terms-of-service.md

Gratipay Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are an agreement between you, a user ("Participant") of the Gratipay service (the "Service"), and Gratipay, LLC ("Gratipay"). They govern your use of the Service and your relationship with Gratipay. When you register as a Gratipay Participant, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

If you have any questions about these terms, please contact us:

Gratipay, LLC 716 Park Road Ambridge, PA 15003 USA [email protected]

1. Registration, Security, and Privacy

2. When you register for the Service, you agree to provide Gratipay with complete and accurate registration information. You are responsible for keeping your account information, including your contact and payment information, up to date. Gratipay takes our Participants' privacy seriously. We will only use or share your information and Content as described in our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms.

3. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account information, including your authentication credentials. You agree to notify Gratipay immediately of any actual or suspected loss, theft, or unauthorized use of your credentials. Gratipay shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to keep your account secure.

4. You may only use the Service if you are 13 years old or older, and you represent to us that you are 13 or older. If you are under the age of 18, your legal guardian must consent to your use and must agree to be bound by these Terms.

5. The Gratipay Model and General Rules

6. The Service is a platform to enable Teams of Gratipay Participants to receive payments to fund Open Work. Open Work means that the Team provides a clear path for any individual to voluntarily begin contributing to the Team's work and to share in any revenue the Team generates. Some examples of Teams performing Open Work include an open source software project that pays contributors, or a hackerspace that pays individuals to teach classes or manage its operations.

7. The Participant who establishes a Team is its Owner. Teams may optionally have other Members.

8. When you establish a Team on the Service to fund your Open Work, you agree that payments will be used exclusively to support the Open Work described in your Team's profile.

9. When you make a payment to a Team, it is a payment to fund the Open Work the Team provides. You understand and acknowledge that your payment does not entitle you personally to receive any goods or services from the Team, unless the Team explicitly offers those things to Participants.

10. By accepting a payment from a Participant, a Team forms an agreement with that Participant to perform the Open Work described in its profile. The Service is a platform to facilitate this agreement. Gratipay is not a party to the agreement, and is not responsible to either the Team or the Participant if either party breaches the terms of the agreement (e.g. if the Team fails to provide the promised services).

11. Gratipay is not obligated to provide refunds under any circumstance. Teams are responsible for producing the Open Work they offer. Gratipay does not hold funds on behalf of Teams, and does not warrant or guarantee that Teams will provide the Open Work they promise.

12. Payroll Rules

13. Teams can use the Service's Payroll feature to automatically divide incoming payments among Team Members, according to the allocation set by the Owner and/or Members.

14. Gratipay does not determine how a Team's Payroll is allocated and is not responsible for how Teams internally distribute payments. The agreement between Team Members and Owners regarding the allocation of payments is solely between those parties.

15. Rules for Gratipay Teams

16. Teams may accept payments on the Service only for Open Work, meaning that they provide a clear path for any individual to voluntarily begin contributing to the Team's work, and to share in any revenue the Team generates.

17. A Team can only begin receiving payments from Participants once it has provided a working withdrawal mechanism for receiving payments (e.g. bank account information).

18. Teams and their Open Work must be consistent with Gratipay's Brand Guidelines and Acceptable Use Policy.

19. Gratipay reserves the right to reject, suspend, or remove a Team at any time, and for any reason.

20. Establishing a Team on Gratipay involves an application and approval process. As part of this process, the Gratipay community will have the opportunity to publicly evaluate and provide commentary about the Team. However, all decisions regarding whether to accept, reject, suspend, remove, or take any other action regarding a Team belong solely to Gratipay.

21. Fees and Taxes

22. Gratipay does not take any fee from payments made by Participants to Teams. Gratipay and the Service are funded through the Service itself, by voluntary contributions from Gratipay Participants and Teams who wish to fund our own Open Work. To contribute to Gratipay, please visit Gratipay's Team page.

23. You are responsible for paying any third-party fees associated with your use of the Service, such as credit card and bank fees.

24. You are responsible for paying any taxes and withholdings associated with your use of the Service. Team Owners, and not Gratipay, are responsible for compliance with all laws, as well as any taxes and withholding requirements, applicable to payments made to Team Members (whether through the Payroll feature or otherwise), including without limitation payroll tax, unemployment insurance, and worker compensation insurance payments. Team Owners are also responsible for providing any required tax and other documentation to employees, independent contractors, tax authorities, or any other person.

25. Content Accessible on the Service

26. With the exception of content provided by Participants of the Service, the contents of Gratipay.com—including all text, images, data, software, and audio—are dedicated to the public domain according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

27. All content accessible through the Service is the sole responsibility of the person who provides it, and Gratipay is not responsible for content provided by any Participant or third party. We do not represent or warrant the truthfulness, reliability, or accuracy of any content, or that the content does not infringe the rights of third parties. Gratipay shall not be responsible for any loss or damage arising out of your access to, use of, or reliance on the content.

28. Gratipay reserves the right to remove content for any reason, including that it violates our Acceptable Use Policy. The Service may allow Participants to flag or report graphic, abusive, or otherwise objectionable content, and Gratipay may disable or filter access to flagged or reported content. However, Gratipay has no obligation to monitor, filter, or disable access to any content, and shall not be responsible if you encounter objectionable content by using the Service.

29. The Service, including Participant and Team profiles, may contain links to other websites. When you access third-party websites linked to from the Service, you do so at your own risk. Gratipay does not review, control, or endorse those sites.

30. License to Your Content

31. You retain your rights to any content you provide through the Service. When you provide content through the Service, you grant to Gratipay a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, license (including the right to sublicense) to use, host, store, cache, reproduce, publish, display, perform, distribute, transmit, adapt, and modify the content, in all media now known or later developed.

32. This license permits Gratipay to operate, promote, and improve the Service, and to develop new Service. It also permits Gratipay to provide, publish, or syndicate the content to third parties, for example by providing for the embedding of content on other services.

33. You represent and warrant that you have all necessary rights and authority to grant this license to Gratipay. With regard to any third-party content that you submit, you represent and warrant that you have a license to provide the content according to these Terms, or that your use is otherwise permissible, for example as fair use.

34. Acceptable Use Policy

35. The following conduct is prohibited on the Service:

* Illegal activities, including the promotion or solicitation of illegal
  acts.

* Malicious activity or content, such as the transmission of viruses,
  malware, or any other malicious or destructive code, or content or

activity intended to harm or disrupt the hardware, networks, or infrastructure of Gratipay or any third parties.

* Unauthorized access, including: accessing or attempting to access any
  non-public interface, system, or functionality of the Service, or testing

the Service for vulnerabilities, except as described in our security disclosure policy.

* Abuse, including threats of violence or harassment of a Participant
  through repeated unwanted contact.

* Posting anyone's personal or confidential information, such as social
  security numbers, credit card numbers, street addresses, phone numbers,

confidential ID numbers, or account passwords, without their permission.

* Account hijacking, including any access to or use of another
  Participant's account without their permission.

* Child exploitation, including any content or activity that exploits or
  abuses children.

* Spam, including posting unsolicited promotional or commercial content in
  comments, sending invitations for the purpose of advertising to the

recipients, or posting content or links for the purpose of manipulating search or other algorithms.

* Intellectual property infringement, including the infringing use of third
  party trademarks or the unauthorized and unlawful posting of copyrighted

content. We respond to reports of copyright infringement as described in the Copyright Policy.

* Fraud or impersonation, including any use of the Service to impersonate
  or deceive others. Contests or promotions that violate any applicable law

or regulation, or that suggest in any way that Gratipay is involved in or responsible for the activity.

1. Gratipay's Service Providers

2. Gratipay uses Braintree, a division of PayPal, Inc. ("Braintree") for payment processing services. By using the Braintree payment processing services you agree to the Braintree Payment Services Agreement, and the applicable bank agreement.

3. Nonprofits and Charities using Gratipay

4. If your Team is associated with a nonprofit organization, soliciting payments on Gratipay may subject you to certain state laws regarding charitable solicitations, including various registration, reporting, and audit requirements. You are solely responsible for compliance with these and any other applicable law or regulation.

5. Gratipay makes no representation or warranty regarding the tax-exempt status of any Team, or the tax-deductible status of any payment made via the Service.

6. Copyright Policy

7. Gratipay responds to reports of copyright infringement according to the notice-and-takedown procedure provided by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"). You can contact our designated agent for copyright infringement notifications and counter-notifications at: Copyright Agent, Gratipay, LLC, 716 Park Road, Ambridge, PA 15003, USA, [email protected].

8. Reporting Instances of Copyright Infringement

1. If you believe that any content on the Service infringes your copyright,
   please send us a notice containing the following information: a)

identification of the work or material being infringed; b) identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing, including its location, with sufficient detail so that Gratipay is capable of finding it and verifying its existence; c) your contact information, including name, address, telephone number, and email address; d) a statement that you have a good faith belief that the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; e) a statement made under penalty of perjury that the information provided in the notice is accurate and that you are authorized to make the complaint on behalf of the copyright owner; f) a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright that has been allegedly infringed.

1. Infringement notices are not confidential. Gratipay may provide the
   information contained in a notice to the Participant who posted the

allegedly infringing content, or to other parties.

1. Submitting a DMCA Counter-Notification

1. If you believe that content you posted was wrongfully removed or
   disabled as a result of a copyright infringement notice, you may notify

Gratipay by providing the following information: a) the specific location of the material that Gratipay has removed or disabled access to; b) your name, address, telephone number, and email address; c) a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located (or the federal district courts located in the Western District of Pennsylvania if your address is outside of the United States), and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the original notification of infringement (or an agent of that person); this statement: "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled"; and your signature.

1. Removal and Termination for Infringement: Gratipay will terminate, under appropriate circumstances, the accounts of Participants who repeatedly use the Service to infringe copyrights. Gratipay also reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to remove allegedly or apparently infringing content without notice to you.

2. Service Changes and Limitations

3. Gratipay may change the Service at any time, without notice to you. Gratipay may also stop providing one or more services or features, introduce new limits on use of the Service, or change the terms upon which the Service is available.

4. Termination

5. You may terminate this agreement at any time by closing your account through the Service or sending us a notice of cancellation at [email protected] and ceasing all use of the Service.

6. Gratipay may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time and for any reason, including for violations of these Terms. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you if we suspend or terminate your account.

7. Upon termination of your account, Gratipay shall make reasonable efforts to remove your content from the Service, except where doing so would adversely affect the experience of other Participants, and to cease all use of your content. However, you acknowledge and agree that: (a) removed content may persist in caches or backups for a reasonable period of time and (b) copies of or references to your content may not be entirely removed, for example because it has been copied or referenced by other Participants.

8. In the event of termination, sections 5, 14, 15, 16, and 17 of these Terms shall remain in effect, as will any terms that by their nature extend beyond termination.

9. Disclaimer of Warranties, Limitations of Remedies

10. Gratipay makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the Service, including any representation or warranty that the use of the Service will (a) be timely, uninterrupted or error-free or operate in combination with any other hardware, software, system, or data, (b) meet your requirements or expectations, (c) be free from errors or that defects will be corrected, or (d) be free of viruses or other harmful components. Gratipay also makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to any content. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained from Gratipay or through the Service, will create any warranty not expressly made herein.

11. Your access to and use of the Service or any content is at your own risk. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GRATIPAY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

12. Limitation of Liability

13. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, GRATIPAY SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUES, WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, USE, GOOD-WILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, RESULTING FROM (i) YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICE; (ii) ANY CONDUCT OR CONTENT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF OTHER PARTICIPANTS OR THIRD PARTIES; (iii) ANY CONTENT OBTAINED FROM THE SERVICE; OR (iv) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, USE OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR CONTENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF GRATIPAY OR ITS AFFILIATES EXCEED THE GREATER OF ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (U.S. $100.00) OR THE AMOUNT YOU PAID GRATIPAY, IF ANY, IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS FOR THE SERVICE GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

14. Indemnification

15. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Gratipay and its officers, directors, employees, contractors and agents from and against any and all claims, causes of action, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including attorneys' fees and costs) and all amounts paid in settlement arising from or relating to use of the Service, breach of these Terms or violation of any laws. Gratipay may assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you have agreed to indemnify Gratipay and you agree to assist and cooperate with Gratipay in the defense or settlement of any such matters.

16. Miscellaneous Terms

17. Assignment: You may not assign your rights and obligations under these Terms to any other person. In the event of a merger, sale, or acquisition of substantially all of Gratipay's assets, Gratipay may assign its rights and obligations under these Terms to its successor except with Gratipay's express written agreement.

18. Modifications to this Agreement: Gratipay may occasionally revise these Terms. You can find the most recent version at http://gratipay.com/about/terms/. If we determine, in our sole discretion, that a change to these Terms is material, we will notify you of the change through the Service or by emailing you at the address associated with your account. By using the Service after a new version of these Terms becomes effective, you thereby agree to be bound by the revised Terms.

19. Choice of Law: These Terms and the relationship between you and Gratipay shall be governed by the laws of the State of Pennsylvania without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any and all claims, causes of action, or disputes (regardless of theory) arising out of or relating to the Service, shall be brought exclusively in the courts located in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, or the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. You consent and waive any objection to the jurisdiction of and venue in these courts.

20. Authority to Enter Into Agreement: You represent and warrant that you have the legal authority to enter into this agreement and that the performance of obligations under this agreement will not violate any agreement between you and any other person, firm, or organization. If you are entering this agreement on behalf of another person or entity, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to do so.

21. Export Controls: You hereby represent and warrant that (i) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a "terrorist supporting" country; and (ii) you are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.

22. Waiver and Severability: Failure by Gratipay to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be deemed a waiver of such right or provision. In the event that any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, then that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in full force and effect.

23. Entire Agreement: These Terms and our Privacy Policy together form the entire and exclusive agreement between you and Gratipay regarding the Service (excluding any service for which you have a separate agreement with Gratipay that is explicitly in addition to or in place of these Terms), and these Terms supersede and replace any prior agreements between you and Gratipay regarding the Service. There shall be no third-party beneficiaries to the Terms.