Terms of Service
Last Updated: February 2020
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF SERVICE CAREFULLY. NOTE THAT SECTION 16 CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER, WHICH AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, DO NOT ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICES.
By clicking to agree to these Terms of Service (“Terms”) when running/installing our software, publishing content to LBRY, or by otherwise accessing or using the network [via proxy or direct], mobile applications and online services (collectively, our “Services”) of LBRY Inc. (“Company,” “we,” or “us”), you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Services for any purpose. Please refer to our Privacy Policy https://lbry.com/privacypolicy for information about how we collect, use and disclose information about you.
You and the Company agree as follows:
1. Overview of LBRY and the Services
“LBRY” is a decentralized, consensus-driven protocol that enables the publication and viewing of information, videos, music, data and other materials (“Content”). Content is distributed to LBRY by publishers and is stored in fragmented shards via a distributed network of third-party devices (“Hosts”) that utilize LBRY. LBRY also allows publishers to bid on and reserve names (“Names”), which can be used as a unique identifier for Content. Please consult lbry.tech to learn more about the technical architecture of LBRY.
The Services provide an interface for you to interact with LBRY, including to publish, access, or host Content through LBRY. The LBRY protocol is not owned, operated, or maintained by us. We have no responsibility or liability for LBRY, and the Company has no ability to control third parties’ use of LBRY. We are not able to delete or remove Content that has been published through LBRY and that may be accessible via the Services.
2. Eligibility
You must be at least 13 years of age to access or use our Services. If you are under 18 years of age (or the age of legal majority where you live), you may only access or use our Services under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to be bound by these Terms. If you are a parent or legal guardian of a user under the age of 18 (or the age of legal majority), you will be fully responsible for the acts or omissions of such user in connection with our Services. If you are accessing or using our Services on behalf of another person or entity, you represent that you are authorized to accept these Terms on that person or entity’s behalf and that the person or entity agrees to be responsible to us if you or the other person or entity violates these Terms.
3. Publishing Content
This section applies if you use the Services to publish Content through LBRY.
a) You will make available via the Services a clear and accurate description of Content you publish, and provide the Content in accordance with any descriptions or representations you make available about the Content. You are solely responsible for resolving any disputes with users of your Content, including any chargebacks or refunds, and for any and all injuries, illnesses, damages, claims, liabilities and costs that are caused in whole or in part by you or your Content. Publishing to a blockchain is permanent. We cannot remove published content from the blockchain itself, although we can block content accessed via our app or other services on top of the blockchain.
b) LBRY enables publishers to offer Content for sale to other users by setting contract terms within the metadata of the Content. Company, in its sole discretion, may from time to time impose limits on the ability to sell Content via the Services. Upon the purchase of Content, you and the purchaser of your Content will enter into a separate agreement, pursuant to which that purchaser agrees to pay the specified fees for the Content and you agree to enable access to your Content. You are solely responsible for providing refunds as required to comply with applicable law. You are responsible for determining what, if any, taxes apply to your sale of Content, including, for example, sales, use, value added, and similar taxes. It is also your responsibility to withhold, collect, report and remit the correct taxes to the appropriate tax authorities. The Company is not responsible for withholding, collecting, reporting, or remitting any sales, use, value added, or similar tax arising from any transaction completed via the Services.
c) The Company is not a party to and has no responsibility or liability with respect to any communications, transactions, interactions, disputes or any relations whatsoever between you and any users of the Content. We will not be responsible for any loss, misuse, or deletion of Content or any failure of any Content to be encrypted, stored or distributed.. You are solely responsible for your use of the Services, including for configurations that you deem appropriate to determine access to your Content by other users in a manner that meets your expectations. You are solely responsible for backing up any Content. We are not responsible for any user’s access to your Content or any user’s misuse or redistribution of Content.
d) You will not use the Services to reserve a Name that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual or proprietary right of any party.
e) We make no representations or warranties regarding the suitability of the Services for the distribution and publishing of any particular types of data. By posting any Content or reserving a Name, you represent and warrant that you have the lawful right, including all necessary intellectual property rights, to distribute and reproduce such Content or use such Name for any purpose, commercial or otherwise. You will provide all notices to, and obtain any consents from third parties as required by applicable law in connection with the distribution and publishing of Content via the Services.
f) You will not use the Services to distribute or publish Content that:
- is unlawful, for example, copyrighted works, underage sexual content, revenge pornography, or any other content illegal under US or state law.
- would constitute, encourage or provide instructions for a criminal offense, violate the rights of any party, or that would otherwise create liability or violate any applicable local, state, national or international law;
- infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual or proprietary right of any party;
- impersonates any person or entity or otherwise misrepresents your affiliation with a person or entity;
- contains sensitive personal information, including “protected health information,” as defined under HIPAA and its implementing rules; “cardholder data,” as defined by the PCI DSS; “personal information” of a “child” as such terms are defined under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and its implementing rules; or personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation;
- contains viruses, corrupted data or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files; UNLESS CLEARLY LABELED AS SUCH
- in the sole judgment of the Company, is objectionable or which restricts or inhibits any other person from using or enjoying LBRY or the Services, or which may expose the Company or its users to any harm or liability of any type.
- USD equivalent of LBRY Credits [LBC] is determined by 3rd party markets such as Bittrex and Poloniex, not LBRY INC.
4. Accessing Content
This section applies if you use the Services to access Content that has been stored through LBRY.
a) In using our Services, you may view or otherwise interact with Content provided by publishers. Your dealings or correspondence with any publisher of Content are solely between you and that publisher. The Company is not responsible or liable for any damage or loss of any sort caused, or alleged to be caused, by or in connection with any such dealings, including the delivery, quality, safety, legality or any other aspect of any Content that you may access using our Services.
b) In certain instances, your access to Content may be subject to sale terms set forth in the metadata of the Content. Company, in its sole discretion, may from time to time impose limits on the ability to purchase Content via the Services. Upon your access of any purchased Content, you and the publisher will enter into a separate agreement, pursuant to which you agree to pay the specified fees for the Content and the publisher agrees to make such Content available to you. THE COMPANY DOES NOT HAVE THE POWER OR RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVIDE ANY REFUNDS. You agree to look solely to the publisher to resolve any disputes regarding Content, and that publishers are solely responsible for providing any refunds.
c) All payments for content will be made using LBC and occur on the LBRY blockchain. Purchaser is buying the right to access content for personal non-commercial use unless content creator provides a license for commercial use or remixing.
5. Hosting Content
This section applies to you if you host any Content via LBRY using the Services. The Services allow Hosts to make available storage space (“Space”) on the Host’s device for the storage of Content published through LBRY By making available Space on your device, you authorize any user of our Services to: (i) store Content published through LBRY onto your device; and (ii) access such Content from your device at any time.
a) You represent and warrant that (i) you own or control your device, and have the right to provide the Space on your device pursuant to these Terms; and (ii) you will not breach any agreement to which you are a party in connection with your performance under these Terms, including any agreement you have with a third-party Internet service provider.
b) By allowing Space to be utilized to store Content distributed through LBRY, you understand that your device may be impacted due to the additional constraints being placed on it by the processing of Content. In particular, your device may not operate as quickly as it would without making Space available for others to utilize.
c) You will not: (i) reverse engineer any aspect of the Content stored on your device or do anything that might discover the contents or origin of the Content; (ii) attempt to bypass or circumvent measures employed to prevent or limit access to the Content, including attempting to defeat any encryption; or (iii) attempt to interfere with the storage or transmission of Content.
6. General Conduct Restrictions
You are solely responsible for your conduct while using the Services. You will comply with all applicable laws and third-party agreements to which you are bound. Further, you will not do any of the following in connection with the Services or any other users:
a) Use the Services in any manner that could interfere with, disrupt, negatively affect or inhibit other users from fully enjoying the Services or that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the functioning of the Services in any manner;
b) Impersonate or distribute Content on behalf or any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
c) Cheat or utilize unauthorized exploits in connection with the Services;
d) Stalk, intimidate, threaten, or otherwise harass or cause discomfort to other users;
e) Send, distribute or post spam, unsolicited or bulk commercial electronic communications, chain letters, or pyramid schemes;
f) Harvest or otherwise collect information about users, including email addresses, without their consent;
g) Use the Services for any illegal or unauthorized purpose or engage in, encourage, or promote any illegal activity, or any activity that violates these Terms;
h) Use the Services to distribute Content that you do not have the lawful right to distribute or reproduce; or
i) Circumvent or attempt to circumvent any filtering, security measures or other features we may from time to time adopt to protect the Company, the Services, its users or third parties.
The Company does not endorse or adopt any Content and you acknowledge and agree that the Company will have no responsibility for any Content, including without limitation, material that may be misleading, incomplete, erroneous, offensive, indecent or otherwise objectionable. Enforcement of the Content rules set forth in these Terms is solely at our discretion, and subject to our technical capabilities. Failure to enforce such rules in some instances does not constitute a waiver of our right to enforce such rules in other instances. In addition, these rules do not create any private right of action on the part of any third party or any reasonable expectation that the Services will not link to any Content that is prohibited by such rules.
7. Limited License; Copyright and Trademark
Our Services and the text, graphics, images, photographs, illustrations, trademarks, trade names, service marks, logos, slogans and other content contained therein (collectively, the “Company Marks”) are owned by Company and its licensors and are protected under both United States and foreign laws, and may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part, without our or the applicable licensor’s prior written permission. You may not use any metatags or other “hidden text” utilizing any Company Marks without our prior written permission. Further, you may not use, frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any Company Mark, the content of any text or the layout or design of any page or form contained on a page, on the Services without the Company’s express written consent.
8. Open Source Software
a) We may, from time to time, release the source code for certain of the software that supports our Services. You agree to be bound by, and comply with, any license agreement that applies to this open source software. You will not indicate that you are associated with Company in connection with any of your modifications or distributions of this open source software.
b) The source code we release in connection with open source software is not part of the Services, and your use of that source code without interacting with our Services is not subject to these Terms. For clarity, though, when we host any software and enable you to access and use such software as a service through our Services, then these Terms will apply to such access and use.
9. YouTube Creator Program Terms
a) If you participate in the YouTube Creator Program, you also agree to YouTube's Terms of Service (https://www.youtube.com/t/terms) and Google's Privacy Policy (https://www.google.com/policies/privacy).
b) To revoke LBRY's access to your YouTube account or manage your security preferences, please refer to your Google Security and Permissions Page (https://security.google.com/settings/security/permissions).
10. Feedback
Any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, original or creative materials or other information you submit about the Company or our products or Services (collectively, “Feedback”), is non-confidential and will become the sole property of the Company. We will own exclusive rights, including, without limitation, all intellectual property rights, in and to Feedback and will be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of Feedback for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment or compensation to you.
11. Copyright Complaints
We have a policy of limiting access to our Services and terminating the accounts of users who infringe the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that anything on our Services infringes any copyright that you own or control, you may notify the Company’s Designated Agent as follows:
Designated Agent: LBRY INC
Address: 99 Hanover St, Manchester, NH 03101
Telephone Number: 907-318-5956
Fax Number: 801-327-6808
E-Mail Address: [email protected]
Please see 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3) for the requirements of a proper notification. Also, please note that if you knowingly misrepresent that any activity or material on our Services is infringing, you may be liable to the Company for certain costs and damages.
12. Indemnification
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Company and our officers, directors, agents, partners and employees (individually and collectively, the “Company Parties”) from and against any loss, liability, claim, demand, damages, expenses or costs (including attorney’s fees) (“Claims”) arising out of or related to (a) your access to or use of our Services; (b) your Content or any Name that you have reserved; (c) your violation of these Terms; or (d) your violation, misappropriation or infringement of any rights of another (including intellectual property rights or privacy rights). You agree to promptly notify Company Parties of any third party Claims, cooperate with Company Parties in defending such Claims and pay all fees, costs and expenses associated with defending such Claims (including, but not limited to, attorneys' fees). You also agree that the Company Parties will have control of the defense or settlement of any third party Claims. This indemnity is in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other indemnities set forth in a written agreement between you and the Company or the other Company Parties.
13. Disclaimers
Your use of our Services is at your sole risk. Our Services are provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. In addition, the Company does not represent or warrant that our Services are accurate, complete, reliable, current or error-free. While the Company attempts to make your access to and use of our Services safe, we cannot and do not represent or warrant that our Services or servers are free of viruses or other harmful components. You assume the entire risk as to the quality and performance of the Services.
14. Limitation of Liability
The Company and the other Company Parties will not be liable to you under any theory of liability—whether based in contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, warranty, or otherwise—for any indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special or punitive damages or lost profits, even if the Company or the other Company Parties have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
The total liability of the Company and the other Company Parties, for any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or our Services, regardless of the form of the action, is limited to the greater of any amount paid, if any, by you to access or use our Services or $100 USD.
The limitations set forth in this section will not limit or exclude liability for the gross negligence, fraud or intentional misconduct of the Company or other Company Parties or for any other matters in which liability cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law. Additionally, 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.
15. Release
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you release the Company and the other Company Parties from responsibility, liability, claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown (including, but not limited to, claims of negligence), arising out of or related to disputes between users and the acts or omissions of third parties. You expressly waive any rights you may have under California Civil Code § 1542 as well as any other statute or common law principles that would otherwise limit the coverage of this release to include only those claims which you may know or suspect to exist in your favor at the time of agreeing to this release.
16. Dispute Resolution; Arbitration
Please read the following section carefully because it requires you to arbitrate certain disputes and claims with the Company and limits the manner in which you can seek relief from us.
16.1. Binding Arbitration
Except for any disputes, claims, suits, actions, causes of action, demands or proceedings (collectively, “Disputes”) in which either party seeks to bring an individual action in small claims court or seeks injunctive or other equitable relief for the alleged unlawful use of intellectual property, including, without limitation, copyrights, trademarks, trade names, logos, trade secrets or patents, you and the Company (a) waive your and the Company’s respective rights to have any and all Disputes arising from or related to these Terms or the Services resolved in a court, and (b) waive your and the Company’s respective rights to a jury trial. Instead, you and the Company will arbitrate Disputes through binding arbitration (which is the referral of a Dispute to one or more persons charged with reviewing the Dispute and making a final and binding determination to resolve it instead of having the Dispute decided by a judge or jury in court).
16.2. No Class Arbitrations, Class Actions or Representative Actions
Any Dispute arising out of or related to these Terms or the Services is personal to you and the Company and will be resolved solely through individual arbitration and will not be brought as a class arbitration, class action or any other type of representative proceeding. There will be no class arbitration or arbitration in which an individual attempts to resolve a Dispute as a representative of another individual or group of individuals. Further, a Dispute cannot be brought as a class or other type of representative action, whether within or outside of arbitration, or on behalf of any other individual or group of individuals.
16.3. Federal Arbitration Act
These Terms affect interstate commerce and the enforceability of this Section 16 will be both substantively and procedurally governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. (the “FAA”), to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.
16.4. Notice; Informal Dispute Resolution
Each party will notify the other party in writing of any arbitrable or small claims Dispute within thirty (30) days of the date it arises, so that the parties can attempt in good faith to resolve the Dispute informally. Notice to the Company will be sent by e-mail to the Company at [email protected] Notice to you will be by email to the then-current email address in your Account. Your notice must include (a) your name, postal address, email address and telephone number, (b) a description in reasonable detail of the nature or basis of the Dispute, and (c) the specific relief that you are seeking. If you and the Company cannot agree how to resolve the Dispute within thirty (30) days after the date notice is received by the applicable party, then either you or the Company may, as appropriate and in accordance with this Section 16, commence an arbitration proceeding or, to the extent specifically provided for in Section 17.1, file a claim in court.
16.5. Process
Any arbitration will occur in New Castle County, Delaware. Arbitration will be conducted confidentially by a single arbitrator in accordance with the rules of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (“JAMS”), which are hereby incorporated by reference. The state and federal courts located in New Castle County, Delaware will have exclusive jurisdiction over any appeals and the enforcement of an arbitration award. You may also litigate a Dispute in the small claims court located in the county where you reside if the Dispute meets the requirements to be heard in small claims court.
16.6. Authority of Arbitrator
As limited by the FAA, these Terms and the applicable JAMS rules, the arbitrator will have (a) the exclusive authority and jurisdiction to make all procedural and substantive decisions regarding a Dispute, including the determination of whether a Dispute is arbitrable, and (b) the authority to grant any remedy that would otherwise be available in court; provided, however, that the arbitrator does not have the authority to conduct a class arbitration or a representative action, which is prohibited by these Terms. The arbitrator may only conduct an individual arbitration and may not consolidate more than one individual’s claims, preside over any type of class or representative proceeding or preside over any proceeding involving more than one individual.
16.7. Rules of JAMS
The rules of JAMS and additional information about JAMS are available on the JAMS website. By agreeing to be bound by these Terms, you either (a) acknowledge and agree that you have read and understand the rules of JAMS, or (b) waive your opportunity to read the rules of JAMS and any claim that the rules of JAMS are unfair or should not apply for any reason.
17. Governing Law and Venue
These Terms and your access to and use of the Services will be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to conflict of law rules or principles (whether of the State of Delaware or any other jurisdiction) that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction. Any Dispute between the parties arising out of or relating to these Terms that is not subject to arbitration or cannot be heard in small claims court will be resolved in the state or federal courts of the State of Delaware and the United States, respectively, sitting in New Castle County, Delaware.
18. Severability
If any term, clause or provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, then that term, clause or provision will be severable from these Terms and will not affect the validity or enforceability of any remaining part of that term, clause or provision, or any other term, clause or provision of these Terms.
19. Termination or Suspension
Notwithstanding anything contained in these Terms, we reserve the right, without notice and in our sole discretion, to terminate this agreement or suspend your right to access the Services. You may terminate this agreement without notice by discontinuing use of the Services. All rights and licenses granted to you under these Terms will immediately be revoked upon our termination of the agreement or our suspension of your access to the Services. We make no representations that termination or suspension of the Services will prevent the spread or distribution of published Content through LBRY.
20. Amendment
We reserve the right to change these Terms from time to time upon notice to you. If we make changes to these Terms, we will provide notice of such changes by posting the revised Terms to the Services and updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of these Terms. In some cases, we may provide additional notice to you, such as via our Services or to an email address associated with your Account. Your continued use of the Services following our provision of any such notice will confirm your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the modified Terms, you must stop using the Services.
21. Survival
The following sections will survive the expiration or termination of these Terms: all defined terms and Sections 12 - 18, 21 and 22.
22. Miscellaneous
These Terms constitutes the entire agreement between you and the Company relating to your access to and use of the Services. We may assign our rights and obligations under these Terms. Under no circumstances may you assign your rights and obligations under these Terms, including in the event of change of control or by operation of law, without our prior written consent. The failure of the Company to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not operate as a waiver of such right or provision. We will not be liable for any delay or failure to perform any obligation under these Terms where the delay or failure results from any cause beyond our reasonable control. Except as otherwise provided in herein, the agreement is intended solely for the benefit of the parties and are not intended to confer third-party beneficiary rights upon any other person or entity.
23. Export Control and Prohibited Use
Use of the Service and Software, including transferring, posting, or uploading data, software or other Content via the Service, may be subject to the export and import laws of the United States and other countries. You agree to comply with all applicable export and import laws and regulations. In particular, but without limitation, the Software may not be exported or re-exported (a) into any U.S. embargoed countries or (b) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Department of Commerce Denied Person’s List or Entity List. By using the Software or Service, you represent and warrant that you are not located in any such country or on any such list. You also agree that you will not use the Software or Service for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of missiles, nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. You further agree not to upload to your Account any data or software that is: (a) subject to International Traffic in Arms Regulations; or (b) that cannot be exported without prior written government authorization, including, but not limited to, certain types of encryption software and source code, without first obtaining that authorization. This assurance and commitment shall survive termination of this Agreement.