Intuit Inc. Terms of Use - Brainstorm

Welcome to Brainstorm, a service offered by Intuit Inc. ("Intuit", "us", "our"). These Terms of Use and any web pages that display a direct link to these Terms of Use (collectively the "Site"), provide information and services to all individuals accessing the Site, ("you", "your", "Users").

These Terms of Use together with Intuit's Privacy Statement (collectively the "Terms"), govern your use of the Site. You may access our Privacy Statement by clicking on the Privacy link at the bottom of the Site. Your access to the Site is evidence of your acceptance of the Terms and the enforcement of said Terms, so before using the Site, please read these Terms carefully. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, please do not contribute Postings. However, you may read the content on the Site.
Intuit reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify the Terms at any time effective upon posting of the modified Terms on the Site. Your continued use of the Site or any materials or services accessible through it, after such posting or notification means you accept the modifications. "Postings" means, but is not limited to, any text, links, images, content, communications, opinions, software, data, and any other content any person provides on the Site.
Intuit reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Site (or any part thereof). Intuit shall not be liable to any User or other third party for any such modification, suspension or discontinuance except as expressly provided herein.
Site Access and Use

Intuit grants you permission to access and use the Site as a collaborative tool. You may not download (other than page caching), or modify any portion of the Site. Your permission to use the Site does not include any resale or commercial use of the Site or its contents whether provided by Intuit or registered Users contributing content in message boards, chats, blogs, wikis or other user-generated-content tool; or any derivative use of this Site or its contents; or any use of data mining, robots or similar data gathering and extraction tools or processes. You agree not to store in any form, distribute, transmit, display, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, transfer, sell or otherwise exploit any of the content, software, products or services on the Site for any commercial purpose.

In order to submit Postings or set personal preferences for use on the Site, you must complete the registration process. As part of the registration process, you are required to select and use only one username. We cannot change your user name at any time. You can register a second user name, if you like, but your original Postings will only be associated with your first user name. The information that you supply during the registration process must be accurate and complete and you agree not to (i) register under the name of another person; (ii) choose a user name that may be deemed offensive; (iii) choose a username for the purposes of deceiving or misleading Site Users as to your true identity; (iv) choose a user name that incorporates a solicitation (e.g., yoursitedotcom, yourproduct, yourservices); or (v) violate the intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity. You agree to not impersonate any other person.

You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your username and account. Furthermore, you are entirely responsible for any and all activities that occur under your account. You agree to notify Intuit immediately of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security. Intuit will not be liable for any loss that you may incur as a result of someone else using your password or account, either with or without your knowledge. However, you could be held liable for losses incurred by Intuit or another party due to someone else using your account or username. You may not use anyone else's account at any time, without the permission of the account holder.

Your email address, last name, age and zip code on your registration will remain confidential. However, if the Site permits you to change your last name and email address on your registration to "public" in your member profile, it will then be available to other registered Users of the Site. Additional information provided in your registration may be used by the Site to provide you with content unique and personalized to you and other registered Users with similar profiles.

Keeping Personal Information Private

Always use caution when giving out any personally identifiable information about yourself or anyone else in any Postings. Any Postings that you provide can be obtained and used by others. Intuit does not control or endorse the content, messages or information found in any Postings. Intuit specifically disclaims any responsibility or liability with regard to the Postings and any actions resulting from your participation in any Postings.

Intuit reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to remove any Postings on the Site containing phone numbers, street addresses or otherwise personally identifying information as it cannot verify such information or confirm the desire of said information to be posted by the individual to which this information pertains.

Content Management

Intuit has no obligation to monitor Postings or other materials. However, Site Moderators (Hosts) may monitor the Site's Postings. Site Moderators do not pre-screen Postings, monitor on a "real time" basis or edit Postings made to the site. As a User, you may see content that is offensive or objectionable. Each User 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. Please report objectionable content to the Site by sending an email to the email address identified on the home page of the Site.

Registered Users may include hypertext links in Postings to content hosted and maintained by third parties so long as the content on such sites, if posted in the Site, would not violate the Terms. Intuit exercises no control whatsoever over such other websites and web-based resources and is not responsible or liable for the availability thereof or the content, advertising, products or other materials thereon.

Clicking on links to such sites is done so at the User's own risk. Intuit and the Site staff reserves the right to review any Postings and to remove or refuse to remove or post any Postings in its sole discretion. You understand that the content within the Site is based on individual opinion and experience, which may vary significantly from one person to the next. Intuit does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any Posting or other content on the Site. You agree that Intuit is not responsible for the accuracy of the content of the Site and will not be liable for any damages incurred as a result of the submission or use of any such content.

From time to time we may communicate with you personally concerning your participation in the Site or related matters. Those communications are not intended to be made public, and you agree not to post or otherwise disseminate those communications on the Site or elsewhere on the Internet.

By placing any Postings on the Site, you are granting Intuit, its respective subsidiaries affiliates, successors, assigns, licensees, resellers, necessary sublicensees and other such parties as Intuit may designate from time to time a royalty free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable license to use, reproduce, copy, modify, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, edit, create derivative works from, translate and reformat your Postings (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed; to publish your name in connection with your Postings; and the right to sublicense such rights to any supplier of the Site.

By submitting ideas, testimonials, opinions, suggestions or any other material to the Site, you agree that Intuit will treat such submissions as non-confidential, that Intuit can use such submissions without any compensation to you or to any other person or entity, and that Intuit may have already developed, or is in the process of developing, and is not restricted in any way from developing and marketing, products, services, functions, features or plans similar to or competitive with any described in such submissions from you. You also agree that you are free to provide your opinion or suggestion to us.

By placing Postings on the Site, you warrant and represent that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to your Postings as described in these Terms including, without limitation, all the rights necessary for you to provide, upload, or submit the Posting.

Moderators

Intuit reserves the right to manage the Postings on the Site in order to facilitate the orderly distribution of information through the Site. For that purpose, Intuit may at its election designate Intuit employees and/or outside entities to act as Moderators for the Site. The Moderators are not obligated to review all Postings, nor do they edit Postings. You assume the risk of reading and acting upon information from any Postings made by a Moderator or other individual within the Site.

Moderators are the only authorized representatives of Intuit on the Site. Any Postings by an Intuit employee, other than those designated as Moderators, are those of such employee and do not represent the ideas and opinions of Intuit. Intuit does not endorse and is not responsible for any Postings provided by any Intuit employee who is not designated as a Moderator.

User Conduct

The Site welcomes all points of view from contributing Users. Please respect and interact with other Users as you would in any public arena. If you wish to take issue with the statements of other Users, please engage in healthy, mature debate and not immature behavior or name-calling. We want to maintain an inviting and friendly environment for all visitors and members. Disruptive conduct, such as off-topic comments in a topic-oriented discussion, is not allowed. Neither is "spam" (Postings made in multiple places throughout the Site).

Profanity, Harassment and Other Inappropriate Conduct

You will not submit Postings that are indecent, profane (including masked profanity where symbols, initials, intentional misspellings or other characters are used to suggest profane language), obscene, pornographic, abusive, threatening, misleading, derogatory, illegal or defamatory, or any material that interferes with the ability of others to enjoy or utilize the Site. We do not tolerate harassment, or denigration based on age, gender, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or disability.

Illegal and Objectionable Activities

Intuit does not allow the promotion of illegal conduct, activities or fraudulent schemes in the Site. Specifically, you may not advocate illegal conduct, such as money laundering, tax evasion, pyramid schemes, etc. Furthermore, you agree to not engage in any illegal activity in connection with your Postings or post links to other web sites that deal with such illegal activities. You will not upload files that contain viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another's computer or property of another.

You may not use the Site in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair any Intuit server, or the network(s) connected to any Intuit server, or interfere with any other party's use and enjoyment of the Site. You may not attempt to gain unauthorized access to any Site, other accounts, computer systems or networks connected to any Intuit server through hacking, password mining or any other means. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available through the Site.

Promotions and Solicitations

You agree that, except with Intuit's prior consent, you will not (either in your Postings or in your profile) solicit or promote any products or services, self-promote, or implore readers to take actions that are intended to further a personal purpose or financial gain. You agree you will not use information supplied within the Site to do any of the foregoing, via email or any other method. You agree to not gather public email addresses made public in the Registered User profiles and use for your own purpose. You agree not to promote, link to or encourage others to join or participate in competing sites that provide message boards, forums, chats, blogs or other interactive elements with the intent of harming the flow of information and/or participation at the Site. You agree that you will not use the Site to solicit or promote surveys, contests, chain letters, junk email, or any duplicative or unsolicited messages (commercial or otherwise).

Rights of Third Parties

You may not submit Postings, including forms, software, derivatives works of software or property, photos or images, that infringe in any manner on the copyright, trademark or intellectual property rights of any person or entity, or that contain any confidential or proprietary information of any person or entity, or that otherwise violate the legal rights of any person or entity. You may insert hyperlinks in your Postings for Users to access copyrighted material for informational purposes -- but, except for quotes of reasonable length, you may not post such materials in the Site itself. You may not use the Site to distribute unauthorized copies of copyrighted material, including photos, artwork text, recordings, designs, computer programs or derivative works of such programs.

You may not submit Postings that contain personally identifiable information about other people, such as their phone number, street address or email address, or information about other people that could result in an invasion of their privacy or their harassment.

Termination

Your privilege to use or access the Site may be terminated by Intuit immediately and without notice if you fail to comply with any term or condition of the Terms. Upon such termination, you must immediately cease accessing or using the Site and agree not to re-register or otherwise make use of the Site. Furthermore, you acknowledge that Intuit reserves the right to take action -- technical, legal or otherwise -- to block, nullify or deny your ability to access the Site. You understand that Intuit may exercise this right in its sole discretion.

Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability

CONTENT POSTED TO THE SITE MAY BE PROVIDED BY THIRD PARTIES NOT AFFILIATED WITH INTUIT. SUCH THIRD-PARTY CONTENT IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PERSON ORIGINATING THAT CONTENT. YOU AGREE THAT INTUIT DOES NOT CONTROL, AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE IN ANY WAY FOR THIS THIRD-PARTY CONTENT. ADDITIONALLY, YOU AGREE THAT INTUIT IS NOT LIABLE FOR, AND YOU SHALL INDEMNIFY AND HOLD INTUIT, AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, AGENTS, MODERATORS AND EMPLOYEES HARMLESS FROM ANY CLAIM, INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEYS' FEES, MADE BY ANY THIRD PARTY RELATING TO OR ARISING OUT OF CONTENT YOU SUBMIT, POST, TRANSMIT OR MAKE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE, YOUR USE OF THE SITE, YOUR VIOLATION OF THE TERMS OF USE OR YOUR VIOLATION OF ANY RIGHTS OF ANOTHER.

THE CONTENT ON THE SITE IS "AS IS" AND CARRIES NO WARRANTIES. INTUIT DOES NOT WARRANT OR GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, COMPLETENESS, USEFULNESS, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, OR QUALITY OF ANY CONTENT ON THE SITE, REGARDLESS OF WHO ORIGINATES THAT CONTENT. INTUIT DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE IS SECURE, FREE FROM BUGS, VIRUSES, INTERRUPTION, ERRORS, OR OTHER LIMITATIONS. YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOU BEAR ALL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH USING OR RELYING ON THAT CONTENT. INTUIT IS NOT LIABLE OR RESPONSIBLE IN ANY WAY FOR ANY CONTENT POSTED ON OR LINKED FROM THE SITE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN CONTENT, OR FOR ANY LOSSES OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF OR RELIANCE ON ANY CONTENT.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, INTUIT AND ITS REPRESENTATIVES ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR FOR ANY DAMAGES RELATING TO LOSS OF BUSINESS, TELECOMMUNICATION FAILURES, LOSS, CORRUPTION, SECURITY OR THEFT OF DATA, LOSS OF PROFITS OR INVESTMENT, ACCOUNTING POSITIONS TAKEN BY YOU, OR THE LIKE, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, PRODUCT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF INTUIT OR ITS REPRESENTATIVES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND EVEN IF A REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. THE LIMITATIONS OF DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN INTUIT AND YOU. INTUIT WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE PROVIDED THE SITE WITHOUT SUCH LIMITATIONS.

General

The Terms are a complete statement of the agreement between you and Intuit, and set forth the entire liability of Intuit and your exclusive remedy with respect to your access and use of the Site. In the event of a conflict between these Terms of Use and either the applicable Intuit Privacy Statement or the Terms of Service applicable to the Site, these Terms of Use shall prevail. The agents and employees of Intuit are not authorized to make modifications to the Terms, or to make any additional representations, commitments or warranties binding on Intuit. Any waiver of the terms herein by Intuit must be in a writing signed by an authorized officer of Intuit and expressly referencing the applicable provisions of the Terms. If any provision of the Terms is invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, then it shall be, to that extent, deemed omitted and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect. The Terms will be governed by California law as applied to agreements entered into and to be performed entirely within California, without regard to its choice of law or conflicts of law principles that would require the application of law of a different jurisdiction, and applicable federal law. The parties hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the state courts in Santa Clara County, California or federal court for Northern District of California. Headings are included for convenience only, and shall not be considered in interpreting these Terms. The Terms do not limit any rights that Intuit may have under trade secret, copyright, patent or other laws. Intuit reserves the right at all times to disclose any information as Intuit deems necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, or to edit, refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, in Intuit's sole discretion.

December 2009