MECA

Legal

as of Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Terms & Conditions of Service

Welcome to MECA! MECA links members world-wide through the most engaging instant messaging experience available today. Through the use of "Skins" ("Skins") and other features MECA will provide you with a truly unique communications experience, allowing you to self-express and connect to people world-wide, regardless of language, geography or culture.

In order for you to use the MECA services (the "Service") available to you either through the MECA Internet Web site (the " Site") or otherwise, you must complete the registration process and agree to the following Terms and Conditions of Service (these "Terms"). Please read these Terms and the related documents incorporated in these Terms.

Acceptance of these Terms creates a binding legal agreement between you and MECA that you will use the Service and the Site only in a manner that is consistent with these Terms. If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us at legal@meca.com. Your use of the Service is entirely conditioned on and subject to your compliance with these Terms. If you do not agree with these Terms, do not proceed to registration and do not use the Service.

BY CLICKING THE "I ACCEPT" BUTTON (IN ORDER TO DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL THE ACCOMPANYING SOFTWARE ON YOUR COMPUTER) YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS.

1. MODIFICATIONS TO THIS AGREEMENT
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify or otherwise alter these Terms at any time. You can find the most recent version of these Terms at http://www.mecamessenger.com/legal.jsp#terms , with the date of last modification noted above. Such modifications shall become effective immediately upon posting by MECA. Therefore, we encourage you to check the date of our Terms whenever you visit the MECA Site to check if it has been updated. You must review this agreement on a regular basis to keep yourself apprised of any changes. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, your sole recourse is to immediately stop all use of the Service. Your continued use of the Service following the posting of modifications will constitute your acceptance of the revised Terms. Should you have any questions regarding the use of our Site, please contact us at: legal@meca.com.

2. TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP.
MECA membership ("Membership") is available to you if you are at least 13 years of age and you submit certain requested information to MECA, including (but not limited to) your name and correct e-mail address. In addition, by becoming a member of MECA, you agree to provide MECA with true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself when such information is requested by the Service or the Site (whether by questionnaires, surveys, registration forms or other informational requests).

3. SERVICE DESCRIPTION
The Service enables users to send and receive instant messages, electronic mail, alerts and other material and information via the Internet. Through the sharing of Skins you also can share your interests and activities with others. Users have the ability to download and use existing Skins, as well as to create their own Skins which may be uploaded to MECA and/or shared with other users. By creating and uploading or sharing Skins, you hereby grant to MECA a perpetual, non-exclusive, worldwide, transferable, sublicensable license to use, distribute and modify all content on such Skins in connection with the normal operation of the Service, as it may be modified and enhance from time to time. Skins posted by users and other non-MECA contributors are generally not reviewed by MECA. MECA shall have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor all content displayed by users on Custom Skins, and may remove or require users to remove all content that MECA, in its sole discretion, deems to be (a) inconsistent with MECA's strategic mission and vision (including but not limited to content that contains undesirable images of or links or references to tobacco and alcohol products, profanity, pornography, violence or prejudicial content); or (b) possibly in violation of applicable law. In addition, MECA has the right to remove any content if MECA has reason to believe that displaying such content may infringe the rights of a third party or subject MECA to expense or liability. Please notify us at customerservice@meca.com of any material on Skins that you believe might violate applicable law or your intellectual property rights or contain undesirable images of or links or references to tobacco and alcohol products, profanity, pornography, violence, prejudicial content, or content that is obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable. MECA reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine whether and what action to take in response to each such notification, and any action or inaction in a particular instance shall not dictate or limit MECA's response to a future complaint.. Other users of the Service may elect to receive a notice from the Service when you sign on and may send you instant messages and other information via the Service, including their Skins. Features in the Service allow you to stop these notices from being sent and to elect to not receive messages or participate in Skin sharing from specified users. Of course, your ability to send and receive instant messages and Skins and other information also may be blocked by MECA and by other users. Use of these features may limit your ability to use the Service. MECA has no responsibility to resolve any disputes arising from use of the blocking and other features on the Service. Use of the Service requires access to the Internet. You are responsible for obtaining that access and for payment of any related fees.

4. MEMBER CONDUCT AND PASSWORDS.
You agree to abide by MECA's Rules of Conduct, including but not limited to, agreeing not to use the Service or the Site for any unlawful purpose. A copy of the MECA Rules of Conduct, which you should review, can be found at http://www.mecamessenger.com/legal.jsp#rules. The MECA Rules of Conduct are incorporated into these Terms by reference and constitute part of the agreement between you and MECA. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and account, and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your password and account. You agree to (a) immediately notify MECA of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security, and (b) ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session.

5. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS
You acknowledge and agree that all content and materials available on the Site are protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents, trade secrets, or other proprietary rights and laws.

Other than user provided materials, all content of the Site or Service are: Copyright © 2006 MECA Communications, Inc. and/or its suppliers, 1305 Marsh Street, Suite 200, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 U.S.A. All Rights Reserved. You agree not to sell, license, rent, modify, distribute, copy, reproduce, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, publish, adapt, edit, or create derivative works from, such materials or content. You understand that MECA is unable to provide you with permission to copy, display or distribute material which you do not own, and we do not provide others with such rights to your materials (unless you give us permission to do so). You may not copy or distribute such material without the written consent of the owner, and you are solely responsible for any violations of law that you may incur as a result of your activities on the Service or the Site. Systematic retrieval of data or other content from the Service or the Site to create or compile, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, database or directory without written permission from MECA is prohibited. In addition, use of the content or materials for any purpose not expressly permitted in these Terms is prohibited.

If you believe that your work or the work of another has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, MECA has a process in place to respond to your concerns. Please go to http://www.mecamessenger.com/legal.jsp#dmca for an explanation of that process.

MECA, the MECA logo, May Everyone Connect Always, Word2U Messenger, Experience Messenger, SkinSharing, SkinStats, eMerge, User Generated Skins, Custom Skins, Community Skins, Skin Builder, Blast, Buddie Blast and other MECA products referenced in these Terms, or on the Site or Service are either trademarks or registered trademarks of MECA Communications, Inc. The names of actual companies and products mentioned in the Site or on the Service may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

6. USER'S GRANT OF LIMITED LICENSE
By posting or submitting content to the Service or the Site, you (a) grant MECA and its affiliates and licensees the right to use, reproduce, display, perform, adapt, modify, distribute, have distributed, and promote your content and Skins in any form, anywhere and for any purpose; and (b) warrant and represent that you have the right to grant these rights and licenses and that the public posting and use of your content and Skins by MECA will not infringe or violate the rights of any third party.

7. INTERNATIONAL USE
You are prohibited from accessing the Service and the Site and materials available over the Service or the Site from territories where such service and materials are illegal. You also agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and content in connection with your use of the Service and the Site.

8. SOFTWARE.
All content and software that is made available in connection with the Service and the Site, excluding content and/or software that may be made available by end-users, ("Software") is owned by, and is the copyrighted work of, MECA and/or its suppliers and is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions.

MECA hereby grants to you a revocable, personal, non-transferable and non-exclusive license to use an object code copy of the Software in connection with the Service and otherwise in accordance with these Terms, and for no other purpose. You must keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices included in the Software. You may not (nor may you allow any third party to) copy, modify, create a derivative work of, reverse engineer, reverse assemble or otherwise attempt to discover the source code of, sell, assign, sublicense, grant a security interest in, or otherwise transfer any right in, the Software. You may not block, disable or otherwise affect any advertising, advertisement banner window, links to other sites and services, or other features that constitute an integral part of the Software or Service. All upgrades or updates to the Software hereafter provided to you will be subject to these same license terms. Any violation of these terms may result in severe civil and criminal penalties. Violators will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible. You acknowledge that the Software, and any accompanying documentation and/or technical information, is subject to applicable export and import control laws and regulations of the USA and other countries. You agree not to export or re-export the Software in violation of applicable export and import restrictions. By accepting these Terms, you represent and warrant that your receipt and use of the Software does not violate any such export or import control laws.

The Software is a "commercial item," as that term is defined in 48 C.F.R. 2.101 (Oct. 1995), consisting of "commercial computer software" and "commercial computer software documentation", as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. 12.212 (Sept. 1995). Consistent with 48 C.F.R. 12.212 and C.F.R. 227.7202-1 through 227.7202-4 (June 1995), if you are an agency or instrumentality of the U.S. Government you acquire the Software with only those rights set forth herein.

9. STORAGE SPACE AND OTHER LIMITATIONS
MECA may establish general practices and limits concerning use of the Service, including the amount of storage space, if any, made available to users. You agree that MECA has no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store any messages and other information maintained on, or transmitted by, the Service. You understand that MECA reserves the right to log off accounts that are inactive for an extended period of time. You further acknowledge that MECA reserves the right to change these general practices and limits at any time, in its sole discretion, with or without notice.

10. NO SUPPORT
You understand that you use the Software, Service and Site at your own risk and that MECA provides no assistance other than the FAQs posted at http://www.mecamessenger.com/faq.jsp. MECA and its officers, directors, employees and agents are not responsible for your use of the Software, the Service or the Site.

11. LINKS TO THIRD PARTY SITES AND ADVERTISERS.
You are prohibited to use Skins to advertise products or services, whether your own or those of any third parties. MECA, in its sole discretion, and without obtaining any further consent from users, may insert advertising content in any component of the Service, including, without limitation, the Site, the messenger application, the "buddie remote" and all Skins, whether created by MECA, by users, or by other third parties. The Site and Service, including Skins, may contain links to third party Web sites ("Linked Sites"). The Linked Sites are not under the control of MECA. MECA is not responsible for the content of any Linked Site, including, but not limited to, any link contained in a Linked Site, or any changes or updates to a Linked Site. MECA is not responsible for web-casting or any other form of transmission received from any Linked Site nor is MECA responsible if the Linked Site is not working properly. MECA provides these links to you as a convenience. The inclusion of a Linked Site does not imply endorsement by MECA of the site or any association with its operators. You are responsible for viewing and abiding by the privacy statements and terms of use posted at the Linked Sites which you visit.

Any dealings with third parties (including advertisers) included within the Site or Service or participation in promotions, including the delivery of and the payment for goods and services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings or promotions, are solely between you and the advertiser or other third party. MECA shall not be responsible or liable for any part of any such dealings or promotions.

12. PRIVACY POLICY.
We respect your privacy and have taken specific steps to protect it. To see our Privacy Policy please go to http://www.mecamessenger.com/legal.jsp#privacy. The terms of our Privacy Policy are incorporated into these Terms by reference and constitute part of the agreement between you and MECA.

13. INDEMNITY.
YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY, DEFEND AND HOLD HARMLESS MECA COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (INCLUDING ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS AND ANY THIRD-PARTY INFORMATION PROVIDERS TO THE SERVICE), FROM AND AGAINST ALL LOSSES, EXPENSES, DAMAGES AND COSTS, INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEYS' FEES, RESULTING FROM ANY VIOLATION OF THESE TERMS OR ANY ACTIVITY RELATED TO YOUR MEMBERSHIP OR ACCOUNT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENT OR WRONGFUL CONDUCT) BY YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON ACCESSING THE SERVICE USING YOUR MEMBERSHIP OR ACCOUNT.

14. NO WARRANTY.
(a) No Warranty. ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. YOUR USE OF SUCH PRODUCT OR SERVICE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. Without limiting the above, MECA assumes no responsibility for Service timeliness, accuracy of any translations provided by the MECA Translator, or the deletion, mis-delivery or failure to store any user communications, personal settings or Skins. Although the Service is designed to be interoperable with selected instant messaging applications offered by third parties, successful functional interoperability with such instant messaging applications or with the content and functionality made available through such messaging applications cannot be guaranteed. You also understand that MECA is not responsible for the security or privacy of communications sent via the Service.

(b) Disclaimer . TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, MECA EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND ACCURACY OF INFORMATION. MECA MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT (i) THE SERVICE OR SITE WILL BE PROVIDED IN A MANNER THAT IS UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR FREE, (ii) THE SERVICE OR SITE IS OR WILL BE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR (iii) THE SERVICE, SITE OR CONTENT PROVIDED WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS. MECA MAKES NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO SOFTWARE, GOODS, SERVICES, PROMOTIONS, OR THE DELIVERY OF ANY SOFTWARE, GOODS OR SERVICES THAT ARE PURCHASED, ACCESSED OR OBTAINED THROUGH THE SERVICE OR SITE OR THAT ARE ADVERTISED ON THE SERVICE OR SITE. ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK. YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.

15. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER LAW, MECA WILL HAVE NO OBLIGATION OR LIABILITY (WHETHER ARISING IN CONTRACT, WARRANTY, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE) FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LIABILITIES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY LOSS OF DATA, REVENUE OR PROFIT) ARISING WITH RESPECT TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE OR SITE, EVEN IF YOU HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THE FOREGOING LIMITATION APPLIES TO DAMAGES ARISING FROM (a) USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE OR SITE; (b) COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS AND SERVICES RESULTING FROM ANY GOODS OR SERVICES PURCHASED THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE OR SITE; (c) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS BY THIRD PARTIES; (d) THIRD PARTY CONTENT MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU THROUGH THE SERVICE OR SITE; OR (e) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SERVICE OR SITE.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

16. TERMINATION.
You agree and acknowledge that MECA, in its sole discretion, may terminate your Membership (or any part thereof) or use of the Service, and remove and discard any content including, but not limited to, any and all information, communications, postings, messages, files and other content within the Service, at any time, without notice, for any reason, including but not limited to (a) lack of use of the Service, (b) if MECA believes that you have violated or acted inconsistently with the letter or spirit of these Terms, or (c) if MECA decides to discontinue the Service. ONCE THE SERVICES ARE CANCELLED OR SUSPENDED, ANY DATA YOU HAVE STORED ON MECA’S SYSTEMS MAY NOT BE RETRIEVED LATER.

Upon termination of your Membership, your right to use the Service shall immediately cease. MECA shall have no obligation to maintain any content or to forward any unread or unsent messages to you or any third party. You agree that MECA shall not be liable to you or any third-party for any termination of your access to the Service.

17. CHOICE OF LAW AND LOCATION FOR RESOLVING DISPUTES.
These Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, excluding its conflicts-of-law principles. Please note that your use of the Services may be subject to other local, state, national, and international laws. You expressly agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or dispute with MECA or relating in any way to your use of the Services resides in the courts of California and you further agree and expressly consent to the exercise of personal jurisdiction in the courts of California in connection with any such dispute including any claim involving MECA or its affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, contractors, officers, directors, telecommunication providers and content providers. The state and federal courts, with districts which include Santa Clara County, California, USA, shall be the exclusive forum and venue to resolve any and all disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms. You consent to personal jurisdiction and venue by such state and federal courts.

18. ENTIRE AGREEMENT; OTHER TERMS.
These Terms (including the related Rules of Conduct and the Privacy Policy) constitute the entire agreement between you and MECA and govern your use of the Service and the Site, superseding any prior agreements between you and MECA. If these Terms are inconsistent with information included in off-line materials, these Terms will always control. You may also be subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use affiliate services or third-party content.

19. MISCELLANEOUS
The failure of MECA to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. The section titles in the Terms of Use are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.

If any part of these Terms of Use are 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 the Agreement shall continue in effect. A printed version of these Terms and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to these Terms to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.

MECA may assign this contract, in whole or in part, at any time with or without notice to you. You may not assign this contract, or any part of it, to any other party. Any attempt by you to do so is void.

ANY CLAIM RELATED TO THIS CONTRACT OR THE SOFTWARE AND SERVICE MUST BE BROUGHT WITHIN ONE YEAR. THE ONE-YEAR PERIOD BEGINS ON THE DATE WHEN THE CLAIM FIRST COULD BE FILED. IF IT IS NOT, THEN THAT CLAIM IS PERMANENTLY BARRED. THIS APPLIES TO YOU AND YOUR SUCCESSORS. IT ALSO APPLIES TO US AND OUR SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS.

20. REPORTING VIOLATIONS.
You can report violation of these Terms to legal@meca.com.

Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Rules of Conduct | DMCA Notice | Top

Privacy Policy

MECA is committed to honoring the privacy of our members and visitors. This Privacy Policy, part of our overall Terms and Conditions of Service, describes exactly how MECA uses personally identifiable information regarding our customers (such as name, address, and e-mail addresses) (" Personal Information") collected on the MECA Internet web site (the "Site") as part of the registration process or which is gathered in connection with your use of the various services (the "Service") offered by MECA through the Site.

What information does MECA receive and how do we use it?
Registration and Skin Information. When you become a member of MECA or register for various MECA services on the Site, we ask you for your name, contact information, preferences, and certain demographic information (i.e. the country in which you live and your age). This information lets us provide personalized services and communicate separately with you. Your selection of a particular "Skin" for use with the Service (a "Skin") may indicate that you have an interest in materials related to the subject matter represented by that Skin. Selection of a particular Skin will allow you to share your interests with others and receive from MECA advertising, promotions, hyperlinks and content personalized to your particular Skin selections. For example, if you select a Skin related to golf, we may provide to you advertisements, promotions and hyperlinks of general interest to golfers. In order to provide you a rich and relevant experience we may track the Skins you select to alert you to other Skins and materials which we believe you will find of interest. We also use aggregated information about the use of our Service to evaluate our users' preferences and improve our programming.

Promotions. We may occasionally run optional contests or other special promotions on the Service in which we ask participants for Personal Information or demographic information (like a zip code, age or choice of Skin being used). We may use the data we collect in these contests and promotions to send you promotional material about our company or our partners. Your Personal Information collected from these contests and promotions may be used to contact you when necessary and may be shared with other companies for promotional purposes, but only with your prior permission and under the terms and conditions specified when you take part in the promotion.

IP Addresses and Cookies. Like most websites, our server software gathers in log files general demographic information from all users of the Site. This includes browser types, IP addresses and referring domains. We use this information to help us understand our visitors' needs and to improve the Service and our Site. We also use small bits of data called "cookies" stored on users' computers to simulate a continuous connection. Cookies let us "remember" information about your preferences and passwords and allow you to move within the Service and the Site without reintroducing yourself. You can see and control cookies through settings in your browser. However, refusing to accept cookies may limit your ability to access certain portions of the Service or the Site. Occasionally user chat may be retained in the log files as a bi-product of the debugging processes.

Invite-A-Friend. If you elect to use the Service to inform a friend about the Service and the Site, you will need to provide your friend's name and e-mail address. MECA will automatically send the friend a one-time e-mail describing the Service and inviting them to visit the Site. MECA stores this information for the sole purpose of sending this one-time e-mail.

Is the information I provide disclosed to third parties?
As a matter of policy, MECA does not sell or rent your Personal Information to any third party. However, the following describes some of the ways that your Personal Information may be disclosed and used:

Technical Limits. Due to technological and legal limitations, MECA is unable to guarantee that your private communications and Personal Information will never be disclosed in ways not described in this Privacy Policy. For example, third parties (aka hackers) may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or abuse or misuse information that they collect from the Service or the Site. Therefore, although we use industry standard practices to protect your privacy, we do not promise, and you should not expect, that your Personal Information or private communications will always remain private.

Advertisers. We gather aggregate Personal Information and disclose such information in an aggregate (non-personally identifiable) manner to advertisers and other third parties for other marketing and promotional purposes. In these situations, we do not disclose to these entities any information that could be used to identify you personally. However, if you respond to one of these ads they may assume that you fit a certain demographic profile based on the aggregate information provided to them. In addition, when you click on a banner ad, you should be aware that the advertiser may be collecting information from you.

MECA also may allow certain companies, called third-party ad servers or ad networks, to serve advertisements to you through the Service and the Site. These companies may send their own cookies to your cookie file, just as if you had requested a web page from the Site. If you want to prevent a third-party ad server from sending and reading cookies on your computer, you must adjust the settings for cookies in your browser.

Other MECA Service Users. The Service enables users to send and receive instant messages, electronic mail, alerts and other material and information via the Internet. Through the sharing of Skins you also can share your interests and activities with others. Other users of the Service may elect to receive a notice from the Service when you sign on and may send you instant messages and other information via the Service, including their Skins. Features in the Service allow you to stop these notices from being sent and to elect to not share Skins. Of course, if you elect to exchange messages and share information and Skins with others, MECA has no control over what these third parties do with this information. For this reason, MECA strongly recommends that you use care when disclosing personally identifiable information to others.

External Service Providers. You may separately agree to provide information about yourself to other companies who provide content for various parts of the Service, in order to use their services, order their products, or receive offers from them. If you agree to provide information to these companies, that information will be subject to their privacy policies. MECA has no responsibility or liability for these independent policies. You should, therefore, review their privacy policies carefully if you have concerns about what information is collected and how it may be used.

Internal Service Providers. We may use internal service providers to facilitate and evaluate the Service. This may require disclosure of some of your Personal Information to these service providers. In some instances, the internal service provider may collect information directly from you. In all cases, these internal service providers' use of your Personal Information is restricted by confidentiality agreements and the terms of the MECA Privacy Policy.

Other Related Entities. From time to time we may provide information about you to our subsidiaries and joint ventures in order to provide you the Service. Each of these entities will comply with the policies described in this Privacy Policy. In addition, if the stock or assets of MECA, its subsidiaries, its joint ventures, or any combination of such, are acquired by another entity, some or all of your Personal Information may be provided to such successor.

Legal Requests. MECA may disclose your Personal Information to law enforcement and such other government officials as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate, in connection with an investigation or prosecution of alleged illegal activity or to protect the rights and safety of MECA or its users. MECA also may disclose information about you if it has a good faith belief that disclosure is required pursuant to a subpoena, court order or other legal process.

Co-Registration. We may disclose your personal information to third parties in order to provide you with products and services that you have requested. During the registration process you have the option to view and select offers from various third party companies that may be of interest you, such as retailers and consumer products manufacturers. These offers are made available to you by our co-registration vendors; if you choose to view these offers we will make your contact and other relevant information available to these vendors who will then facilitate your request by forwarding your information to those companies whom you have selected. The vendors are contractually obligated to keep such information confidential and to only use the information for the purpose it was provided. If you do not select any of the offers available, the vendors will delete your information. Please note, however, that any information that is passed on by these vendors to third party companies whom you select is permanently subject to those third parties’ privacy practices, which may differ from ours.

California Privacy Rights. California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits customers who are California residents to request certain information regarding disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. We do not provide your personal information to any third party for their direct marketing purposes without your consent. If you would like more information with respect to your privacy rights under California law, you may contact us at the contact point below. Please reference your request as “California Disclosure Information.”

May I choose what information I disclose?
While we need certain information to register you as a unique user and let you access personalized services, such as MECA, other requested information is optional and may be given at your discretion. However, you may be unable to participate in optional services if you fail to provide certain requested information.

May I choose what communications I receive?
We occasionally send out an e-mail newsletter to MECA members to highlight features of the Service. You can elect not to receive communications from us or from other parties, either when you register or by noting your preference in response to communications from us.

What kind of security is used to protect my information?
We store all Personal Information and other user information in secure databases protected via a variety of access controls. This data is accessed only for the purposes specified in this Privacy Policy. We limit access to Personal Information to only those employees who need it to carry out their jobs. MECA personnel with access to Personal Information have been advised of the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of such information and of using it only for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

Your Membership account and Personal Information on our Service is password-protected. We strongly recommend that you do not give your password to anyone and that you change it every 3 months. If you are using a public computer (public library, school computer, etc.) or a shared computer (family computer, roommate's computer, etc.), we strongly recommend that you sign out of your MECA account and close your browser before getting up and moving away from the computer. This will prevent others from accessing your Membership account and Personal Information. Please note that because our company is particularly sensitive to protecting information about children on the Internet, kids under 13 are not eligible to be members of MECA.

What if I need to review or change the contact information I previously disclosed?
We encourage MECA members to update and edit their contact information and keep it current. You can easily correct or update your contact information in the Manage menu under "My Profile". You may edit your contact information by using your MECA member name and password.

What about children's information?
Children under 13 years of age may not register for MECA or use the Service.

Other information about privacy:
Visitors from outside the United States: For those of you visiting us from outside the United States of America, please note that if you register or use the Service, the information you enter may be transferred outside of your country. By using the Service, you consent to this transfer and to the information usage described above. If you choose to access the Service or the Site from outside the United States of America, you take responsibility for compliance with applicable privacy laws of your country.

Notification of Change: MECA may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes to this Privacy Policy will be posted on this page so that you always will know what information we collect, how it is used, and when and how it will be disclosed. If at any point MECA decides to use Personal Information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected, we will notify affected users by way of an e-mail sent to the e-mail address which you have provided to us. Your use of the Service or the Site following notice of such change will be deemed acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy, which may include application of the new policy to Personal Information provided prior to the date of such change.

Who can I contact if I have any questions regarding my privacy?
Please contact us directly at legal@meca.com with any questions or comments regarding this Privacy Policy or the use of your Personal Information.

Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Rules of Conduct | DMCA Notice | Top

Rules of Conduct

These Rules of Conduct, part of our overall Terms and Conditions of Service, describe various types of behavior which are not permitted in connection with use of the MECA services (the "Service") available to you either through the MECA Internet web site (the "Site") or otherwise. By posting information on or otherwise using the Service or the Site, you agree that you will not upload, post, or otherwise distribute or facilitate distribution of any content -- including text, communications, software, images, sounds, data, or other information that:

  1. Is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, fraudulent, invasive of another's privacy, tortuous, contains explicit or graphic descriptions or accounts of sexual acts (including but not limited to sexual language of a violent or threatening nature directed at another individual or group of individuals), or otherwise violates MECA's rules or policies;
  2. Victimizes, harasses, degrades, or intimidates an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, or disability;
  3. Infringes on any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of publicity, or other proprietary right of any party;
  4. Constitutes unauthorized or unsolicited advertising, junk or bulk e-mail (also known as "spamming"), chain letters, any other form of unauthorized solicitation, or any form of lottery or gambling;
  5. Contains software viruses or any other computer code, files, or programs that are designed or intended to disrupt, damage, or limit the functioning of any software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment or to damage or obtain unauthorized access to any data or other information of any third party;or
  6. Impersonates any person or entity, including any employee or representative of MECA.

You also agree that you will not harvest or collect information about the users or members of the Service or the Site or use such information for the purpose of transmitting or facilitating transmission of unsolicited bulk electronic e-mail or communications.

You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, or resell any part of the Service.

You further agree that you will not knowingly solicit or collect personal information from a child under 13 years of age without appropriate prior verifiable parental consent.

MECA will immediately terminate any Membership which it believes, in its sole discretion, is transmitting or is otherwise connected with any spam or other unsolicited bulk e-mail. To the extent actual damages for such spamming can be reasonably calculated, you agree to pay MECA's actual damages. If actual damages for such spamming cannot be reasonably calculated, then you agree to pay MECA liquidated damages of $5 for each piece of spam or unsolicited bulk e-mail transmitted from or otherwise connected with your Membership or account to a particular address.

MECA generally does not pre-screen, monitor, or edit the content posted by users of the Service or the Site. However, MECA and its agents have the right at their sole discretion to remove any content that MECA, in its judgment, believes does not comply with these Rules of Conduct or is otherwise harmful, objectionable, or inaccurate. MECA is not responsible for any failure or delay in removing such content.

If you believe that your work or the work of another has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, MECA has a process in place to respond to your concerns. Please see http://www.mecamessenger.com/legal.jsp#dmca.

Always use caution when giving out any personally identifying information about yourself or your children in the Service and the Site. MECA does not control or endorse any content, messages or information found in the Service, which is provided by other parties. In no event shall MECA (including its officers, directors, employees, affiliates and agents) be liable for claims of any nature, whether direct or indirect, arising from or related to any content made available on or through the Service or the Site, including, but not limited to, errors or omissions in such content, and loss or damages incurred as a result of use of such content. Managers and hosts of the Service are not authorized MECA spokespersons. Their views do not necessarily reflect those of MECA and they do not have the authority to bind MECA.

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DMCA notice

How to Contact Us About Copyright Infringement Claims

MECA will take appropriate steps to protect the intellectual property rights of third parties if it receives notice in accordance with the provisions required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, as follows.

If you believe your copyright or the copyright of another has been infringed on the MECA Internet web site (the "Site") or the services available to you through the Site (the "Service"), please provide MECA's "Copyright Agent" identified below with a written notice (a "Notice") containing the following information:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the affected copyright interest
  2. A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed
  3. A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Service or the Site
  4. Your address, telephone number, and, if available, e-mail address
  5. 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
  6. A statement by you that the information in your Notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.

Claims of infringement on the Service or the Site should be addressed to MECA's Copyright Agent at the following street address:

MECA Communications, Inc.
1305 Marsh Street, Suite 200
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 U.S.A.

Telephone Number of Copyright Agent: (805) 544-7800
Facsimile Number of Copyright Agent: (805) 544-7801
E-mail Address of Copyright Agent: legal@meca.com.

This contact information is only for reporting copyright infringement. Contact information for other matters is provided elsewhere on the Site.

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