Terms of Use - Customer Service

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REALGOODS.COM TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE

We welcome you to the RealGoods.com website (the “Website” or “RealGoods.com”). The Website is designed to provide information about health, wellness and sustainability, sell product, and to create a community of like-minded people interested in the topics we discuss (the “Service”). The Website is owned by Real Goods Solar, Inc. (“Real Goods”). PLEASE READ VERY CAREFULLY THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR USE OF THE WEBSITE.

1. Acceptance of Terms. This Terms and Conditions of Use Agreement (this “Agreement”) sets forth legally binding terms for your use of the Website. By using our Website, you agree to be bound by this Agreement, whether you are a "Visitor" (which means that you simply browse one or more of our Websites) or you are a "Member" (which means that you have registered on one of our Websites as a user). If you do not accept the terms of this Agreement, you should leave our Website and discontinue use of the Service immediately. We may modify this Agreement from time to time, and such modification shall be effective upon its posting on any of our Website. You agree to be bound by any modification to this Agreement when you use any of our Website after any such modification is posted; it is therefore important that you review this Agreement regularly.

2. General Registration Requirements. If you wish to become a Member, communicate with other Members and otherwise make use of the Service, you must read this Agreement and indicate your acceptance during the registration process. In consideration of your use of the Service, you represent that you are of legal age to form a binding contract and are not a person barred from receiving services under the laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdiction. You also agree to: (a) provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the registration form available on our Website (the "Registration Data") and (b) maintain and promptly update your Registration Data to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or we have reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, Real Goods reserves the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Service (or any portion thereof). Use of the Service and membership on our Website is void where prohibited.

3. Minors. Due to the nature of the internet, we cannot prohibit minors from visiting our Website. However, all users who register with any of our Website must be 18 years of age or older.

4. Member Account, Password and Security. If you register on one of our Website, you will be required to choose a password and user name, and you may be asked for additional information regarding your account, such as your e-mail address. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the password and account information, and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your password or account. You agree to (a) immediately notify Real Goods of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security, and (b) ensure that you log out from your account at the end of each session. Real Goods will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this paragraph.

5. Prohibited Conduct. You agree not to use the Service to post or otherwise transmit information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages, tags, or other materials ("Content") that:

is patently offensive and/or promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
exploits people in a sexual or violent manner;
contains nudity, violence, or offensive subject matter;
solicits personal information from anyone under the age of eighteen (18);
provides any telephone numbers, street addresses, last names or email addresses of anyone other than your own;
promotes information that you know is false or misleading or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous;
violates any intellectual property or other proprietary right of any third party, including Content that promotes an illegal or unauthorized copy of another person's copyrighted work, such as providing pirated computer programs or links to them, providing information to circumvent manufacture-installed copy-protect devices, or providing pirated music or links to pirated music files;
involves the transmission of "junk mail," "chain letters," or unsolicited mass mailing, instant messaging, "spimming," or "spamming";
contains restricted or password only access pages or hidden pages or images (those not linked to or from another accessible page);
furthers or promotes any criminal activity or enterprise or provides instructional information about illegal activities including, but not limited to making or buying illegal weapons, violating someone's privacy, or providing or creating computer viruses;
solicits passwords or personal identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes from other Members;
involves commercial activities and/or sales without our prior written consent, such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising, or pyramid schemes;
includes a photograph of another person that you have posted without that person's consent or, in the case of children under the age of eighteen (18), parental consent, or otherwise constitutes an invasion of an individual’s privacy or infringement of publicity rights; or
contains a virus or other harmful component.

6. Responsibility for Content. You, and not Real Goods, are entirely responsible for all Content that you upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available via the Service. Real Goods does not control the Content posted via the Service and, as such, we do not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content. You understand that by using the Service, you may be exposed to Content that you deem offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will Real Goods be liable in any way for any Content, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any Content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via the Service.

7. Rejection/Removal of Content. You acknowledge that Real Goods may or may not pre-screen Content posted on our Website, but that Real Goods shall have the right (but not the obligation) in its sole discretion to pre-screen, edit, refuse, or remove any Content or portion thereof that is available via the Service, in its sole discretion, for any reason. Without limiting the foregoing, Real Goods shall have the right to remove from our Website any Content that violates this Agreement or is otherwise objectionable in the sole discretion of Real Goods, or to restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to all or any part of the Service at any time, for any or no reason, with or without prior notice, and without liability. If you become aware of misuse of the Service by any person, please contact Real Goods.

8. Preservation/Disclosure. You acknowledge, consent and agree that Real Goods may access, preserve and disclose your account information and Content if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access, 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; (d) respond to your requests for customer service; or (e) protect the rights, property or personal safety of Real Goods, its Members and the public. Under no other circumstances will Real Goods intentionally disclose your account information to any third party.

9. Security Components. You understand that our Website and software embodied within our Website may include security components that permit digital materials to be protected, and that use of these materials is subject to usage rules set by Real Goods and/or content providers who provide content to Real Goods. You may not attempt to override or circumvent any such security components and usage rules embedded into our Website.

10. Non-commercial Use. The Service may not be used in connection with any commercial purposes, except as specifically approved by Real Goods. Unauthorized framing of or linking to any of our Website is prohibited. Commercial advertisements, affiliate links, and other forms of solicitation may be removed from Member profiles and Content without notice and may result in termination of membership privileges.

11. License to Your Content. By posting, displaying, publishing, transmitting, or otherwise making available (individually and collectively, "posting") any Content on or through our Website or the Service, you hereby grant to Real Goods a non-exclusive, fully-paid, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense through unlimited levels of sublicensees) to use, copy, modify, adapt, translate, create derivative works, publicly perform, publicly display, store, reproduce, transmit, distribute, and otherwise make available such Content on and through our Website, in print, or in any other format or media now known or hereafter invented, without notification, compensation, or attribution to you, and without your consent. If you wish to remove any Content from the Service, your ability to do so may depend on the type of Content, the location and manner of posting, and other factors. You may contact us to request the removal of certain Content you have posted, but Real Goods has no obligation to remove any such Content, may choose whether or not to do so in its sole discretion, and makes no guarantee as to the complete deletion of any such Content and copies thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a back-up or residual copy of any Content posted by you may remain on Real Goods’ servers after the Content appears to have been removed from our Website, and Real Goods retains the rights to all such remaining copies. You represent and warrant that: (i) you own all right, title and interest in all Content posted by you on or through our Website or the Service, or otherwise have the right to grant the license set forth in this section, and (ii) the posting of your Content on or through our Website or Service does not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, contract rights, confidentiality, or any other rights of any third party.

12. Real Goods and Third Party Content. Our Website contains Content of Real Goods ("Real Goods Content"), and Content of third party licensors to Real Goods (including content provided by users of our Website, as described above), which is protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other laws. Real Goods owns and retains all rights, title and interest in the Real Goods Content. Real Goods hereby grants to you a limited, revocable, non-sublicensable license to reproduce and display a single copy of the Real Goods Content and any third party Content located on or available through our Website or Service (excluding any software code therein) solely for your personal, non-commercial use in connection with viewing our Website and using the Service. Except for Content posted by you, you may not copy, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, transmit, distribute, perform, display, make available, or sell any Content appearing on or through our Website or Service.

13. Other Sites. Our Website may contain links to other sites owned by third parties (i.e. advertisers, affiliate partners, strategic partners, or others). We are not responsible for examining or evaluating, and we do not warrant the products or offerings of, any of these businesses or individuals, or the accuracy of the content of their website. Real Goods does not assume any responsibility or liability for the actions, product, and content of any such website. Before you use any third party website, you should review the applicable terms of use and policies for such website. The inclusion of a link in any of our Website does not imply Real Goods’ endorsement of such third party website. If you decide to access any such linked website, you do so at your own risk.

14. International Use. Due to the global nature of the Internet, you agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable Content. Specifically, you agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside.

15. Privacy Policy. Real Goods respects your privacy and permits you to control certain aspects of the treatment of your personal information as set forth in our Privacy Policy. A complete statement of our current privacy policy can be found in our “Privacy Policy”. The Privacy Policy is expressly incorporated into this Agreement by this reference.

16. Copyright Policy. Real Goods has in place certain legally mandated procedures regarding allegations of copyright infringement occurring on our Website or with the Service. Real Goods reserves the right in its sole discretion to immediately suspend and/or terminate access to the Service or our Website by any user who is alleged to have infringed on the intellectual property rights of Real Goods or of a third party, or otherwise violated any intellectual property laws or regulations. Real Goods’ policy is to investigate any allegations of copyright infringement brought to its attention. If you have evidence, know, or have a good faith belief that your rights or the rights of a third party have been violated and you want Real Goods to delete, edit, or disable the material in question, you must provide Real Goods with all of the following information: (a) a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; (b) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works; (c) identification of the material that is claimed to be infringed 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 Real Goods to locate the material; (d) information reasonably sufficient to permit Real Goods to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and if available, an electronic mail address at which you may be contacted; (e) a statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (f) a statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. For this notification to be effective, you must provide it to Real Goods either by e-mail, or by U.S. mail to our designated agent for notification of infringement.

17. Member Disputes. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other Members. Real Goods reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other Members.

18. Term and Termination. This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect for so long as it is posted on any of our Website. You may terminate your membership at any time, for any reason, by following the instructions on the Profile page. Real Goods reserves the right to terminate your account or your access to our Website immediately, with or without notice to you, and without liability to you, if Real Goods believes that you have breached any of the terms of this Agreement, furnished Real Goods with false or misleading information, or interfered with use of the Website or the Service by others. The terms of Sections 8, 11, 12, and 18 - 29 shall survive termination of this Agreement and your use of the Service.

19. Disclaimer of Warranties. You expressly understand and agree that:

Your use of the Website and the Service is at your sole risk. The Website and the Service are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. Real Goods and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, employees, agents, partners and licensors expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement, with respect to the service, the website, and any third party website with which they are linked.

Real Goods and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, employees, agents, partners and licensors make no warranty that (i) the Website or the Service will meet your requirements; (ii) the Website or Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, error-free, OR FREE OF ANY HARMFUL COMPONENTS (INCLUDING VIRUSES); (iii) the results that may be obtained from the use of the Website or Service will be accurate or reliable; and (iv) the quality of any Content, products, services, information or other material purchased or obtained by you through the Website or Service will meet your expectations. WE DO NOT PROVIDE ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES AGAINST THE POSSIBILITY OF DELETION, MISDELIVERY OR FAILURE TO STORE COMMUNICATIONS, PERSONALIZED SETTINGS, OR OTHER DATA.

Any material downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of our Website or the Service is accessed at your own discretion and risk, and you will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data that results from the download of any such material.

20. Limitation on Liability. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable laws In no event WILL Real Goods, ITS AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, employees, agents, suppliers, OR contractors be liable to you or any third party for any indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special or punitive damages, including lost profit damages arising from or in connection with the use of the SERVICE, THE Website or any website with which THEY ARE linked, even if Real Goods has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, Real Goods’ liability to you for any cause whatsoever and regardless of the form of the action, will at all times be limited to the amount paid, if any, by you to Real Goods for the Services.

21. Exclusions and Limitations. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages. Accordingly, in certain jurisdictions, some of the above limitations of liability may not apply to you; all other provisions of this Agreement remain in full force and effect.

22. Indemnity. You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Real Goods, its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, employees, consultants, agents, and representatives from any and all third party claims, losses, liability, damages, and/or costs (including reasonable attorney fees and costs) arising from your breach of the terms of this Agreement, or your infringement, or infringement by any other user of your account, of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity. Real Goods will notify you promptly of any such claim, loss, liability, or demand, and will provide you with reasonable assistance, at your expense, in defending any such claim, loss, liability, damage, or cost.

23. Additional Terms. We may also require you to follow additional rules, guidelines or other conditions (“Additional Terms”) in order to participate in certain promotions or activities available through our Website, to obtain certain premium Content through our Website, or for other reasons. In addition, certain Additional Terms will govern any purchases you make through the online stores located on our various Website. These Additional Terms will be posted on the relevant portions of our Website or on the portions of our Website that describe the specific promotions, Content, or activities. These Additional Terms are part of this Agreement, and you agree to comply with them when you participate in those promotions, purchase items from our online stores, or otherwise engage in activities governed by such Additional Terms.

24. Modification and Discontinuation. We reserve the right at any time to modify, edit, delete, suspend or discontinue, temporarily or permanently the Service or any of our Website (or any portion thereof) with or without notice. You agree that we will not be liable to you or to any third party for any such modification, editing, deletion, suspension or discontinuance of the Service or our Website.

25. Entire Agreement. This Agreement, together with any other terms or policies referenced herein (including without limitation the Privacy Policy and Additional Terms), constitutes the entire agreement between you and Real Goods and governs your use of the Website and Service, superseding any prior agreements between you and Real Goods with respect to the Website and Service.

26. Choice of Law and Forum. This Agreement and the relationship between you and Real Goods shall be governed by the laws of the State of Colorado without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You and Real Goods agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within the county of Denver, Colorado.

27. Waiver and Severability of Terms. The failure of Real Goods to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of this Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of this Agreement remain in full force and effect.

28. Statute of Limitations. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of the Website, the Service or this Agreement must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.

29. Questions. If you have any questions regarding this Agreement, please contact us by email, or by mail at 360 Interlocken Blvd., Suite 300, Broomfield, Colorado 80021.

These terms of service were last updated on January 25, 2008.