Terms of use
PETS VS MONSTERS TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF WEBSITE and GAME USE
Updated January 2013.
This Website and Pets vs. Monsters game is provided by Funcom GmBH ( “Funcom" and "we") , headquartered at Lavaterstrasse 45,8002 Zürich, Switzerland. Your use of this Website and “Pets vs. Monsters”, (our “Game) is subject to these Terms and Conditions of Website Use (the "User Agreement"). Please read this User Agreement and the other information referred or linked to in this User Agreement carefully and be sure you understand it, since it is a legally binding agreement that contains important information about our Website and your permitted use of it. From time to time we may unilaterally modify this User Agreement, so it is important that you review this User Agreement every time you use this Website.
By checking the Agreement acceptance box or by using our website and/or game, you represent that you are of legal age in your jurisdiction and are accepting this Agreement in its entirety either on behalf of yourself or your minor child. If you do not affirmatively accept this Agreement, you decline our offer and you are not permitted to download or use the Software or access the Game.IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS USER AGREEMENT, THEN YOU MAY NOT USE THIS WEBSITE OR THE GAME.
1. Right to Use this Website and the Game
Funcom grants you a limited, non-exclusive, revocable license for you to use this Website and the Game for your personal entertainment, information, education, and communication, upon all of the terms of this User Agreement. This Website contains materials and other items relating to Funcom and its products and services, and similar items from our business partners, licensors, and licensees, and other third parties (collectively, the "Content"). The Content may be in the form of information, text, data, images, graphics, button icons, registered and unregistered trademarks, illustrations, photographs, audio clips, music, sounds, pictures, videos, software, or other forms and formats now known or later invented. In using this Website or the Game, you must respect the intellectual property rights of Funcom and others, all as outlined below. Your unauthorized use of Content may violate copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, communications, and other laws, and any such use may result in your personal liability, including potential criminal liability.
1.1 No Violation of Laws. You agree that you will not, in connection with your use of Game client or the Service, violate any applicable law or regulation. You will not make available through the Service any material or information that infringes any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other right of any party (including rights of privacy or publicity).
1.2 Misuse of Service. You may not connect to or use the Service in any way not expressly permitted by this Agreement. Without limiting the foregoing, you agree that you will not (a) institute, assist, or become involved in any type of attack, including without limitation denial of service attacks, upon the Service or otherwise attempt to disrupt the Service or any other person's use of the Service; or (b) attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, Accounts registered to other players, or the computer systems or networks connected to the Service. Or (c) use any software to modify the Software to change the Game play;(d) create, facilitate, host, link to or provide any other means through which the Game may be played by others through interception, emulation or redirection of the communication protocols used by Funcom, including without limitation through protocol emulation, tunneling, data mining, packet sniffing, modifying or adding components to the Game, use of a utility program or any other technique now known or hereafter developed, for any purpose including but not limited to unauthorized network play over the internet, network play utilizing commercial or non-commercial gaming networks, or as part of content aggregation networks;
1.3 No Data Mining. You agree that you will not (a) obtain or attempt to obtain any information from the Service or any Game using any method not expressly permitted by Funcom; (b) intercept, examine or otherwise observe any proprietary communications protocol used by a client or the Service, whether through the use of a network analyzer, packet sniffer or other device; (c) use any third-party software to collect information from or through a Game client or the Service, including without limitation information about your character, any Account registered to you, virtual items, other players, or other Game data.
1.4 User Content. "User Content" means any communications, images, sounds, and all the material and information that you upload or transmit through a Game client or the Service, or that other users upload or transmit, including without limitation any chat text. You hereby grant Funcom a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, paid-up, non-exclusive, license, including the right to sublicense to third parties, and right to reproduce, fix, adapt, modify, translate, reformat, create derivative works from, manufacture, introduce into circulation, publish, distribute, sell, license, sublicense, transfer, rent, lease, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, or provide access to electronically, broadcast, communicate to the public by telecommunication, display, perform, enter into computer memory, and use and practice such User Content as well as all modified and derivative works thereof. To the extent permitted by applicable laws, you hereby waive any moral rights you may have in any User Content.
1.5 Content Screening and Disclosure. We do not, and cannot, pre-screen or monitor all User Content. However, our representatives may monitor and/or record your communications (including without limitation chat text) when you are using the Service or playing a Game, and you hereby provide your irrevocable consent to such monitoring and recording. You acknowledge and agree that you have no expectation of privacy concerning the transmission of any User Content, including without limitation chat text or voice communications. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for User Content that is generated by users. We have the right, but not the obligation, in our sole discretion to edit, refuse to post, or remove any User Content. WE ALSO RESERVE THE RIGHT, AT ALL TIMES AND IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION, TO DISCLOSE ANY USER CONTENT AND OTHER INFORMATION (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION CHAT TEXT, VOICE COMMUNICATIONS, IP ADDRESSES, AND YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION) FOR ANY REASON, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION (A) TO SATISFY ANY APPLICABLE LAW, REGULATION, LEGAL PROCESS OR GOVERNMENTAL REQUEST; (B) TO ENFORCE THE TERMS OF THIS OR ANY OTHER AGREEMENT FUNCOM POLICY; (C) TO PROTECT OUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND REMEDIES; (D) WHERE WE FEEL SOMEONE'S HEALTH OR SAFETY MAY BE THREATENED; OR (E) TO REPORT A CRIME OR OTHER OFFENSIVE BEHAVIOR.
1.6 Commercial Restrictions. You will not, except in connection with Funcom authorized services, buy, sell or auction (or host or facilitate the ability to allow others to buy, sell or auction) the Game, an Account, any characters, items, coin or copyrighted material or any other Rights owned or controlled by us or our licensors, or otherwise exploit the Game or Software for any commercial purpose.
2. Intellectual Property. All Content is copyrighted, and it is either owned or used with permission by Funcom. Funcom disclaims any representation or warranty that your unauthorized use of Content will not infringe upon rights of third parties not owned by or affiliated with Funcom.
Except as set forth in this User Agreement or in the text of this Website, you may not reproduce, distribute, publish, transmit, modify, adapt, translate, display, distribute, sell, license, publicly perform, prepare derivative works based upon, or otherwise use or exploit the Content. You may download one copy of portions of the Content in temporary storage on one personal computer for your personal, non-commercial, non-political, non-networked viewing and use only, provided you do not delete or change any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices. The foregoing limited right does not give you any ownership of any Content. Except as expressly provided above, nothing contained in this User Agreement may be construed as conferring to you (by implication, estoppels, or otherwise) any license or right to any Content under any copyright or any other intellectual property right.
Trademarks
The trademarks, logos, and service marks displayed on this Website are owned by Funcom and third parties, and this Website's trade dress is owned by Funcom(collectively, the "Trademarks", which also constitute Content). All Trademarks not owned by Funcom are the property of their respective owners, and are used with permission. Nothing contained on this Website may be construed as granting, by implication, estoppels, or otherwise, any right or license to use any Trademark.
3. Your Communications to Funcom;
Funcom does not accept or consider any ideas or suggestions relating to products, services, marketing plans, or any other matters. Do not send to Funcom any unsolicited materials, such as ideas games, or other products, or any other suggestions, ideas, notes, drawings, inventions, techniques, models, designs, concepts, or other similar information, materials or user-generated content.
Any such submissions and any questions, comments, answers, suggestions, or the like submitted by you to Funcom via this Website or by fax, mail, or otherwise, or transmitted, posted, or uploaded by you to this Website or game(collectively, "Your Submissions") will be treated as non-confidential and nonproprietary, and Funcom will not assume any responsibility, obligation, or liability for them or for Funcom's receipt or non-receipt of them. Funcom's receipt of Your Submissions is not an admission by Funcom of their novelty, priority, or originality, and it does not impair Funcom's right to contest existing or future intellectual property rights relating to Your Submissions.
When you send e-mail to us, or post to us by way of a web form or in game, you are communicating with us electronically and you consent to receive communications from us electronically. Furthermore, you agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.
4. Scheduled and Unscheduled Service Interruptions
The Game is an "online" game that must be played over the internet and Funcom reserves the right to interrupt, modify , suspend, cancel or terminate the Software or the Game with or without prior notice for any reason or no reason. You agree that Funcom will not be liable for any interruption, delay or failure of the Software or the Game to perform, and you understand that you shall not be entitled to any refund of fees or compensation for interruption to your use of the Software or the Game or any failure of the Software or the Game to perform.
5. Community Areas; Code of Conduct
Funcom may elect to offer community features on this Website, such as message or bulletin boards, forums, and /or chat rooms. In such events, Funcom will not assume any obligation to monitor, filter, censor, edit, or regulate information or content provided by you or third parties on this Website, although Funcom reserves the right to do so in its sole discretion. Funcom does not endorse, warrant the accuracy or reliability of, or assume any liability in connection with any such information or content provided by users or other third parties.
As to any information or content that you upload or post to this Website or the game, you represent and warrant to Funcom that you have the right and authorization to do so without the consent of any third party. You also agree not to upload or post to this Website: (a) infringing, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, threatening, abusive, violent, illegal, rude, harassing, or otherwise improper content, (b) viruses or other harmful items, or (c) content with a commercial purpose (such as offers to sell products or services or attempts to solicit funds or advertise products or services).
Funcom reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to adopt additional rules in any community area and to condition access to any such community features by any individual or group in accordance with age, geographic, or other criteria, to deny or restrict access by any individual or group who fails to meet that criteria or by anyone who fails to comply with our criteria or rules at any time, and to change or modify the criteria or rules at any time. Funcom also reserves the right (but does not assume any obligation), in its sole discretion, to delete any postings on this Website that violate this User Agreement and to deny access by any user to this Website and the Game.
6. Accounts
Pets vs. Monsters may permit or require you to create an account to participate or to obtain additional benefits. You agree to provide, maintain and update true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by our registration processes (the "Registration Data"). You shall not impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or entity, including using another person's username, password or other account information, or another person's name or likeness. You acknowledge that you may not sublicense, transfer, sell, or assign Your Membership or Account ID. Any attempt to sublicense, transfer, auction, sell or assign the Membership or Account ID is void, and such attempts, regardless of whether made by Account Holder, will result in immediate termination of Account.
You also agree to promptly notify us at Pets Vs. Monsters support of any unauthorized use of your username, password, other account information, or any other breach of security that you become aware of involving or relating to the Site and or your account.
Failure to comply to with the game’s privacy policy, terms of use and or rules of conduct may result in suspension or termination of your account.
Access to the Service is available immediately on payment of the subscription transaction fee and fees are not refundable once the user has accessed the Service.
The period of the auto-renewal of any subscription shall be the same as the period of initial subscription, unless otherwise disclosed to You at the time of purchase. Any charges made in connection with recurring payments or automatic renewals shall be made at the rate that was in effect at the time of original purchase of the service, unless we notify you of a change before such charge is made.
You agree to pay all fees and applicable taxes incurred by you or anyone using an Account registered to you. Funcom may revise the pricing for the goods and services offered through the Service, including without limitation subscription plans for any Game, at any time. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT FUNCOM IS NOT REQUIRED TO PROVIDE A REFUND FOR ANY REASON, AND THAT YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A REFUND FOR PREPAID TIME OR ITEMS WHEN THE ACCOUNT IS CLOSED, WHETHER SUCH CLOSURE WAS VOLUNTARY OR INVOLUNTARY.
7. Virtual Goods and Services
From time to time, You may purchase goods or services on our site or within our game.. You acknowledge that only an adult (18 years or older) can enter into and complete any such transaction.
When you register for the game or Site and other ongoing services you have the right to cancel your subscription in writing up to 14 working days after subscribing , however once you have accessed the service the subscription fees are non-refundable.
Account Cancellation: You may contact us to cancel an auto-renewal or recurring charge as disclosed to You by logging into the account page and cancelling your account.
You have no right or title in or to any items or services within the Site or Game, and we may control, modify, discontinue manage or otherwise regulate these items from time to time . You understand that these items cannot be traded outside of the virtual world for money or other items for value.
8. Investigations; Cooperation with Law Enforcement; Termination
Funcom reserves the right, without any limitation whatsoever, to: (a) investigate any suspected breaches of its Website security or its information technology or other systems or networks, (b) investigate any suspected breaches of this User Agreement, (c) involve and cooperate with law enforcement authorities in investigating any such matters, (d) prosecute violators of this User Agreement to the full extent of the law, and (e) discontinue this Website or terminate your access to it at any time, without notice, for any reason and without any obligation to you whatsoever.
9. Security and Privacy Measures
Funcom must collect certain information in order to operate this Website and to fulfill your requests or enable participation in certain online activities. Funcom respects the privacy of its visitors, and is especially mindful of protecting the privacy of young children. Please review the Privacy Policy here: http://www.petsvsmonsters.com/en/privacy
You acknowledge that any and all character data that is stored and is resident on our servers, and any and all communications that you make within the Game (including, but not limited to, messages solely directed at another player or group of players) utilize our servers and may or may not be monitored by us or our agents, you have no expectation of privacy in any such communications and you expressly consent to such monitoring of communications you send and receive.
We have adopted reasonable security measures to protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of the personal information under our control. We use Secure Sockets Layer technology to protect credit card data during transmission, and adopt careful internal procedures to safeguard this information in our system. Vendors, service providers, and others who help us make this Website and our products and services available must sign confidentiality agreements; they are not permitted to use personal information except in connection with their services to Funcom and must agree to adhere to industry-accepted best practices to safeguard personal information. Nevertheless, we cannot guarantee complete security of personal information.
When running, the Game may monitor your computers random access memory for unauthorized third party programs running concurrently with the Game which, in Funcom’s sole determination: (i) enable or facilitate cheating of any type; (ii) allow users to modify or hack the Game interface, environment, and/or experience in any way not expressly authorized by Funcom; or (iii) intercept, "mine" or otherwise collect information from or through the Game (an "Unauthorized Third Party Program"). In the event that the Game detects an Unauthorized Third Party Program, (a) the Game may communicate information back to Funcom, including without limitation your Account username, details about the Unauthorized Third Party Program detected and the activities or functions performed thereby, and/or (b) Funcom may exercise any or all of its rights and remedies under this Agreement.
10. Disclaimers and Limitations of Liability
This Website and the Game may include technical inaccuracies or other errors, and your use and browsing of this Website is at your own risk.
THIS WEBSITE AND THE GAME IS PROVIDED TO YOU "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. FUNCOM DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THIS WEBSITE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR ACHIEVE A PARTICULAR RESULT, OR THAT YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT THIS WEBSITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. THE DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS CONTAINED IN THIS PARAGRAPH ARE A MATERIAL PART OF OUR AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE THIS WEBSITE TO YOU. SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE LAW, YOU ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. WE DO NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF ANY CONTENT. YOU HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVE ANY CLAIM AGAINST US WITH RESPECT TO CONTENT AND ANY CONTENT YOU PROVIDE TO THIRD PARTY SITES (INCLUDING CREDIT CARD AND OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION), TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.
FUNCOM IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE OR YOUR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE. IN NO CASE SHALL FUNCOM BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, ANY GAME OR ANY GAME CLIENT. IN NO CASE SHALL THE LIABILITY OF FUNCOM EXCEED THE AMOUNT THAT YOU PAID TO US DURING THE SIX (6) MONTHS PRIOR TO THE TIME YOUR CAUSE OF ACTION AROSE.
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR ANY DISPUTE WITH FUNCOM IS TO STOP USING THE SERVICE, AND TO BLOCK ACCESS TO THE APPLICATION.
11. Links on this Website to and from Other Sites
This Website may contain links to or from third-party sites ("Linked Sites"), including, without limitation, sites operated by advertisers, licensors, licensees, and promotional and business partners of Funcom. Funcom has no control over the content of Linked Sites, and Funcom does not assume any obligation to review any Linked Sites. Funcom does not endorse, approve, or sponsor any Linked Sites, or any content, advertising, information, materials, products, services, or other items on or available on or from them, and Funcom disclaims all liability in connection therewith. We require service providers and trusted vendors who operate websites on our behalf to safeguard the privacy of any personal information they handle, adhere to industry-accepted best practices to safeguard personal information, respect our intellectual property rights and the rights of third parties, and operate in accordance with all applicable requirements.
12. Banners, Advertisements, Offer Walls and Promotions
We reserve the right to post banners, advertisements, promotions, and similar content throughout this Website and within the Game. Third-party advertisers and firms that serve ads may operate under terms and conditions and privacy policies that differ from Funcom's policies, so please review them carefully. Any interactions, correspondence, and business dealings that you have with any advertisers and other third parties found on or through this Website (including via Linked Sites) are solely between you and the third party (including, without limitation, issues related to the content of third party advertisements, payments, delivery of goods, warranties, privacy and data security and the like). Funcom disclaims all liability in connection with therewith.
13. General Provisions
13. 1 Indemnity
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Funcom(which includes Funcom’s affiliates and subsidiaries) and its officers, employees, agents, business partners, licensors, and licensees from any damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) on account of any claim, suit, action, demand, or proceeding made or brought against any such party, or on account of the investigation, defense, or settlement thereof, arising in connection with your use of this Website.
13. 2 Revisions to this Website and this User Agreement
Funcom may, in its sole discretion, make changes to any aspect of this Website, including, without limitation, any Content, any activities available on this Website, and any products or services offered through this Website. Funcom may also, in its sole discretion, revise this User Agreement by updating or revising this document, with the revised terms taking effect as of the date of its posting. Continued use of this Website following the effective date of any such changes constitutes your acceptance of those changes.
13.3 Operation of Website; Availability of Products and Services
Funcom controls and operates this Website and The Game from its headquarters in Oslo, Norway and in the United States of America, and Funcom makes no representation that this Website is appropriate or available for use beyond the United States of America. If you use this Website from other locations, you are responsible for compliance with applicable local laws.
13.4 Miscellaneous Software
Any software that is made available to download from Funcom and/or Funcom without a specific license agreement shall be governed by the following: Funcom (or its subsidiaries such as Funcom) grants to, the user, a personal, non-transferable license during the term of this Agreement to use the Software for viewing and game play and no other use, and for no other purpose. Please note that all Software, including, without limitation, all HTML code contained on the site or within the game(s), is owned by Funcom or Third Party Providers or other suppliers and is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Any reproduction or redistribution of the Software is expressly prohibited by law, and may result in severe civil and criminal penalties. Violators will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible.
14. Jurisdiction, Venue, and Alternative Dispute Resolution
DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND GOVERNING LAW.
Disputes can be expensive and time consuming for both parties. In an effort to accelerate resolution and reduce the cost of any dispute, controversy or claim related to these Terms of Service ("Dispute"), you and Funcom agree to first attempt to negotiate any Dispute (except those Disputes expressly provided below) informally for at least thirty (30) days before initiating any arbitration or court proceeding. Negotiations will begin upon written notice. Funcom will notify you through contact information you provided at registration. You will send your notice to Lavaterstrasse 45, 8002 Zurich Switzerland, ATTN: LEGAL and by email to legal@funcom.com.
Restrictions. You and Funcom agree that any arbitration shall be limited to the Dispute between Funcom and you individually. ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT (1) NO ARBITRATION SHALL BE JOINED WITH ANY OTHER; (2) THERE IS NO RIGHT OR AUTHORITY FOR ANY DISPUTE TO BE ARBITRATED ON A CLASS-ACTION BASIS OR TO UTILIZE CLASS ACTION PROCEDURES; AND (3) THERE IS NO RIGHT OR AUTHORITY FOR ANY DISPUTE TO BE BROUGHT IN A PURPORTED REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY ON BEHALF OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC OR ANY OTHER PERSONS.
Any Dispute not subject to arbitration (other than claims proceeding in any small claims court), or where no election to arbitrate has been made, shall be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction within the state of New York, and you and Funcom agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of that court.
Binding Arbitration. If the parties are unable to resolve a Dispute through negotiations, either you or Funcom may elect to have the Dispute (with the exception of those Disputes expressly excluded below) finally and exclusively resolved by binding arbitration. Any election to arbitrate by one party shall be final and binding on the other. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT ABSENT THIS PROVISION, YOU WOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT AND HAVE A JURY TRIAL. The arbitration shall be commenced and conducted under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") and, where appropriate, the AAA's Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes ("AAA Consumer Rules"), both of which are available that the AAA website www.adr.org..
Governing Law. Except as expressly provided otherwise, this Agreement shall be is governed by, and will be construed under, the Laws of the United States of America and the state of New York. The application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly excluded.
15. Severability
If any provision of this User Agreement is deemed unlawful, void, or unenforceable for any reason, then that provision will be deemed severable from the remainder of this User Agreement and will not affect the validity or enforceability of the remainder of this User Agreement.