Member Agreement

This is our Member Agreement. You can read our Privacy Policy HERE.

Each member may have different expectations of what Expat Exchange is or should be. Users and members live and work in a multitude of countries, states and cities around the globe. They come from many cultures and religions. This variety of users and members require us to spell out what Expat Exchange is and is not.

By using Expat Exchange, or by submitting an application, you are agreeing to be bound by all of the terms in this Agreement. This Agreement is between Expat Exchange ("we") and you ("you") as a user or member of Expat Exchange. If you don't wish to be bound by this Agreement, then please don't use Expat Exchange. We may change the terms and conditions of this Agreement at any time and without prior notice. Therefore, you should regularly re-read the Agreement. You agree to be bound by all of the terms of this, and all future agreements, as long as you use Expat Exchange.

1. CONTENT

Expat Exchange does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any of the information, content or advertisements or the like (collectively, the "Materials") contained on, distributed through, or linked, downloaded or accessed from any of the services contained on this website (the "Service") nor the quality of any products, information or other materials displayed, purchased, or obtained by you as a result of any advertisement or any other information or offer in or in connection with the Service (the "Products"). You hereby acknowledge that any reliance upon any Materials shall be at your sole risk. See "YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE", below. Expat Exchange reserves the right, in its sole discretion and without any obligation, to make improvements to, or correct any error or omissions in any portion of the Service or the Materials.

Similarly, the independent contractors who provide information in this area believe that information to be accurate and reliable. In some instances, the information provided may represent opinion or judgment. Neither the independent contractors nor Expat Exchange guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in this area. We simply don't have the ability to check the facts or screen the opinions of what we see as rational. As such, neither Expat Exchange nor the information providers will be responsible for any errors or omission or for the results obtained from the use of such information. Under no circumstances will Expat Exchange nor the independent contractors be liable for any loss or damage caused by a subscriber's reliance on information obtained in this area.

2. COURTESY

Our interactive tools (forums, private messages, personal networks, member search, invitations, reports and other areas where information is exchanged) enable members to interact with and help one another through various aspects of the international experience. Over time, we hope that community members feel comfortable enough to interact openly and honestly with other members. We believe that freedom of speech on the Internet is important, but also recognize that personal attacks, insulting behavior and the like hinder community development. Therefore, we reserve the right to remove any message or block or terminate any user account for any reason, including but not limited to:

a. Post or transmit any material in violation of law, for example, without obtaining permission from a copyright holder; or

b. Post or transmit any abusive, vulgar, obscene, hateful, fraudulent, unlawful, threatening, harassing or defamatory; or

c. Post or transmit any material using a false identity or otherwise mis-stating your affiliation with any person or entity; or

d. Post or transmit any advertising, promotional materials, solicitations or the like. Determinations of whether a posting warrants removal or termination of your user account are left solely to the discretion of Expat Exchange.

3. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

By posting communications, questions, answers, comments, content, photos, videos or other information on Expat Exchange, you grant us a non-exclusive, transferrable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use all of these intellectual property materials.

Expat Exchange shall have the right to obtain and hold in its own name, copyrights, registrations or such other protection as may be appropriate to the subject matter submitted and shall have the right to any extensions and renewals thereof.

The submission of materials or information to Expat Exchange in no way creates any obligations or duty on the part of Expat Exchange to post or use such material.

All materials contained in Expat Exchange are the copyrighted property of Burlingame Interactive, Inc. and may be used by others for non-commercial purposes only. No material from Expat Exchange may be reproduced, republished or edited without the written permission of Burlingame Interactive, Inc. Certain names, logos, design, appearances, and graphics may constitute trademarks of Burlingame Interactive, Inc. The mark "Expat Exchange" and the contents of this site are the sole property of Burlingame Interactive, Inc. and may not be reproduced without our prior written permission.

You are responsible for securing permission or license to use others intellectual property. You may be held responsible for unlicensed use of copyrighted material or the like. See "YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE", below.

4. PRIVACY

You can read our Privacy Policy HERE.

Please remember that once you reveal personal or private information about yourself through any means on Expat Exchange or any other website, other users can take screenshots, manually write down, photograph or video that material. Carefully consider what you share about yourself before posting online!

We take very seriously our legal, moral and ethical responsibility to protect your private information.

We will not sell, rent, or give away your name, address or any other specific information about you. We do, however, publish anonymous demographic profiles of our user population as a group.

This information does NOT make you personally identifiable.

5. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE

You assume total responsibility and risk for your use of the service. Burlingame Interactive, Inc. or any third parties (including independent contractors, partners and volunteers) who contribute to the service are not responsible for any loss, damage or cost (including consequential damages) you or anyone else might incur due to your use of the service. If you live in a state or country whose laws prevent you from taking full responsibility and risk for you use of the service, our liability is limited to the greatest extent allowed by law. In no event shall Burlingame Interactive, Inc.'s liability or the liability of third parties who contribute to the service exceed, for the injury to property or person caused by our negligence, the amount of direct damages to the property or person. BURLINGAME INTERACTIVE, INC. AND THIRD PARTIES WHO CONTRIBUTE TO THE SERVICE MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES (INCLUDING WARRANTIES OR TITLE, NONINFRINGEMENT, AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE), REPRESENTATIONS, OR ENDORSEMENTS REGARDING THE SERVICE, THE SOFTWARE, OR ANY THIRD PARTY MATERIAL AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICE. FURTHERMORE, THE SERVICE AND SOFTWARE ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS, AS AVAILABLE" BASIS -- WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THEY WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ARE ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED. Finally, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Burlingame Interactive, Inc. and third parties who contribute to the service from any loss, damage, or cost (including attorneys' fees) resulting from your violation of this agreement.

6. NEW YORK LAW APPLIES

People from all over the world use the Expat Exchange. We cannot and will not be able to familiarize ourselves with the multitude of laws in the countries, states, provinces, counties, parishes and cities around the globe. Therefore, it is necessary for us to have certainty with respect to what law will govern disputes related to our services and your use of them. To that end, any disputes related to use of the Services shall be governed by New York law and shall be settled by a New York arbitrator.

You must begin any legal proceeding within one year after your claim arises. ALL DISPUTES, CONTROVERSIES OR CLAIMS, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STATUTE, FRAUD, MISREPRESENTATION OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT AND THE SERVICE ("DISPUTES") SHALL BE SETTLED BY FINAL AND BIDING ARBITRATION CONDUCTED IN NEW YORK, NEW YORK, BY A NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS AGREEMENT AND THE THEN CURRENT COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION RULES OF THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION. The arbitrability of Disputes shall also be determined by the arbitrator. Each party shall bear its own expenses, except that the prevailing party may recover the filing costs and the expenses of the arbitrator from the other party. Any award of the arbitrator shall be in writing and shall state the reasons for the award. Judgment upon an award may be entered in any Court having competent jurisdiction. The arbitrator shall not have the power to award any damages in excess of the applicable dollar limits set forth in or excluded under the "YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE" section of this Agreement. The arbitrator shall not have the power to order pre-hearing discovery of documents or the taking of depositions, but may compel attendance of witnesses and the production of documents at the hearing. The Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. Sections 1 to 14, shall govern the interpretation and enforcement of this paragraph. The parties, their representatives and participants and the arbitrator shall hold the existence, content and result of the arbitration in confidence, except to the limited extent necessary to enforce a final settlement agreement or to obtain or enforce a judgment on an arbitration decision and award. Disputes relating to your failure to pay billed charges for use of the Service (i.e. advertising on the site and in newsletters) are exempt from the binding arbitration requirement. The foregoing notwithstanding, this Agreement shall not prevent Expat Exchange or a member from seeking and obtaining temporary equitable remedies, including temporary restraining orders, from a court with jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter. A request to a court for interim equitable relief shall not be deemed a waiver of the obligation to arbitrate.

7. SEVERABILITY

If any provision in this Agreement is invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.