Terms of Service

Acceptance of Terms

Welcome to Cucina Media’s PublicSquare service (the “Service”). Whether you are an account holder having a Publication on one of Cucina Media’s web services, including on or within the URL PublicSquareHQ.com (an “Account Holder”), or a guest invited by an Account Holder (a “Guest”) to post comments or author content on the Account Holders Publication, your use of the Service is subject to these Terms of Service (“TOS”). Cucina Media reserves the right to update and change the TOS from time to time without notice or acceptance by you. The TOS will also be applicable to the use of the Service on a trial basis. By using the Service, you signify your irrevocable acceptance of this TOS.
By using the publicsquarehq.com, mypublicsquare.com, ourpublicsquare.com or indieword.com web sites (“Service”), all services of Cucina Media Inc. (“Cucina Media”), you are agreeing to be bound by the following terms and conditions (“Terms of Service”).
Cucina Media reserves the right to update and change the Terms of Service from time to time without notice. Any new features that augment or enhance the current Service, including the release of new tools and resources, shall be subject to the Terms of Service. Continued use of the Service after any such changes shall constitute your consent to such changes. You can review the most current version of the Terms of Service at any time at: http://www.PublicSquarehq.com/terms.html
Violation of any of the terms below will result in the termination of your Account. While Cucina Media prohibits such conduct and Content on the Service, you understand and agree that Cucina Media cannot be responsible for the Content posted on the Service and you nonetheless may be exposed to such materials. You agree to use the Service at your own risk.

Account Terms

You must be 13 years or older to use this Service.
You must be a human. Accounts registered by “bots” or other automated methods are not permitted.
You must provide your legal full name, a valid email address, and any other information requested in order to complete the signup process.
Your login may only be used by one person – a single login shared by multiple people is not permitted. You may create separate logins for as many people as you’d like.
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and password. Cucina Media cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage from your failure to comply with this security obligation.
You are responsible for all Content posted and activity that occurs under your account (even when Content is posted by others who have accounts under your account).
If you are using a free account you are not permitted to block ads or run your own ads on the site.
One person or legal entity may not maintain more than one free account.
You may not use the Service for any illegal or unauthorized purpose. You must not, in the use of the Service, violate any laws in your jurisdiction (including but not limited to copyright laws).

API Terms

Customers may at a later date access their PublicSquare account data via an API (Application Program Interface). Any use of the API, including use of the API through a third-party product that accesses PublicSquare, is bound by the terms of this agreement plus the following specific terms:

You expressly understand and agree that Cucina Media shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages, including but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data or other intangible losses (even if Cucina Media has been advised of the possibility of such damages), resulting from your use of the API or third-party products that access data via the API.
Cucina Media reserves the right at any time to throttle (for example, if Account Holder exceeds 100 requests per minute for one account) without previously notifying the Account Holder.
Abuse or excessively frequent requests to PublicSquare via the API may result in the temporary or permanent suspension of your account’s access to the API. Cucina Media, in its sole discretion, will determine abuse or excessive usage of the API. Cucina Media will make a reasonable attempt via email to warn the account owner prior to suspension.
Cucina Media reserves the right at any time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, your access to the API (or any part thereof) with or without notice.

Payment, Refunds, Upgrading and Downgrading Terms

A valid credit card is required for paying accounts. Free accounts are not required to provide a credit card number.
If you initially sign up for a Basic or Premium account and you don’t cancel that account within 30 days, you will be billed monthly starting on the 30th day after your account was initially created. If you cancel prior to the processing of your first invoice on the 30th day, you will not be charged.
You will be billed for your first month immediately upon upgrading.
The Service is billed in advance on a monthly basis and is non-refundable. There will be no refunds or credits for partial months of service, upgrade/downgrade refunds, or refunds for months unused with an open account. In order to treat everyone equally, no exceptions will be made.
All fees are exclusive of all taxes, levies, or duties imposed by taxing authorities, and you shall be responsible for payment of all such taxes, levies, or duties, excluding only United States (federal or state) taxes.
For any upgrade or downgrade in plan level, your credit card that you provided will automatically be charged the new rate on your next billing cycle.
Downgrading your Service may cause the loss of Content, features, or capacity of your Account. Cucina Media does not accept any liability for such loss.

Cancellation and Termination

You are solely responsible for properly cancelling your account. An email or phone request to cancel your account is not considered cancellation. You can cancel your account at any time by clicking on the Account link in the global navigation bar at the top of the screen. The Account screen provides a simple no questions asked cancellation link.
Upon cancellation, your Publication will be reformatted to a free account. This will remain public. You are solely responsible for removing any content you do not wish to keep available to the public.
If you cancel the Service before the end of your current paid up month, your cancellation will take effect immediately and you will not be charged again.
Cucina Media, in its sole discretion, has the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Service, or any other Cucina Media service, for any reason at any time. Such termination of the Service will result in the deactivation or deletion of your Account or your access to your Account, and the forfeiture and relinquishment of all Content in your Account. Cucina Media reserves the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time.

Modifications to the Service and Prices

Cucina Media reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice.
Prices of all Services, including but not limited to monthly subscription plan fees to the Service, are subject to change upon 30 days notice from us. Such notice may be provided at any time by posting the changes to the PublicSquare Site (www.PublicSquarehq.com) or the Service itself.
Cucina Media shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, price change, suspension or discontinuance of the Service.

CONTENT AND CONDUCT RULES AND OBLIGATIONS

Cucina Media does not pre-screen Content, but Cucina Media and its designee have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to refuse or remove any Content that is available via the Service.

Without limiting the foregoing, Cucina Media and its designees shall have the right to remove any Content that violates the TOS or is otherwise objectionable. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such Content. In this regard, you acknowledge that you may not rely on any Content created by Cucina Media or submitted to Cucina Media. You acknowledge and agree that Cucina Media may preserve Content and may also disclose Content if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce the TOS; (c) respond to claims that any Content violates the rights of third-parties; or (d) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Cucina Media, its users and the public.

Should Content be found or reported to be in violation with, but not limited to, the following terms, it will be in Cucina Media’s sole discretion as to what action should be taken.
You agree that you will not:
(a) upload, post, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy (up to, but not excluding any address, email, phone number, or any other contact information without the written consent of the owner of such information), hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
(b) harm minors in any way;
(c) impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a Cucina Media official, forum leader, guide or host, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
(d) forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any Content transmitted through the Service;
(e) upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements);
(f) upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, rights of privacy or publicity, or other proprietary rights of any party;
(g) upload, post, or transmit unsolicited commercial email or “spam”. This includes unethical marketing, advertising, or any other practice that is in any way connected with “spam”, such as (a) sending mass email to recipients who haven’t requested email from you or with a fake return address, (b) promoting a site with inappropriate links, titles, descriptions, or© promoting your site by posting multiple submissions in public forums that are identical;
(h) upload, post or otherwise transmit any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
(i) interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers or networks connected to the Service, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Service;
(j) intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, including, but not limited to, regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any rules of any national or other securities exchange, including without limitation, the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ, and any regulations having the force of law;
(k) “stalk” or otherwise harass another;
(l) promote or provide instructional information about illegal activities, promote physical harm or injury against any group or individual, or promote any act of cruelty to animals. This may include, without limitation, providing instructions on how to assemble bombs, grenades and other weapons or incendiary devices;
(m) offer for sale or sell any item, good or service that (a) violates any applicable federal, state, or local law or regulation, (b) you do not have full power and authority under all relevant laws and regulations to offer and sell, including all necessary licenses and authorizations, or© Cucina Media determines, in its sole discretion, is inappropriate for sale through the Service provided by Cucina Media;
(n) use the Service as a forwarding service to another website;
(o) exceed the scope of the Service that you have signed up for; for example, accessing and using the tools that you do not have a right to use, or deleting, adding to, or otherwise changing other peoples comments or content as a Guest. If any user is reported to be in violation with the letter or spirit of these terms, Cucina Media retains the right to terminate such account at any time without further warning.

ADVERTISERS

Your correspondence or business dealings with, or participation in promotions of, advertisers found on or through the Service, including payment and delivery of related goods or services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such advertiser. You agree that Cucina Media shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings or as the result of the presence of such advertisers on the Service. You may also place advertisements on your Publication if and when Cucina Media makes this feature generally available as part of the Service. Your advertisement placement will be subject to additional terms.

General Conditions

Your use of the Service is at your sole risk. The service is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.
Technical support is only provided to paying account holders and is only available via email.
You must not modify, adapt or hack the Service or modify another website so as to falsely imply that it is associated with the Service, Cucina Media, or any other Cucina Media service.
You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any portion of the Service, use of the Service, or access to the Service without the express written permission by Cucina Media.
Verbal, physical, written or other abuse (including threats of abuse or retribution) of any Cucina Media customer, employee, member, or officer will result in immediate account termination.
You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the Service, including your Content, may be transferred unencrypted and involve (a) transmissions over various networks; and (b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices.
You must not upload, post, host, or transmit unsolicited email, SMSs, or “spam” messages.
You must not transmit any worms or viruses or any code of a destructive nature.
If your bandwidth usage exceeds the amount covered by the plan you have selected or if the free plan significantly exceeds the average bandwidth usage (as determined solely by Cucina Media) of other PublicSquare customers, we reserve the right to immediately disable your account or throttle your file hosting until you can reduce your bandwidth consumption.
Cucina Media does not warrant that (i) the service will meet your specific requirements, (ii) the service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, (iii) the results that may be obtained from the use of the service will be accurate or reliable, (iv) the quality of any products, services, information, or other material purchased or obtained by you through the service will meet your expectations, and (v) any errors in the Service will be corrected.
You expressly understand and agree that Cucina Media shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages, including but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data or other intangible losses (even if Cucina Media has been advised of the possibility of such damages), resulting from: (i) the use or the inability to use the service; (ii) the cost of procurement of substitute goods and services resulting from any goods, data, information or services purchased or obtained or messages received or transactions entered into through or from the service; (iii) unauthorized access to or alteration of your transmissions or data; (iv) statements or conduct of any third party on the service; (v) or any other matter relating to the service.
The failure of Cucina Media to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. The Terms of Service constitutes the entire agreement between you and Cucina Media and govern your use of the Service, superseding any prior agreements between you and Cucina Media (including, but not limited to, any prior versions of the Terms of Service).
The Service may provide, or third parties may provide, links to other World Wide Web sites or resources. Because Cucina Media has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that Cucina Media is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any Content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You further acknowledge and agree that Cucina Media 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 site or resource.
Questions about the Terms of Service should be sent to support at PublicSquarehq dot com.

INDEMNITY

You agree to indemnify and hold Cucina Media, and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, co-branders or other partners, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your Content, your use of the Service, your Guests activities, your connection to the Service, your violation of the TOS, or your violation of any rights of another, whether you are a registered user or not. The user is solely responsible for his or her actions when using the Service, including, but not limited to, costs incurred for Internet access.

CUCINA MEDIA’S PROPRIETARY RIGHTS

You acknowledge and agree that the Service and any necessary software used in connection with the Service (“Software”) contains proprietary and confidential information that is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws. You further acknowledge and agree that Content contained in sponsor advertisements or information presented to you through the Service or advertisers is protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents or other proprietary rights and laws. Except as expressly authorized by Cucina Media or advertisers, you agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on the Service or the Software, in whole or in part.
Cucina Media does not want to receive confidential or proprietary information from you through the Service or by email. Unless otherwise agreed in writing by an authorized Cucina Media representative, any material, information or idea you transmit to Cucina Media by any means may be disseminated or used by Cucina Media or its affiliates without compensation or liability to you for any purpose whatsoever, including, but not limited to, developing, manufacturing and marketing products. However, this provision does not apply to Content (as defined herein), or to personal information that is subject to our Privacy Policy.

VIOLATIONS

Please report any violations of the TOS to our Content Violation Reporting Form.

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