Terms of Service

By using the newswise.com website, users agree to be bound by the following terms of use.

A. Description of the site

The articles on Newswise are created by the source institutions, organizations, and corporations who purchase our news release services. Our site is tuned to serve the needs of reporters, and other writers and readers who are interested in our news. We provide usage analysis reporting to our source organization clients, to help media relations professionals increase the effectiveness of their news releases. We also facilitate connections between journalists and subject matter experts to assist in their research. The site is search engine optimized to promote our clients’ content. We may provide additional services in order to promote content in a manner that serves our clients’ needs.

 

B. Types of users

Newswise identifies registered users as either Public, Journalist (credentialed and uncredentialed), or media relations professionals (client and non-client.) Media relations professionals who are clients in good standing are called “Contributors”. Users who are not logged in are Guest Users. Terms of use vary for each user type.

 

C. Limitations on Scope of Use

Guest use of the Newswise site is limited to searching and reading news releases and Newswise-created content, subscribing to RSS feeds, viewing the Newswise Contact Directory, and viewing the Journalist Awards and Grants calendars.

Logged-in registered users of all kinds, called “Members”, may also subscribe to newsletters, manage their account preferences, and post comments on articles or blog posts where available. Additional capabilities may be made available to registered users.

Logged-in journalists can use the “Find an Expert” resource.

Logged-in journalists whose credentials have been submitted and verified through completion of the PressPass form and our approval may view embargoed stories, which are not yet available to the public.

Logged in contributors may submit and edit their news releases, update their contact information, update their institution profile information, and view reports on the performance of their published articles. Some capabilities, such as the ability to add multimedia, or the number of releases contributed per year, are determined by the membership level.

You agree not to use the Newswise site for any other purposes, including, without limitation, to store, aggregate, reproduce or distribute information available on the site in any manner or to compete directly or indirectly with Newswise; to interfere with or disrupt the operation of the site or the networks or servers connected to the site in any manner; to impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity; to upload, post or otherwise transmit any content that infringes the proprietary rights of any third party, or is otherwise unlawful or offensive; to harass or otherwise harm Newswise or any other person or entity; or to engage in commercial activities utilizing Newswise content or website without the prior consent of Newswise.

Any unauthorized use of the Newswise site may result in termination of all rights to use the site and penalties to the full extent provided by law.

All submissions to Newswise are governed by the terms and conditions set forth in the Newswise Membership and Distribution Agreement (the “Membership Agreement”) signed by you or an agent of your company. By submitting a news release for dissemination by Newswise, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set forth in the Membership Agreement.

D. Digital Millennium Copyright Claims

Notices: Pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512)(“DMCA”), Newswise has implemented procedures for receiving written notification of claimed infringements. Newswise has also designated an agent to receive notices of claimed copyright infringement. If you believe in good faith that your copyright has been infringed, you may email our DMCA agent, providing the following information: an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest; a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed; a description specifying the location on our website of the material that you claim is infringing; your email address and your mailing address and/or telephone number; a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

Please submit your notice to Newswise’s DMCA Agent as follows: by email to: [email protected]; or by mail to: Newswise, Inc., 265 Turkey Sag Trail, Suite 102 #110, Palmyra, Virginia 22963, ATTN: Jessica Johnson

Counter-Notices: If you believe that a notice of copyright infringement has been improperly submitted against you, you may submit a Counter-Notice, pursuant to Sections 512(g)(2) and (3) of the DMCA. You may provide a written communication which contains the following: your physical or electronic signature; identification of the material removed or to which access has been disabled; a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that removal or disablement of the material was a mistake or that the material was misidentified; your full name, your email address, your mailing address, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District court (i) in the judicial district where your address is located if the address is in the United States, or (ii) located in the District of Columbia, if your address is located outside the United States, and that you will accept service of process from the Complainant submitting the notice or his/her authorized agent.

Please submit your Counter-Notice to Newwise’s DMCA Agent via email at [email protected], or by mail to the address specified above.

 

 

E. Member Account; Password and Security

A user who registers will create a member user name and password. Media relations professionals who are our clients may create additional authorized users under their own client account, with their own user names and passwords. Those users are permitted to access and use the service and may exercise capabilities specified by the account’s primary client. Every individual member is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of his or her password and account, and is fully responsible for all activities that occur under that password or account.

A member agrees to (a) immediately notify Newswise of any unauthorized use of his or her password or account or any other breach of security, and (b) ensure that the member logs out at the end of each session. Newswise cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from a member’s failure to protect their account security.

 

F. Registration Obligations

In consideration of the use of the service, the member agrees to:

(a) provide true, accurate, current and complete information as prompted and required by the registration form and

(b) maintain and promptly update the registration data to keep it true, accurate, current and complete.

If the member provides any information that is untrue, inaccurate, out-of-date or incomplete, or if Newswise has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, out-of-date or incomplete, Newswise has the right to suspend or terminate the member’s account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Service (or any portion thereof).

Verified journalists agree to honor the embargo status of articles, not publishing until the article is made public. Journalists who violate this agreement will have their membership status reduced.

 

G. General Behavior. The Newswise Member agrees not to:

(a) upload, post, email or otherwise transmit 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;

(b) impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state, or otherwise misrepresent the member’s affiliation with a person or entity;

(c) forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any content transmitted through the service;

(d) upload, post, email, or otherwise transmit any content that the member does not have a right to transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information or proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements);

(e) upload, post, email, or otherwise transmit any content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other proprietary rights of any party;

(f) upload, post, email, or otherwise transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation;

(g) upload, post, email, or otherwise transmit 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;

(h) 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;

(i) violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, including, but not limited to, regulations promulgated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, any rules of any national or other securities exchange, including, without limitation, the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, or the NASDAQ, and any regulations having the force of law;

(j) “stalk” or otherwise harass another; or

(k) collect or store personal data about other users.

 

The Member acknowledges that Newswise shall have the right (but not the obligation) in its sole discretion to refuse to accept or to remove any content that is available via the service. Without limiting the foregoing, Newswise shall have the right to remove any content that violates this agreement or is inaccurate, journalistically questionable, or is otherwise objectionable. The member agrees that he or she must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such content. The member acknowledges and agrees that Newswise may preserve content and may also disclose content if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to:

(a) comply with legal process;

(b) enforce this agreement;

(c) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third-parties; or

(d) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Newswise, its users and the public.

 

The member understands that the technical processing and transmission of the service, including privileged content, may involve

(a) transmissions over various networks; and

(b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices

 

H. Disclaimer of Warranties

You agree that use of the Newswise website is entirely at your own risk. Except as specifically provided in this agreement, the site and the materials on the site are provided as is, without warranties or conditions of any kind, either express or implied, including, without limitation, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. Newswise does not make any representations or warranties that the site or materials on the site or products and services purchased at or through the site will meet your requirements or expectations, or that the operation of the site will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some or all of the above exclusions may not apply to you.

 

I. Limitation of Liability

Newswise disclaims responsibility for the accuracy of material posted by contributing institutions and for the use of any information obtained through the system. Support from sponsors does not influence content or policy. Newswise shall use reasonable efforts to correct any error of fact, timing or omission brought to its attention, but mainly relies on contributors to correct any errors in their own published content. Newswise does not edit news releases. Newswise reserves the right to reject content without explanation.

You agree that Newswise will not be held liable for any improper or incorrect use of the site or the materials on the site and assumes no responsibility for any user’s activities on the site. In no event will Newswise be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary or consequential damages, including, without limitation, procurement of substitute goods or services, loss of use, data or profits, or business interruption, arising in any way out of the use of (or inability to use) the site or the materials on the site or the inaccuracy of any content on the site, however caused, under any theory of liability. This disclaimer of liability applies to any damages or injury under any cause of action, including, without limitation, those caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus or bug, communication line failure, theft, destruction or alteration of or unauthorized access to the site or materials on the site. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages, so some or all of the above exclusions or limitations may not apply to you.

 

J. Disclaimer of Liability for Third Party Content and Links

You agree that Newswise is not responsible and will not be held liable for any third party content on the site or any third-party content, products or services available on other websites accessed through links from the site. Links to third-party sites are for your convenience only, and their inclusion on the site does not imply any endorsement, guarantee, warranty or representation by Newswise.

 

K. Proprietary Rights

The goal of Newswise is to provide a broad public and journalistic venue for sharing news releases from our client organizations. Journalists are encouraged to use the content in their reporting, including images, audio, and video. Logged-in journalists who have obtained a Newswise Presspass will see contact information for each news release so they can provide deeper reporting; some news releases have experts available for authoritative consultation. Public users such as bloggers are encouraged to republish content found on Newswise, but not to copy without attribution; linking back to the original Newswise content is sufficient for attribution purposes.

The Newswise website and all materials on the site, including, without limitation all other trademarks and logos on the site, are protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents or other proprietary rights and laws. Except as specifically permitted in this agreement, the Newswise Membership and Distribution Agreement, or by express written consent of Newswise, you may not use the site or the material on the site in any other manner.

 

 

L. Governing Law and Venue

These terms of use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States and the State of Virginia. Any dispute arising under or related in any way to these Terms of Service shall be adjudicated in a court of competent jurisdiction in the City of Charlottesville.

 

M. Rights Reserved / Change in Terms

Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. Newswise reserves the right to make changes to these terms and conditions at any time and for any reason by posting a notice on the site home page. All such changes will become effective 10 days after posting of such notice. Your continued use of the site after the date such changes become effective will constitute your acceptance of the changes and your agreement to be legally bound by any modifications or amendments to these terms and conditions.