Legal

Terms and Conditions of Website Access

1. The Foundation’s Proprietary Rights; Grant of License

You acknowledge and agree that the Site (including the software and files), the computers hosting this Site, and content provided on this Site, including the text, music and sound, graphics, images, photographs, audio and video, footage, “look and feel” attributes, animations, podcasts, analyses, studies, reports, and downloads (all such content collectively, the “Content”) are the exclusive property of the Foundation or are licensed to the Foundation, and are protected by law, including United States copyright, database, trade secret, and trademark law, as well as other state, national, and international laws and regulations. Except as expressly provided in these Terms and Conditions, the Foundation does not grant any express or implied rights to you. The Content is © 2011, Independence Blue Cross Foundation. All rights reserved. The Foundation also owns copyright rights in the Site as a collective work and/or compilation and in any and all databases accessible on or through the Site. Unless otherwise noted, INDEPENDENCE BLUE CROSS FOUNDATION, INDEPENDENCE BLUE CROSS, the Independence Blue Cross Foundation “logo”, and other brands featured on the Site constitute the trade/service marks of the the Foundation, Independence Blue Cross, or their licensors. The BLUE CROSS and BLUE CROSS Design servicemarks and logos are owned by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and are used under license by the Foundation or Independence Blue Cross, as applicable. You agree not to directly or indirectly: attempt to register, challenge, or contest the validity or the Foundation’s (or its licensor’s) ownership of such copyrights, trademarks, or any other intellectual property of the Foundation (or its licensors) or assist any third party in doing so. The Site may also include the product, service and company names, as well as logos, of third parties. Such third-party designations are the trade/service marks of their respective owners and may not be used without the prior written permission of their respective owners. Without the Foundation’s prior written permission, you agree not to display or use in any manner, the trademarks, service marks, and logos found on the Site.

The Foundation grants to you a personal, revocable, nonexclusive, nontransferable license to use this Site conditioned on your continued compliance with these Terms and Conditions. Limited portions of the Content available in the public areas of the Site may be accessed, printed, and downloaded on an occasional basis for personal, educational, or other non-commercial purposes; provided that all hard copies contain all copyright and other applicable proprietary rights notices included in such content and information and/or appropriate attribution to the Foundation in a form and manner acceptable to us. You may not use Content in any manner that suggests the endorsement or association of any third-party entity, person, product, or service by the Foundation unless express written permission has been given by the Foundation in advance. You may not under any circumstances copy, print, or download in any medium all or substantially all of the Content. Unless and except as otherwise expressly permitted by these Terms and Conditions, you may not access, copy, reproduce, modify, create derivative works of, alter, publicly distribute, republish, upload, post, transmit, publicly perform or display, license, transfer, sell, mirror, frame, “deep link,” “scrape,” data mine, or otherwise use any information or material obtained from or through this Site without written permission from the Foundation. You may not remove or obscure any copyright notices or other notices of intellectual property rights from the Site or any content available on or through the Site. Any unauthorized use of this Site or the Content will terminate the permission granted by these Terms and Conditions and may violate applicable laws, including copyright law, trademark laws, and commercial regulations and statutes. You agree not to obtain access to the Site by any means other than through the interface that is provided by the Foundation.

2. User Representations; Permission Requests

You represent and warrant to the Foundation that you will not use this Site for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms and Conditions, including but not limited to attempting or actually (a) disrupting, impairing or otherwise interfering with the operation or integrity of the Site or circumventing any Site security system; (b) collecting any information about other users of the Site; or (c) systematically extracting Content or other information or data contained in the Site to populate databases or other sites for internal or external use.

You further represent and warrant that you will not post, store, transmit, or otherwise use the Site in connection with any materials (including any “Submissions,” as defined in Paragraph 6 below) that may constitute or be comprised of any material that is unlawful or prohibited by this Agreement, including but not limited to materials that (a) claim a relationship with or speak for any individual, business, association, institution, or other organization for which you are not authorized to claim such a relationship (including but not limited to the Foundation and/or Independence Blue Cross); (b) provide false or misleading personal information or email addresses or impersonate any other person or entity; (c) harm or harass another person; (d) is unlawful, threatening, libelous, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, pornographic, profane, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or ethnically, racially, or otherwise objectionable; (e) infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other proprietary or contractual rights of any person, or (f) consists of unsolicited advertising, promotional materials, or other forms of solicitation to other users including, without limitation, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” or “pyramid schemes.”

For information on obtaining permission to use any Content beyond the uses permitted by Paragraph 1 above, please contact ibxfoundation@ibx.com.

3. Termination of Access

The Foundation reserves the right to terminate access to this Site at any time and for any reason and to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Site (or any part thereof) with or without notice.

You agree that neither the Foundation nor Independence Blue Cross will be liable to you or to any third party for any change in general practices or limits, or for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Site.

4. No Legal Advice; Disclaimer of Warranties; Release & Hold Harmless

Nothing contained, expressed or implied in this Site is intended as, nor shall it be construed or understood as, legal advice, guidance, or interpretation. The publicly accessible portions of this Site are provided for general information only. No attorney-client relationship is created between you and the Foundation (or between you and Independence Blue Cross) by reason of your use of this Site or under any related circumstances. If you have questions about any law, statute, regulation, or requirement referenced in this site, you should contact your own legal counsel.

You use the Internet solely at your own risk and subject to all applicable local, state, national, and international laws and regulations. Although the Foundation and Independence Blue Cross have endeavored to create a secure and reliable Site, the confidentiality of any communication or material transmitted to/from this Site over the Internet cannot be guaranteed. Accordingly, neither the Foundation nor Independence Blue Cross is responsible for the security of any information transmitted via the Internet, the accuracy of the information contained on the Site, or for the consequences of any reliance on such information. Neither the Foundation nor Independence Blue Cross shall have any liability for interruptions or omissions in Internet, network, or hosting services. Any material downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of the Site is done at your own discretion and risk. You will be solely responsible for any damage done to your computer system or any loss of data that results from the download of any such material.

Actual or attempted unauthorized use of the Site may result in criminal and/or civil prosecution. For your protection, the Foundation reserves the right to view, monitor, and record activity on the Site without notice or further permission from you. Any information obtained by monitoring, reviewing, or recording is subject to review by law enforcement organizations in connection with the investigation or prosecution of possible criminal activity on the Site. The Foundation will also comply with all court orders involving requests for such information.

YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE WEBSITE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. THE FOUNDATION AND INDEPENDENCE BLUE CROSS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO THE WEBSITE, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON–INFRINGEMENT. FURTHER, THE FOUNDATION AND INDEPENDENCE BLUE CROSS MAKE NO WARRANTY THAT THE SITE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE; THAT INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM YOUR USE OF THE SITE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE; OR THE ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED.

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION AND INDEPENDENCE BLUE CROSS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES INCURRED FOR ANY REASON RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THE SITE.

You agree to defend and hold harmless the Foundation, Independence Blue Cross, their respective affiliates, related companies, and all of their respective officers, directors, employees, shareholders, legal representatives, attorneys, agents, successors and assigns from and against any damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ and professionals’ fees and court costs) arising out of any third-party claims based on or related to your use of this Site, your violation of these Terms and Conditions, your communication of inaccurate or incomplete information to the Foundation, and/or your violation of law.

5. Links From the Foundation’s Website to Other Websites

This Site may describe, reference, or provide links to other information or products or websites on the Internet for your convenience in locating related information and services. Any descriptions of, references to, or links to other products, publications or services does not imply endorsements of any kind, unless expressly stated by the Foundation. Any such information, products or websites are provided or maintained by third parties over which the Foundation exercises no control. ACCORDINGLY, THE FOUNDATION AND INDEPENDENCE BLUE CROSS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONTENT, THE ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION, AND/OR THE QUALITY OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES PROVIDED BY OR ADVERTISED ON THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES.

These other third party websites may have their own terms and conditions and privacy policies, or no policy at all. Once you link to a third party website you are subject to any terms and conditions of that site including, but not limited to, any privacy policy. The Foundation does not guarantee that you will receive an alert that you are leaving the Site and linking to a third-party website. It is your responsibility to determine when you have left the Site. We recommend that you read the policies and procedures (including the privacy policy) of the websites of third parties that you access.

You may not create a link from your website or any other Internet location to the Site without prior written permission of the Foundation. Deep linking to internal pages of the Site is expressly prohibited.

6. Communications With Our Website

The Foundation welcomes your feedback and suggestions about how to improve its programs and this Site, as well as any products or services offered in connection with this Site. Any ideas, suggestions, information, know-how, material, or any other content (collectively, “Submissions”) received through this Site, however, will be deemed to include a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive right and license for the Foundation and its affiliates to right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, transmit, perform, and display such materials (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in to other works or act on such Submissions without additional approval or consideration, in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist in such Submissions. The Foundation may, but will not be obligated to, use and/or provide any author attributions related to any Submissions. The Foundation reserves the right to remove any Submissions you may submit through or post on the Site. Further, you acknowledge and agree that the Foundation is free to use any Submissions. You represent and warrant that all Submissions are original to you or that you have obtained all necessary rights and consents necessary to provide such Submissions and grant the foregoing licenses in connection therewith.

7. General Information

These Terms and Conditions (together with the Website Privacy Policy) constitute the entire agreement between you and the Foundation governing your use of the publicly accessible portions of the Foundation’s Site, superseding any prior agreements between you and the Foundation. You also may be subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use portions of this Site that require login credentials or affiliated sites.

These Terms and Conditions and the relationship between you and the Foundation will be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, without reference to its choice of law rules. You and the Foundation agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the resolution of any claims arising hereunder.

The failure of the Foundation to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms and Conditions does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of the Terms and Conditions is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, you nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the Foundation’s intentions as reflected in the provision and that the other provisions of the Terms and Conditions shall remain in full force and effect.

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 site or the Terms and Conditions must be filed within one year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.

The section titles in these Terms and Conditions are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.

8. Privacy Policy

Information that you provide to the Foundation through this website is subject to the Foundation’s Website Privacy Policy.