TERMS OF WEBSITE USE

Last Revised:  April 2015

Disclaimer

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS OF WEBSITE USE CAREFULLY PRIOR TO USING THIS WEBSITE.  By using this Website, you agree to comply with and be legally bound by these Terms of Website Use concerning access to our Website and use of the Content provided on the Website, as well by our Privacy Policy.  Use of certain of our Content is subject to the Terms of Restricted Content Use as further described below.

Definitions

References to any of the following entities in these Terms of Website Use, and in our Privacy Policy, may be used interchangeably with the words, phrases or initials that appear after each of the following:

Energy Decisions Group, Inc.:  “Energy Decisions Group,” “EDG,” “we,” “us,” “our,” the operator of this Website and its Content.

User(s) of this Website:  “you,” “your,” “User(s),” “the User(s),” any person who views this Website and/or its Content.

Website:  www.energydecisionsgroup.com and all associated web pages and Content.

Content:  all materials and content published on or accessible through Website, including all text, photographs, video, graphics, music, images, animations, audio, software, plug-ins, data, sounds, messages, comments industry research, business intelligence, executive insights, blog entries, industry news, press releases, white papers, reports, presentation files, data files, data, graphics, infographics, images, documents, materials, webinars, products and services accessible through this Website.

Restricted Area(s):  certain area(s) of the Website may be accessed and used only by clients to whom Energy Decisions Group has issued passwords and/or user names for the purpose of restricting access to certain Content that is reserved for paying clients.

Website Operator

Welcome to our Website.  This Website is operated and maintained by Energy Decisions Group, Inc., a North Carolina corporation.  This Website provides you with access to industry research, business intelligence, executive insights, blog entries, industry news, press releases, white papers, reports, presentation slides, data files, data, graphics, infographics, images, documents, materials, webinars, products and services.  Some components of this Website may specify additional terms of use (including the Terms of Restricted Content Use) that are relevant to those components or your use of certain Content.  Should those additional terms conflict with these Terms of Website Use, the former shall control your use of that Content or component of the Website.

Disclaimer of Warranties

NEITHER ENERGY DECISIONS GROUP NOR ITS SERVICE PROVIDERS GUARANTEE THE CONTINUOUS, UNINTERRUPTED, OR SECURE ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE OR ANY RELATED PRODUCTS OR SERVICES.  THE OPERATION OF THE WEBSITE MAY BE INACCESSIBLE DUE TO, OR INTERFERED WITH BY, NUMEROUS FACTORS.

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT NEITHER ENERGY DECISIONS GROUP NOR ITS SERVICE PROVIDERS WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE WEBSITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES, WHETHER SUCH CLAIM IS BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE (EVEN IF ENERGY DECISIONS GROUP OR ITS SERVICE PROVIDERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES).

THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IN THIS SECTION WILL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING YOUR RELIANCE ON ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM ENERGY DECISIONS GROUP, ITS SERVICE PROVIDERS OR THE WEBSITE, AND WILL APPLY TO ALL DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM MISTAKES, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, DELETION OF FILES OR EMAIL, ERRORS, DEFECTS, MALICIOUS CONTENT, DELAYS IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, OR ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, WHETHER OR NOT RESULTING FROM ACTS OF GOD, COMMUNICATIONS FAILURE, THEFT, DESTRUCTION, OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO ENERGY DECISIONS GROUP RECORDS, PROGRAMS, OR SERVICES, AND WHETHER OR NOT ENERGY DECISIONS GROUP, INC. OR ITS SERVICE PROVIDERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.  YOU HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY SECTION WILL APPLY TO ALL CONTENT, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR ENERGY DECISIONS GROUP.

SUCH LIMITATION OF LIABILITY WILL APPLY WHETHER THE DAMAGES ARISE FROM USE OR MISUSE OF OR RELIANCE ON PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, FROM INABILITY TO USE THE WEBSITE OR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, FROM MISTAKES ON THE WEBSITE, OR FROM THE INTERRUPTION, SUSPENSION, OR TERMINATION OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES (INCLUDING SUCH DAMAGES INCURRED BY THIRD PARTIES).

SOME STATES OR OTHER JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

If you are a California resident, you hereby waive California Civil Code Section 1542 (and any similar provision in any other jurisdiction) which states: “A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, which, if known by him or her must have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor.”

If you are dissatisfied with any portion of our products or services or the Website, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue your use of our products or services and the Website.

Amendment(s) to Terms of Website Use

We reevaluate our Privacy Policy, Terms of Website Use, Terms of Restricted Content Use, and other conditions governing the use of our Website and any information contained thereon on a regular basis.  We reserve the right to amend these Terms of Website Use at any time without notice to you.  Any such amendment shall be effective once the revised terms have been posted on the Website.

DCMA Notice

Energy Decisions Group has designated an agent with the United States Copyright Office in accordance with the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. Sec. 512, (the “DMCA”) and avails itself of the protections under the DMCA.  Further, we reserve the right to remove any Content on the Website which allegedly infringes another person’s copyright.

Filing a Complaint.

If you believe any materials on the Website infringe a copyright, you should provide us with a request to take down the allegedly infringing material in the form of a written letter, sent by regular mail only (“DMCA Takedown Notice”), which at a minimum includes:

  • 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;
  • Your name, address, telephone number and email address (if available);
  • 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, 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
  • The signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we reserve the right to ignore a DMCA Takedown Notice that is not in compliance with the DMCA.

Filing a Counter-Notice.

If your material has been removed or blocked by us as a result of our receipt of a DMCA Takedown Notice, you may send us a request asking for the allegedly infringing material to be restored in the form of a written letter, sent by regular mail only (“DMCA Counter-Notice”), which at a minimum includes:

  • Identification of the copyrighted work (or works) that was removed by Energy Decisions Group and the location at which the works appeared before they were removed. The information must be reasonably sufficient to permit us to identify the copyrighted work;
  • Your name, address, telephone number and email address (if available);
  • A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located, or New York if your address is outside of the United States;
  • A statement that you will accept service of process from the person (or an agent of such person) who provided the DMCA Takedown Notice to us;
  • A statement that you have a good faith belief that the allegedly infringing material identified above as the copyrighted work was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled; and
  • A signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyrighted work that was taken down.

When we receive a DMCA Counter-Notice, we will send a copy of the DMCA Counter-Notice to the party who originally sent us the DMCA Takedown Notice and we will reinstate the allegedly infringing material, unless that party obtains a court order supporting removal of the allegedly infringing material.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, we reserve the right to ignore a DMCA Counter-Notice that is not in compliance with the DMCA.

Both the DMCA Takedown Notice and the DMCA Counter-Notice must be sent to our designated DMCA agent addressed as follows:

Energy Decisions Group, Inc.
ATTN: DMCA Agent
PO Box 13416
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
USA

You should contact the DMCA Agent only for delivering copyright infringement notices and counter notifications.  The DMCA Agent will not answer any other inquires.

Website and Content Use

We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited license to access and use the Content solely in accordance with these Terms of Website Use. Subject to these Terms of Website Use, you may view, download and print the Content solely for your personal, informational, noncommercial use. You agree not to reproduce, distribute, display, perform, transmit, modify, sell or otherwise make available any of the Content, in whole or in part, in any manner that is not expressly authorized by us in writing. Your use of this Website means that you will not remove or modify any copyright, trademark or other proprietary notices that we have placed in the Content.

The following additional terms and conditions shall govern your use of this Website and associated Content:

  1. This Website and its Content have been provided in good faith for general information purposes only. The Website may contain Content submitted by a third party, including but not limited to advertisements.  The inclusion of this Content on this Website does not represent endorsement by Energy Decisions Group, nor should it be relied upon for any specific purpose.  Energy Decisions Group does not make any representation or warranty as to such Content’s accuracy, completeness or validity.
  2. If you are accessing this Website as a paid customer or subscriber of our information products or services, your use of such products or services (including any Content contained therein) will also be governed by the Terms of Restricted Content Use and the Restricted Areas section below. If the Terms of Restricted Content Use conflict with these Terms of Website Use, the Terms of Restricted Content Use shall take precedence and govern your use of such products and services and any Content contained therein.
  3. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: You acknowledge that the Website and the Content are the property of Energy Decisions Group and are protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws. Nothing in these Terms of Website Use or on the Website will be construed as granting you any right to use any trademarks, service marks and logos displayed on the Website or any Content. Your use of this Website means you agree not to use any name, trademark or logo of Energy Decisions Group in any advertising or promotional materials, or to suggest any relationship between you and us, or in any manner that would infringe any of our rights.
  4. INDEMNIFICATION: By using this Website, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless Energy Decisions Group and its officers, directors, employees and agents, from and against all claims, actions, suits, damages, liabilities and costs (including, without limitation, reasonable legal fees), resulting from:
    1. Your breach of any provision of these Terms of Website Use, or
    2. Your use of or reliance on the Website or the Content.
  5. APPLICABLE LAW AND JURISDICTION: All matters arising from or relating to your access to and use of the Website or its Content, or these Terms of Website Use and the validity, construction and effect thereof, will be governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina, USA, without regard to its conflicts of laws principles.  You agree that all claims you may have arising from or relating to these Terms of Website Use or your access to or use of the Website will be heard and resolved exclusively in the applicable courts of the State of North Carolina, USA.  You hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts over you, and waive and agree not to assert any objection to proceedings in such courts (including lack of proper jurisdiction or venue or inconvenience of forum).
  6. Any opinions (expressed or implied) on this Website or its Content are those of the individual authors and not necessarily those of Energy Decisions Group.
  7. Energy Decisions Group shall not be held liable to you or your employer for any loss that you or your employer suffers, including, without limitation, damages for any consequential loss or loss of business opportunities or projects, or loss of profits or potential profits, howsoever arising, whether in contract, tort or otherwise, from your use or inability to use this Website or any Content, or from any action or omission taken as a result of using this Website.
  8. This Website and/or its Content may include links to other websites. These links are provided for your convenience.  We do not endorse or take responsibility in any way for the content of those websites.  We are not responsible for the availability of those websites.  You will not hold us liable in any way for any loss or damage which you may suffer by your use or inability to use those websites.  Should you decide to access other websites via links provided by us on our Website or Content, you do so at your own risk.
  9. Reference to any product or service on this Website does not constitute an offer to sell or supply that product or service and does not mean that the product or service is available in all countries or to all individuals, companies or entities, or that the name, description or price of any product or service in your country will be the same as that specified on the Website or in the Content.
  10. We reserve the right not to sell products or services to any person, company or entity in our sole discretion.


Restricted Areas

Certain areas of the Website (“Restricted Areas”) may be accessed and used only by clients to whom Energy Decisions Group has issued user names and/or passwords for the purpose of restricting access to Content that is reserved for paying clients.  You are expressly prohibited from accessing or using any Restricted Areas of the Website or any Content provided therein unless you have received a user name and/or password directly from us in accordance with the Terms of Restricted Content Use, or from your employer in accordance with the Terms of Restricted Content Use.  You are expressly prohibited from distributing, revealing or in any way sharing your user name and/or password to the Restricted Areas.  You are expressly prohibited from using another person or entity’s user name and/or password to access the Restricted Areas.

If you are authorized to access and use a Restricted Area because you have received a user name and/or password from us in accordance with the Terms of Restricted Content Use, or from your employer in accordance with the Terms of Restricted Content Use, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your user name and/or password.  You agree that you will not share your user name and/or password with any person or entity for any reason without the expressed prior written consent of Energy Decisions Group.  You are responsible for all activities that occur in connection with your user name and/or password.  Should you become aware of any unauthorized use of your user name and/or password, you agree to notify us immediately.  Furthermore, you agree not to reproduce, distribute, display, perform, transmit, create derivative works of, or otherwise make available any Content from any Restricted Areas, in whole or in part, except as expressly permitted by the Terms of Restricted Content Use.


Prohibited Uses

By using this Website, you agree not to use this Website for any purpose that violates any applicable law or that is prohibited by the Terms of Website Use or the terms of use posted for a specific area of the Website.  You are expressly prohibited from:

  1. Causing, or attempting to cause, damage to the Website;
  2. Disabling, overburdening, impairing or otherwise interfering with the intended operation of the Website or any of our computer systems or networks;
  3. Gaining, or attempting to gain, unauthorized access to any Restricted Areas of the Website or to any of our computer systems or networks
  4. Using, or attempting to use, any spider, robot, scraper or other automated means to access or use the Website, the Content, Restricted Areas, or any computer system or network of Energy Decisions Group, without our prior expressed written permission.

By using this Website, you agree not to use this Website, any Content provided through this Website, or any of our products or services to:

  1. Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
  2. Transmit any information that you do not have a right to transmit or which infringes another’s rights;
  3. Transmit any information or do anything that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
  4. Transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized promotion (including without limitation “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters” or “pyramid schemes”);
  5. Transmit any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, damage, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
  6. Forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any information transmitted through the Content
  7. Interfere with or disrupt the services or servers or networks connected to the services, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the services; or collect or store personal data about other users of the Website.


Website Access/Activity Monitoring

We may, at our sole discretion and without notice to you, monitor all access to and activity on the Website and all access to and activity associated with the Content provided herein.

Termination of Use

You agree that we may, in our sole discretion and without providing any notice or justification, terminate your access to the Website on a temporary or permanent basis.

Contact, Questions, Comments

Energy Decisions Group respects the intellectual property rights of others and we expressly prohibit users of our Website or Content from submitting, uploading, posting or otherwise distributing or transmitting any material that violates another person or entity’s intellectual property rights.

Should you have any questions or comments regarding this Website, Content contained on this Website, or our Terms of Website Use, please direct them to: client.services@energydecisionsgroup.com