SparkPeople Terms and Conditions

This website and any other URLs and websites administered by SparkPeople, Inc. and its affiliates, including any applications and media available therefrom (collectively, the “Website”) are offered by SparkPeople, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively, “SparkPeople” or “we” or “us”) to you, the user, subject to your acceptance of all the terms and conditions set forth below (“Terms of Use”). The terms “you” and “user” refers to all individuals and entities that access the Website.

By your affirmative actions of registering for and/or using the Website, you signify your agreement to these Terms of Use, to our Privacy Policy (available here) and your agreement to communicate with us electronically. If you do not agree to all of these terms and conditions, do not register for or use this Website.

Privacy Policy
At SparkPeople, we respect your privacy and believe you should be informed about how we collect, use and disclose your personal information. Please read our privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) before using the Website.

Modifications to the Terms of Use
We may make changes to the Terms of Use from time to time. A link to the most current Terms of Use will be available on the SparkPeople home page. In the event of significant changes to the Terms of Use, we may also place a special notice on the Website or communicate the changes by email. Your continued use of the Website following the posting of such changes constitutes your acceptance of any such changes. If you do not agree with these Terms of Use, or any revised versions thereof, you may not use the Website.

Age and Eligibility
In order to use the Website you must be at least 18 years of age or the legal age to form a binding contract in your jurisdiction if that age is greater than 18 years of age. Individuals who are under the age of 18 or the legal age to form a binding contract in their jurisdiction (“Minors”) are prohibited from using the Website. Accordingly, if you are a Minor, please do not attempt to register for the Website or send any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, or email address. In the event that we learn that we have collected personal information from a Minor, we will delete that information as soon as reasonably practicable. If you believe that we might have any information from or about a Minor, please contact us at support@sparkpeople.com. You represent that the information that you provide about yourself (including your age) as requested in any account registration form (the “Registration Data”) is accurate and complete.

The Website should not be used by people who have adverse medical or nutritional condition. See “Precautions,” below.

Agency
You represent that you are using the Website for its intended purpose. If you are registering or using the Website on behalf of a company or other organization, you represent that you have authority to bind your employer by your actions.

Precautions
Content found on the Website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace the relationship with your physician or other medical provider. We are not a licensed medical care provider and have no expertise in diagnosing, examining, or treating medical conditions of any kind, or in determining the effect of any specific exercise on a medical condition. You should always consult a physician before starting a fitness program, changing your diet or if you have any questions regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the Website. SparkPeople requires that you consult with your physician before following any training instructions you receive through the Website or participating in any event announced on the Website, including but not limited to any SparkRally (as defined below). Not all exercises or activities described on the Website are suitable for everyone. You should understand that when participating in any exercise or exercise program, there is the possibility of physical injury and/or death. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your physician or 911 immediately. If you feel discomfort or pain, immediately stop the activity causing such discomfort or pain. The Website should not be used by people who have adverse medical or nutritional conditions. By using the Website, you represent that you have received consent from your physician to participate in the programs, workouts, and exercises described on the Website.

We are not responsible for any health problems that may result from training programs, products, or events you learn about through the Website. If you engage in any exercise program you receive through the Website you agree that you do so at your own risk and are voluntarily participating in these activities.

Information on the Website
We try to provide helpful and accurate information on the Website, but we cannot verify, endorse or vouch for the information, services or recommendations available through the Website. We are not responsible for the accuracy, reliability, effectiveness, or correct use of information you receive through the Website. Reliance on any information provided by SparkPeople, SparkPeople employees, or others appearing on the Website by invitation or as visitors is solely at your own risk.

User-Generated Content
Subject to terms set forth in the Privacy Policy with respect to Private User Generated Content and Public User Generated Content, you hereby grant to SparkPeople a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to reproduce, distribute, transmit, publicly perform, publicly display, digitally perform, modify, create derivative works of, and otherwise use and commercially exploit any text, videos, photographs or other data and information you submit to the Website (collectively, “User Generated Content”) in any media now existing or hereafter developed, including without limitation on websites, in audio format, and in any print media format (the “User Generated Content License”). “User Generated Content” includes but is not limited to content posted on message board posts, SparkTeam posts, SparkPage posts and blogs, Success Stories, recipe submissions and user comments. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Privacy Policy with respect to Private User Generated Content and Public User Generated Content, you hereby waive any rights of publicity and privacy with respect to the User Generated Content and any other legal or moral rights that might preclude SparkPeople’s use of the User Generated Content or require your permission for SparkPeople to use the User Generated Content. You agree not to assert any claim, whether based on tort, contract, or other legal theory, against SparkPeople or its sublicensees relating to SparkPeople’s or its sublicensees’ use of the User Generated Content that is in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in this Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy, and you hereby release SparkPeople and its sublicensees from any such claims. You represent that your User Generated Content: (1) will not infringe any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights; (2) will not violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation; (3) will not be obscene or contain child pornography; (4) will not contain any viruses, worms, time bombs or other computer programming code that is intended to damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or information; (5) will not violate any third party’s rights of publicity or privacy; and (6) will not be defamatory, unlawfully threatening or harassing, harmful to minors in any way, or otherwise offensive or inappropriate. You are responsible for complying with all laws applicable to your User Generated Content.

Registration and Password
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login information and password. You shall be responsible for all uses of your login information, whether or not authorized by you. You agree to immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your login information or password. You grant SparkPeople the right to use your information in connection with the operation of the Website. SparkPeople cannot and does not assume any responsibility or liability for any information you submit, or your or third parties’ use or misuse of information submitted.

You represent that the information that you provide about yourself as requested in the SparkPeople account registration form (the “Registration Data”) is accurate and complete, and you agree to update your account information, as necessary, including providing SparkPeople with your current email address, so that you may receive notifications and other account-related communications.

Ownership of the Website
Except for the User Generated Content, the Website and all aspects thereof, including all content and applications available via the Website, and all copyrights, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights therein, is owned by SparkPeople or its licensors. You acknowledge that the Website and any underlying technology used in connection with the Website contain SparkPeople’s intellectual property and proprietary information. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify or create derivative works of, publicly display (including by framing any content), or commercially exploit any part of the Website, including any applications available via the Website, except as necessary to view the content on the Website or use an application available via the Website and create a reasonable number of copies of portions of such content and applications (without modification) for your personal, non-commercial use. All rights in the Website not expressly granted by SparkPeople to you are retained by SparkPeople and its licensors.

If you violate any of these Terms of Use, your permission to use the Website automatically terminates and you must immediately destroy any copies you have made of any portion of the Website.

Email Rules
Some of our users will make their email addresses available if they wish to converse with other users with similar interests or goals. If you use this information, you agree not to transmit “spam” or other unwanted solicitations, or any material that is harassing, threatening, offensive, obscene, abusive, harmful, defamatory, invasive of another’s privacy, infringing of another’s intellectual property rights, or illegal. Users found using email information in this manner may be stripped of their membership. We are not responsible for the content of email messages sent to you by our users or from third parties.

Community Pages
There are several areas on the Website on which users may post information, including Message Boards, SparkTeams, and SparkPages (collectively, “Community Pages”). Any information posted to the Community Pages can be viewed by anyone who visits the Website (whether or not such visitors are registered users). SparkPeople does not endorse any information posted on the Community Pages and posts made by users do not necessarily reflect the views of SparkPeople. Information on the Community Pages should not be taken as medical advice and we are not responsible for such information or for editing any factual errors or making any type of corrections to such information. Any action taken by you based on information presented on the Community Pages is at your own risk.

In using our Community Pages you agree to follow our Community Guidelines.
     
User Organized Meetings
The Website provides tools that allow users to organize and host offline, in-person meetings and events with other users of the Website at public or private venues (“SparkRallies”). Organizers of SparkRallies may require other users to pay certain fees in order to attend the SparkRallies. Attendence fees are assessed by the organizers at their sole discretion, and SparkPeople does not receive any portion of such fees. SparkPeople does not endorse, sponsor, organize or control the SparkRallies. Your attendance or participation in the SparkRallies is solely at your own risk. You understand that SparkPeople does not in any way screen the organizers of SparkRallies or any other users on the Website, nor does SparkPeople attempt to verify the statements of the organizers of SparkRallies or any other users on the Website. SparkPeople is not responsible or liable in any manner for any loss or damage arising out of your attendance or participation in any SparkRally, and you hereby waive and release SparkPeople from any and all claims arising from or related to your participation in any SparkRally.

User Disputes
Your communications, dealings or meetings with any other users on the Website, including communications, dealings or meetings initiated through the Website, are solely between you and such users, and you are solely responsible for such communications, dealings or meetings. SparkPeople reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and any other users on the Website. SparkPeople is not responsible or liable in any manner for any loss or damage arising out of your communications, dealings or meetings with any other users, including with respect to any SparkRallies organized or attended by such users or any other services offered by such users.

Copyrighted Materials
When referring to news reports or articles in your posts on the Website, including references to reports and articles appearing on other sections of the Website, please post only a few sentences for the reader’s information and reference and include a link to the rest of the content on the original site. Do not post articles, news reports, photographs, graphics, images, audio, or other copyrighted material in their entirety (or substantial portions thereof) unless you have obtained written permission from the relevant copyright owner(s). Any unauthorized posting of any of the foregoing to the Website may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity, and/or civil and criminal statutes, and you will be responsible for any liability arising from such violations. If you feel that any content on the Website infringes your copyrights or other intellectual property rights, please visit our IP Notification Policy.

User Indemnification Of SparkPeople
Upon request by us, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold SparkPeople and its partners, affiliates, service providers, licensors, officers, directors, employees and agents harmless from and against any and all losses, liabilities, damages and costs, including but not limited to reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising from any claims, actions or demands related to or alleged to relate to: (a) your use of the Website, including any User Generated Content you post, store, reproduce, display, or distribute via the Website and any meeting you arrange via the Website; (b) your violation of the Terms of Use; or (c) your violation of any intellectual property or other third party rights or any applicable law in connection with your use of the Website. We reserve the right to assume control of the defense of any third party claim that is subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will cooperate with us in asserting and available defenses.

User Conduct
If we determine that any user is not using the Website responsibly, we have the right (but not the obligation) to remove, edit, block, or delete such user’s transmissions, User Generated Content, or use of the Website. We also have the right (but not the obligation) to suspend or terminate your access to and use of Community Pages or other parts of the Website, or delete information you have posted to the Website, without prior notice if you engage in any conduct that we believe, in our sole discretion: (a) violates any provision of the Terms of Use, (b) violates the Community Guidelines, (c) is offensive to other users, (d) violates the rights of SparkPeople or third parties, or (e) could cause SparkPeople liability. Without limiting the foregoing, upon any termination of your account or access to the Website we may delete all User Generated Content and other information related to your Community Pages. If SparkPeople suspects that your Registration Data is inaccurate or incomplete, we may suspend or terminate your account.

Fee-Based Products and Services
SparkPeople may offer products and services on the Website that require payment of a fee(s). Please note that all fees are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. 

By purchasing or subscribing to products or services with your credit card, you agree that SparkPeople (or an authorized-third party) is authorized to charge your credit card for all fees and charges due as a result of your purchase.  If you subscribe to a service that requires recurring payments, you agree that SparkPeople (or an authorized third party) may charge your credit card automatically upon the beginning of each cycle. 
 
Purchasing products and subscribing to services will require you to provide information to SparkPeople or an authorized third party.  You agree to provide and update, as needed,  information such as (but not limited to) you credit card information, your full name, address, and telephone number, as well as any other information that may be necessary.  You agree that this information is true, complete, and current. 
 
If we are not able to process or collect charges to your credit card, you agree that we may pursue collection for fees you owe related to products and services purchased on the Website.  You agree to be liable for all costs and expenses incurred in connection with the collection process including (but not limited to) collection fees, interest, litigation costs and attorney’s fees.

You agree to comply with the terms and conditions of any agreement that you may enter into related to your purchase of the product or service.  You agree to be liable for all charges and fees incurred through your purchase or subscription, including any applicable taxes.  SparkPeople may increase or change fees at it sole discretion and at any time. We will provide reasonable advanced notice prior to executing additional fees, increasing fees or changing fee structures.  Advanced notice may be provided through any means we deem appropriate such as (but not limited to) posting a notice on the Website or email or conventional mail.

Due to package promotions, the fee/price you pay upon purchase or subscription may be different from one user to another or one time frame to another.  You agree to pay the price/fee quoted at the time of your purchase.  Price adjustments will not be made for discounts, promotions or other price changes that may accompany the purchases of other users.

Availability of Fee-Based Products or Services - There may be situations when fee-based products or services are not available due to Website downtime or other circumstances.  During such occasional disruptions in service, SparkPeople will not adjust fees or charges.

Cancellation/Termination of Subscription – At any time, you may cancel or terminate your subscription to fee-based products or services.  Contact support@sparkpeople.com to cancel your account. 

SparkPeople, at its sole discretion, may at any time cancel or terminate your subscription to our fee-based products or services.  If your subscription to our fee-based products or services is terminated, we may (but are not obligated to) immediately disable your access to the fee-based product or service, without prior notice to you.  Your access to the rest of our Website may also be disabled. We may (but are not obligated to) remove any and all information and/or files related to your user account and/or deny any access to such information, any of our fee-based products or services, and/or our Website (or any parts thereof).

It is your sole responsibility to update your user account if your credit card, address or other mandatory information changes or becomes inactive.  We may terminate or disable your subscription or access to fee-based products or services if we are not able to charge your credit card or collect payment. 

Changes to Website
SparkPeople may change or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, any feature or component of the Website at any time without further notice. In addition, we may, without notice to the applicable user, terminate individual Community Pages that have been inactive for more than 30 days, but have no obligation to do so. You agree that SparkPeople shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of any feature or component of the Website.

Third Party Websites
The Website may provide links or references to websites operated by third parties. We do not monitor or investigate such websites and we are not responsible for the content, functionality, or practices of such websites. Inclusion of links to third party websites on our Website does not imply approval or endorsement of the linked website by us. If you decide to leave our Website and access these third party websites, you do so at your own risk. SparkPeople suggests that you read the terms of use and privacy policies (if any) on those third party websites. You agree that SparkPeople has no liability for any damage or loss of any type that is a result of your use of a third party website.

Content And Warranty Disclaimer
THE WEBSITE IS PROVIDED BY SPARKPEOPLE AND ITS AFFILIATES “AS IS.” NEITHER SPARKPEOPLE NOR ITS PARTNERS, SUPPLIERS, OR AFFILIATES MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE OPERATION OF THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENTS, APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE VIA THE WEBSITE OR DOWNLOADED THEREFROM, OR ANY INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE BY OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE. IN ADDITION, SPARKPEOPLE AND ITS PARTNERS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE WEBSITE, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. FURTHERMORE, SPARKPEOPLE DOES NOT WARRANT THAT USE OF THE WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, AVAILABLE AT ANY TIME OR FROM ANY PARTICULAR LOCATION, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE WEBSITE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER POTENTIALLY HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

Limitation of Liability
IN NO EVENT WILL SPARKPEOPLE BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THOSE RESULTING FROM LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) ARISING OUT OF THE USE, INABILITY TO USE, OR THE RESULTS OF USE OF THE WEBSITE, WHETHER SUCH DAMAGES ARE BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY AND WHETHER OR NOT SPARKPEOPLE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF SPARKPEOPLE, ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE WEBSITE (REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION OR CLAIM, E.G. CONTRACT, WARRANTY, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, NEGLIGENCE, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY) IS LIMITED TO $100. SPARKPEOPLE’S AFFILIATES, PROVIDERS AND PARTNERS HAVE NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER ARISING FROM THE WEBSITE. In some locations applicable law may not allow certain of the limitations described above, in which case such limitations may not apply to you.

Electronic Contracting
Your affirmative act of using this Website and/or registering for the Website constitutes your electronic signature to these Terms of Service and your consent to enter into agreements with us electronically.

General
The Terms of Use and the resolution of any dispute related to the Terms of Use or the Website shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Ohio without respect to its conflict of laws principles. You shall bring any legal action or proceeding against SparkPeople related to the Website exclusively in a federal or state court of competent jurisdiction sitting in Hamilton County, Ohio, and you agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of such courts. If any provision(s) of the Terms of Use is found to be contrary to law, then such provision(s) will be construed, as nearly as possible, to reflect the intentions of the parties with the other provisions remaining in full force and effect. SparkPeople’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms of Use will not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by SparkPeople in writing. These terms and conditions constitute the entire agreement between you and SparkPeople with respect to the subject matter herein and supersede any and all prior or contemporaneous oral or written agreements. You may not assign this agreement to any other party and any attempt to do so is void. Certain activities provided via the website may be covered by U.S. Patent 6,585,516.

If you would like to request additional information regarding these Terms of Use, please contact us at support@sparkpeople.com.

Last updated October 25, 2013.