Terms of Service

Patheos Terms of Use

1. USE CONSTITUTES AGREEMENT

By using this patheos.com website (the "Patheos Site" or "Site"), you signify your knowledge of and agreement to all terms set forth in these Terms of Use and Patheos' Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms of Use and together constitute the "Agreement". If you do not agree to the terms of the Agreement, please do not use the Patheos Site.

Patheos (also referred to below as "us," "we," "our") reserves the right, in our discretion, at any time and without prior notice to change the Agreement or any part of it. Please check the Agreement regularly when you enter the Site for any changes to this Agreement. The changes to the Agreement shall be effective immediately upon our posting a revised Agreement on the Site. Your use of the Site following the posting of any revised Agreement constitutes your agreement to be bound by those changes.

2. SITE CONTENT

All materials contained in the Patheos Site including, but not limited to, all images, text, software, illustrations, designs, logos, icons, video and audio content, and other materials and items on the Site, as well as the Site as a whole (collectively the "Content," which does not include any Member Content, discussed below), are owned, controlled and/or licensed by Patheos. The Content is protected by trademark, trade dress, copyright, and/or other intellectual property rights of Patheos or third-party licensors against any unauthorized uses not expressly permitted by this Agreement. All worldwide rights, title and interest in and to the Content are owned by Patheos or third-party licensors.

The Patheos Site and Content are intended solely for your personal informational and entertainment use. Patheos grants you a limited, non-exclusive, revocable, non-sublicensable license to print from your computer a single copy of the Content provided that you (i) use the Content for your personal, non-commercial use only, (ii) do not modify, remove or obscure any copyright and other proprietary notices, (iii) do not change the Content in any way, (iv) do not use any Content in a manner that suggests an association with Patheos, or any Patheos event, product, service, or brand, (v) do not copy, reproduce, republish, upload, download, post, transmit, distribute, modify, create derivative works from, sell or participate in any sale of, or exploit the Content in any way, and (vi) comply in all respects with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. Unless you have satisfied all of the foregoing requirements, you may not print, download, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, distribute, modify, create derivative works from, sell or participate in any sale of, or exploit in any way, in whole or in part, any of the Content or the Patheos Site without Patheos' prior written consent. Any use of the Content on any website other than the Patheos Site is strictly prohibited. We do not transfer to you title or any other rights in or to the Site or Content or any other materials on the Patheos Site not specifically set forth in this Agreement. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.

3. MEMBER PARTICIPATION

You represent that you are at least 13 years of age and that the information you provide when registering on this Site is true, accurate, current and complete. The personal information you provide to us is governed by our Privacy Policy.

Patheos does not claim any ownership rights in the text, files, images, photos, graphics, sound, video, works of authorship or any other materials that you post on your member page or in forums, reviews, chatrooms or elsewhere on the Site (individually and collectively, "Member Content"). By posting your Member Content to the Site, you retain all ownership rights in your Member Content. By posting, submitting or otherwise exchanging Member Content on or through the Site, you acknowledge, agree and understand that (i) Member Content will not be considered or treated as confidential, (ii) others may see, read, use or re-transmit your Member Content, (iii) you explicitly represent and warrant that you are the sole owner of such Member Content or have all rights and licenses necessary regarding such Member Content and the grant of the License granted in the following paragraph iv, and (iv)that Patheos and the other members of the Site are thereby granted a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, unrestricted, world-wide, nonexclusive license to use, reproduce, create derivative works from, modify, publish, edit, translate, adapt, transform, distribute, transmit, broadcast, perform and display such Member Content in any media or medium, or any form, format, or forum now known or hereafter developed for no compensation whatsoever (the "License"). This License includes a grant to Patheos and the Site and all other persons or entities involved in the operation of the Site of the right to transmit, monitor, retrieve, store, and use your Member Content. Patheos may sublicense its rights through multiple tiers of sublicenses. You may remove your Member Content from the Site, or terminate your membership with Patheos, but such removal or termination does not terminate the License to the extent that such Member Content may still be located on Patheos' or other members' computers, or located in other places not readily viewable on the current Site but accessible through archived files or bookmarked or undeleted text. Neither Patheos nor the Site assumes any responsibility or liability for any Member Content you provide, or any third parties' use or misuse of your Member Content.

4. RULES OF CONDUCT

As part of the Patheos community, you will be participating in a new dialogue about some of the most important topics in the world. And that new dialogue is:

A. Respectful and Elevated. Here we seek to better understand each other. That requires us to engage courteously and respectfully, even when we are engaging with someone with whom we fundamentally disagree.

B. Open, yet Safe. Anyone who desires to be part of the conversation can engage, but abuse will not be tolerated. Remember though: when you truly engage with someone from another faith, you often find that his or her world-view and yours are in conflict.

C. Honest and Real. At Patheos, we will often honestly express differences. And some of those differences, when it comes to different faiths, will seem false or even dangerous to you.

By using the Site in any way, you agree to the following:

A. You understand that all Member Content, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, is the sole responsibility of the member from whom such Member Content originated. This means that you, and not Patheos, are entirely responsible for all Member Content that you upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available via Patheos.

B. Patheos does not control the Member Content posted via Patheos and, as such, does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Member Content. You understand that by using Patheos, you may be exposed to Member Content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will Patheos be liable in any way for any Member Content, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any Member Content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Member Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via Patheos.

C. You agree not to use any part of the Patheos Site to:

i. aggressively and/or repeatedly attempt to proselytize or convert others to what you believe;

ii. to ask for money for yourself, for another individual, or for any for-profit cause;

iii. promote on-line or off-line sites, products or services;

iv. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Member Content that is unlawful, misleading, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invades another person's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable (as determined by Patheos in its sole discretion);violates or infringes in any way upon the rights of others;

v. interfere with any other party's use and enjoyment of the Patheos Site;

vi. encourage conduct that would violate this Agreement or any law or give rise to civil or criminal liability.

vii. Harm minors in any way;

viii. impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a Patheos official, forum leader, guide or host, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;

ix. forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any Member Content transmitted through Patheos;

x. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Member Content that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements);

xi. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Member Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party;

xii. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation, except in those areas (such as shopping) that are designated for such purpose (please read our complete Spam Policy);

xiii. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;

xiv. disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, cause a screen to "scroll" faster than other users of Patheos are able to type, or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other users' ability to engage in real time exchanges;

xv. interfere with or disrupt Patheos or servers or networks connected to Patheos, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to Patheos or use the Patheos Site in a manner that damages, disables, overburdens or impairs the Patheos Site;

xvi. obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not authorized by this Agreement;

xvii. intentionally or unintentionally violates this Agreement or any applicable local, state, national or international law and any regulations having the force of law;

xviii. provide material support or resources (or conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, or ownership of material support or resources) to any organization(s) designated by the United States government as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

xix. "stalk" or otherwise harass any other person or entity; and/or

xx. collect or store personal data about other members in connection with the prohibited conduct and activities set forth in paragraphs a through p above.

D. You agree that you will not permit anyone else to violate this Agreement on any Patheos pages you control (your profile, private messages, group pages, etc.).

E. You may use your own personal community spaces (your MyPath profile and any Group you create) to promote your work, products, services and activities.

F. These Rules of Conduct apply to your activity and content anywhere on the Patheos Site, including but not limited to:

i. forum, discussion and post titles;

ii. content of posts;

iii. member's screen names, photos or profiles; and

iv. uploaded photos, images, and videos.

5. USE OF THE SITE

You agree to use the Patheos Site, Content and Member Content for lawful purposes only. You agree to abide by this Agreement and any additional terms or conditions imposed by Patheos or any third-party content providers in connection with the Content, any other third-party content, software or services available on or through the Patheos Site.

Patheos does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any Content or Member Content on the Site and is not responsible for, and does not necessarily endorse, any Content or Member Content contributed by any person other than Patheos. Patheos may, but is not obligated to, review or verify Content provided by any third-party or Member Content or monitor the Site for inappropriate Content, Member Content or conduct. Patheos may, but is not obligated to, remove any Content or Member Content that it, in its sole discretion, determines violates this Agreement or is otherwise offensive, illegal, harmful, or threatening to any person. You may notify us if you become aware of any unauthorized, inappropriate or illegal Member Content or conduct on the Site. We have no obligation to remove any Content or Member Content from the Site and are not responsible for any delay in removing or failure to remove such Content or Member Content. Patheos may also terminate the rights of the person who contributed such Content or Member Content to access the Site and may bring legal action against such person. Patheos may, but is not obligated to, provide the name of the person posting such Content or Member Content to any person who reasonably establishes (in the sole judgment of Patheos) a need for such identifying information.

6. DISCLAIMERS

YOU ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR ANY USE OF THE PATHEOS SITE, CONTENT AND SOFTWARE, WHICH ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, PATHEOS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS AND IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT, TITLE, SECURITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF USE OR INFORMATION. PATHEOS DISCLAIMS ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES REGARDING THE PATHEOS SITE, CONTENT OR SOFTWARE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE AVAILABILITY OF THE PATHEOS SITE, ANY CORRECTIVE EFFORTS FOR ANY DEFECTS OR ERRORS ON OR IN THE SITE OR THE SOFTWARE, THE ABSENCE OF ANY VIRUSES, BUGS OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENT. COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ANY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION ASSOCIATED IN ANY WAY WITH ANY USE OF THE PATHEOS SITE, CONTENT OR SOFTWARE ARE YOUR SOLE RESPONSIBILITY.

7. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL PATHEOS OR ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, SPONSORS, OR PROMOTIONAL PARTNERS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT LOSS, DAMAGE (WHETHER INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF DAMAGE), INJURY, CLAIM, LIABILITY OR OTHER CAUSE OF ACTION OF ANY KIND RESULTING FROM OR IN ANY WAY ASSOCIATED WITH THE PATHEOS SITE, CONTENT, SOFTWARE, MEMBER CONTENT, ANY LINKED SITE, OR ANY USE OF ANY OF THE FOREGOING. THIS LIMITATION APPLIES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW AND WHETHER THE ALLEGED LIABILITY IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER BASIS, EVEN IF PATHEOS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. IF FOR ANY REASON PATHEOS SHALL BE FOUND TO BE LIABLE, OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PARTY OR PARTIES CLAIMING WITH, UNDER OR THROUGH YOU, SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT YOU PAID, IF ANY, TO PATHEOS FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE SITE, NOTWITHSTANDING THE NUMBER OF CLAIMS AND NOTWITHSTANDING ANY CLAIM THAT SUCH REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. NO CLAIM OR ACTION ARISING FROM OR CONCERNING THE SITE, CONTENT OR SOFTWARE OR OTHERWISE HEREUNDER MAY BE BROUGHT LATER THAN ONE YEAR FROM THE DATE THE CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION AROSE.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE DISCLAIMER OF CERTAIN TYPES OF DAMAGES OR LIABILITY AND, ALTHOUGH THE EXCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS IN THIS AGREEMENT SHALL ALWAYS BE CONSTRUED TO BE EFFECTIVE TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, YOU SHOULD CONSULT YOUR OWN LEGAL ADVISOR SHOULD YOU WISH TO DETERMINE THE LAWS AND REGULATIONS THAT APPLY TO YOU.

8. UNSOLICITED SUBMISSIONS

We are pleased to hear from our visitors and welcome your comments regarding our products and services. We request that any feedback you provide be specific, and that you not submit any ideas, suggestions, or materials to us unless we have specifically requested such information.

Patheos will not accept or consider any ideas, suggestions, or materials relating to the Content of the Site including, but not limited to, ideas, topics, artwork or photos unless we have specifically requested that you send us such things.

9. INDEMNIFICATION

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Patheos and its subsidiaries and affiliated companies, and their respective owners, directors, officers, employees, contractors and agents from any and all liabilities, claims, and expenses of every kind and nature, including but not limited to attorney's fees, that arise from your violation of this Agreement or your use of the Patheos Site other than as permitted in this Agreement. Patheos shall have the right to determine the identity of its legal counsel and you shall hire and pay for such counsel and all costs associated with the defense. Patheos reserves the right, at it own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will cooperate with Patheos in asserting any available defenses.

10. INTERNATIONAL USE

This Site is intended for use in the United States only. Patheos makes no representation that the Site or the Content are appropriate or available for use in locations outside the United States. Access may not be legal by certain persons in certain countries. Accessing the Site from or transmitting the Content to territories where the Content is illegal is prohibited. If you use the Patheos Site or Content from a location other than in the United States, you do so at your own risk and are solely responsible for compliance with all applicable local laws.

11. CREDIT CARDS

Patheos takes the issue of your privacy seriously. We reveal only the last four digits of your credit card numbers when confirming an order. Of course, we transmit the entire credit card number to the appropriate credit card company during order processing. Otherwise, we do not share your credit card information with anyone else. For more information, please read our Privacy Policy.

12. THIRD-PARTY ADVERTISEMENTS, LINKS AND SALES

We allow advertisers to advertise on our Site under certain conditions, but we try to make sure they are clearly marked as advertisements. Advertisements found on our Site do not express the views or opinions of Patheos. Please review our Privacy Policy for more information on advertisements. The Site may provide links to third-party web sites. Patheos does not recommend, monitor, control or endorse any third-party advertising or content, nor the content on any third-party web sites and is not responsible for their terms of use or privacy policies or how they may treat your information. Patheos disclaims all warranties and responsibility for the websites of third parties, and for the accuracy, availability, or completeness of any content found on those websites. Your use of third-party web sites is at your own risk. Dealings you have with advertisers found on the Site are between you and the advertiser, and you acknowledge and agree that Patheos is not liable for any loss or claim you may have against an advertiser.

You agree to look only to the manufacturer of any products or services bought through the Patheos Site, and not to Patheos, in the event you suffer any damages of any nature related to such products and services. Patheos makes no representations or warranties as to the security of any information (including without limitation credit card and other personal information) you might be requested to give any third-party, and you hereby irrevocably waive any claim against Patheos with respect to such third-party sites and content.

13. COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK VIOLATIONS

It is our policy to terminate registration of any Member who repeatedly infringes the copyrights or trademarks of others and to expeditiously remove or disable access to the alleged infringing material if we are given proper notice of the infringement or infringing conduct by the copyright or trademark owner. If you believe any materials (e.g., Member Content or Content) infringes your copyright or trademark, you may request removal of those materials from our Site by contacting our designated IP agent (identified below) and providing the following information:

i. Identification of the copyrighted or trademarked work that you believe to be infringed. Please describe the work and where possible include a copy or the location (e.g., URL) of an authorized version.

ii. 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;

iii. Your name, address, telephone number and (if available) e-mail address.

iv. A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the materials you notify us about is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law.

v. A statement that the information that you have supplied is accurate and that "under penalty of perjury" you are the copyright or trademark owner or are authorized to act on the copyright or trademark owner's behalf.

vi. A signature or the electronic equivalent from the copyright or trademark holder or authorized representative.

Our agent for copyright and trademark issues is:

BN Media, LLC 2037 Laskin Rd. Virginia Beach, VA 23454; Facsimile: (757) 965-4542; Phone: (757) 200-9944; Attn: Beliefnet's Copyright Administrative Department or electronically at copyrightagent@beliefnetstaff.com

14. CHOICE OF LAW AND FORUM

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Colorado, USA, excluding its conflicts of law rules. You expressly agree that the exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute, claim or action against Patheos, its affiliates and subsidiaries and their owners, directors, officers, employees, contractors, agents arising from or relating in any way to this Agreement, the Patheos Site and Content, or your use thereof shall be filed only in the state or federal courts located in or serving Douglas County in the State of Colorado. You also agree and voluntarily submit to the exercise of personal jurisdiction of such Colorado courts for the purpose of litigating any such claim or action, and consent to extra-territorial service of process.

15. SEVERABILITY AND INTEGRATION

Unless otherwise specified herein, this Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and Patheos with respect to the Patheos Site, the Content and the Member Content and the use of the foregoing and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals (whether oral, written, or electronic) between you and Patheos with respect to the Patheos Site. This Agreement may be modified by you only if Patheos agrees to such modification in a writing manually signed by the Chief Executive Officer of Patheos. If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed to be modified so that it is valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.

16. TERMINATION

Patheos reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate your access and license to all or any part of this Site and the Content at any time with or without notice.

Please contact us at: feedback@patheos.com with any questions regarding this Agreement.

I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS AGREEMENT AND VOLUNTARILY AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT NOW IN EFFECT AND AS IT MAY BE HEREAFTER AMENDED.