Observer Media Terms of Service
Updated on January 30th, 2025
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are entered into between you and Observer Holdings LLC d/b/a Observer Media, and its affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively “Observer,” “us,” “we,” or “our”). The following Terms, in addition to any other relevant agreements you have with us, will govern your access to and use of the Observer website at www.observer.com, its microsites, mobile websites, mobile application, interactive features, widgets, plug-ins, content, products, publications, subscriptions, assets, and downloads (collectively, the “Website”) and your use of Observer’s services, including those services that post a link to these Terms, (together with the Website, are the “Services”).
Please read these Terms carefully before you start to use the Services. BY USING OUR SERVICES YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO BE BOUND AND ABIDE BY THESE TERMS AND OUR PRIVACY POLICY FOUND HERE WHICH IS INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE. If you do not agree to these Terms or our Privacy Policy you must not access or use our Services.
We may revise and update these Terms from time to time in our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when we post them. Your continued use of the Services following the posting of any revised Terms or Privacy Policy means you agree to the changes.
I. Intellectual Property Rights
In General
The Services and all of the information they contain, such as, but not limited to, articles, reviews, directories, opinions, other text, guides, photographs, illustrations, images, video, audio, advertising copy (and the design, selection and arrangement thereof), html coding and other computer programs and software (including source and object code) as well as the trademarks, logos, domain names, and any and all copyrightable material and/or any other form of intellectual property (collectively, the "Content") are owned by Observer, its licensors, or other third parties.
Subject to these Terms and any applicable fees and charges, Observer hereby grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited right to access and use the Services solely for your personal, non-commercial use, and, only where expressly permitted on the Website or elsewhere through the Services, you may download or print a copy of a portion of the Content provided you do not remove any trademark, copyright or other notice contained in or on such Content.
You do not acquire any right, title or interest in such Content by virtue of accessing the Services or making use of the permitted uses allowed under these Terms. You may not copy distribute, reproduce, mirror, frame, publicly display, publicly perform, translate, create derivative works, republish or transmit such Content or the Services, in whole or in part, or in any way without our prior written consent. You may not use any name, logo, tagline or other mark of Observer without our prior written consent.
Please direct any requests to use Content for any purpose other than as expressly permitted in these Terms to licensing@observermedia.com. If you do not receive a response to any such request you should assume that the request has been denied. In certain cases, you may be able to obtain a license to use individual stories that appear on this Website through online functionality we have specifically designated (for example, you may be permitted to "E-mail a Friend" or to purchase the rights to reproduce a story for other use).
When expressly permitted to display or distribute Content, you must provide proper attribution that is plainly visible to all viewers of the Content. Attribution gives everyone in the community the opportunity to correct errors and keep the Content up to date. You have the sole responsibility to ensure you are in full compliance with these and any other license terms when you use the Content.
If you print, copy, modify, download, or otherwise use or provide any other person with access to any part of the Content or the Services in breach of these Terms, your right to use the Services will stop immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. No right, title, or interest in or to the Content or the Services is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by Observer. Any use of our Content or the Services not expressly permitted by these Terms is a breach of these Terms and may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws.
Submissions and Unsolicited Materials
Please note that it is a policy of Observer not to accept or consider unsolicited articles, photos, proposal, ideas or other materials of any kind. Observer will, and you license Observer and agree that Observer may: (i) consider any and all materials, including without limitation proposals, ideas, concepts, drafts, articles, photos or finished work product submitted through the Services or otherwise submitted User Contributions ("Submissions") not to be confidential or proprietary; (ii) to be freely available for use of any kind, including use in advertisements and promotions and in Observer, without recognition, compensation or payment of any kind and (iii) modify, alter, display, store, distribute, publish, post, reproduce, disclose, transmit, broadcast, and/or create derivative works of Submissions in any form, media, software or technology of any kind now known or developed in the future for any purposes.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") Notice
We are committed to complying with copyright and related laws, and we require all users of the Services to comply with these laws. Accordingly, you may not store any material or content on, or disseminate any material or content over, the Services in any manner that constitutes an infringement of any third-party intellectual property rights, including rights granted by copyright law.
Owners of copyrighted works who believe that their rights under copyright law have been infringed may take advantage of certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the "DMCA") to report alleged infringements. You may not post, modify, distribute, or reproduce in any way any copyrighted material, trademarks, or other proprietary information belonging to others without obtaining the prior written consent of the owner of such proprietary rights. It is our policy to terminate use privileges of any user who repeatedly infringes the copyright rights of others upon receipt of proper notification to us by the copyright owner or the copyright owner's legal agent.
If you believe that certain Content may infringe your copyrights, we encourage you to contact our Designated Agent immediately with the following:
an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest;
a description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;
a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Website;
your address, telephone number, and email address;
a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright or intellectual property owner, its agent, or the law; and
a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information contained in your report is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner's behalf.
Please address such notice with the below information to our Designated Agent at:
Eliot Pierce
Observer Media
1 Whitehall Street
7th Floor
New York, NY 10004
Email: epierce@observermedia.com
Upon our receipt of a proper notice of claimed infringement under the DMCA, we will respond expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material claimed to be infringing and will follow the procedures specified in the DMCA to resolve the claim between the notifying party and the alleged infringer who provided the Content in issue.
II. The Observer Website and Subscriptions
We reserve the right to withdraw or amend the Services, and any material we provide through the Services, in our sole discretion without notice. We will not be liable if for any reason all or part of the Services is unavailable at any time or for any period. From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of the Services, or the entirety of the Services, to users, including registered users.
Subscriptions
Accounts
To access the Services and some of the resources they offer, including subscriptions, you may be asked to provide certain account details or other information. It is a condition of your use of the Services that all the information you provide to us is correct, current, and complete. You agree that all information you provide to us is governed by our Privacy Policy and you consent to all actions we take with respect to your information consistent with our Privacy Policy.
Unless agreed by Observer in writing, each subscription account is for a single user only if you choose, or are provided with, a user name, password, or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential, and you must not disclose, sell, transfer or assign this information or your account and any rights associated with it to any other person or entity. You acknowledge that your account is personal to you and agree that you are responsible for all activities that occur under your account or password. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to or use of your user name or password or any other breach of security. We reserve the right to terminate your account or access to the Services if you are in breach of these Terms.
Fees & Payment
In consideration for Observer’s subscriptions, including our Premium Membership and Premium + Membership, you agree to pay Observer the fee set forth in the applicable sign-up page or invoice. Certain corporate accounts are eligible for discounts depending on the number of users on the corporate account and as mutually agreed between the parties. You authorize Observer to charge/debit the credit card that you designate for payment (the “Payment Method”) in accordance with the billing terms set forth in the applicable sign-up page or invoice.
You represent that you are a legally authorized user of the Payment Method and authorize Observer or its third-party vendors to store your Payment Method for future use. You are responsible for ensuring that the Payment Method is current and accurate at all times. All Fees are non-refundable except as expressly agreed by Observer in writing.
All fees will be billed at the beginning of your subscription or any renewal (or as soon thereafter as fees or charges are incurred) and are nonrefundable. Your subscription will renew automatically, unless we terminate it or you notify us by e-mail of your decision to terminate your subscription. You must cancel your subscription before it renews in order to avoid billing of fees for the renewal term to your credit card. Subscriptions may be cancelled through your account settings or by reaching out to membership@observermedia.com.
Specific questions about memberships can be directed to membership@observermedia.com.
Observer shall have no liability for its inability to process or receive payments through the Payment Method, including circumstances beyond Observer’s control.
Note that any information transmitted over the Internet cannot be guaranteed. For more details as to the security of information collected through the Services please view our Privacy Policy.
Restrictions on Use
We have the right to disable any user name, password, or other identifier, whether chosen by you or provided by us, at any time, if, in our opinion, you have violated any provision of these Terms of Service.
You agree that you will not access or use the Content or the Services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms, including without limitation, to:
(i) transmit any information or message that contains unlawful, profane, vulgar, infringing, threatening, hateful, fraudulent, libelous, defamatory, false, misleading, obscene or abusive information or language;
(ii) falsify or delete any author attributions, legal or other proper notices or proprietary designations or labels of the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is uploaded;
(iii) impersonate any person or entity without proper authorization from that person or entity (for example, using or attempting to obtain or use another's information, account, or password in any manner);
(iv) falsely state or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity, including the origin of any information you provide;
(v) reproduce, duplicate, copy, download, store, further transmit, disseminate, distribute, transfer, or otherwise exploit the Services, or any portion thereof without the prior written consent of Observer, except that certain Content on the Website may be viewed, reproduced, and downloaded solely for your own authorized use as expressly permitted herein and is not in use or shared in any way that is commercially prejudicial to or competitive with Observer;
(vi) use any device, software, or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Services, or attempt to probe, scan, test the vulnerability of, or breach the security of any Observer system or network;
(vii) interfere with or attempt to interfere with any software making up a part of the Services, by way of circumvention, reverse engineering, deciphering, decompiling, disassembling, decrypting, or otherwise;
(viii) introduce any viruses, trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, or other material which is malicious or technically harmful;
(ix) use any robot, spider, intelligent agent, other automatic device or manual process to search, monitor, or copy the Services, or the reports, data, information, content, software, products, or other materials on, generated by or obtained from the Services or any other unauthorized automated means to compile information without Observer’s permission, with the exception of generally available third-party web browsers;
(x) obtain or attempt to gain unauthorized access to other computer systems, materials, information, or any services available on or through the Services;
(xi) use the Services in any manner that could damage or overburden any Observer server, or any network connected to any Observer server, as all servers have limited capacity and are used by many people;
(xii) upload or transmit any communication, software, or material that contains a virus or is otherwise harmful to Observer or our users’ computers and/or systems;
(xiii) engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits any person from using or enjoying the Services, or that in our sole discretion, exposes us or any of our users, employees, affiliates, or any other third-party to any liability, damage, or detriment of any type;
(xiv) display or link the Content or the Services with or near any content that may be considered is unlawful, abusive, indecent, or obscene, that promotes violence or illegal acts, that contains expressions of racism, that is libelous, defamatory, scandalous, or inflammatory or is otherwise inappropriate or objectionable to Observer;
(xiv) send unsolicited e-mail, including promotions and/or advertising of products or services, through the Services or forge or mask your true identity in any e-mail or posting;
(xiv) frame portions of the Services within another website or establish links from any other website to any page of the Services other than the home page
(xiv) advertise, offer to sell or buy any goods or services for any business purpose, including any “junk mail,” “chain letter,” “spam,” or any other similar solicitation; or
(xiv) violate any applicable laws or regulations.
Violation of system or network security and certain other conduct may result in civil or criminal liability. We may investigate and work with law enforcement authorities to prosecute users who violate these Terms. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Website for any or no reason at any time without notice.
III. User Contributions
The Services may contain reviews, testimonials, discussion forums, and other types of user generated content where you or other users may create, post, or store any content, messages, or other material through the Services (e.g. images, audio, video, logos, emails, texts etc.) (collectively, “User Contributions”). You understand and acknowledge that you are responsible and assume any risk for any User Contributions, including the legality, reliability, accuracy, and appropriateness of such content. Observer neither endorses nor is responsible for any User Contributions and under no circumstance will we or our affiliates, suppliers or agents be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on such User Contributions.
You may be given the opportunity to participate in message boards, chat rooms, polls, and other public forums located through the Services. Any User Contributions by you may be displayed publicly. We are not liable or responsible to you in any way for the use of any information and/or content that you may post to such chat rooms. Any user failing to comply with these Terms may be expelled from and refused continued access to, the message boards, chat rooms or other public forums in the future. We may remove or alter any User Contributions at any time for any reason. Message boards, chat rooms and other public forums are intended to serve as discussion centers for users of the Services. Information and content posted within these public forums may be provided by our staff, outside contributors, or by users not connected with us. We expressly disclaim all responsibility and endorsement and make no representation as to the validity of any opinion, advice, information or statement made or displayed in these forums by third parties, nor are we responsible for any errors or omissions in such postings, or for hyperlinks embedded in any messages.
You agree that any User Contributions by you will not contain material that:
(a) is defamatory, obscene, indecent, abusive, offensive, harassing, violent, hateful, inflammatory, discriminatory or otherwise objectionable;
(b) is false, misleading or inaccurate;
(c) promotes sexually explicit content;
(d) violates the legal rights (including the rights of publicity and privacy) of others or contains any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable laws or regulations or that otherwise may be in conflict with these Terms and our Privacy Policy;
(e) poses a reasonable threat to personal or public safety;
(f) infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other intellectual property or other rights of any other person;
(g) contains any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising or promotional materials (e.g. spam, junk mail, or any other form of solicitation that is in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act, GDPR, or any other law); or
(h) contains any virus or other harmful component.
YOU SHALL BE SOLELY LIABLE FOR ANY HARM RESULTING FROM ANY OF THE ABOVE. YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY, DEFEND, AND HOLD HARMLESS OBSERVER FROM ANY CLAIMS, ACTIONS, LOSSES, HARM, DAMAGE, INJURY, COST, OR EXPENSE ARISING OUT OF OR RESULTING FROM YOUR USER CONTRIBUTIONS.
IV. Links; Third-Party Materials
Links
It is prohibited to link other sites to the Services without Observer's prior written permission. If any errors or inappropriate material are found on web sites to which the Services are linked, Observer requests that you report such to Observer in writing. The link to the Services must not damage, dilute or tarnish the goodwill associated with any trademarks or other intellectual property of Observer or its licensors, nor may the link create the impression that your web site and/or organization is sponsored by, endorsed by, affiliated and/or associated with Observer. Observer reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate a link with any web site that it deems inappropriate or inconsistent with the Services and/or these Terms. Observer is not responsible for the content or performance of any portion of the internet including other third-party sites to which the Services may be linked or from which the Services may be accessed.
Third-Party Materials
For the convenience of users of the Services, certain content, features, links to other internet websites, and functionality that is provided by third-parties (“Third-Party Materials”) may appear from time to time. Except as otherwise indicated, Third-Party Materials are not under the control of Observer. Observer assumes no responsibility for the contents of any Third-Party Materials, or for any potential damage arising out of or in connection with the use of any Third-Party Materials. In addition, the existence of a Third-Party Materials is not and shall not be understood to be an endorsement by Observer of the owner or proprietor of the Third-Party Materials, nor an endorsement of Observer by the owner or proprietor of such Third-Party Materials. You acknowledge and agree that your use of and interaction with such Third-Party Materials may be subject to separate terms and conditions of that third-party.
V. Disclaimer; Limitation of Liability
While Observer makes reasonable efforts to provide accurate information and Content through the Services, Observer cannot guarantee accuracy. All information and Content is used by each user at their own risk. THE SERVICES CONTAIN FACTS, OPINIONS, VIEWS, STATEMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THIRD-PARTY INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS. THE SERVICES DO NOT REPRESENT OR ENDORSE THE ACCURACY, TIMELINESS OR RELIABILITY OF ANY FACTS, OPINIONS, VIEWS, STATEMENTS AND/OR RECOMMENDATIONS OR OTHER INFORMATION DISPLAYED, UPLOADED OR DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE SERVICES. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ANY RELIANCE UPON ANY SUCH FACTS, OPINIONS, VIEWS, STATEMENTS AND/OR RECOMMENDATIONS IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICES, INCLUDING ALL CONTENT MADE AVAILABLE ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THE SERVICES, ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. EXCEPT AS SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH HEREIN, OBSERVER MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER FOR THE CONTENT OR THE SERVICES. FURTHER, OBSERVER DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, NON-INFRINGEMENT, TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, TIMELINESS, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING, PERFORMANCE, USAGE OR TRADE. OBSERVER DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THE SERVICES OR ANY CONTENT CONTAINED THEREIN WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE SERVICES OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES THEM AVAILABLE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.
IN NO EVENT WILL OBSERVER BE LIABLE UNDER ANY THEORY OF TORT, CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY OR EQUITABLE THEORY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, LOST OPPORTUNITIES, COSTS OF COVER, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, PERSONAL INJURY/WRONGFUL DEATH, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR OTHER CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EACH OF WHICH IS HEREBY EXCLUDED BY AGREEMENT OF THE PARTIES REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT EITHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL OBSERVER'S LIABILITY EXCEED $100. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, AND/OR THE DISCLAIMER OF SOME TYPES OF DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU AND OBSERVER’S LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.
VI. Indemnification
You agrees to defend, hold harmless, and indemnify Observer, its affiliates, subsidiaries, business partners, licensors, and service providers, and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors, and assigns from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, fines, penalties or costs of whatever nature (including reasonable attorney's fees and costs), arising out of or in any way connected with: (a) any breach by you of these Terms; (b) any claim based upon your use of the Content or the Services in any unauthorized manner; (c) any User Contributions or other materials submitted by you; or (d) your gross negligence or willful misconduct. Observer may, in its sole discretion, elect to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you at your expense.
VII. Children
The Services are not intended for, and we have no intention of collecting personal information from, children under the age of 13. Additionally, if you are 18 or younger, you are not authorized to submit any content or information to the Services without the explicit consent of your parent or legal guardian.
VIII. Severability
If any part of these Terms shall be held or declared to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason by any court of competent jurisdiction, such provision shall be ineffective but shall not affect any other part of these Terms.
IX. Waiver; Remedies
The failure of Observer to partially or fully exercise any rights or the waiver of Observer of any breach of these Terms by you, shall not prevent a subsequent exercise of such right by Observer or be deemed a waiver by Observer of any subsequent breach by you of the same or any other term of these Terms. The rights and remedies of Observer under these Terms and any other applicable agreement between you and Observer shall be cumulative, and the exercise of any such right or remedy shall not limit Observer's right to exercise any other right or remedy.
X. Governing Law and Venue
The laws of the State of New York shall govern these Terms. YOU HEREBY EXPRESSLY CONSENT TO EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION AND VENUE IN THE COURTS LOCATED IN NEW YORK COUNTY, NEW YORK.
WAIVER OF CLASS ACTIONS: TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOU AGREE THAT NO LEGAL ACTIONS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE JOINED TO AN ACTION INVOLVING ANY OTHER CURRENT OR FORMER USER OF THE SERVICES, WHETHER THROUGH CLASS ACTION PROCEEDINGS OR OTHERWISE.
XI. Entire Agreement
By using the Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms, and to the extent that any or all terms of these Terms are inconsistent with any agreement you may have previously entered into and/or signed with Observer, you acknowledge and agree that these Terms shall supersede such other agreement and prevail. You agree that any cause of action arising out of or related to the Services must commence within one (1) year after the cause of action arose or it is permanently barred. Because some jurisdictions do not permit such time bars, this limitation may not apply to you.
XII. Contact Us
Should you have any questions regarding these Terms of Service you may contact us at info@observermedia.com.