General Terms and Conditions of business for the free services of the Lycos Europe GmbH
Version as of 16.05.2007 (previous version available here)
Table of contents
- Scope
- Applicable Law / Forum
- Conclusion of the Contract
- Right of Withdrawal
- Requirements for subscription / Access / Access-Data
- Contact Details of the User
- Responsibility for Minors
- Data Protection
- Grant of Rights by Lycos
- User-Content
- Further Responsibility and Obligations of the User
- Inactivity
- Warranty Exclusions / Limitation of Liability
- Change of Service or Provider
- Change of Terms and Conditions
- Term and Termination
- Consequences of Termination
- Additional Terms for Individual Services
I. Scope
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The usage of the free Lycos Services ("Lycos services") is restricted to persons living or permanently established in Europe. The Usage of the Lycos services is subject to the following terms and conditions of the Lycos Europe GmbH, Carl-Bertelsmann-Str. 29, 33332 Gütersloh, Germany ("Lycos"). By subscribing and/or using the services you agree to abide by the applicable law and these terms and conditions. These terms and conditions are not stored individually for each contractual party. You may access these terms and conditions at any time via a link at the bottom of the page www.lycos.co.uk. Individual services in the Lycos network will be provided in co-operation with partners. Further or different conditions of use for these services may apply.
These terms and conditions also fully apply to services which are accessible through mobile device.
II. Applicable Law / Forum
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This contract will be governed by English law.
If you are acting in a business or professional capacity you agree that any action arising out of or related to this agreement must be brought exclusively in the court of Gütersloh, Germany and Lycos reserves the right to sue you at your registered place of business.
III. Conclusion of the Contract
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If the usage of a service requires prior registration, your registration is an offer to conclude a contract with Lycos pursuant to the description of the service and these terms and conditions. The individual steps for registration are explained to you during registration. Until the end of the registration process you may alter and rectify the data you enter. There will be no contract of any kind between you and Lycos unless and until Lycos accepts your offer by sending a Welcome-Email to your Email-account provided by Lycos or an alternative Email-Account submitted by you or by providing the service (whichever happens earlier).
If registration is not required, your use of service is an offer to conclude a contract with Lycos pursuant to these terms and conditions. Lycos accepts your offer by providing the service. IV. Right of Withdrawal
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You may cancel your contract up to 7 days from registration by contacting Lycos at lycaccde@lycos-europe.com as long as the provision of the service has not started. Once the provision of the service has started, your right to cancel the contract will not apply, although you can terminate this agreement at any time as set out below.
V. Requirements for subscription / Access / Access-Data
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Certain Lycos Services can only be used after registering as a member. A member can be anyone who has fully and truthfully completed the registration form ('Registration Data'). During registration you must choose a member name and a password ('Access Data'). You must keep the Registration Data up to date. The registration and the membership itself are free of charge. The membership and services associated with Lycos services are not transferable. You must not abuse the services by multiple registrations.
With regard to certain Lycos Services Lycos will send after registration an activation Email to the Email-account submitted by you. In this event the service will not be made fully avaible before the steps set out in the activatione Email have been followed.
You undertake to protect your Access Data against unauthorised use by third parties. You must keep the Access Data confidential and must not disclose it or share it with anyone. You will be responsible for all activities and transactions that occur or are submitted under your Access Data. If you know or suspect that someone else knows your Access Data you should notify Lycos at lycaccde@lycos-europe.com immediately. If Lycos has reason to believe that there is likely to be a breach of security or misuse of the Lycos services, Lycos may require you to change your Access Data. In the event that it is impossible for you to do so, you must immediately inform Lycos by email to changepassword@lycos-europe.com .
VI. Contact Details of the User
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You must provide Lycos with a valid means to contact you for the purpose of receiving notices from Lycos with regard to this contract. You may fulfil this obligation by activating your Lycos-email-account or by submitting an alternative and active email-address.
VII. Responsibility for Minors
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In the event that parents or guardians consent to minors using the Lycos services for which registration is compulsory, they accept their responsibility for the conduct of minors online, the access controls, as well as for the consequences arising from misuse of Lycos services by minors. The parents or guardians acknowledge that some offers made by Lycos' network comprise contents which are unsuitable for minors.
VIII. Data Protection
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Lycos respects users' privacy and complies with all applicable data protection requirements.
Personal data which Lycos collects or processes during registration and during the provision of the Lycos Services will only be used by Lycos in accordance with data protection laws. Lycos collects, processes and uses your personal data in accordance with the purposes of this contract, particularly for the purpose of providing the services.
The free Lycos Services are partially sponsored by advertisement. Accordingly you agree and acknowledge the following by registering:
- Every User will occasionally receive Emails which may contain certain information on products and services of Lycos or third parties. These Emails are part of the Lycos Services and cannot be unsubscribed separately unless the service itself is being unsubscribed. The Emails will contain further information.
- Advertisement connected to the Lycos Services is customised. This means the content of the advertisement is influence by the contents created by the user (excluding any content of Emails) and customised user interface (e.g. the way you user the service, the creation of so called "tags"). This process is automated. Such advertisement is part of Lycos Services and cannot be unsubscribed separately unless the service itself is being unsubscribed.
Furthermore, Lycos uses your personal for the purpose of consulting, advertising and market research, not against your explicit will. If you have given your consent enabling Lycos to process your data for market research or other purposes, you may withdraw your consent at any time by sending an email with your member name to [datenschutz@lycos-europe.com].
If consent to the use of personal data is a prerequisite for using a particular service, minors may only give such consent if they are fully aware of the consequences of such consent.
Apart from mainly being processed in Germany, your data will also be processed in other EU member states and in Armenia by Lycos´ affiliate Lycos Armenia.
For further information on data protection, please refer to our privacy statement.
IX. Grant of Rights by Lycos
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All material within the Lycos network, including all texts, software, the source codes for HTML, Java and Flash, photos, videos, graphics, music and sounds, is protected by copyright. The downloading and use of material protected by copyright which has been provided by Lycos is permitted for your private use and may not be used commercially
Material of third parties protected by copyright which is provided by Lycos may only be used with an explicit licence given by such party or by Lycos.
X. User-Content
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Lycos offers you a variety of possibilities for publishing (e.g. private homepages, weblogs, linklists, dating services, online storage, discussion forums) and exchanging (e.g. via Email or Chat) information, data, data banks, texts, links, software, music, sounds, photos, graphics, videos, news or other material ("Content"). In most cases your Content is displayed together with advertisements for goods or services of Lycos or third parties.
1. Accessibility
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You acknowledge that Lycos cannot control internet traffic. Accordingly, Lycos cannot guarantee that access to your Content will be uninterrupted or entirely error free. Lycos will not be liable for any damage which may arise from interrupted access to your Content or from the loss of Content.
2. Responsibility
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You are fully responsible for your Content. Lycos does not monitor or endorse your Content and explicitly disclaims responsibility for your Content.
3. Publication of Content
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You authorise the use of your Content for the purpose of publishing, displaying and advertising the Content within - and associated with - the service selected by you, or within the whole Lycos network or third party networks.
By submitting Content for publication within a Lycos service, you grant Lycos an unlimited, world-wide, non-exclusive licence free of charge, including the right to grant sublicences, to copy, transmit, disseminate and make publicly available, integrate in compilations and distribute the Content and extracts of the Content. This licence includes without limitation the right to make the Content and extracts of the Content accessible via mobile devices through WAP, MMS, SMS, I-mode and comparable formats and the right to adapt the Content to such data formats.
4. Blocking and Deletion of Content
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Lycos reserves the right to reject Content. Lycos reserves the right to block access to Content if Lycos reasonably believes that such Content breaches applicable laws, infringes third party rights or violates these terms and conditions. As far as economically reasonable and technically feasible blocking will be limited to the relevant Content. Such blocking may persist until the matter is resolved. In such an event you will have the opportunity to give your views on the matter. Lycos reserves the right to delete Content if required by a court or a public authority.
XI. Further Responsibility and Obligations of the User
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When using the Lycos services you have to comply with the following rules:
- You have to comply with the applicable laws, including but not limited to provisions on the protection of minors, provisions on the protection of intellectual property rights and provisions on the protection of personal rights. Content of a third party protected by copyright may only be used with consent of the right holder. In particular you must not offer music or software for download or copy which is protected by a third party's copyright or patent without the consent of the right holder.
- You are obliged to endorse any Content which you pubblish with an imprint which, without limitation to statutory provisions, at least shows your full postal address
- Lycos services must not be used for the collection or dissemination of illegal Content.
- You must not make requests for and commit criminal offences, or contribute to them by using Lycos services. You must not provide instructions for committing criminal offences.
- You must not disseminate, publish or communicate Content which is defamatory, libellous, obscene, racial, violent, discriminating, pornographic or threatening. You must treat other persons and their cultural, religious and philosophical concerns with respect.
- Lycos services must not be used for any form of commercial advertisement (including commercial links and telephone numbers).
- You are requested to make backup copies of your Content.
- You must not hack and disseminate viruses. You must not use scripts to manipulate any service. You must not send spam Emails.
- You may not use the free services of Lycos for initiating or entering into legal transactions in a commercial or professional capacity.
XII. Inactivity
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To avoid an unnecessary storage of Content submitted by you after you have stopped using the Lycos Services, Lycos reserves the right to delete such Content including existing Email-messages as well as your access rights, after a period of 90 days of inactivity (no manual login or automated access to your customer account).
The same applies to Websites (e.g. private homepage, blogs) created by you which have not been accessed for a period of 90 days or longer.An Email address which Lycos has provided to you will be available for reactivation by you for another 90 days. After that such Email address will be free for registration by others.
The above described deletion, may also take place, in the event that after your very first login into your customer account for a particular service there is not a second login for a period of 10 days.
XIII. Warranty Exclusions / Limitation of Liability
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The Lycos services are provided by Lycos without any warranties or guarantees. You must bear the risks associated with the use of the internet.
The Lycos services include content from other internet sites or resources and while Lycos tries to ensure that material included as part of the Lycos services is correct, reputable and of high quality, it cannot accept responsibility if this is not the case. Lycos will not be responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information or for any technical problems you may experience with the Lycos services.
In particular, Lycos disclaims all liabilities in connection with the following:
- incompatibility of the Lycos Services with any of your equipment, software or telecommunications links
- technical problems including errors or interruptions of the Lycos Services
- unsuitability, unreliability or inaccuracy of the Lycos Services
- inadequacy of the Lycos services to meet your requirements
To the full extent allowed by applicable law, you agree that Lycos will not be liable to you or any third party for any consequential or incidental damages (including but not limited to loss of revenue, loss of profits, loss of anticipated savings, wasted expenditure, loss of privacy and loss of data) or any other indirect, special or punitive damages whatsoever that arise out of or are related to the Lycos Services.
Nothing in these general terms and conditions of business shall exclude Lycos' liability for personal injury or death caused by its negligence.
XIV. Change of Service or Provider
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For free services, Lycos can determine at its discretion which services are to be provided and to what extent. Limitations, extensions and other modifications of these services by Lycos are permissible at any time and they will be subject to the applicable conditions for subscribers.
Lycos reserves the right to assign, transfer or novate the rights and obligations pursuant to this contract to a third party.
XV. Change of Terms and Conditions
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Lycos reserves the right to modify these general terms and conditions of business.
You are requested to regularly check for updates of these terms and conditions on Lycos' web pages.
Any changes to these terms and conditions will be notified to you via the Email address provided by you on registration or via a suitable announcement on Lycos' web pages. The changes will apply to the use of the Lycos Services after Lycos has given notice. If you do not wish to accept the new terms and conditions you should not continue to use the Lycos Services. If you continue to use the Lycos Services after the date on which the change comes into effect, your use of the Lycos Services indicates your agreement to be bound by the new terms and conditions.
XVI. Term and Termination
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This agreement does not have a specific term.
Either party may terminate this agreement by giving to the other 4 weeks notice.
Lycos may suspend or terminate your use of the Lycos services immediately at its reasonable discretion if you breach any of your obligations under these terms and conditions.
The suspension or termination of your use of the Lycos Services shall not affect either party's rights or liabilities.
You may give notice of termination by sending an email containing your member name to lycaccde@lycos-europe.com.
XVII. Consequences of Termination
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With the effective date of any termination or expiry of this agreement Lycos will erase your Content and access rights.
Sections XI, XII and XIII of these terms and conditions shall survive termination.
XVIII. Additional Terms for Individual Services
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Lycos offers various services on the internet. These services are different according to their purpose and nature. The following supplementary conditions apply to the use of the relevant individual services.
1. Jubii
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Jubii is a communication platform that offers its users the following:
- A variety of different communication channels (e.g. Email, SMS and Instant Messaging)
- Online Storage and File Sharing (e.g. pictures, videos and documents)
- Contacts management and administration
Jubii organises incoming Emails according to its trustworthiness into different files and/or highlights Emails. The criteria for an Email to be assessed as trusted are derived from the previous behavior of the user (e.g. is the sender listed in the contacts; in which frequency has the user answered to the senders Emails; have the Emails of the sender been deleted immediately).
Jubii provides Spam and Virus filters to protect the Lycos data processing system as well as your mailbox. Emails which are classified as suspicious of being spamm are - if applicable - marked and transferred into designated folders and may be checked by you. Lycos explicitly disclaims any warranty that the filters filter all spam or viruses or other malicious software.
To any Email sent via Jubii, Lycos may attach a text with regard to the origin and funding of the Lycos Service (e.g. "powered by Lycos") as well as advertising.Using Jubii for dispatching Email en masse ('spamming'), mail bombing and every other form of advertising or marketing messages, is not permitted and the user will be entirely responsible for such actions. You must not disguise or conceal your identity when sending an Email.
2. Free Hosting Space
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As far as your chosen Lycos service provides you with online storage space for publishing Content on the world-wide web (e.g. free webhosting, weblogs, linklists, expert networks, dating services) the following applies:
Lycos will not be responsible for any faults or any technical problems you may experience with the online storage or the storage medium.
The member is not allowed to provide storage space to third parties for storing data, or to use the storage space other than the scope of Lycos services.In the event you embed Content which is stored by Lycos into websites outside of the Lycos Network, Lycos reserves the right to disable such embedding or to endorse such content with text disclosing the fact that the Content is hosted by Lycos (e.g. "hosted at Lycos").
Lycos reserves the right to limit the space of the online storage provided to you.
3. Chat / Discussion Forum
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It is forbidden to trade in the chat or the discussion forum.
4. Financial Information
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Among other things, Lycos provides services in co-operation with partners who convey information regarding investments.
Stock exchange prices for securities and fund prices are provided for private use. All stock exchange pricing information is represented differently, depending on the selected stock exchange and type of security; with a usual delay of 15 minutes.
Despite meticulous procurement and provision, Lycos and its partners do not provide any warranty for the correctness, completeness or accuracy of information about stock exchanges and commerce, including stock exchange prices, indices, prices, reports, general market data and other accessible contents ('financial information'). The financial information as well as the results generated and displayed by the presentational tools offered, are made available for information purposes only and they do not represent any investment advice or other legally binding recommendation.
Advice on copyright and brand designations must not be either altered or removed. All negotiations made about these matters require an advance written approval from Lycos. The setting-up of hyper links from other web pages to one of the web pages belonging to this online offer, is expressly prohibited without the advance, written approval of Lycos. In particular, it is prohibited to link or represent web pages belonging to this online offer or their contents, by using a hyperlink in a partial window (frame).
Where financial information is provided at the member's request as a short message (SMS) to a mobile telephone, the member can arrange for it to be provided exclusively to his/her own mobile telephone number. Otherwise, these rules apply to the sending of short messages (SMS), insofar as they are - by nature - usable after the financial information has been sent through Lycos.
The sending of financial information as short messages will be stopped after four weeks if the member has not used them in the area of 'financial information' within this period.
5. WLAN Service
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The WLAN service offers a possibility to register a WLAN-access-point (“Hotspot”). You may only register a Hotspot if you are the owner or entitled by the owner to do so.
6. Sonique Media Player
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The 'Sonique' media player as well as the software for manufacturing plug-ins and skins, are offered to you as a free download, subject to the terms and conditions made available during the installation procedure.
Lycos is not liable for faults in the 'Sonique' software, nor for any damages arising from it (including faulty data transmission, faults in the network infrastructure, effects on system stability, etc.).
The offer of skins is only allowed to members over the age of 18.