Terms of Use Agreement

Effective Date: January 1, 2013.

Welcome to www.MRC.org

This web site (Site) is operated by Media Research Center (MRC), an Internet Service Provider, as that term is used in the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"); materials on the Site are owned, for the most part, by MRC. The Site may also include materials owned by third parties and posted on the Site by virtue of a license, grant or some other form of agreement between the third party and MRC.

MRC has created this Site for your personal educational, scholarship and research purposes. However, you are only authorized to access this Site or to review the materials contained in the Site (regardless of whether your access or use is intended) if you agree to abide by all applicable laws, and to these Terms of Use which constitute an Agreement between you and MRC. Please read these Terms of Use carefully and save them. If you do not agree with them, you should leave this Site immediately. Any questions or comments regarding, or problems with, this Site should be sent to the Site Administrator at administrator@mrc.org.

MRC reserves the right to modify or amend these Terms of Use without notice at any time. It is therefore important that you read this page regularly to ensure you are updated as to any changes.

If you become aware of misuse of this Site or any violations of the Terms of Use by any person, please contact the Site Administrator with your concerns.

You must be 18 years of age to become a member of, and/or use this Site.

Access

All materials contained in this Site are protected by international trademark and copyright laws and must only be used for personal educational, non-commercial purposes. This means that you may only view or download material from this Site for your own use and you must keep all copyright and other proprietary notices attached to the downloaded material.

The reproduction, duplication, distribution (including by way of email, facsimile or any other electronic means), publication, modification, copying or transmission of material from this Site is STRICTLY PROHIBITED unless you have obtained the prior written consent of MRC or unless it is expressly permitted by this Site. The material covered by this prohibition includes, but is not limited to, any text, graphics, logos, photographs, audio or video material or stills from audiovisual material available on this Site. The use of materials from this Site on any other web site or networked computer environment is similarly prohibited.

Requests for permission to reproduce or distribute materials found on this Site can be made by contacting MRC in writing at administrator@mrc.org.

You are also strictly prohibited from creating works or materials that derive from or are based on the materials contained in this Site including by way of example and without limitation, fonts, icons, link buttons, wallpaper, desktop themes, on-line postcards and greeting cards and unlicensed merchandise. This prohibition applies regardless of whether the derivative materials are sold, bartered or given away.

The Site may provide you with the opportunity to upload or provide messages, ideas, feedback, comments or other content (“Content”). If the Site does provide you with such an opportunity, you understand and agree that MRC has the right in its sole discretion, but is not obligated to, monitor, edit, and remove any posted Content, and assumes no liability for any such Content. You warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to such Content, that it is accurate, and that its use does not violate these terms and will not injure any person or entity. You further agree not to upload, post or otherwise make available Content that is protected by a third party’s copyright, trademark or other proprietary right without the express permission of the third party owner of the copyright, trademark or other proprietary right. All persons or groups authorized to provide Content to the Site shall be solely liable for any damage resulting from any infringements on third party rights resulting from your submission of such Content.

If you are authorized to provide Content, you agree that your uploading and/or transmittal of Content does not violate any of provisions set forth under the “Bulletin Boards and Chat Rooms” section of these terms. If you upload or transmit Content, you grant to MRC an exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, sub-licensable right to use, reproduce, modify, publish, translate, create derivative works (including products) from, distribute, and display such Content, in whole or in part, throughout the world in all media. You grant to MRC the right to use the name that you submit in connection with such Content.

You agree that any Content that you submit shall be considered non-proprietary and non-confidential. MRC shall have no obligations of any kind with respect to any Content and shall be free to reproduce, use, disclose and/or distribute any Content for any purpose whatsoever, without limitation. You also agree that MRC shall be free to use any ideas, concepts or techniques embodied in the Content for any purpose whatsoever, including, but not limited to, producing, developing and marketing news stories, shows, content of any kind, products or services incorporating such ideas, concepts, or techniques, without attribution. In addition, you hereby waive all moral rights you may have in any materials uploaded or sent to us by you.

You must be 18 years of age to become an authorized provider of Content.

Messages, Bulletin Boards, Groups and Chat Rooms

You are welcome to post, transmit or submit messages and other materials (which include uploading files, inputting data or any other materials or engaging in any form of communication in connection with this Site) (collectively "Messages") to bulletin boards, groups, chat rooms or other public areas within, or in connection with, this Site (collectively "Forums"). However, MRC accepts no responsibility whatsoever in connection with or arising from such Messages. In addition, no one under the age of 18 is authorized to post messages or participate in forums on this site.

MRC does not endorse and has no control over the content of Messages submitted by others to Forums. Messages submitted to Forums are not necessarily reviewed by MRC prior to posting and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of MRC. MRC makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the content of the Messages in the Forums or the accuracy and reliability of any Messages and other materials in the Forums. Nonetheless, MRC reserves the right, but is not obligated, to prevent you from submitting Materials to Forums and to edit, restrict or remove such Messages for any reason at any time.

MRC assumes no responsibility for actively monitoring Forums for inappropriate Messages. If at any time MRC chooses, in its sole discretion, to monitor the Forums, MRC nonetheless assumes no responsibility for the content of the Messages, no obligation to modify or remove any inappropriate Messages, and no responsibility for the conduct of the user submitting any Message. In submitting Messages to Forums, you agree to strictly limit yourself to discussions about the subject matter for which the Forums are intended. You agree that MRC accepts no liability whatsoever if it determines to prevent your Messages from being submitted or if it edits, restricts or removes your Messages. You also agree to permit any other user of this Site to access, view, store or reproduce the material for that other user's personal use and not to restrict or inhibit the use of the Site by any other person.

You agree that you will not submit Messages to Forums that:

  • are unlawful, threatening, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane or indecent including any communication that constitutes (or encourages conduct that would constitute) a criminal offense, gives rise to civil liability or otherwise violates any local, state, national or international law;
  • violate the copyright, trademark or other intellectual property rights of any other person. By submitting Messages to Forums, you represent to MRC that you are the rightful owner of such material or that you have first obtained permission to submit the material from the rightful owner;
  • improperly assume or claim the identity, characteristics or qualifications of another person
  • are for purposes of spamming
  • contain any virus or other harmful component
  • are libelous, or an invasion of privacy or publicity rights or any other third party rights; or
  • are for commercial purposes or contain advertising or are intended to solicit a person to buy or sell services or to make donations.

You agree that any Message whatsoever submitted by you becomes the property of MRC and may be used, copied, sub-licensed, adapted, transmitted, distributed, publicly performed, published, displayed or deleted as MRC sees fit.

You agree to release MRC, its parents and affiliates together with their respective employees, agents, officers, directors and shareholders, from any and all liability and obligations whatsoever in connection with or arising from your use of Forums. If at any time you are not happy with the Forums or object to any material within Forums, your sole remedy is to cease using them.

RSS Feeds

MRC offers free headlines for personal, non-commercial use via Really Simple Syndication (“RSS”) (RSS 2.0). RSS is an XML-based format for easily sharing news headlines and summaries for use in your favorite news readers and Web logs (blogs). The feeds include links back to the Site for the full article, and they update automatically.

To use RSS, you will need a special RSS news reader or aggregator that will allow you to collect and display the RSS content. MRC does not provide the required news reader or aggregator. There are many different news readers available, many for free. Most news readers are applications that you download and install. Others are web-based services you sign up for that work inside your browser.

These Terms of Use govern your use of RSS. Any uses of RSS not granted herein are strictly prohibited. Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to, the incorporation of advertising or the placement of advertising associated with or targeted at the content of the RSS. You may not edit or modify the RSS feeds in any manner whatsoever. RSS feeds may be used only with platforms with a functional link which takes the viewer directly to the full article on the Site. You may not insert any intermediate page, splash page or any other content between the RSS link and the applicable article on the Site. MRC retains all ownership and other rights in the RSS content and in any and all MRC logos and trademarks used in connection with RSS feeds. If you provide attribution using a graphic, you must use the appropriate MRC logo incorporated into the RSS content or feed.

MRC reserves the right to cease offering any or all of the RSS feeds at any time or to require you to cease distributing any or all of the feeds at any time for any reason. MRC assumes no liability for your activities in connection with the RSS feeds or for your use of the feeds in connection with your website.

Submissions

MRC does not endorse any user submission to MRC.org or any opinion, recommendation or advice expressed therein, and MRC expressly disclaims any and all liability in connection with user submissions. MRC does not permit copyright-infringing activities and infringement of intellectual property on its Site, and MRC will remove all content and user submissions if properly notified that such content or user submissions infringe on intellectual property rights. MRC reserves the right to remove content and user submissions without prior notice.

All submissions sent to MRC via this Site, become the property of MRC and may be used, copied, sub-licensed, adapted, transmitted, distributed, publicly performed, published, displayed or deleted as MRC sees fit. You agree that you are not entitled to any compensation, credit or notice whatsoever and that by uploading/sending a submission you waive the right to make any claim against MRC, its parents or affiliates relating to submissions, including, without limitation, unfair competition, breach of implied contract or breach of confidentiality.

I understand my comments may be used by MRC in accordance with the Terms of Use and understand that MRC reserves the right to contact me.

Linked Sites

You may create a hypertext link to this Site, provided that you do not represent in any way, expressly or by implication, that you have received the endorsement, sponsorship or support of this Site or MRC, or that you are related to, represent or are affiliated in any way with MRC, including its respective employees, agents, directors, officers and shareholders, or this Site. In no event, however, may you create a hypertext link to or from this Site to or from a political party or campaign committee web site, or any individual candidate for elective office, or any site that advocates for the election or defeat of a candidate for elective office, or in support of or against a political party or campaign committee.

If MRC has provided links or pointers to other web sites, no inference or assumption should be made and no representation should be implied that MRC is connected with, affiliated with, operates or controls these web sites, or is operated or controlled in any manner by these web sites or their owners.

MRC is not responsible for the content or practices of third party web sites that may be linked to this Site. This Site may also be linked to other web sites operated by companies affiliated or connected with MRC. When visiting other web sites, however, you should refer to each such web site's individual "Terms of Use" and not rely on this Agreement.

MRC takes no responsibility for third party advertisements which are posted on this Site, nor does it take any responsibility for the goods or services provided by its advertisers.

Disclaimer of Liability and Warranties

While MRC does its best to ensure the optimal performance of the Site, you agree that you use this Site and rely on material contained in this Site at your own risk.

The Site, and all materials in this Site, are provided "as is" and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, are provided without warranties of any kind either express or implied. This means, without limitation, that MRC DOES NOT WARRANT that the Site is fit for any particular purpose; that the functions contained in the materials in the Site will be uninterrupted; that defects will be corrected; that the Site is free of viruses and other harmful components or that the Site is accurate, error free or reliable.

You acknowledge that MRC and third party content providers, their parents and affiliates together with their respective employees, agents, directors, officers and shareholders, ARE NOT LIABLE for any delays, inaccuracies, failures, errors, omissions, interruptions, deletions, defects, viruses, communication line failures or for the theft, destruction, damage or unauthorized access to your computer system or network.

You acknowledge that MRC is not liable for any defamatory, offensive or illegal conduct or material found in connection with this Site, including such conduct or material transmitted by any means by any other person.

You acknowledge that MRC and third party content providers are not liable for any damages, including, without limitation, direct, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, in connection with or arising from your use or from your inability to use the Site.

With respect to any Content provided by users or other submissions, MRC is merely an Internet Service Provider of such Content. MRC is not responsible for any Content submitted by users or other third parties, including their opinions, judgments, advice, statements, services or other information provided. MRC shall not be liable for any loss or damage caused by any reliance upon such information obtained through the Website. It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any Content.

Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless MRC, its parents and affiliates together with their respective employees, agents, directors, officers and shareholders, from and against all the liabilities, claims, damages and expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees and costs) arising out of your use of this Site; your failure to use the Site; your breach or alleged breach of this Agreement or your breach or alleged breach of the copyright, trademark, proprietary or other rights of third parties.

Termination

MRC reserves the right to immediately terminate your use of, or access to, this Site at any time if MRC decides at its sole discretion that you have breached this Agreement or any relevant law, rule or regulation or you have engaged in conduct that MRC considers to be inappropriate or unacceptable. If the MRC chooses to terminate your use or access, the MRC retains the right to remove any content you added to the Site.

Copyright Infringement

If you believe that any material contained in this Site infringes your copyright, you should notify MRC of your copyright infringement claim in accordance with the following procedure.

MRC will process notices of alleged infringement which it receives and will take appropriate action as required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") and other applicable intellectual property laws. The DMCA requires that notifications of claimed copyright infringement should be sent to this Site's Designated Agent:

David Martin
Executive Vice President
Media Research Center
325 South Patrick Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3580

To be effective, the notification must be in writing and contain the following information (DMCA, 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3)):

  1. Physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
  2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
  3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
  4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
  5. A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
  6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Other

These Terms of Use operate to the fullest extent permissible by law. If any provision of this Agreement is unlawful, void or unenforceable, that provision is deemed severable from this Agreement and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

This Agreement is governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia for resolution of any dispute, action or proceeding arising in connection with this Agreement or your use or non-use of the Site, and you further irrevocably waive any right you may have to trial by jury in any such dispute, action or proceeding.

Trademarks

MRC.org and the MRC logo are trademarks of Media Research Center, and all other trademarks, service marks and trade names used on the Site are the property of their respective owners, and all of the above trademarks may not be copied, downloaded or otherwise exploited without the permission of MRC or the owner of such trademark, service mark or trade name, except as explicitly permitted in these Terms of Use.

Privacy Policy

Details of the MRC Privacy Policy can be located here.