Terms of Use
Last Updated on December 21, 2010
These terms apply to your use of the AardQuest website located at aardquest.com (the “Site”), but not does apply to any third party sites that may be linked to the Site, or any relationships you may have with the businesses and organizations listed on the Site.
By accessing, browsing, crawling, or in any way using the Site, you agree to these terms, our privacy policy (i.e., the “Privacy Policy”) posted on the Site, and all other guidelines or policies referenced herein (collectively, the "Terms of Use").
PLEASE READ THE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY. YOUR USE OF THE SITE CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS OF USE (WHICH INCLUDE OUR PRIVACY POLICY). DO NOT USE THE SITE IF YOU ARE UNWILLING OR UNABLE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF USE.
I. Definitions.
A. A "user" is someone who accesses, browses, crawls, or in any way uses the Site. The terms "you" and "your" refer to you, as a user of the Site. The terms "we", "us", "our", and "AardQuest" refer to AardQuest Technologies LLC, a District of Columbia limited liability company.
B. "Content" means text, images, photos, audio, video, and all other forms of data or communication. "Your Content" means any Content that you submit or transmit to or through the Site. "User Content" means Content that users submit or transmit to or through the Site. “AardQuest Content" means Content that we create and make available on the Site. "Third Party Content" means Content that is made available on the Site by parties other than AardQuest or its users, such as data providers who license data to AardQuest for use on the Site. "Site Content" means all of the Content that is made available on the Site, including Your Content, User Content, Third Party Content, and AardQuest Content.
II. Eligibility
You must be at least 14 years old and a resident of the United States to access and use the Site. If you use the Site on behalf of a company, entity, or organization, you must be an authorized representative with the authority to bind it to the Terms of Use (which authority you hereby exercise).
III. Changes to the Terms of Use.
We may modify the Terms of Use (including the Privacy Policy) from time to time. When changes are made, we will notify you by making the revised version available on the Site and will indicate at the top of this page the date that revisions were last made. You should revisit these Terms of Use (including the Privacy Policy) on a regular basis, as revised versions will be binding upon you. Any such modification will be effective upon our posting of new Terms of Use or any portion thereof, such as the Privacy Policy.
In the event that the last e-mail you have provided us is not valid, or for any reason is not capable of delivering to you the notice described above, our dispatch of the e-mail containing such notice will nonetheless constitute effective notice of the changes described in the notice. In any event, changes to the Terms of Use (including the Privacy Policy) may affect our use of personal information that you provided us prior to our notification to you of the changes.
IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO PERMIT CHANGES IN THE TERMS OF USE AND/OR OUR USE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION, YOU MUST NOTIFY US PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHANGES. CONTINUED USE OF THE SITE FOLLOWING ANY E-MAIL SENT BY US TO YOU AND/OR ANY POSTED MODIFICATION TO THE TERMS OF USE (INCLUDING THE PRIVACY POLICY) SHALL INDICATE YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND ACCEPTANCE OF SUCH MODIFICATIONS AND YOUR AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND BY SUCH MODIFICATIONS.
IV. Use of the Site.
We grant you a limited, non-exclusive license to use the Site for your own purposes with no further right of display, reproduction, performance or any other right, and as otherwise subject to the additional restrictions in these Terms of Use. In using the Site, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent, inaccurate, objectionable, or otherwise inappropriate. AardQuest does not endorse such Content, and cannot vouch for its accuracy. AardQuest will make every effort to remove offensive content once you have identified it to us, and we have concurred with your assessment.
V. Restrictions on Use
You agree that you will not, and will not assist or enable others to:
A. Use the Site to threaten, stalk, defraud, incite, harass, or advocate the harassment of another person, or otherwise interfere with another user's use of the Site;
B. Use the Site to submit or transmit spam, chain letters, contests, junk e-mail, pyramid schemes, surveys, or other mass messaging, whether commercial in nature or not;
C. Use the Site for promotional or commercial purposes, except as expressly allowed in writing by AardQuest;
D. Use the Site for keyword spamming or to otherwise attempt to manipulate natural search results;
E. Use the Site to promote bigotry or discrimination;
F. Use the Site to violate any third-party right, including any breach of confidence, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, moral right, privacy right, right of publicity, or any other intellectual property or proprietary right;
G. Use the Site to submit or transmit pornography or any illegal content;
H. Use the Site to solicit personal information from minors or to harm or threaten to cause harm to minors;
I. Use the Site in violation of the Terms of Use or any applicable law;
J. Modify, adapt, appropriate, reproduce, distribute, translate, create derivative works or adaptations of, publicly display, sell, trade, or in any way exploit the Site or Site Content (other than Your Content), except as expressly authorized by AardQuest;
K. Reverse engineer any portion of the Site;
L. Remove or modify any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notice on the Site or on any materials printed or copied off of the Site;
M. Record, process, or mine information about other users, or use any robot, spider, site search/retrieval application, or other automated device, process or means to access, retrieve, scrape, or index the Site or any Site Content; provided, however, that if you are or are associated with a search engine crawling the Site, you may do so for the sole purpose of identifying and indexing Site Content to have the Site and Site Content appear in results to search requests submitted to you and/or any search engine with which you might be associated;
N. Reformat or frame any portion of the Site;
O. Take any action that imposes, or may impose in our sole discretion, an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on AardQuest's technology infrastructure, including making excessive traffic demands;
P. Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site, computer systems or networks connected to the Site through hacking, password mining or any other means;
Q. Use the Site or any Site Content to transmit any computer viruses, worms, defects, Trojan horses or other items of a destructive nature;
R. Use any device, software or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Site, or otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site; or
S. Use the Site to violate the security of any computer network, crack passwords or security encryption codes, or otherwise disrupt or interfere with the security of, or otherwise cause harm to, the Site or Site Content, or otherwise remove, circumvent, disable, damage or otherwise interfere with any security-related features of the Site, features that prevent or restrict the use or copying of Site Content, or features that enforce limitations on the use of the Site.
VI. License to Use Your Content.
We may use Your Content in a number of different ways, including displaying it on the Site, reformatting it, incorporating it into other works, creating derivative works from it, promoting it, and distributing it, all in accordance with the Terms of Use (including the Privacy Policy). As such, you grant us a perpetual, nonexclusive, royalty free, world-wide license to use Your Content for purposes associated with our operation and maintenance of the Site.
VII. Responsibility for Your Content.
You alone are responsible for Your Content. You assume all risks associated with Your Content, including anyone's reliance on its accuracy, completeness or usefulness, or any disclosure by you of information in Your Content that makes you personally identifiable. You represent that you own, or have the necessary permissions to use, and authorize the use of, Your Content as described herein. You may not imply that Your Content is in any way sponsored or endorsed by AardQuest.
You may expose yourself to liability if, for example, Your Content violates any third-party right, including any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, moral right, privacy right, right of publicity, or any other intellectual property or proprietary right; contains material that is false, intentionally misleading, or defamatory; contains material that is unlawful, including illegal hate speech or pornography; exploits or otherwise harms minors; or violates or advocates the violation of any law or regulation.
VIII. Use of Content.
We may remove or reinstate User Content from time to time at our sole discretion. We have no obligation to retain or provide you with copies of Your Content, nor do we guarantee any confidentiality with respect to Your Content.
AardQuest and its licensees may display advertisements and other information adjacent to or included with Your Content on the Site and in other media. You are not entitled to any compensation for such advertisements. The manner, mode and extent of such advertising are subject to change without specific notice to you.
X. Copyright Complaints.
AardQuest respects the intellectual property of others, and asks users to do the same. In order to protect intellectual property from misuse, AardQuest asks users to help us. If you as a user believe, in good faith, that any material on the Site infringes upon anyone’s copyright rights (including those of another user), please provide us with specific information relating to each such believed infringement, as well as your contact information, and we will take reasonable measures to investigate your claims and notify you of the outcome of our investigation.
XI. Site Availability.
We reserve the right to modify, update, or discontinue the Site at our sole discretion, at any time, for any or no reason, and without notice or liability.
XII. Unauthorized Access.
We reserve the right to exercise whatever lawful means we deem necessary to prevent unauthorized access to or use of the Site, including, but not limited to, technological barriers, IP mapping, and contacting your Internet Service Provider (ISP) regarding such unauthorized use.
XIII. Investigations.
We are under no obligation to monitor the Site or Site Content. However, we reserve the right to investigate possible violations of the Terms of Use, block users from the Site, and refer matters to law enforcement authorities for further investigation, all in accordance with the Privacy Policy.
XIV. Feedback.
A. Dissatisfaction. If you are dissatisfied with the Site, please provide feedback through our contacts page. Your only other remedy with respect to any dissatisfaction with (i) the Site, (ii) the Terms of Use, (iii) any policy or practice of AardQuest in operating the Site, or (iv) any content or information transmitted through the Site, is to terminate the Terms of Use.
B. Suggestions and Improvements. By sending us any ideas, suggestions, documents or proposals ("Feedback"), you agree that (i) your Feedback does not contain the confidential or proprietary information of third parties, (ii) we are under no obligation of confidentiality, express or implied, with respect to the Feedback, (iii) we may have something similar to the Feedback already under consideration or in development, and (iv) you grant us an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide license to use, modify, publish, distribute and sublicense the Feedback.
XV. Termination
We may terminate or suspend your ability to use the Site, in whole or in part, at our sole discretion, for any or no reason, and without notice or liability of any kind. For example, we may terminate or suspend your ability to use the Site if you breach the Terms of Use or are suspected of involvement in illegal activity. Any such termination or suspension could prevent you from accessing the Site, Your Content, Site Content, or any other related information.
You may terminate the Terms of Use at any time by discontinuing your use of any and all parts of the Site, and providing AardQuest with a notice of termination via e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
XVI. Ownership.
We own or are otherwise authorized to use, reproduce and display the AardQuest Content, including but not limited to visual interfaces, interactive features, graphics, design, compilation, computer code, products, software, aggregate user review ratings, and all other elements and components of the Site. We also own the copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade names, and other intellectual and proprietary rights throughout the world (the "IP Rights") associated with the AardQuest Content and the Site, which are protected by copyright, trade dress, patent, trademark laws and all other applicable intellectual and proprietary rights and laws. As such, you may not modify, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works or adaptations of, publicly display or in any way exploit any of the AardQuest Content in whole or in part except as expressly authorized by us. Except as expressly and unambiguously provided herein, we do not grant you any express or implied rights, and all rights in and to the Site and the AardQuest Content are retained by us.
XVII. Warranties, Disclaimers, and Limitations of Liability.
A. THE SITE AND ALL SITE CONTENT IS MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. AARDQUEST MAKES NO WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS, OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, STATUTORY OR IMPLIED AS TO (1) THE OPERATION AND FUNCTIONALITY OF THE SITE, (2) THE ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, COMPLETENESS, QUALITY, LEGALITY, USEFULNESS, SAFETY, AND IP RIGHTS (EXCEPT WITH RESPCT TO AARDQUEST’S CLAIMS OF OWNERSHIP OF SUCH RIGHTS) OF ANY OF THE SITE CONTENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE ACCURACY OF BUSINESS REVIEWS AND BUSINESS INFORMATION LISTED ON THE SITE, AND (3) THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SITE OR SITE CONTENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES SOLD BY BUSINESSES LISTED ON THE SITE. AARDQUEST FURTHER DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, STATUTORY, OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, MERCHANTABLE QUALITY, DURABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, THAT YOU OBTAIN FROM AARDQUEST OR THE SITE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY, REPRESENTATION, OR CONDITION NOT EXPRESSLY STATED HEREIN.
B. AARDQUEST DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY (A) INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, RELIANCE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, (B) LOSS OF PROFITS, (C) BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, (D) LOSS OF OR DAMAGE TO REPUTATION OF AARDQUEST OR ANY THIRD PARTY, OR (E) LOSS OF INFORMATION OR DATA.
C. AARDQUEST FURTHER DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND SITE CONTENT. YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND SITE CONTENT IS AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY RESULTING LOSS OR DAMAGE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY LOSS OF DATA OR DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER FROM VIRUSES THAT MAY BE DOWNLOADED TO YOUR COMPUTER IN THE COURSE OF USING THE SITE.
D. AARDQUEST ALSO DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE ARISING OUT OF YOUR COMMUNICATIONS OR DEALINGS WITH ANY OF THE BUSINESSES, ADVERTISERS, OR USERS ON THE SITE. YOUR COMMUNICATIONS OR DEALINGS WITH SUCH BUSINESSES, ADVERTISERS, AND USERS ARE SOLELY BETWEEN YOU AND THEM, ALTHOUGH AARDQUEST RESERVES THE RIGHT (BUT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION) TO MONITOR DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND THEM.
E. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES, THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, OR LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY MAY LAST, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IF YOU RESIDE IN SUCH A JURISDICTION, THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS SHALL APPLY TO YOU TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.
F. AARDQUEST’S MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CAUSES WHATSOEVER, AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION (WHETHER SUCH LIABILITY ARISES DUE TO NEGLIGENCE, BREACH OF CONTRACT, MISREPRESENTATION OR FOR ANY OTHER REASON), WILL AT ALL TIMES BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID, IF ANY, BY YOU TO AARDQUEST IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE IN THE SIX MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACTION GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY.
XVIII. Indemnity.
You agree to indemnify and hold AardQuest, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, any related companies, suppliers, licensors and partners, and the officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives of each of them harmless, including costs, liabilities and legal fees, from any claim or demand made by any third party due to or arising out of (i) your access to or use of the Site, (ii) your violation of the Terms of Use, or (iii) the infringement by you, or any third party accessing the Site through you, of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity. AardQuest reserves the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate with our defense of these claims. You agree not to settle any matter without the prior written consent of AardQuest. AardQuest will use reasonable efforts to notify you of any such claim, action or proceeding upon becoming aware of it.
XIX. Third Parties.
A. The Site may include links to other websites (each, a "Third Party Site"). We do not control or endorse any Third Party Site, and you agree that we are not responsible for the availability or contents of such Third Party Sites.
B. Third Party Content may be proprietary and copyrighted work of third parties. Your may not distribute, sell, rent, sublicense, or lease such Third Party Content, in whole or in part to any other third party; and you may not use it for any other purpose other than your personal, non-commercial use.
C. Some of the Site's mapping features are powered by Google Inc., the use of which is also governed by the terms of use located at http://maps.google.com/help/terms_maps.html (or such other URL as may be updated by Google Inc.).
XX. Miscellaneous
A. If there is any dispute about or involving the Site or AardQuest, you agree that will attempt to settle all such disputes through binding arbitration pursuant to the applicable rules of the American Arbitration Association. You agree to be bound by the decision of the arbitrator(s) as the final determination of the matter in dispute. Judgment upon any award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
B. In the event of any other claim arising under the Terms of Use, you agree to personal jurisdiction by and venue in the District of Columbia, and agree that any such claim shall be adjudicated under the laws of District of Columbia, not including its conflicts of laws provisions.
C. No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment is created as a result of the Terms of Use, and you do not have any authority of any kind to bind us in any respect whatsoever.
D. We may provide you with notices, including those regarding changes to the Terms of Use by e-mail, regular mail or postings on the Site.
E. Nothing herein is intended, nor will be deemed, to create any third-party beneficiaries or otherwise confer any rights upon or create any remedies for any third party.
F. These Terms of Use contain the entire agreement between you and us regarding the use of the Site, and supersede any prior agreement between you and us on such subject matter. The parties acknowledge that no reliance is placed on any representation made that is not expressly contained in these Terms of Use.
G. Any failure on our part to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. The failure of either party to exercise in any respect any right provided for herein shall not be deemed a waiver of any further rights hereunder.
H. If any provision of the Terms of Use is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the Terms of Use shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable.
I. The Terms of Use are not assignable, transferable or sublicensable by you except with AardQuest's prior written consent, but may be assigned or transferred by us without restriction. Any assignment attempted to be made in violation of the Terms of Use shall be void.
J. The section titles in the Terms of Use are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.
XXI. Marks
AardQuest and the AardQuest logo are proprietary service marks of AardQuest Technologies LLC. All other marks and symbols are proprietary marks of their respective owners.
XXII. Contact and Violations.
Please contact us with any questions regarding the Terms of Use. Also, please report any violations of the Terms of Use to us. You may contact us on the contacts page of the Site, or using the following contact information:
AardQuest Technologies LLC
1250 24th Street NW, Suite 300
Washington DC, 20037
E-mail:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
