal, financial, political, scientific or otherwise, expressed on EU Pundit, are solely those of the respective author, authors or contributors and are not necessarily the opinions of EU Pundit.

5. Disclaimer: EU Pundit assumes NO Content Liability for Third-party Sites

EU Pundit makes no guarantees or warranties regarding the content, completeness, availability or legality of our informational or advertising links to or from other internet sites owned and operated by third parties, whether private or commercial. You, the User, acknowledge that EU Pundit is not responsible for the consequences of links to or from third-party sites. This includes products, services, information, including uploadable or downloadable software, software bugs, security violations or virus attacks. You, the User, should contact the respective third-party site Administrator or Webmaster if you have any concerns regarding such links or the content located on such linked sites.

6. Specific Disclaimer of Liability for Click-Throughs to Links

The User's click-through to other sites by means of text links or advertising banners and the User's subsequent correspondence with or participation in promotions of advertisers linked from EU Pundit, including payment and delivery of related goods or services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between the User and the respective advertiser. The User agrees to absolve EU Pundit from all liability for any losses or damages incurred as the result of any such dealings or as the result of the presence of such advertisers on EU Pundit. The User therefore agrees that EU Pundit shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damages or losses caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on such external sites or resources.

7. General Disclaimer of Liability by EU Pundit

EU Pundit DOES NOT MAKE ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS OR ENDORSEMENTS WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE) WITH REGARD TO EU Pundit OR INFORMATION PROVIDED ON EU Pundit, OR TO ANY PRODUCTS, INFORMATION OR SERVICE PROVIDED THROUGH EU Pundit, OR ANY SITES LISTED ON EU Pundit, AND EU Pundit SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY COSTS OR DAMAGES ARISING EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FROM ANY SUCH TRANSACTIONS. EU Pundit DOES NOT WARRANT THAT EU Pundit WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OR THAT DEFECTS IN EU Pundit WILL BE CORRECTED. EU Pundit IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS,
WHICH MEANS, "AS IS AVAILABLE AT ANY GIVEN TIME ONLINE".

8. Limitation of the Liability of EU Pundit

EU Pundit OR ITS AUTHORS, CONTRIBUTORS, MEMBERS, MANAGERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS AND ASSIGNS
ARE NOT LIABLE FOR

(a) ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF PROGRAMS OR INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE) ARISING FROM THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE EU Pundit OR FOR THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS AND SERVICES OR RESULTING FROM ANY GOODS OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR MESSAGES RECEIVED OR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH EU Pundit OR RESULTING FROM TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO AS A RESULT OF LINKS TO OR FROM EU Pundit, OR

(b) ANY CLAIM ATTRIBUTABLE TO ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR OTHER INACCURACIES IN EU Pundit OR IN INFORMATION ON SITES WITH LINKS TO OR FROM EU Pundit, OR

(c) ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF EU Pundit OR USER'S TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLES, EVEN IF EU Pundit HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES. IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS, EU Pundit LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

9. Privacy Policy of EU Pundit

(a)
General privacy policy. EU Pundit does not collect personally identifiable data about the User unless the User chooses affirmatively to provide that data to EU Pundit, for example, data such as the User's name and E-mail address or postal address as contained in a User's E-mail to EU Pundit. This policy does not describe data collection policies on other sites, including those third-party sites linked to or from EU Pundit.

For third-parties, the User should examine the third-party published privacy policies.

(b) Data collected about Users. EU Pundit automatically collects aggregate statistical data about the use of EU Pundit. This may include page visits, length of stay per page, use of search box terms, click-throughs to advertisers, and similar statistical studies in which the User is personally NOT identifiable to EU Pundit.

If the User clicks-through to an advertiser and purchases something at a third-party site, that third-party site may collect personal information about the User, especially for purposes of documentation and payment of purchase and sale, but EU Pundit does not have access to or use of such personal information through such third parties.

(c) Use of Information Collected about Users. Information collected is normally not made available to third parties. However, EU Pundit may provide personally identifiable data collected about a User to third parties when such third parties desire to provide, on a limited basis, data that may be of interest to the User. EU Pundit may disclose information about a User if EU Pundit has a good-faith belief that this is required by law or legal process, to respond to claims, or to protect the rights, property or safety of EU Pundit or others.

(d) Protection of Children under 13 years of age. Children under 13 may not use EU Pundit or its services in order to submit any individually identifiable information about themselves.

10. Copyrights

The selection, arrangement and presentation of all Information as well as the overall design of EU Pundit are Copyright © 2003 by EU Pundit and/or copyright by third parties as protected by international intellectual property rights. Copyrights owned by others are hereby expressly acknowledged. All rights are reserved, except that single-use (one-user one-page at a time) direct online translation of EU Pundit pages into foreign languages by online translating services is expressly permitted. All other translation rights are reserved.

Information on EU Pundit is protected by United States and international copyright laws and treaties. No copyright exists on public works of the U.S. Government pursuant to 17 U.S.C. Section 105. Furthermore, the "Fair Use" of copyrighted information is permitted by 17 U.S.C. Section 107 (U.S. Copyright Act of 1976), which provides that "... the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright...." Except for fair use as noted above, any commercially motivated copy, distribution, retransmission or modification of Information on EU Pundit, whether in electronic or hard copy form, without the express prior written consent of EU Pundit is strictly prohibited.

11. Trademarks

"EU Pundit" is a trademark of Andis Kaulins, dba Translaton in Traben-Trarbach, Germany. The trademarks of companies to which links are made are hereby specifically recognized and acknowledged without prejudice. Third party graphic trademarks and logos on advertising banners on EU Pundit pages appear only by consent through affiliate and associate agreements. Some associate agreements, such as Amazon, permit firm logos to be downloaded for use by affiliates. Many other affiliate programs do not permit trademarks, logos, graphics, animations or photos of individuals to be stored on a hard disk and are only accessed online through a link to the respective trademark-owning or authorized company when a User views a certain page,. All such trademarks of course remain property of the owning companies and are not infringed by authorized affiliate or associate use. EU Pundit presumes that third-party advertisers are not violating any copyrights, patents or trademarks through their advertising texts and banners and therefore disclaims any liability for such violations by affiliated advertisers. Although textlinks are by nature mainly online "addresses", as in a telephone book, nevertheless, EU Pundit will at company request remove or amend any link to any site of any company which regards its trademark to be violated or negatively affected by an EU Pundit link. Court decisions indicate that there are limits to linking, e.g. in the case of challenged deep-linking. Any internet site can link to EU Pundit pages, provided the link is not false, misleading, libelous, defamatory or obscene. EU Pundit comments on links to third-party sites strive to be truthful, fair, objective and positive - and the same is expected from anyone linking to EU Pundit.

12. Indemnification

The User agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless EU Pundit and its members, managers, officers, employees, agents and the assigns of same, from and against any and all losses, costs, expenses, attorneys' fees, claims, damages and liabilities related to or associated with the User's use of EU Pundit and any violation of these Terms of Service by the User.

13. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms of Service constitute a contract made under, governed by and to be construed in accordance with the laws of Germany and the European Union or the State of Nebraska in the United States, whichever the courts might deem to apply.
14. Miscellaneous

These Terms of Service constitute the entire agreement between the User and EU Pundit with respect to the use of EU Pundit and the Information provided on EU Pundit. EU Pundit's failure to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision of these Terms of Service shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. Neither the course of conduct between the parties nor trade practices shall act to modify any provision of these Terms of Service. EU Pundit may assign its rights and duties under these Terms of Service to any party at any time without notice to the User.

15. Last Update

The EU Pundit Impressum and Terms of Service Agreement, including the Privacy Policy
was last updated on February 1, 2005.

16. Contact Information

Questions or comments regarding the Terms of Service Agreement, the Privacy Policy or the Disclaimers should be sent by e-mail to akaulins@aol.com or by mail to

Andis Kaulins, dba Translaton, Postfach 1710, 56835 Traben-Trarbach, Germany.

For Purposes of German Law, information about the Publisher of this Website:

Impressum
Verantwortlich für den Inhalt dieser Website:
Andis Kaulins (Doctor of Jurisprudence, Stanford University, USA)
Anschrift:
Gartenstrasse 10
Postfach 1710
D-56835 Traben-Trarbach
Telefon:+49-(0)6541-812188
Telefax: +49-(0)6541-812212

Thursday, January 27, 2005

EU Pundit - European Union Blog Launched

EU Pundit - the European Union Blog is launched on January 27, 2005.