Scotland

General Terms and Conditions of Service of the portal "Scotland" (Scotland)

• § 1 Scope of General Terms
  The following Scotland General Terms and Conditions of Service ("GTS") regulate the legal relationship between Scotland and all users ("Users" and the term "User" shall be construed accordingly) of Scotland’s internet platform at Scotland.21publish.com ("the Scotland Platform") and the other services provided by Scotland on the Scotland Platform ("the Scotland Services").
  
• § 2 Changes in the Service
  Scotland may amend the GTS and the Special Terms of Use from time to time in the future. Users will be deemed to have accepted the amended terms of the GTS and the Special Terms of Use by making any use of the Scotland Platform or the Scotland Services after the GTS or Special Terms of Use have been amended. The most current version of the GTS can be reviewed at any time on http://Scotland.21publish.com/ and we suggest that you regularly monitor the GTS and the Special Terms of Use for any changes.
  
• § 3 Description of Service
  
  • (1) Scotland offers Users an internet platform, based on Scotland technology, on which Users can create and place their own special homepages within the Scotland Platform ("Weblogs"). The creation and placement of digital content on Weblogs is achieved through use of a web, a mobile device or other technical input paths of the User.
  • (2) Users may request that Weblogs created by the User may be placed in different subject areas, interest categories or clubs on the Scotland Platform in such a way that Weblogs may be searched or sorted for subjects or other information or that Weblogs may be linked to from within the Scotland Platform though Scotland shall not obliged to do so.
  • (3) Scotland may put banner advertisements on Users’ Weblogs without reference to the User.
  • (4) On some pages of the Scotland Platform Users may be informed of the opportunity to enter into agreements with third parties. Scotland is not liable in relation to, and takes no responsibility for, any contract entered into by Users with any third party.
• § 4 Prerequisites of Use
  
  • (1) The Scotland Services may only be used by Users who:
    
    • a. have completed the Scotland registration form ("the Registration Form") and been subsequently accepted by Scotland;
    • b. have an email account acceptable to Scotland; and
    • c. are 14 years old or over although Scotland retains the right to set different age restrictions depending on the nature of the Scotland Service requested.
  • (2) The User that completes the Registration Form and confirms that the information given on the Registration Form is complete and correct.
  • (3) Scotland retains the right to refuse registration to any User without giving reasons.
  • (4) The User shall notify Scotland without delay of any and all changes to the information on the Registration Form.
  • (5) If the User provides any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete or Scotland has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, out of date or incomplete, Scotland has the right to suspend or terminate the User's account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Scotland Services or any part hereof by the User.
  • (6) The User understands and agrees that the provision of the Scotland Services may involve Scotland sending the User certain communications from Scotland such as service announcements and administrative messages and that these communications are considered part of the Scotland Services and that the User will not be able to opt out of receiving them.
• § 5 Duties Arising from Contract
  
  • (1) Users may open one or more user accounts in their own name. However, Scotland retains the right to limit the number of accounts and Weblogs per User at its discretion. The abusive use of several User accounts, especially in rating and commenting on entries within the range of the evaluation system, is prohibited and will lead to termination of all of the User’s Scotland Services.
  • (2) Users undertake to protect access to Scotland Services from unauthorised use by third parties. The User’s login name and password ("Access Data") must not be distributed to third parties. Users are liable for any damages arising from the unauthorised use of their Access Data and the subsequent use of Scotland Services. When the User is notified that their Access Data has been divulged to third parties, they are obliged to change their password. If this is not possible the User must notify Scotland immediately.
  • (3) The User shall provide Scotland with a current email address via which the User is always contactable ("the User’s Authorised Email Address"). Scotland will not accept any instructions from the User unless they are sent from the User’s Authorised Email Address. Users must immediately inform Scotland of any change to the User’s Authorised Email Address.
• § 6 Reservation of Alterations
  The Scotland Platform and all Scotland Services are provided without any assurance of reliability or quality. Scotland retains the right to alter, remove or cease providing any or all of the Scotland Platform and the Scotland Services at any time without giving reasons. The User acknowledges and agrees that Scotland shall not be liable to the User or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Scotland Platform and/or any of the Scotland Services.
  
• § 7 Use of Weblogs and Communities
  
  • (1) Users understand and accept that all information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages or other materials whether publicly posted or privately transmitted is the sole responsibility of the person from which such content originated and that the User, and not Scotland, are entirely responsible for all such content that the User uploads, posts or otherwise transmits via the Scotland Service.
  • (2) Users undertake that all Weblogs and any bulletin board services, chat rooms, newsgroups, forums, communities and or news and communication services contained in or accessed through the Scotland Platform (together "Communities") may only be used by the User to publish, send or receive material that is appropriate and related to the Community in question. Users warrant and undertake that, when using a Weblog, the Scotland Platform, the Scotland Services or any Communities, they will not:
    • upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
    • harm minors in any way; impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a 21Publish official, guide or host, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent an affiliation with a person or entity;
    • forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any Content transmitted through the service;
    • upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any 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);
    • upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights ("Rights") of any party;
    • upload, post, email, transmit, promote, implement, or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes;" sites with inappropriate links, titles or descriptions (spam blogs); or any other form of solicitation,
    • spam or conduct unethical marketing activities such as, but not limited to, relaying email from a third party's mail servers without the permission of that third party, using "robots" or otherwise harvesting other's email addresses from the 21Publish’s site for purposes of sending unsolicited or unauthorized material (violations of the 21Publish spamming policy will result in legal action against you and the termination, without notice, of 21Publish’s services for you, and if your actions cause one of 21Publish mail relays to be placed on blackhole lists or other mail filtering software systems used by companies on the internet, you will be assessed a $500 standardized damage payment due with the next billing cycle.),
    • 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;
    • interfere with or disrupt the service or servers or networks connected to the service, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the service;
    • intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, or
    • "stalk" or otherwise harass another.
  • (3) Scotland retains the right to suspend and terminate all current and future use of the Scotland Services (or any portion hereof) without giving reasons.
  • (4) Users recognise and acknowledge that:
    • a. entries placed in Weblogs or Communities are accessible by the public and do not represent private diaries or conversations;
    • b. entries placed in Weblogs or Communities can be read without the User’s knowledge;
    • c. "Privately" placed entries in Weblogs or Communities may also be read publicly if a User makes an operating error, third parties enter the system illegally or there are errors in the computer software
    • d. Scotland is not liable for the unintended publication of any communication of a private and/or personal nature;
    • e. Scotland does not control or endorse the news and information that is found in Weblogs or Communities and is not liable in respect of any such material;
    • f. forum managers, guest bloggers or other members of the Community are not authorised spokespersons for Scotland and their opinions do not reflect the opinions of Scotland;
    • g. Scotland does not and will not actively monitor, edit or supervise Weblogs, the Communities or the contents thereof and does not accept responsibility or liability for material posted by Users although, at a Users’ request, Scotland will remove any material that a User finds offensive; and
    • h. Scotland retains the right to delete or block Community and/or Weblog content and to remove it without giving reasons.
• § 8 Copyright Material
  
  • (1) Users acknowledge and agree that the Scotland Platform and the Scotland Service involves the use of software ("Software") that contain proprietary and confidential information that is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws. Users further acknowledge that the content of Weblogs, the Scotland Platform and the Communities contain advertisements or information which may also be protected by copyright, trade mark registrations, patents or other proprietary rights and laws. The download and use of copyright material that is provided by Scotland or these third parties may only be used for private, non-commercial purposes. Users may not copy, imitate, transfer, distribute, publish or commercially use this material or use it in any other manner.
  • (2) If a user publishes text, images, graphics or multimedia-files in a publicly accessible Weblog or area of the Scotland Platform, they give other Users the free, unlimited, perpetual and non-exclusive license to access that content and use it for the purpose of displaying the Weblog/material in question.
  • (3) If a User publishes other digital contents in a publicly accessible area of Scotland (e.g., layouts, design templates, scripts, navigation elements or structures), they give other members of the community the free, unlimited, perpetual and non-exclusive right to use these contents wholly or partially in all manners. This paragraph only concerns content that is legal and the publication of which is not against applicable law.
  • (4) Users warrant to Scotland that they have the rights to display the content that is placed on Weblogs, Communities or otherwise on the Scotland Platform.
• § 9 Liability
  
  • (1) Scotland does not guarantee the constant and uninterrupted use of the Scotland Platform, the Scotland Services or the Weblogs.
  • (2) Scotland does not guarantee and is not liable for contracts or offers made or accepted through Scotland except where such contracts and/or offers are made by Scotland themselves.
  • (3) Scotland is not responsible for the content of advertising banners and other external non-Scotland-originating contents on the Scotland Websites. Likewise, Scotland will not be held liable for the contents of external Websites referred to at Scotland and by Scotland.
  • (4) The provision of the necessary technical prerequisites for use of the Scotland Services, especially the necessary hardware and software (e.g., internet browser) as well as access and transfer services must be provided and paid for by Users. Scotland does not guarantee the compatibility of the Scotland Services with the individual hardware and software furnishing of a User.
  • (5) Scotland does not accept any liability for any losses or damage suffered by Users as a result of any use by a User of Weblogs, the Scotland Platform, Scotland Services or the Communities PROVIDED THAT nothing in this agreement shall serve to limit or restrict Scotland’ liability to Users (or anyone else) for death or personal injury resulting from the negligence of Scotland or its officers.
  • (6) Each User hereby indemnifies and holds Scotland, and it’s subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, harmless from any claim or demand, including legal fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of the User’s use of the Scotland Services or the Scotland Platform or arising out of any breach of the GTS or arising as a result of any other activity of the User.
• § 10 Termination of Contract
  
  • (1) Users may cancel their account and their agreement with Scotland for provision of the Scotland Services at any time by giving Scotland two weeks’ notice. Scotland has the right to cancel a User’s account and cancel Scotland’ agreement with a User with immediate effect without giving notice in the event that the User breaches any term of the GTS or any other terms. Furthermore, Scotland has the right to cancel a User’s account and cancel Scotland’ agreement for any reason by giving the User two weeks’ notice.
  • (2) The termination of contract for Scotland Services which have been paid for by Users are subject to special regulations of which the User will be notified on completion of a contract.
  • (3) On termination, all personal content of the User will immediately be removed from Weblogs, and otherwise from the Scotland Platform and the Communities. If requested by a User within a reasonable time of the termination date and provided that Scotland does not in its reasonable opinion think that it would be inappropriate to do so, these contents may be made available to the User in digital form subject to the User’s payment of Scotland standard administrative charge.
  • (4) Users agree that Scotland shall not be liable for to Users or to any third party for any termination of access to service or removal of content.
• § 11 Data Protection
  Scotland is registered under, and will process your Registration Data and other personal data in accordance with, data protection legislation. Scotland does not divulge personal data to third parties except for the processing of payment collection in the case of paid services (external provider). Through contractual obligations, Scotland assures that its partner firms observe the data protection regulations.
  
• § 12 Viruses
  Whilst effort has been taken to ensure that the Scotland Platform, Weblogs and the Communities are free from viruses, Scotland gives no warranties to Users that it will always be free from viruses and Users are responsible for ensuring that they have installed adequate and up-to-date virus-checking software. Scotland excludes, in so far as it is legally possible, all liability and responsibility (subject to the provisions of Clause 9(6) above) for any viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, restrict, destroy, limit the functionality of or compromise the integrity of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment or other material transmitted with or as part of the Scotland Platform, the Scotland Services, Weblogs and the Communities.
  
• § 13 Miscellaneous
  
  • (1) The names, images and logos identifying Scotland or third parties and their products and services, are the proprietary marks of Scotland, and/or may be the proprietary marks of third parties. Any use made of these marks may be an infringement of rights in those marks and Scotland reserves all rights to enforce such rights that it might have.
  • (2) If any of the GTS should be determined to be illegal, invalid or otherwise unenforceable, the term or terms in question shall be severed and deleted from the GTS and the remaining terms shall survive, remain in full force and effect and continue to be binding and enforceable.