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Terms of Service

Introduction

Welcome to Wine Spectator's digital information network. We have developed these Terms of Service to govern your use and enjoyment of our digital products, including WineSpectator.com ("the Site"), Wine Spectator Mobile, any content found on the Site, any digital application edition of Wine Spectator magazine or other digital application published by Wine Spectator (each a "Digital Application"). Your use of any product in our network, accessed via any device, tells us you have read and agreed to these Terms of Service and to our Privacy Policy. Please read both these documents carefully.

Intellectual Property

You agree not to use any part of WineSpectator.com or any Wine Spectator Digital Application for any unlawful purpose. We reserve the right to terminate or restrict your access to the Site or any Digital Application if, in our opinion, your use of these products may violate any laws, infringe upon another person's rights or violate these Terms of Service. Also, we may refuse to grant you a user name that impersonates someone else, is protected by trademark or other proprietary right, law or is otherwise vulgar or offensive.

All information, content, services and software displayed on, transmitted through, or used in connection with the Site or a Digital Application—including for example, articles, reviews, directories, guides, text, photographs, images, illustrations, audio clips, video, html, source and object code, trademarks, logos, and the like (collectively, the "Content"), as well as its selection and arrangement—is licensed or owned by M. Shanken Communications and/or its affiliated companies, licensors and suppliers, and is protected by U.S. and international intellectual property laws. You may use the Content online only, and solely for your personal, non-commercial use, and you may download or print a single copy of any portion of the Content solely for your personal, non-commercial use. If you operate a website and wish to link to WineSpectator.com, you may do so provided you agree to cease such link upon request from Wine Spectator. All rights not expressly granted are expressly reserved. No other use is permitted without prior written permission of Wine Spectator. The permitted use described in this Paragraph is contingent on your compliance at all times with these Terms of Service.

You may not republish any portion of the Content in print or electronic media including, but not limited to, any Internet, Intranet or extranet site or Digital Application. You may not incorporate the Content in any database, compilation, archive or cache. You may not distribute or participate in the distribution of any Content to others, whether or not for payment or other consideration, and you may not modify, copy, frame, cache, reproduce, sell, publish, transmit, display or otherwise use any portion of the Content. You may not scrape, cut and paste or otherwise copy our Content without permission. You also agree not to decompile, reverse engineer or disassemble any software, Digital Application or other products or processes accessible through Wine Spectator, not to insert any code or product or manipulate the Content in any way that affects the user's experience, and not to use any data mining, data gathering or extraction method.

Wine Spectator, WineSpectator.com, Wine Spectator Mobile, The New York Wine Experience, The California Wine Experience, The New World Wine Experience, WineRatings+, VintageChart+ and Wine Spectator's Guide to Napa Valley are trademarks of M. Shanken Communications. All other trademarks appearing on the site are trademarks of their respective owners and our reference to them does not imply or indicate any approval or endorsement by their owners unless such approval or endorsement is expressly made. Wine Spectator and WineSpectator.com will enforce its intellectual property rights to the fullest extent of the law.

Intellectual Property Violations

As a condition of your ability to access and use WineSpectator.com or our Digital Applications, you agree that you will not violate any intellectual property rights of Wine Spectator or M. Shanken Communications.

WineSpectator.com Membership and Registration

As a Member of winespectator.com, you accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account or password. You also agree not to sell, transfer or assign your Membership or any Membership rights. We reserve the right to terminate your Membership if individuals from more than one household access WineSpectator.com using any single user name or password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and for restricting access to your computer so others outside your household may not access WineSpectator.com using your name in whole or in part without our permission. If you believe someone has accessed WineSpectator.com using your user name and password without your authorization, email us immediately at wsonline@mshanken.com.

WineRatings+ Subscriptions

The premium version of Wine Spectator's WineRatings+ Digital Application—which includes access to our entire database of wine reviews and accompanying updates—requires a monthly subscription of $2.99, which is automatically renewed every 30 days. Payment will be charged to your iTunes/App Store account. You can turn off auto-renew at any time from your iTunes/App Store account settings; do so at least 24 hours before the end of your current subscription to avoid being billed for the next period. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during the active period.

User-Provided Information and Content

By providing information to, communicating with, and/or placing material on WineSpectator.com and our Digital Applications, including, for example, communication during registration, communication on any WineSpectator.com forums, message, commenting, rating or chat area, posting any content, placing any classified advertisement, entering any contests, etc., you represent and warrant: (1) you own or otherwise have all necessary rights to the content you provide and the rights to use it as provided in this Terms of Service; (2) all information you provide is true, accurate, current and complete, and does not violate these Terms of Service; and, (3) the content will not cause injury to any person or entity. Using a name other than your own legal name is prohibited (except in those specific areas of WineSpectator.com that specifically allow unique, fictitious names, e.g., certain forums, message boards and chat rooms).

For all such information and material, you grant WineSpectator.com, our Digital Applications, affiliates and related entities, including Wine Spectator and M. Shanken Communications, Inc., a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, copy, modify, display, archive, store, distribute, reproduce and create derivative works from such information, in any form, media, software or technology of any kind now existing or developed in the future. Without limiting the generality of the previous sentence, you authorize M. Shanken Communications, Inc. to share the information across all M. Shanken Communications, Inc. affiliated Web sites, to include the information in a searchable format accessible by users of WineSpectator.com, other WineSpectator.com sites and Digital Applications, and to use your name and any other information in connection with its use of the material you provide. You also grant M. Shanken Communications, Inc. the right to use any material, information, ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques contained in any communication you send to us for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to developing, manufacturing and marketing products using such information. All rights in this paragraph are granted without the need for additional compensation of any sort to you.

Please note Wine Spectator does not accept unsolicited materials or ideas for use or publication, and is not responsible for the similarity of any of its content or programming in any media to materials or ideas transmitted to WineSpectator.com. Should you send any unsolicited materials or ideas, you do so with the understanding no additional consideration of any sort will be provided to you, and you are waiving any claim against Wine Spectator and its affiliates regarding the use of such materials and ideas, even if material or an idea is used that is substantially similar to the idea you sent.

Transactions and E-Commerce

During your visit to our site you may elect to engage in a transaction involving the purchase of a product, such as a subscription to Wine Spectator Magazine, a print or online advertisement or other tangible goods and services. To serve you most efficiently, credit card transactions and order fulfillment are often handled by a third party processing agent, bank or distribution institution. While in most cases, transactions are completed without difficulty, there is no such thing as "perfect security" on the Internet or offline. If you're concerned about online credit card safety, in most cases a telephone number will be made available so you can call us and place your order by phone. Wine Spectator cannot take responsibility for the success or security of transactions undertaken or processed by third parties.

On occasion, a product or service may not be available at the time or the price as it appears in an advertisement. In such event, or in the event a product is listed at an incorrect price or with incorrect information due to typographical error, technology effort, error in the date or length of publication, or error in pricing or product information received from our advertisers or suppliers, you agree Wine Spectator is not responsible for such errors or discrepancies.

Other Specifics About Interactive Areas (Comments, Ratings, Message Boards, Chat Areas, Automated Posting of Classified or Other Advertising, etc.)

WineSpectator.com comments sections, ratings, forums, chat rooms and other such interactive areas are provided to give users an interesting and stimulating forum to express their opinions and share ideas and information. Given the nature of WineSpectator.com and the volume of messages and postings, WineSpectator.com cannot and does not monitor all of the material posted or transmitted by users and third party information providers. To protect your safety, please use your best judgment when using these forums. We particularly discourage divulging personal phone numbers and addresses or other information that can be used to identify or locate you. If you make such disclosures either through comments, postings on the forums, chat rooms, in classified advertising you place or in other interactive areas, or to third parties in any communication, you do so fully understanding the consequences of such disclosures and with a knowing consent that such information could be used to identify you. WineSpectator.com reserves the right to delete, move or edit any communications at any time, for any reason or in its discretion, but has no obligation to review or remove any such content.

Posting Rules

Interactive areas, comments, ratings, forums, chat rooms, etc., are intended to encourage public debate. We expect people to differ—judgment and opinion are subjective things—and we encourage freedom of speech and a marketplace of ideas. But by using these areas of WineSpectator.com, you are participating in a community that is intended for all our users. Therefore, we reserve the right to remove any content posted on our site at any time for any reason. Decisions as to whether content violates any Posting Rule will be made by WineSpectator.com in its discretion after we have actual notice of such posting. Without limiting our right to remove content, we have attempted to provide guidelines to those posting content on our site. When using WineSpectator.com, please do not post material that:

  • contains vulgar, profane, abusive, racist or hateful language or expressions, epithets or slurs, text, photographs or illustrations in poor taste, inflammatory attacks of a personal, racial or religious nature.

  • is defamatory, libelous, obscene, pornographic, threatening, disparaging, grossly inflammatory, false, misleading, fraudulent, inaccurate, unfair, contains gross exaggeration or unsubstantiated claims, violates the privacy rights of any third party, is unreasonably harmful or offensive to any individual or community, or otherwise illegal material.

  • violates any right of WineSpectator.com, Wine Spectator, M. Shanken Communications or any third party.

  • discriminates on the grounds of race, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation or disability, or refers to such matters in any manner prohibited by law.

  • violates or inappropriately encourages the violation of any municipal, state, federal or international law, rule, regulation or ordinance.

  • unfairly interferes with any third party's uninterrupted use of WineSpectator.com.

  • advertises, promotes or offers to trade any goods or services, except in areas specifically designated for such purpose.

  • uploads copyrighted or other proprietary material of any kind on WineSpectator.com without the express permission of the owner of that material.

  • uses or attempt to use another's account, password, service or system except as expressly permitted by the Terms of Service.

  • uploads or transmits viruses or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files.

  • disrupts, interferes with, or otherwise harms or violates the security of WineSpectator.com, or any services, system resources, accounts, passwords, servers or networks connected to or accessible through WineSpectator.com or affiliated or linked sites.

  • "flames" any individual or entity (e.g., sends repeated messages related to another user and/or makes derogatory or offensive comments about another individual), or repeats prior posting of the same message under multiple threads or subjects.

WARNING: A VIOLATION OF THE FOREGOING GUIDELINES MAY BE REFERRED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.

Communications with Third Parties

Your dealings or communications through WineSpectator.com or Digital Applications with any party other than Wine Spectator are solely between you and that third party. For example, certain areas of WineSpectator.com and Digital Applications may allow you to conduct transactions or purchase goods or services. In most cases, these transactions will be conducted by our third-party partners and vendors. Under no circumstances will Wine Spectator be liable for any goods, services, resources or content available through such third party dealings or communications, or for any harm related thereto. Please review carefully that third party's policies and practices and make sure you are comfortable with them before you engage in any transaction. Complaints, concerns or questions relating to materials provided by third parties should be forwarded directly to the third party.

During your visit to WineSpectator.com or Digital Applications, you may link to, or view as part of a frame, certain content that is actually created or hosted by a third party. You may be introduced to, or be able to access, information, Web sites, advertisements, features, contests or sweepstakes offered by other parties. Wine Spectator is not responsible for the actions or policies of such third parties. You should check the applicable terms of service and privacy policies of those third parties when providing information on such a feature or page.

General Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

While Wine Spectator uses reasonable efforts to include accurate and up-to-date information, we make no warranties or representations as to the accuracy of the Content and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omission in the Content. Wine Spectator does not represent or warrant that use of any Content will not infringe rights of third parties. Wine Spectator has no responsibility for actions of third parties or for content provided or posted by others.

USE OF WINESPECTATOR.COM AND DIGITAL APPLICATIONS IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. ALL CONTENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." NEITHER WINESPECTATOR.COM, WINE SPECTATOR, M. SHANKEN COMMUNICATIONS, NOR ANY OF THEIR AFFILIATED OR RELATED COMPANIES, NOR ANY OF THE EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS OF ANY OF THEM, MAKES ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND REGARDING WINESPECTATOR.COM, WINE SPECTATOR DIGITAL APPLICATIONS, THE CONTENT, ANY ADVERTISING MATERIAL, INFORMATION, PRODUCTS OR SERVICES AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH WINESPECTATOR.COM AND DIGITAL APPLICATIONS, AND/OR THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF WINESPECTATOR.COM, DIGITAL APPLICATIONS OR SUCH CONTENT OR SERVICES. ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WARRANTIES AGAINST INFRINGEMENT, AND WARRANTIES WINESPECTATOR.COM AND DIGITAL APPLICATIONS WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR FREE, ARE SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMED. WINE SPECTATOR AND ITS AFFILIATES ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR CONTENT POSTED BY THIRD PARTIES, ACTIONS OF ANY THIRD PARTY, ANY DAMAGE TO OR VIRUS THAT MAY INFECT YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT OR OTHER PROPERTY.

WINESPECTATOR.COM CONTAINS FACTS, VIEWS, OPINIONS, STATEMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THIRD PARTY INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS. WINE SPECTATOR DOES NOT REPRESENT OR ENDORSE THE ACCURACY, CURRENTNESS OR RELIABILITY OF ANY ADVICE, OPINION, STATEMENT OR OTHER INFORMATION DISPLAYED, UPLOADED OR DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE SITE OR DIGITAL APPLICATIONS. ANY RELIANCE UPON ANY SUCH OPINION, ADVICE, STATEMENT OR INFORMATION—INCLUDING SPECIFICALLY FOR PURCHASING DECISIONS AND/OR CELLARING ANY PARTICULAR WINE—IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.

IN NO EVENT SHALL WINE SPECTATOR OR ITS AFFILIATES, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES RELATED TO UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA, THE CONTENT OR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE CONTENT, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL WINE SPECTATOR OR ITS AFFILIATES, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY AMOUNT FOR DIRECT DAMAGES IN EXCESS OF $100.

Indemnity

YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY, DEFEND AND HOLD HARMLESS WINE SPECTATOR, WINESPECTATOR.COM, M. SHANKEN COMMUNICATIONS, EACH OF THEIR PARENT AND AFFILIATED COMPANIES, AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PARTNERS, SUPPLIERS, LICENSORS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, CONTRACTORS AND AGENTS FROM ANY AND ALL CLAIMS (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, CLAIMS FOR DEFAMATION, TRADE DISPARAGEMENT, PRIVACY AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INFRINGEMENT) AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COURT COSTS) ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO ANY ALLEGATION REGARDING: (1) YOUR USE OF WINESPECTATOR.COM OR DIGITAL APPLICATIONS; (2) WINE SPECTATOR'S USE OF ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE, AS LONG AS SUCH USE IS NOT INCONSISTENT WITH THIS AGREEMENT; (3) INFORMATION OR MATERIAL POSTED OR TRANSMITTED THROUGH YOUR MEMBERSHIP ACCOUNT OR SUBSCRIPTIONS, EVEN IF NOT POSTED BY YOU; AND, (4) ANY VIOLATION OF THIS AGREEMENT BY YOU.

International Users

WineSpectator.com and Wine Spectator Digital Applications are controlled, operated and administered by Wine Spectator from its offices within the United States. Wine Spectator makes no representation that materials or Content available through the Site or our Digital Applications are appropriate or available for use outside the United States and access to them from territories where their contents are illegal is prohibited. You may not use WineSpectator.com or our Digital Applications or export the Content in violation of U.S. export laws and regulations. If you access WineSpectator.com and our Digital Applications from a location outside the United States, you are responsible for compliance with all applicable laws.

Miscellaneous

Wine Spectator reserves the right to change these Terms of Service at any time in its discretion and to notify users of any such changes solely by changing this Terms of Service. Your continued use of WineSpectator.com or any Digital Application after the posting of any amended Terms of Service shall constitute your agreement to be bound by any such changes. Your use of this Site or Digital Applications prior to the time this Terms of Service was posted will be governed according to the Terms of Service that applied at the time of your use. If any of these rules or future changes are unacceptable to you, you may cancel your WineSpectator.com membership by sending an email to: wsonline@mshanken.com. Cancellation policies and procedures for Digital Applications are governed by the stores or platforms on which they are sold. Your continued use of the service now, or following any changes to these Terms of Service will indicate acceptance by you of such rules, changes or modifications.

These Terms of Service and any other Terms and Conditions of Service on WineSpectator.com and our Digital Applications constitute the entire agreement between you and Wine Spectator. Wine Spectator may modify, suspend, discontinue or restrict the use of any portion of WineSpectator.com or its Digital Applications, including the availability of any portion of the Content at any time, without notice or liability. Winespectator.com may deny access to any person or user at any time for any reason. In addition, Wine Spectator or M. Shanken Communications or winespectator.com may at any time transfer rights and obligations under this Agreement to any affiliate, subsidiary or business unit, or any of their affiliated companies or divisions, or any entity that acquires, winespectator.com or any of their assets.

Applicable Law

These Terms of Service will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflicts of law provisions. You hereby agree that any cause of action you may have with respect to Wine Spectator, WineSpectator.com or our Digital Applications must be filed in a federal or state court located in New York City, New York, within two months of the time in which the events giving rise to such claim began, or you agree to waive such claim. You agree no such claim may be brought as a class action. If for any reason any provision of this Agreement is found unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to effect the intent of the parties as reflected in that provision, and the remainder of the Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. Any failure of Wine Spectator to enforce or exercise any provision of this Agreement or related right shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision. The section titles used in this Agreement are purely for convenience and carry with them no legal or contractual effect. In the event of termination of this Agreement for any reason, you agree the following provisions will survive: the provisions regarding limitations on your use of Content, the license(s) you have granted to Wine Spectator, and all other provisions for which survival is equitable or appropriate.

In the case of a conflict between these terms and the terms of any electronic or machine-readable statement or policy (for example, a P3P electronic privacy policy), these Terms of Service shall control. Similarly, in case of a conflict between these terms and our Privacy Policy, these Terms of Service control.

Waiver

The failure of Wine Spectator to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of the Terms of Service is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Terms of Service remain in full force and effect.