WebMD terms of use

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS SITE.
By using this WebMD^® website or any of its tools, products or services, including without limitation the WebMD^® Health Manager (collectively, the "Site"), you signify your acceptance to these Terms of Use. If you do not agree to all of these Terms of Use, do not use this Site!

WebMD^®, Inc. ("WebMD^®") may revise, modify or amend these Terms of Use at any time. Any such revision, modification or amendment shall be effective immediately upon either posting it to the Site or notifying you. You agree to review these Terms of Use periodically to ensure that you are aware of any changes. Your continued use of this Site will mean you accept those changes.
WebMD^® reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, all or any part thereof, or our Content, with or without notice.
We have organized the Terms of Use under the following topics:

1. THE SITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
2. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY
3. USE OF CONTENT
4. LIABILITY OF WEBMD^® AND ITS LICENSORS
5. SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS
6. USER SUBMISSIONS
7. PASSWORDS
8. WEBMD^® LIVE AND MEMBER-TO-MEMBER AREAS ("PUBLIC AREAS")
9. ADVERTISEMENTS, SEARCHES AND LINKS TO OTHER SITES
10. TRADEMARKS
11. LINKING TO US
12. TERMINATION OF SERVICE
13. INDEMNITY
14. NOTICE
15. GENERAL
16. JURISDICTION
17. COMPLETE AGREEMENT
18. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS

1. THE SITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
The contents of this Site, such as text, graphics, images, tools, products, services and other material contained on the Site ("Content") is provided by WebMD^® and its licensors for informational purposes only. Nothing contained in the Content is intended to be medical advice or instructional for medical diagnosis or treatment. The health information furnished on this Site is not intended to be complete, to suggest or recommend a course of treatment, or to replace personal consultation with a qualified health care professional.
Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a health or medical condition. Never disregard, avoid or delay obtaining professional medical advice from your doctor or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on this Site!

If you are in the United States and think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately.
WebMD^® does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions or other information that is mentioned on the Site. Reliance on any information provided by WebMD^®, WebMD^® employees, others appearing on the Site at the invitation of WebMD^®, or other visitors to the Site is solely at your own risk. The Site may contain health or medical related materials that are sexually explicit. If you find these materials offensive, you may not want to use our Site.

2. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY
We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. Neither WebMD^® Health nor any of its services are intended or designed to attract children under the age of 13. We do not collect Personally Identifiable Information from any person we actually know is a child under the age of 13. A parent or guardian, however, may use WebMD^® Health Manager to establish a personal health record and a WebMD^® Health Manager home page for a minor. The parent or guardian is solely responsible for providing supervision of the minor's use of WebMD^® Health Manager. The parent or guardian assumes full responsibility for ensuring that the registration information is kept secure and that the information submitted is accurate. The parent or guardian also assumes full responsibility for the interpretation and use of any information or suggestions provided through WebMD^® Health Manager for the minor.

3. USE OF CONTENT
WebMD^® authorizes you to view or download a single copy of the material on the Site solely for your personal, noncommercial use if you include the following copyright notice: "Copyright © 1996 - 2004, WebMD^®, Inc. All rights reserved" and other copyright and proprietary rights notices that are contained in the Content. Any special rules for the use of certain software and other items accessible on the Site may be included elsewhere within the Site and are incorporated into these Terms of Use by reference.
The Content is protected by copyright under both United States and foreign laws. Title to the Content remains with WebMD^® or its licensors. Any use of the Content not expressly permitted by these Terms of Use is a breach of these Terms of Use and may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws. Content and features of the Site are subject to change or termination without notice at the editorial discretion of WebMD^®. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved to WebMD^® and its licensors.
If you violate any of these Terms of Use, your permission to use the Content automatically terminates and you must immediately destroy any copies you have made of any portion of the Content.

4. LIABILITY OF WEBMD^® AND ITS LICENSORS
The use of the Site and the Content is at your own risk.

When using the Site, information will be transmitted over a medium that may be beyond the control and jurisdiction of WebMD^® and its suppliers. Accordingly, WebMD^® assumes no liability for or relating to the delay, failure, interruption, or corruption of any data or other information transmitted in connection with your use of the Site.

The Site and the content are provided on an "AS IS" basis. WEBMD^®, ITS LICENSORS, AND ITS SUPPLIERS, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTIES' RIGHTS, AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Without limiting the foregoing, WebMD^®, its licensors, and its Content suppliers make no representations or warranties about the following:

1. The accuracy, reliability, completeness, usefulness, adequacy, suitability, currentness, or timeliness of the Content,software, text, graphics, links, or communications provided on or through the use of the Site or in newsletters and other products and services from WebMD^® or its licensors;
2. The satisfaction of any government regulations requiring disclosure of information on prescription drug products or the approval or compliance of any software tools with regard to the Content contained on the Site;
3. That the Content is free from errors and omissions; and
4. That data flowing to and from the Site or WebMD^® (regardless of the means) will not be delayed, interrupted or experience losses of data, or that files available for downloading from this Site will be free of infection by viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other code with destructive properties.

In no event shall WebMD^®, its licensors, its suppliers, or any third parties mentioned on the Site be liable for any damages (including, without limitation, incidental and consequential damages, personal injury/wrongful death, lost profits, or damages resulting from lost data or business interruption) resulting from the use of or inability to use the Site or the Content, whether based on warranty, contract, tort, or any other legal theory, and whether or not WebMD^® is advised of the possibility of such damages. WebMD^® shall be liable only to the extent of actual damages incurred by you, not to exceed U.S. $1000. WebMD^® is not liable for any personal injury, including death, caused by your use or misuse of the Site, Content, or Public Areas (as defined below). Any claims arising in connection with your use of the Site, any Content, or the Public Areas must be brought within one (1) year of the date such action occurred. Remedies under these Terms of Use are exclusive and are limited to those expressly provided for in these Terms of Use.

5. SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS
If you are accessing WebMD^® Health Manager through a sponsoring organization's site, the sponsoring organization may have a separate registration process in addition to the WebMD^® Health Manager registration. WebMD^® encourages you to read your sponsoring organization's disclosure statement, which may include, among other things, a description of their business practices relating to collection and use of your personal data.

6. USER SUBMISSIONS
You agree that you will not upload or transmit any communications or content of any type to the Public Areas (including message boards, Ask Our Expert postings, etc.) that infringe or violate any rights of any party. By submitting communications or content to the Public Areas, you agree that such submission is non-confidential for all purposes.

If you make any such submission, you agree that you will not send or transmit to WebMD^® by email, (including through the email addresses listed on the "Contact Us" link) any communication or content that infringes or violates any rights of any party. If you submit any business information, idea, concept or invention to WebMD^® by email, you agree such submission is non-confidential for all purposes.

If you make any submission to a Public Area or if you submit any business information, idea, concept or invention to WebMD^® by email, you automatically grant--or warrant that the owner of such content or intellectual property has expressly granted--WebMD^® a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, world-wide nonexclusive license to use, reproduce, create derivative works from, modify, publish, edit, translate, distribute, perform, and display the communication or content in any media or medium, or any form, format, or forum now known or hereafter developed. WebMD^® may sublicense its rights through multiple tiers of sublicenses. If you wish to keep any business information, ideas, concepts or inventions private or proprietary, do not submit them to the Public Areas or to WebMD^® by email. We try to answer every email within 48 business hours, but are not always able to do so.

7. PASSWORDS
Several tools on the Site, including WebMD^® Health Manager, allow you to record and store information. For example, the WebMD^® Health Manager is a tool that allows you to record Personal Health Information on a voluntary basis on servers maintained by WebMD^® or on its behalf. The WebMD^® Health Manager tool is structured to allow access only to registered visitors who have a valid user ID and password.

When registering for tools on the Site, including WebMD^® Health Manager, you will establish a personal WebMD^® account with your own unique password. You agree to maintain the security of your user identification, password and other confidential information relating the use of your WebMD^® account and to be responsible for any and all charges resulting from use of your WebMD^® account. You are responsible for taking all reasonable steps to ensure that no unauthorized person shall have access to your WebMD^® passwords or accounts. It is your sole responsibility to (1) control the dissemination and use of activation codes and passwords; (2) authorize, monitor, and control access to and use of your WebMD^® account and password; (3) promptly inform WebMD^® of any need to deactivate a password. You grant WebMD^® and all other persons or entities involved in the operation of the Site the right to transmit, monitor, retrieve, store, and use your information in connection with the operation of the Site. WebMD^® cannot and does not assume any responsibility or liability for any information you submit, including to the WebMD^® Health Manager tool, or your or third parties' use or misuse of information transmitted or received using WebMD^® tools and services, including WebMD^® Health Manager.

8. WEBMD^® LIVE AND MEMBER-TO-MEMBER AREAS ("PUBLIC AREAS")
If you use a Public Area, such as a chat room, bulletin board or community "Ask Our Expert" posting or other member communities, you are solely responsible for your own communications, the consequences of posting those communications, and your reliance on any communications found in the Public Areas. WebMD^® is not responsible for the consequences of any communications in the Public Areas. In cases where you feel threatened or believe someone else is in danger, you should contact your local law enforcement agency immediately. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately.

In consideration of being allowed to use the Public Areas, you agree that the following actions shall constitute a material breach of these Terms of Use:

1. Using a Public Area for any purpose in violation of local, state, national, or international laws;
2. Posting material that infringes on the intellectual property rights of others or on the privacy or publicity rights of others;
3. Posting material that is unlawful, obscene, defamatory, threatening, harassing, abusive, slanderous, hateful, or embarrassing to any other person or entity as determined by WebMD^® in its sole discretion;
4. Posting advertisements or solicitations of business;
5. After receiving a warning, continuing to disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, or posting comments that are not related to the topic being discussed (unless it is clear the discussion is free-form);
6. Posting chain letters or pyramid schemes;
7. Impersonating another person;
8. Distributing viruses or other harmful computer code;
9. Harvesting or otherwise collecting information about others, including email addresses, without their consent;
10. Allowing any other person or entity to use your identification for posting or viewing comments;
11. Posting the same note more than once or "spamming"; or
12. Engaging in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits any other person from using or enjoying the Public Area or the Site, or which, in the judgment of WebMD^®, exposes WebMD^® or any of its customers or suppliers to any liability or detriment of any type.

WebMD^® reserves the right (but is not obligated) to do any or all of the following:

1. Record the dialogue in public chat rooms;
2. Investigate an allegation that a communication(s) do(es) not conform to the terms of this section and determine in its sole discretion to remove or request the removal of the communication(s);
3. Remove communications that are abusive, illegal, or disruptive, or that otherwise fail to conform with these Terms of Use;
4. Terminate a user's access to any or all Public Areas and/or the Site upon any breach of these Terms of Use;
5. Monitor, edit, or disclose any communication in the Public Areas; or
6. Edit or delete any communication(s) posted on the Site, regardless of whether such communication(s) violate these standards.

WebMD^® reserves the right to take any action it deems necessary to protect the personal safety of our guests or the public. WebMD^® has no liability or responsibility to users of the Site or any other person or entity for performance or nonperformance of the aforementioned activities.

9. ADVERTISEMENTS, SEARCHES AND LINKS TO OTHER SITES
WebMD^® may provide links to third-party web sites. WebMD^® also may select certain sites as priority responses to search terms you enter and WebMD^® may agree to allow advertisers to respond to certain search terms with advertisements or sponsored content. WebMD^® does not recommend and does not endorse the content on any third-party websites. WebMD^® is not responsible for the content of linked third-party sites, sites framed within the Site, third-party sites provided as search results, or third-party advertisements, and does not make any representations regarding their content or accuracy. Your use of third-party websites is at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such sites. WebMD^® does not endorse any product advertised on the Site. WebMD^® is not responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as a result of such dealings or as a result of the presence of such advertisers on the Site.

10. TRADEMARKS
We own the names we use for our products and services on the Site, and these names are protected by trademark laws in the U.S. and internationally. An ® following a name on our site indicates that the trademark has been registered in the United States. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. If your activities are noncommercial, you may make use of our trademarks by linking to us or discussing us with others, as long as you make it clear that we are the owner of the trademark. Any other uses of our trademarks require our prior written approval.

You may not use WebMD^®'s trademarks in any of the following ways:

1. In a non-WebMD^® product name or publication title;
2. Within or as part of your own trademarks;
3. To identify non-WebMD^® products or services;
4. In a manner which will likely cause confusion;
5. In a manner that implies that WebMD^® sponsors, endorses or is otherwise connected with your own activities, products, or services; or
6. In a manner that disparages WebMD^®.

11. LINKING TO US
Usually, we don't mind if you have a simple link from your Site to ours. However, you must first ask our permission if you want to incorporate our logo as a part of the hyperlink or if you intend to frame our Site or incorporate pieces of it into a different site or product in a way that is not clear to our users. You are not allowed to link to us if you engage in illegal, obscene, or offensive content, or if the link in any way has a negative impact on our reputation.

12. TERMINATION OF SERVICE
You agree that if you violate these Terms of Use, your permission to use this Site automatically terminates. You also agree that WebMD^® may, at its sole discretion, terminate your access to this Site, or any portion thereof, or discontinue providing the Site, or any portion thereof. Further, you agree that WebMD^® is not liable to you or any third party for any such termination or discontinuance.

13. INDEMNITY
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless WebMD^®, its parent, subsidiaries and affiliates, licensors and suppliers, and their directors, officers, employees, agents and contractors from and against any claims, actions or demands, liabilities and settlements including without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, resulting from, or alleged to result from, your violation of these Terms of Use.

14. NOTICE
If you register for services or tools on the Site, including WebMD^® Health Manager, you agree to keep your contact information, such as email address, accurate and up-to-date so that we can contact you regarding our policies. Failure to have accurate contact information may affect our ability to provide you notice.

15. GENERAL
WebMD^® is based in Elmwood Park, New Jersey in the United States of America with offices in New York, New York and Atlanta, Georgia. WebMD^® makes no claims that the Content is appropriate or may be downloaded outside of the United States. Access to the Content may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the Site from outside the United States, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for compliance with the laws of your jurisdiction. For purposes of these Terms of Use, the term WebMD^® shall include WebMD^®, Inc., its parent, subsidiaries and affiliates and their directors, officers, employees, agents and contractors. The following provisions survive the expiration or termination of these Terms of Use for any reason whatsoever: Liability, User Submissions, Indemnity, General, Jurisdiction, and Complete Agreement.

16. JURISDICTION
You expressly agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute with WebMD^®, or in any way relating to your use of the Site, resides in the courts of the State of Georgia and you further agree and expressly consent to the exercise of personal jurisdiction in the courts of the State of Georgia in connection with any such dispute including any claim involving WebMD^®, its parent, subsidiaries and affiliates, licensors and suppliers, and their directors, officers, employees, agents and contractors.

These Terms of Use are governed by the internal substantive laws of the State of Georgia, without respect to its conflict of laws principles. If any provision of these Terms of Use is found to be invalid by any court having competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use, which shall remain in full force and effect. No waiver of any of these Terms of Use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or any other term or condition.

17. COMPLETE AGREEMENT
Except as expressly provided in a particular "legal notice" on the Site, these Terms of Use and the WebMD^® Privacy Policy constitute the entire agreement between you and WebMD^® with respect to the use of the Site and Content.

18. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
Questions or comments regarding these Terms of Use or the Site, including any reports of non-functioning links, should be directed by electronic mail to service@webmd.net or via U.S. mail to WebMD^® at 1175 Peachtree Road, NE, Suite 2400, Atlanta, GA 30361. We try to answer every email within 48 business hours, but are not always able to do so.

Thank you for your cooperation. We hope you find the Site helpful and convenient to use!

Updated August 14, 2004

© 2004 WebMD^®, Inc. All rights reserved.