Terms of Use

Effective date: July 20, 2006

Please read the following Terms of Use before using this Web site. By continuing to use news-gazette.com, wdws.com, whms.com or any other Web site owned and operated by The News-Gazette, Inc. (the “Company”), you agree to abide by the conditions of this agreement.

Welcome to news-gazette.com.  If you use this Web site (the “Site”), you agree to be bound by all of the terms of this agreement.  Please read these terms carefully, as well as our Privacy Policy.

Technology and the Internet are developing rapidly.  Thus, over time, we may make changes in these Terms of Use. We will post such changes here, and the effective date will be changed. We are under no obligation to notify users of the Site of any changes beyond changing these Terms of Use.  Users are bound by any such changes through the use of the Site. 

The Company may require you to register and provide certain information to it as a condition of using or accessing certain features, functions and content.

Cost

Most of the Site’s content is available free of charge, with the exception of Illini SportsFacts, which is a subscription-based service.  Other content may become  available via subscription, as well, and that content will be clearly marked.  We encourage you to support the advertisers who make it possible for us to provide the Site at such a low cost.

Copyrights and trademarks

Except for content you have posted on the Site, all materials on this site, including, but not limited to, images, illustrations, audio clips, video clips (the "Content") are copyrighted by The News-Gazette or by other information providers who have licensed their content for use on our Web sites.  Also, the entire Content of news-gazette.com is copyrighted by The News-Gazette as a collective work under U.S. copyright laws. Material from the Site may not be reproduced, republished or redistributed without prior written authorization from the Editor.  Content from other news services and syndicates, such as The Associated Press, are also copyrighted, with those services controlling the copyright.

You may download or print a single copy of any portion of the Content for your personal, home, noncommercial use, provided you do not remove any trademark, copyright or other notice contained in such Content.  No other use is permitted.

You may not, for example, republish Content on any Internet, intranet or extranet site, nor can you incorporate any of the Content in any database, compilation, archive or cache.  You may not distribute the Content to others, whether or not it is for payment or other consideration.  You may not frame, modify, reproduce, sell, publish, transmit, create derivative works from, display or otherwise use any portion of the Content without our written permission.  Click here to access our reprint permission form.  The News-Gazette cannot grant permission to reuse or republish content from any other information provider, such as The Associated Press.

Finally, you agree you will cooperate promptly and completely with any reasonable request by The News-Gazette related to an investigation or infringement of copyright or other proprietary right.

User-provided content and information

All postings, messages, text, files, images, graphics, photos, audio clips, sounds, video or other materials posted on, transmitted through, or linked from the Site, are the sole responsibility of the person from whom such content originated. The copyright for such information belongs to the individual who created and submitted that content. The site acts only as a passive conduit for such content. You are entirely responsible for all content that you post, email or otherwise make available through the Site. For all content provided by you, you agree to indemnify the Company as follows:

By uploading or otherwise posting any content on the Site, you represent and warrant: (1) you own or otherwise have all necessary rights, including but not limited to copyrights, to the content you provide and the rights to use it as provided in this Terms of Service; (2) all information you provide is true, accurate, current and complete, and does not violate these Terms of Use; and, (3) the content will not cause injury to any person or entity.

Additionally, the Company does not control and is not responsible for content made available through the Site by its users. The Site cannot and does not monitor all of the material posted or transmitted to the Site.

In content posted by users for other readers, we strongly discourage the divulging of personal information, including addresses and phone numbers, which can be used to identify or locate you. We reserve the right to delete any postings at any time for any reason, but we have no obligation to remove or review any such content.

Online conduct

As a Site user, you agree:

• Not to upload, transmit, distribute or otherwise publish on the Site any content that is false, misleading, inaccurate, libelous, defamatory, obscene, abusive, pornographic, vulgar, threatening, an invasion of privacy, racially or ethnically objectionable or harmful to minors in any way;
• Not to plagiarize content from another source;
• Not to post content that is an infringement of the intellectual property rights of another, including but not limited to, copyrights and trademarks;
• Not to post content that is illegal in any way or that advocates illegal activity;
• Not to post content that is an advertisement or solicitation of funds, goods or services;
• Not to misrepresent your identity nor impersonate another person;
• Not to post content that violates any local, state or federal law.

To register a complaint about another user’s conduct, please use our feedback form or write to The News-Gazette Online, 15 Main Street, Champaign, IL, 61824-0677.

Privacy rights

The News-Gazette takes your personal privacy seriously. That is why we have this Privacy Policy, which explains our position on such matters. Your use of this Web site confirms your acknowledgement of and agreement to the standards set forth in this policy. Advertisers on this Site, as well as other information providers may have their own policies on privacy.  You need to contact them for their policies.

Children’s use of the Site

The Site is a strong advocate for safe, secure online experiences for children. We recommend that parents supervise the use of the Internet by their children. We do not knowingly collect or solicit personally identifiable information from or about children under the age of 13. If we discover that we have received any information from a child under 13 in violation of this policy, we will delete that information immediately.

Disclaimer and Liability Limitation

While we use reasonable efforts to provide accurate information, we make no warranties as to the accuracy of the Content and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omission. We do not represent or warrant that use of any content will not infringe on the rights of third parties.  Neither The News-Gazette nor any of its information providers shall be liable in any way to you or the other parties for delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in the content published on the Site.

Opinions and advice expressed by individuals in comments sections or on forums represent those individuals’ own views and are not necessarily those of The News-Gazette and its Web sites.

IN NO EVENT WILL THE NEWS-GAZETTE, ITS SUBSIDIARIES, OR WEB SITES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FROM THE LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF INFORMATION OR PROGRAMS, ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA), ARISING OUT OF USE OF THE SITE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, EVEN IF THE NEWS-GAZETTE, INC., HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES; AND/OR ANY CLAIM ATTRIBUTABLE TO ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OTHER INACCURACIES OR COMPLETENESS OF CONTENT PUBLISHED ON COMPANY WEB SITES.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless The News-Gazette, Inc., its Web sites, and their directors, officers, managers, employees, agents, and licensors, from and against all losses, claims, expenses, damages and costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, resulting from any violation of these Terms of Use. We reserve the right to defend any such claim, and you agree to provide us with such reasonable cooperation and information as we may request.

Miscellaneous

• News-Gazette.com offices are located at The News-Gazette, 15 Main St., Champaign, IL 61820.  The phone number is 217-351-5696.
• By using the Site, you may be exposed to content that you find offensive, indecent, inaccurate, misleading or otherwise objectionable. You agree that you must bear all risks associated with the use of the Site and its content.
• This Site is available "as is." We do not warrant that this Site will be uninterrupted or error-free. There may be delays, omissions, interruptions and inaccuracies in the news, information or other materials available. We are not responsible for the availability or content of other services that may be linked to or from this Site. We do not make any warranties, express or implied, with respect to this Site, its Content or any information or goods that are available or advertised or sold through this Site. We do not endorse the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other material or database displayed, uploaded or distributed in this Site or available though links in this Site. We reserve the right to correct any errors or omissions in this Site. We are not liable for any damages or harm attributable to any Content on this Site. If you rely on this Site and any materials available through this Site, you do it at your own risk.
• We may modify, end, or restrict any portion of the Site at any time without notice or liability, terminate any subscription and/or membership or deny use to any individual at any time for any reason.
• These Terms of Use will be governed and interpreted under the laws of the State of Illinois.  Champaign County District Court has jurisdiction in any dispute arising from this policy.
• The Company does not represent or warrant that Content on the site is appropriate or available for use in other locations. If you choose to access this site from other locations, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for compliance with any and all local laws.
• Any questions or comments you have about news-gazette.com can be sent to the Site by submitting them through our feedback form.  We read all comments sent to us and try to respond to as many of them as possible.