Terms of Use

Effective Date: November 21, 2019

Please read these Terms and Conditions (these “Terms,” or the “Terms and Conditions”) carefully before using the learn.meritamerica.org website (the “Service”) operated by Merit America (“us”, “we”, “our”, or “Merit America”). Your access to and use of the Service is conditioned upon your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms, and by accessing or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms including the Privacy Policy (https://www.meritamerica.org/platform-policies) (“Privacy Policy”). If you disagree with any part of these Terms then you do not have permission to access the Service. These Terms apply to all visitors, users and others who wish to access or use the Service.

I. Eligibility

YOU MUST BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE TO USE THE SERVICE. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that:

(a) You are 18 years of age or older;

(b) You reside in the United States;

(d) You will maintain the accuracy of such information, as inaccurate, incomplete, or obsolete information may result in the immediate termination of your account on the Service; and

(e) Your use of the Service does not violate any applicable law or regulation.

II. Accessing the service

We reserve the right to withdraw or amend the Service, and any material we provide on the Service, in our sole discretion without notice. We will not be liable if for any reason all or any part of the Service is unavailable at any time or for any period. From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of the Service, or the entire Service, to users.

III. Use of Service

Provided that you comply with these Terms, we grant you a limited, revocable, nonexclusive, nonassignable, nonsublicensable license and right to access the Service, through a generally available web browser or mobile device, to view information and use the Service offered by us.

IV. Communications

By creating an Account on our Service, you agree to subscribe to periodic newsletters, marketing or promotional materials and other information we may send. However, you may opt out of receiving any, or all, of these communications from us by following the unsubscribe link or instructions provided in any email we send.

V. Content

A. Your Rights and Obligations

Our Service allows you to post, link, store, share and otherwise make available certain information, text, graphics, videos, or other material (“Content”). You are responsible for the Content that you post on or through the Service, including its legality, reliability, and appropriateness.

By posting Content on or through the Service, you represent and warrant that:

the Content is yours (you own it) and/or you have the right to use it and the right to grant us the rights and license as provided in these Terms;
that the posting of your Content on or through the Service does not violate the intellectual property or privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, contract rights or any other rights of any person or entity; and
you consent to share the Content with Merit America and its affiliates, subcontractors or other related parties.

You retain any and all of your rights to any Content you submit, post or display on or through the Service and you are responsible for protecting those rights. We take no responsibility and assume no liability for Content you or any third party posts on or through the Service. Certain information submitted by you, or otherwise collected from you, is subject to our Privacy Policy. Except as expressly provided in our Privacy Policy, you agree by posting Content using the Service you grant us a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, modify, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce, and distribute such Content on and through the Service. You agree that this license includes the right for us to make your Content available to other users of the Service, who may also use your Content subject to these Terms.

You may request that your Content be erased or removed from the Service. Such request should be submitted according to the terms of Section XII (Termination).

B. Our Rights and Obligations

As it relates to the Content, we have the right but not the obligation:

To monitor and edit all Content provided by users.
To remove or refuse to post any Content for any or no reason in our sole discretion.
To take any action with respect to any Content that we deem necessary or appropriate in our sole discretion, including if we believe that such Content violates these Terms, infringes any intellectual property right or other right of any person or entity, threatens the personal safety of users of the Website or the public, or could create liability for us.
To take appropriate legal action, including without limitation, referral to law enforcement, for any illegal or unauthorized use of the Website.
To terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Website for [any or no reason, including without limitation,] any violation of these Terms.
Without limiting the foregoing, we have the right to cooperate fully with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity or other information of anyone posting any materials on or through the Website. YOU WAIVE AND HOLD HARMLESS MERIT AMERICA FROM ANY CLAIMS RESULTING FROM ANY ACTION TAKEN BY MERIT AMERICA DURING, OR TAKEN AS A CONSEQUENCE OF, INVESTIGATIONS BY EITHER MERIT AMERICA OR LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.

We cannot review all material before it is posted, and cannot ensure prompt removal of objectionable material after it has been posted. Accordingly, we assume no liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications, or content provided by any user or third party. We have no liability or responsibility to anyone for performance or nonperformance of the activities described in this section.

VI. Accounts

To use the Service, you may be required to create a user account. If you create an account, you agree to provide us with current, complete, true and accurate information, and to update this information should it change. We may suspend, terminate, modify, or delete your account with or without notice to you, at any time for any reason or for no reason, including but not limited to for violation of these Terms.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password, including but not limited to the restriction of access to your computer and/or account. You agree to accept responsibility for any and all activities or actions that occur under your account and/or password, whether your password is with our Service or a third-party service. You agree that we will not be liable for any loss you may incur as a result of someone else using your password or account, either with or without your knowledge. You must notify us immediately upon becoming aware of any breach of security or unauthorized use of your account.

You may not use as a username the name of another person or entity or that is not lawfully available for use, a name or trademark that is subject to any rights of another person or entity other than you, without appropriate authorization. You may not use as a username any name that is offensive, vulgar or obscene. You may not use anyone else’s account at any time and you may not allow anyone else to use your account at any time. You will be liable for losses incurred by us or another party due to someone else using your Account or password.

VII. Copyright policy

You will refrain from posting any information or items to the Sites or through the Service which are copied, in whole or in part, from third party sources without authorization. We reserve the right to terminate the account of anyone found to be infringing on a copyright. You may be held accountable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) for misrepresentation or bad-faith claims on the infringement of any Content found on and/or through the Service on your copyright.

VIII. DMCA Notice and Procedure for Copyright Infringement Claims

We respect the intellectual property rights of others. It is our policy to respond to any claim that Content posted on the Service infringes on the copyright or other intellectual property rights (“Infringement”) of any person or entity. If you are a copyright owner, or authorized on behalf of one, and you believe that the copyrighted work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please submit your claim to our copyright agent via email to copyright@meritamerica.org, with the subject line: “Copyright Infringement” and include in your claim a detailed description of the alleged Infringement.

You may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by providing our Copyright Agent with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C. 512I(3) for further detail):

an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright’s interest;
a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed, including the URL (i.e., web page address) of the location where the copyrighted work exists or a copy of the copyrighted work;
identification of the URL or other specific location on the Service where the material that you claim is infringing is located;
your address, telephone number, and email address;
a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

You can contact our Copyright Agent via email at inquiries@meritamerica.org.

IX. Intellectual property

The Service and its original content (excluding Content provided by users), features and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video, and audio, and the design, selection, and arrangement thereof) are and will remain the exclusive property of Merit America and its licensors; or are used with permission. The Service is protected by trademark and other laws of both the United States and foreign countries. Our trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without our prior written consent. You may not distribute, modify, transmit, reuse, download, repost, copy, or use said original content, whether in whole or in part, for commercial purposes or for personal gain, without express advance written permission from us.

X. Links to other websites

Our Service may contain links to third party websites or services that are not owned or controlled by us. We have no control over, and assumes no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third party web sites or services. We do not imply any endorsement of the activities or content of these sites or warrant the offerings of any of these entities/individuals or their websites. You acknowledge and agree that we shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such third party web sites or services.

We strongly advise you to read the terms and conditions and privacy policies of any third party websites or services that you visit. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites linked on the Service, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites.

XI. Privacy/security

You understand that any information provided by you or collected by us in connection with your use of the Service will be used in the manner described in these Terms and in our Privacy Policy(https://www.meritamerica.org/platform-policies), such privacy policy being incorporated into and made a part of these Terms by this reference. If you do not agree to the Privacy Policy you may not use the Service. Without limiting the terms of the Privacy Policy, you understand that we do not guarantee that your use of the Service and/or the information provided by you will be private or secure, and we are not responsible or liable to you for any lack of privacy or security you may experience. You are fully responsible for taking precautions and providing security measures best suited for your situation and intended use of the Service. ]

XII. Termination

We may terminate or suspend your account and bar access to the Service immediately, without prior notice or liability, under our sole discretion, for any reason whatsoever and without limitation, including but not limited to a breach of these Terms.

If you have applied to a Merit America Program but have not started yet, please email admissions@meritamerica.org to close your application.

If you are enrolled in a Merit America Program and wish to withdraw, please email your Pod directly or techops@meritamerica.org. If you email your withdrawal request to techops@meritamerica.org, it will be routed to your assigned Pod to be resolved. Withdrawal will not be effective until acknowledged by us but not more than 72 hours following your Pod receiving your email signaling your intent to withdraw.

If you wish to delete your account, you may submit a request stating your intention to terminate these Terms and delete your account, in writing, to privacy@meritamerica.org. (Note that program withdrawal is different from the deletion of your account and related data that you provided Merit America upon account creation, and must be requested separately via the process noted above.) Such termination will not be effective until acknowledged by Merit America, which Merit America shall provide to you not later than forty-five (45) business days following receipt of your termination email. All provisions of these Terms which by either as stated in the Terms of Use or which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

XIII. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Merit America and its licensee and licensors, and their employees, contractors, agents, officers and directors, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees), resulting from or arising out of a) your use and access of the Service, by you or any person using your account and password; b) a breach of these Terms, or c) Content posted on the Service, including that any allegation that any Content infringe or otherwise violate the copyright, trademark, trade secret, privacy or other intellectual property or other rights of any third party.

XIV. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, In no event shall Merit America, nor its directors, employees, partners, agents, suppliers, or affiliates, be liable for DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SERVICE, ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO IT, ANY CONTENT ON THE SERVICE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, including without limitation, loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from (i) your access to or use of or inability to access or use the Service; (ii) any conduct or content of any third party on the Service; (iii) any content obtained from the Service; and (iv) unauthorized access, use or alteration of your transmissions or content, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence) or any other legal theory, whether or not we have been informed of the possibility of such damage, and even if a remedy set forth herein is found to have failed of its essential purpose.

XV. Disclaimer

Your use of the Service is at your sole risk. The Service is provided on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis. The Service is provided without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement or course of performance. Merit America its subsidiaries, affiliates, and its licensors do not warrant that a) the Service will function uninterrupted, secure or available at any particular time or location; b) any errors or defects will be corrected; c) the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components; or d) the results of using the Service will meet your requirements.

BECAUSE SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATES OR JURISDICTIONS, THE LIABILITY OF COMPANY AND THE COMPANY PARTIES SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

XVI. Governing law

These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of District of Columbia, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You hereby submit to that exclusive jurisdiction, including waiving any objection to personal jurisdiction without regard to any principles of conflicts of laws and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of those rights. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court, the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in effect. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between us regarding our Service, and supersede and replace any prior agreements we might have had between us regarding the Service.

XVII. Changes

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. You are advised to review these Terms periodically for any changes. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Terms and Conditions on this page. By continuing to access or use our Service after any revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms. If you do not agree to the new terms, you are no longer authorized to use the Service.

XVIII. Assignment

We may assign these Terms, in whole or in part, at any time. You may not assign, transfer or sublicense these Terms or any or all of your rights or obligations under these Terms without our express prior written consent.

XIX. Headings

Any heading, caption or section title contained herein is inserted only as a matter of convenience, and in no way defines or explains any section or provision hereof.

XX. Severability

If any part of these Terms is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of these Terms shall continue in effect.

XXI. Complete agreement

These Terms, including the documents expressly incorporated by reference, constitute the entire agreement between you and Merit America with respect to its subject matter. These Terms supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications, whether electronic, oral or written, between you and Merit America with respect to its subject matter and you represent that you have not relied on any such communications in accepting these Terms.

XXII. SMS

Merit America offers our learners the option to engage in conversations with Merit America staff by text. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Text HELP to 2029326696 for assistance. Reply STOP to opt-out. Carriers are not liable for any delays or undelivered messages.

XXIII. Contact us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact by email: inquiries@meritamerica.org.

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