Photobucket.com Terms of Use Agreement

Updated: 4/21/2008

Photobucket, Inc. ("Photobucket" or "we") operates Photobucket.com (the "Site"), which is a content hosting and sharing service that allows Users (as defined in the following paragraph) to store images and videos and share them across the internet and create unique personal profiles online. The services offered by Photobucket include the Site, content (including, without limitation, images, video and accompanying audio) hosting and sharing on the Site and third party sites, applications and services, content editors, links to partner providers, printing and other photographic merchandise, Photobucket APIs, and any other features, content, mobile services, Photobucket branded URLs or applications offered from time to time by Photobucket in connection with Photobucket's business (collectively, the "Photobucket Services"). The Photobucket Services are hosted in the United States.

This Terms of Use Agreement ("Agreement") sets forth the legally binding terms for your use of the Photobucket Services. Use of the Site is also governed by the Photobucket Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into this Agreement by this reference. By using the Photobucket Services, you agree to be bound by this Agreement, whether you are a "Visitor" (which means that you simply browse or use the Site, including through a mobile device, or otherwise use the Photobucket Services without being registered) or you are a "Member" (which means that you have registered with Photobucket). The term "User" refers to a Visitor or a Member. You are only authorized to access this Site or to use the Photobucket Services, including materials and services contained in the Site (regardless of whether your access or use is intended) if you agree to abide by all applicable laws and the terms of this Agreement. Please read this Agreement carefully and save it. If you do not agree to be bound by this Agreement and to follow all applicable laws, you should leave the Site and discontinue use of the Photobucket Services immediately. If you wish to make use of the Photobucket Services, read this Agreement and reaffirm your acceptance during the registration process.

This Agreement includes Photobucket's policy for acceptable use of the Photobucket Services and Content (as defined in Section 6.1 below) posted on or through the Photobucket Services and your rights, obligations and restrictions regarding your use of the Photobucket Services and Content posted on or through the Photobucket Services. In order to participate in certain Photobucket Services, you may be notified that you are required to download software or content and/or agree to additional terms and conditions from Photobucket. Unless otherwise provided by the additional terms and conditions applicable to the Photobucket Services in which you choose to participate, those additional terms are hereby incorporated into this Agreement. You may receive a copy of this Agreement by emailing us at: tou@photobucket.com, Subject: Terms of Use Agreement.

Photobucket may modify or amend this Agreement without notice at any time and such modification will be effective upon posting by Photobucket on the Site. Your continued use of the Photobucket Services after Photobucket posts a revised Agreement signifies your acceptance of the revised Agreement. It is therefore important that you review this Agreement regularly to ensure you are updated as to any changes.

Please choose carefully the information you post on or through the Photobucket Services and that you make available directly or indirectly to other Users. Your Photobucket profile and any Content that you upload to Photobucket may not include any form of Prohibited Content, as outlined in Section 8 below. Despite this prohibition, information, materials, products or services provided by other Photobucket Users (for instance, in their profile or images/videos) may, in whole or in part, be unauthorized, impermissible or otherwise violate this Agreement, and Photobucket assumes no responsibility or liability for this material. If you become aware of misuse of the Photobucket Services by any person, please email abuse@photobucket.com and include in your email a URL to the material in question.

Photobucket reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject, refuse to post or remove any posting (including images or videos) by you, or to deny, restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to all or any part of the Photobucket Services at any time, for any or no reason, with or without prior notice or explanation, and without liability. Photobucket expressly reserves the right to remove any or all of your images, videos, account and profile and/or to deny, restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to all or any part of the Photobucket Services if Photobucket determines, in its sole discretion, that you have violated this Agreement or pose a threat to Photobucket and/or its Users.

Eligibility. Use of the Photobucket Services and/or registration to be a Member for the Photobucket Services ("Membership") is void where prohibited. By using the Photobucket Services, you represent and warrant that (a) all registration information you submit is truthful and accurate; (b) you will maintain the accuracy of such information; (c) you are 14 years of age or older; and (d) your use of the Photobucket Services does not violate any applicable law or regulation.

Term. This Agreement, and any posted revision to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect while you use the Photobucket Services. You may terminate your Membership at any time, for any reason, by following the instructions on the account options page. Photobucket may terminate your Membership at any time, without warning for any or no reason, with or without prior notice or explanation, and without liability. Even after Membership and/or your use of the Photobucket Services is terminated, this Agreement will remain in effect in its entirety.

Fees. Members are limited to one free account per person. You may also upgrade to a "PRO" account by paying a membership fee, in which case you are entitled to one free account (in addition to your PRO account). Your Photobucket account is solely for your own personal use and benefit. You are limited to the file size, bandwidth, and storage limitations related to your account level, as described on the account comparison page. Notwithstanding the above, you acknowledge that Photobucket reserves the right to charge for any portion of the Photobucket Services and to change its fees (if any) from time to time in its discretion. If Photobucket terminates your Membership because you have breached the Agreement, you shall not be entitled to the refund of any unused portion of fees or payments (if any).

Password. When you sign up to become a Member, you will also be asked to choose a password. You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password. You agree not to use the account, username, or password of another Member at any time or to disclose your password to any third party. You agree to notify Photobucket immediately if you suspect any unauthorized use of your account or access to your password. You are solely responsible for any and all use of your account.

Use by Users. The Photobucket Services are for the personal use of Users and may be used for promotional purposes as well, but direct commercial endeavors may only be used if they are specifically endorsed or authorized by Photobucket. Photobucket reserves the right to remove commercial content in its sole discretion. Illegal and/or unauthorized use of the Photobucket Services, including collecting usernames, user id numbers, and/or email addresses of Users by electronic or other means for the purpose of sending unsolicited email or unauthorized framing of or linking to the Site, or employing third-party promotional sites or software to promote profiles for money, is prohibited. Commercial advertisements, affiliate links, and other forms of unauthorized solicitation may be removed from images, videos and/or Member profiles without notice or explanation and may result in termination of Membership privileges. Photobucket reserves the right to take appropriate legal action for any illegal or unauthorized use of the Photobucket Services.

Proprietary Rights in Content on Photobucket.

6.1 Photobucket does not claim any ownership rights in the text, files, images, photos, video, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, applications, or any other materials (collectively, "Content") that you post on or through the Photobucket Services. By displaying or publishing ("posting") any Content on or through the Photobucket Services, you hereby grant to Photobucket and other users a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, worldwide, limited license to use, modify, delete from, add to, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce and translate such Content, including without limitation distributing part or all of the Site in any media formats through any media channels, except Content marked "private" will not be distributed outside the Photobucket Services. Photobucket and/or other Users may copy, print or display publicly available Content outside of the Photobucket Services, including without limitation, via the Site or third party websites or applications (for example, services allowing Users to order prints of Content or t-shirts and similar items containing Content). After you remove your Content from the Photobucket Website we will cease distribution as soon as practicable, and at such time when distribution ceases, the license to such Content will terminate. If after we have distributed your Content outside the Photobucket Website you change the Content's privacy setting to "private," we will cease any further distribution of such "private" Content outside the Photobucket Website as soon as practicable.
6.2 You represent and warrant that: (i) you own the Content posted by you on or through the Photobucket Services or otherwise have the right to grant the license set forth in this section, (ii) the posting and use of your Content on or through the Photobucket Services does not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, contract rights, intellectual property rights or any other rights of any person, and (iii) the posting of your Content on the Site does not result in a breach of contract between you and a third party. You agree to pay for all royalties, fees, and any other monies owing any person by reason of Content you post on or through the Photobucket Services.
6.3 The Photobucket Services contain Content of Photobucket ("Photobucket Content"). Photobucket Content is protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other laws, and Photobucket owns and retains all rights in the Photobucket Content and the Photobucket Services. Photobucket hereby grants you a limited, revocable, nonsublicensable license to reproduce and display the Photobucket Content (excluding any software code) solely for your personal use in connection with viewing the Site and using the Photobucket Services.
6.4 The Photobucket Services contain Content of Users and other Photobucket licensors. Except as provided within this Agreement, you may not copy, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, transmit, distribute, perform, display, or sell any Content appearing on or through the Photobucket Services.
6.5 Photobucket performs technical functions necessary to offer the Photobucket Services, including but not limited to transcoding and/or reformatting Content to allow its use throughout the Photobucket Services.
6.6 Although the Site and other Photobucket Services are normally available, there will be occasions when the Site or other Photobucket Services will be interrupted for scheduled maintenance or upgrades, for emergency repairs, or due to failure of telecommunications links and equipment that are beyond the control of Photobucket. Also, although Photobucket will normally only delete Content that violates this Agreement, Photobucket reserves the right to delete any Content for any reason, without prior notice. Deleted content may be stored by Photobucket in order to comply with certain legal obligations and is not retrievable without a valid court order. Consequently, Photobucket encourages you to maintain your own backup of your Content. In other words, Photobucket is not a backup service. Photobucket will not be liable to you for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Photobucket Services, or the loss of any Content.

Content Posted.

7.1 Photobucket may reject, refuse to post or delete any Content for any or no reason, including Content that in the sole judgment of Photobucket violates this Agreement or which may be offensive, illegal or violate the rights of any person or entity, or harm or threaten the safety of any person or entity. Photobucket assumes no responsibility for monitoring the Photobucket Services for inappropriate Content or conduct. However, on both free and PRO accounts, and regardless of whether the Content is public or private, Photobucket may choose to monitor such Content at any time, in its sole discretion. If at any time Photobucket chooses to monitor the Photobucket Services, Photobucket nonetheless assumes no responsibility for the Content, no obligation to modify or remove any inappropriate Content, and no responsibility for the conduct of the User submitting any such Content.
7.2 You are solely responsible for the Content that you post on or through any of the Photobucket Services, and any material or information that you transmit to other Users and for your interactions with other Users.

Content/Activity Prohibited. You must use the Photobucket Services in a manner consistent with any and all applicable laws and regulations. The following are examples of the kind of Content that is illegal or prohibited to post on or through the Photobucket Services. Photobucket reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in Photobucket's sole discretion, violates this provision, including without limitation, removing the offending Content from the Photobucket Services and terminating the Membership of such violators. Prohibited Content includes, but is not limited to, Content that, in the sole discretion of Photobucket:

8.1 is patently offensive or promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
8.2 harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
8.3 exploits people in a sexual or violent manner;
8.4 contains nudity, excessive violence, or offensive subject matter or contains a link to an adult website;
8.5 solicits personal information from anyone under 18;
8.6 publicly posts information that poses or creates a privacy or security risk to any person;
8.7 constitutes or promotes information that you know is false or misleading or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous;
8.8 constitutes or promotes an illegal or unauthorized copy of another person's copyrighted work;
8.9 involves the transmission of "junk mail," "chain letters," or unsolicited mass mailing, instant messaging, "spimming," or "spamming";
8.10 contains restricted or password only access pages or hidden pages or images (those not linked to or from another accessible page);
8.11 furthers or promotes any criminal activity or enterprise or provides instructional information about illegal activities including, but not limited to making or buying illegal weapons, violating someone's privacy, or providing or creating computer viruses;
8.12 solicits passwords or personal identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes from other Users;
8.13 involves commercial activities and/or sales without prior written consent from Photobucket such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising, or pyramid schemes;
8.14 includes a photograph or video of another person that you have posted without that person's consent; or
8.15 violates the privacy rights, publicity rights, defamation rights, copyrights, trademark rights, contract rights or any other rights of any person.

The following are examples of the kind of activity that is illegal or prohibited on the Site and through the use of the Photobucket Services. Photobucket reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in Photobucket's sole discretion, violates this provision, including without limitation, reporting you to law enforcement authorities. Prohibited activity includes, but is not limited to:

8.16 criminal or tortious activity, including child pornography or erotica, fraud, trafficking in obscene material, drug dealing, gambling, harassment, stalking, spamming, spimming, "pyramid scemes," Ponzi schemes, sending of viruses or other harmful files, copyright infringement, patent infringement, or theft of trade secrets;
8.17 advertising to, or solicitation of, any User to buy or sell any products or services through the unauthorized or impermissible use of the Photobucket Services. You may not transmit any chain letters or junk email to other Users.
8.18 circumventing or modifying, attempting to circumvent or modify, or encouraging or assisting any other person in circumventing or modifying any security technology or software that is part of the Photobucket Services
8.19 Forging any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any posting, or in any way use the Site or Photobucket Services to send altered, deceptive, or false source-identifying information;
8.20 activity that involves the use of viruses, bots, worms, or any other computer code, files or programs that interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware, or otherwise permit the unauthorized use of or access to a computer or a computer network;
8.21 interfering with the access of any User, host or network to the Site;
8.22 covering or obscuring the banner advertisements on your personal profile page, or any Photobucket page via HTML/CSS or any other means;
8.23 including any HTML, CSS or other coding on your personal profile page, including, without limitation, any hidden or otherwise surreptitiously contained code in the Content which is unrelated to the immediate aesthetic nature of the Content;
8.24 any automated use of the system, such as, but not limited to, using scripts to send images or videos;
8.25 interfering with, disrupting, or creating an undue burden on the Photobucket Services or the networks or services connected to the Photobucket Services;
8.26 impersonating or attempting to impersonate another User, person or entity;
8.27 using the account, username, or password of another Member at any time or disclosing your password to any third party or permitting any third party to access your account;
8.28 selling or otherwise transferring your profile;
8.29 using any information obtained from the Photobucket Services in order to harass, abuse, or harm another person or entity, or attempting to do the same;
8.30 displaying an unauthorized commercial advertisement on your profile, or accepting payment or anything of value from a third person in exchange for your performing any commercial activity through the unauthorized or impermissible use of the Photobucket Services on behalf of that person or
8.31 deleting, or in any manner altering, the copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights notices appearing on any Content except your own Content;
8.32 using any meta tags or other hidden text or metadata utilizing a Photobucket name, trademark, URL or product name without Photobucket's express written consent;
8.33 attempting to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of any Photobucket Service or breach any security or authentication measures;
8.34 collecting or store personal data about other users without their express permission;
8.35 impersonating or misrepresenting your affiliation with any person or entity, through pretexting or any other form of social engineering, or otherwise commiting fraud; or
8.36 using the Photobucket Services in a manner inconsistent with any and all applicable laws and regulations.

Member Disputes. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other Members. Photobucket reserves the right, but has no obligation, to resolve or arbitrate disputes between you and other Members.

Disclaimers. Photobucket is not responsible for and makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the Content or the accuracy and reliability of the Content posted on or through the Photobucket Services, whether caused by Users of the Photobucket Services or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Photobucket Services and such Content does not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Photobucket. Profiles and third-party applications created and posted by Users on the Site may contain links to other websites. Photobucket is not responsible for the content, accuracy or opinions expressed on such websites, and such websites are in no way investigated, monitored or checked for accuracy or completeness by Photobucket. Inclusion of any linked website on the Photobucket Services does not imply approval or endorsement of the linked website by Photobucket. When you access these third-party sites, you do so at your own risk. Photobucket takes no responsibility for third-party advertisements or third-party applications or services that are posted on or through the Photobucket Services, nor does it take any responsibility for the goods or services provided by its advertisers or third party websites or applications. Photobucket is not responsible for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any User of the Photobucket Services. Photobucket assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, any User communication. Photobucket is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email or players due to technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or on any of the Photobucket Services or combination thereof, including any injury or damage to Users or to any person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading materials in connection with the Photobucket Services. Under no circumstances shall Photobucket be responsible for any loss or damage, including personal injury or death, resulting from use of the Photobucket Services, from any Content posted on or through the Photobucket Services, or from the conduct of any Users of the Photobucket Services, whether online or offline. The Photobucket Services are provided "AS-IS" and as available and Photobucket expressly disclaims any warranty of fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement. Photobucket cannot guarantee and does not promise any specific results from use of the Photobucket Services.

Limitation on Liability. IN NO EVENT SHALL PHOTOBUCKET BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFIT DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE PHOTOBUCKET SERVICES, EVEN IF PHOTOBUCKET HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, PHOTOBUCKET'S LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION, WILL AT ALL TIMES BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID, IF ANY, BY YOU TO PHOTOBUCKET FOR THE PHOTOBUCKET SERVICES DURING THE TERM OF MEMBERSHIP.

U.S. Export Controls. Software available in connection with the Photobucket Services (the "Software") is further subject to United States export controls. No Software may be downloaded from the Photobucket Services or otherwise exported or re-exported in violation of U.S. export laws. Downloading or using the Software is at your sole risk.

Disputes. The Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You and Photobucket agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within the State of New York to resolve any dispute arising out of the Agreement or the Photobucket Services. EACH OF THE PARTIES HEREBY KNOWINGLY, VOLUNTARILY AND INTENTIONALLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY LITIGATION (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY CLAIMS, COUNTERCLAIMS, CROSS-CLAIMS, OR THIRD PARTY CLAIMS) ARISING OUT OF, UNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT. FURTHER, EACH PARTY HERETO CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE OR AGENT OF EITHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH PARTY WOULD NOT IN THE EVENT OF SUCH LITIGATION, SEEK TO ENFORCE THIS WAIVER OF RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL PROVISION. EACH OF THE PARTIES ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THIS SECTION IS A MATERIAL INDUCEMENT FOR THE OTHER PARTY ENTERING INTO THIS AGREEMENT.

Indemnity. You agree to indemnify and hold Photobucket, its subsidiaries, and affiliates, and their respective officers, agents, partners and employees, harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the Photobucket Services in violation of this Agreement and/or arising from a breach of this Agreement and/or any breach of your representations and warranties set forth in this Agreement and/or if any Content that you post on or through the Photobucket Services causes Photobucket to be liable to another.

Protecting Copyrights and Other Intellectual Property. Photobucket respects the intellectual property of others, and requires that our users do the same. You may not upload, embed, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that infringes any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights of any person or entity. Photobucket has the right to terminate the Membership of infringers. If you believe your work has been copied and posted on or through the Photobucket Services in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please follow the procedures set forth in the Photobucket Copyright and IP Policy.

Other. This Agreement is accepted upon your use of the Site or any of the Photobucket Services and is further affirmed by you becoming a Member. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and Photobucket regarding the use of the Photobucket Services. The failure of Photobucket to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not operate as a waiver of such right or provision. The section titles in this Agreement are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. This Agreement operates to the fullest extent permissible by law. If any provision of this Agreement is unlawful, void or unenforceable, that provision is deemed severable from this Agreement and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

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