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Terms

Foreword

Below are the terms of use for BigPatentData.com. By using the site, you are agreeing to them, so you should read them. But in the hopes of minimizing misunderstandings , I wanted to call out a few of the highlights:

  1. The default is NO REFUNDS. Unlike most legal technology services, we don’t require you to sign long-term contracts. We do that as a sort of quid-pro-quo for not having to deal with the hassle of refunds. You can cancel any time and your subscription will simply expire at the end of the then-current billing period. The exception to the no refund rule is if we make a change to the service or terms of use that was not announced prior to the start of your current billing cycle.
  2. We use THE HONOR SYSTEM. Many service providers bill based on the size of your organization because they are afraid that you will pay for one user and then share the account with coworkers. I always hated that approach because it meant I couldn’t just sign up by myself — I had to convince the “powers that be” to sign up. So we use the honor system. If you are the only person at your firm that wants to sign up for BigPatentData, that’s fine. We just ask that you don’t share the account with other users. Mostly that means don’t perform research on BigPatentData for matters that you are not actively involved with, and share the content only with others involved in that matter (e.g., a managing attorney for the matter and the client for the matter). We reserve the right to cancel your account if the activity on your account appears (in our judgment) as though it is being shared among multiple users.

Thank you so much for checking out BigPatentData!
Chad Gilles (Founder & CEO)

BigPatentData Terms of Use

BY USING, SUBSCRIBING, OR REGISTERING FOR BIGPATENTDATA, YOU SIGNIFY ELECTRONICALLY YOUR AGREEMENT TO THE FOLLOWING TERMS (the “AGREEMENT” or “TERMS OF USE”). Do not sign up or use BigPatentData if you do not agree to these Terms of Use.

About these Terms

These Terms of Use govern your use of BigPatentData, including all use, submissions, and purchases that you make on BigPatentData.com. BigPatentData is provided by BigPatentData Inc, an Illinois Corporation (“we” or “us”). In this Agreement, the term “you” means the person who (or the entity on whose behalf you are acting) is agreeing to these Terms of Use. We may change any term to this Agreement at any time after providing 14 days notice of such change. If you disagree with any changes to this Agreement, you must discontinue your use of BigPatentData before the changes take effect. Your ongoing use of BigPatentData after the changes take effect signifies your agreement to the new terms.

Changes to the Services

We may change or discontinue any offering or feature on BigPatentData at any time and without notice. Refunds will only be available where the change or discontinuation was not announced prior to the billing cycle in which the change or discontinuation went into effect.

Registration

We will open an account for you when you sign up for BigPatentData. You must provide complete and accurate registration information, including (if applicable) accurate and up-to-date billing information. You agree to keep this information up-to-date. You represent and warrant that: (1) you have the full power, authority, and legal capacity to enter into the Agreement and follow its obligations, (2) if you are registering on behalf of a company or other entity, you have the authority to bind your principal or employer company, and (3) all information that you provide is true and current.

Your Information

You consent to the information practices regarding your account and the choices that you can make about the use of your information as disclosed in the BigPatentData Privacy Policy available at https://bigpatentdata.com/privacy-policy.

Your Responsibilities

You are responsible for all activities under your account, including all legal liability incurred from the use of your account by you or others. You may not use BigPatentData, or any of its web sites, services, data, documents, information and content (collectively, “Content”) in any way that: (1) violates or infringes the rights of others including, without limitation, patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, publicity or other proprietary rights; (2) is unlawful; (3) impersonates any person, business or entity, including our company and our employees and agents; (4) encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, or that gives rise to civil liability; or (5) violates this Agreement, guidelines or any policy posted on BigPatentData. You may not give access to your account, or disclose your password to others. You are responsible for keeping your account information, including all passwords, confidential.

License and Permitted Uses

If you are a registered user of BigPatentData, you agree that your username and password will not be disclosed to any unauthorized person. We may change your username and password at any time, provided that you are sent notice to your last known e-mail address. You agree to keep your access information confidential and to notify us of any violation of this Agreement. Subscriptions sold to individual subscribers are for single users only. Subscriptions sold to institutions (i.e., law firms, corporations and other business, charitable or government entities) are for use by the individuals within such institution designated as subscribers at the time the subscription is purchased.

Any and all content available through BigPatentData (“which shall also be considered “Content” in addition to the manner in which it is defined elsewhere in these Terms of Use) shall not be reproduced, revealed, published, distributed, or otherwise made available in whole or in part to anyone else except as permitted in this Agreement, unless required by law. You acknowledge that the products are subject to the copyright and other proprietary rights of BigPatentData Inc. and you will not commit or permit any act or omission that would impair such rights.

We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited license to access and use BigPatentData and the Content subject to the terms and limitations of this Agreement. All Content is licensed and not sold or assigned. You may use BigPatentData Content only for researching matters (e.g., preparation, prosecution, or litigation of a specific patent application) in which you are actively involved, and you can share the content only with others who also actively involved in the same matters.

You may not copy, download, store, publish, transmit, transfer, sell or otherwise use the Content in any form or by any means, except as expressly permitted by this Agreement. You may not circumvent any mechanisms for preventing the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of the Content. You may not store or use the Content to create an archival or searchable database of the Content. You shall not sell, license or distribute the Content (including any printed version of the Content) to third parties. Except for the license granted in this Agreement, all rights, title and interest in BigPatentData and the Content are and will continue to be the exclusive property of us.

Access Costs

You must provide at your own expense the equipment and Internet connections that you will need to access and use BigPatentData. Those costs are in addition to any purchases you make from BigPatentData. If you are accessing a Service through a telephone line, please call your local phone company to determine if the access numbers you select are subject to long distance or other toll charges at your location. Also, if you access BigPatentData through wireless applications (e.g., cell phones), your carrier, such as a wireless carrier, may charge fees for alerts, text messaging (including receiving/sending instant messages and e-mail), web browsing and other services that require the use of airtime and wireless data services. Check with your carrier to verify whether there are any such fees that may apply to you. If you register for any services from BigPatentData that are delivered by text messages or short messaging service, you authorize delivery of such messaging services to the wireless unit and number designated by you, you acknowledge that you are responsible for determining any standard text messaging fees that you may incur from your carrier while using the service, and you authorize us to deliver the messaging service to you until you elect to opt out of such messaging service.

Fees and Payment

You agree to pay the applicable fees and charges for purchases that you make from us. We will disclose your payment terms at the time you make a purchase from BigPatentData. All charges are nonrefundable. In the event we discontinue providing any service for which we charge a fee, and we do so without having provided notice of the discontinuation prior to the current billing period, we will refund any unused portion of such fee.

If you subscribe to any service that requires payment, you must give us accurate billing and payment information and keep this information up-to-date. Every time you use BigPatentData or otherwise access our services, you reaffirm that (i) we are authorized to charge your designated payment method; (ii) we may submit charges incurred under your account for payment; and (iii) you will be responsible for such charges. YOU AGREE THAT WE MAY CHARGE YOUR PAYMENT METHOD FOR ALL AMOUNTS DUE TO US WITHOUT ADDITIONAL NOTICE OR CONSENT unless required otherwise by law. If we do not receive payment from your designated payment method, you agree to pay all amounts due upon demand by us. You are responsible for all charges incurred under your account made by you or anyone who uses your account. We may, in our discretion, post charges to your payment method individually or may aggregate your charges with other purchases you make on BigPatentData. You agree that any submissions you make for electronic purchases constitute your intent and agreement to be bound by the terms of and pay for such purchases.

Billing Problems and Disputes

You must notify us about any billing problems or discrepancies within 60 days after they first appear on the statement you receive from your bank. If you do not bring such problems or discrepancies to our attention within 60 days, you agree that you waive the right to dispute such problems or discrepancies.

Disclaimer of Warranties

We provide BigPatentData “as is”, “with all faults” and “as available.” YOUR USE OF BIGPATENTDATA IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. We make no express warranties or guarantees about BigPatentData or any of its Content or materials. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM IMPLIED WARRANTIES THAT THE WEB SITES, SERVICES, CONTENT AND MATERIALS ON BIGPATENTDATA (“BIGPATENTDATA SERVICES”) ARE MERCHANTABLE, OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, ACCURATE, FIT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NEED, TIMELY, RELIABLE, NON-INFRINGING or that the website, docket reports or the server(s) on which they are hosted are free of viruses, bugs or other harmful components. WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM YOUR USE OF THE BIGPATENTDATA SERVICES, INCLUDING ANY SUPPORT SERVICES, WILL BE EFFECTIVE, RELIABLE, ACCURATE OR MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS. WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS OR USE THE BIGPATENTDATA SERVICES AT TIMES OR LOCATIONS OF YOUR CHOOSING. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY OUR REPRESENTATIVES SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY.

Great effort is made to assure that all information published is correct. However, BigPatentData Inc. disclaims any liability for errors or omissions in the services and as a subscriber you assume the risk of possible errors or omissions. No legal advice is intended or offered by BigPatentData in making any of the Content available, and BigPatentData disclaims any and all liability related to any decision take by a party in reliance upon the Content.

Limitation of Liability

WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE BIGPATENTDATA SERVICES AND SOFTWARE. THESE EXCLUSIONS APPLY TO ANY CLAIMS FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE, COMPUTER INFECTION, OR MALFUNCTION, OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, EVEN IF WE KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATES OR JURISDICTIONS, OUR LIABILITY IN SUCH STATE OR JURISDICTION SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY AND ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE USE OF THE BIGPATENTDATA SERVICES EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT YOU PAID FOR THE PARTICULAR BIGPATENTDATA PURCHASE AT ISSUE.

Links to Other Sites

The Content may contain links to other websites. These links are provided to you only as a convenience and their presence do not imply endorsement by BigPatentData or its affiliates or subsidiaries, or of any association with such websites’ operators. You agree that BigPatentData and its affiliates and subsidiaries are in no way responsible or liable for the availability or content of the websites on linked sites. BigPatentData and its affiliates and subsidiaries make no representations whatsoever about any other website you may access through these links. Any concerns regarding services offered or content which is published by these other sites should be directed to the operator of that specific website and not BigPatentData.

Termination

We may cancel or suspend your access to BigPatentData at any time, without cause and/or without notice. Your right to use BigPatentData will end once your service is terminated. We may cooperate with legal authorities and/or third parties in the investigation of any suspected or alleged crime or civil wrongdoing.

Indemnification

Upon a request by us, you agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless BigPatentData Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates and their respective employees, attorneys, assigns, successors-in-interest, contractors, vendors, suppliers, licensors, licensees and sublicensees, from and against any and all claims, damages, causes of action, costs (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) and other expenses that arise directly or indirectly out of or from: (1) your actual or alleged breach of these Terms of Use, including, if applicable, the Content Submission Agreement; (2) any allegation that any Content or other material you have submitted or transmitted to us infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate the copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property rights of any party; and/or (3) your activities or omissions in connection with BigPatentData.com. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will cooperate with us in asserting any available defenses.

Electronic Contracting and Notices

Your affirmative act of making purchases or registering for BigPatentData constitutes your electronic signature to this Agreement and your consent to enter into agreements with us electronically. You also agree that we may send to you in electronic form any privacy or other notices, disclosures, reports, documents, communications or other records regarding BigPatentData (collectively, “Notices”). We can send you electronic Notices (1) to the e-mail address that you provided to us during registration or (2) by posting the Notice on the applicable web page of BigPatentData. The delivery of any Notice from us is effective when sent by us, regardless of whether you read the Notice when you receive it or whether you actually receive the delivery. You can withdraw your consent to receive Notices electronically by canceling or discontinuing your use of the applicable Service.

In order to receive Notices electronically, you must constantly maintain the email address or web address which you have provided to us, a means of accessing those notices (by means of a computer, laptop, tablet, mobile device or otherwise) and be connected to an internet service provider with a connection to allow such notice. You will need a printer attached to your personal computer to print any Notices. All contracts completed electronically will be deemed for all legal purposes to be in writing and legally enforceable as a signed writing.

Entire Agreement

This Agreement and any supplemental terms, policies, rules and guidelines posted on BigPatentData constitute the entire agreement between you and us and supersede all previous written or oral agreements. If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.

Choice of Law and Location for Resolving Disputes

You agree that the laws of the State of Illinois govern this contract and any claim or dispute that you may have against us, without regard to Illinois conflict of laws rules. You further agree that any disputes or claims that you may have against us will be resolved by a court located in Cook County, Illinois, and you consent to personal and subject matter jurisdiction in such courts.

Assignment

We may assign this contract at any time without notice to you. You may not assign this contract to anyone else.