TERMS OF USE

TERMS OF SERVICE
Effective Date: January 11, 2023

The terms “we”, “us”, and “our” refer to Freelance Surface Designers Directory dba Stacie Dale Designs Inc. (“Company”).  
The term “Site” refers to www.freelancesurfacedesigners.com,

On this Site, we provide information, products, and services related to the subject matter of surface design, employment, and entrepreneurship.  We offer various products and services, including, but not limited to company contacts, portfolio reviews, industry directories, and listings for the industry site, The Freelance Surface Designers Directory.

The term “user,” “customer,” “you,” and “your” refers to visitors, users, and customers of the Site and/or Services. 
By using our Site and/or Services, whether made available for purchase or not, you are agreeing to the following Terms of Services or any other agreement that governs your use of our Site or Services. You should not use our Site or Services if you do not agree with the terms and conditions contained in these Agreements.


1. USE OF THE SITES AND SERVICES
To access or use the Site and/or Services, you must be eighteen (18) years or older and have the requisite power and authority to enter into these Terms of Service. Minors are prohibited from using the Site and/or Services.

2. LAWFUL PURPOSES
You may use the Site and/or Services for lawful purposes only. You agree to be financially responsible for all purchases made by you. You agree to use the Site and/or Services and to purchase our Services for legitimate purposes only. You shall not post or transmit through the Site and/or Services any material which violates or infringes the rights of others, or which is threatening, abusive, defamatory, libelous, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, vulgar, obscene, profane or otherwise objectionable, contains injurious formulas, recipes, or instructions, which encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law.

3. ACCOUNT CREATION 
In order to use the Sites and/or Services, you may be required to provide information about yourself including your name, email address, and/or other personal information. You agree that any account information you provide on the Site or to the Company will always be accurate, correct, and up-to-date. You must not impersonate someone else or provide account information or an email address other than your own.

4. CONSENT
When you register with the Company (registering to receive emails, or by purchasing our Services), you expressly consent to receive any notices, announcements, agreements, disclosures, reports, documents, communications concerning new products or services, or other records or correspondence from the Company and you consent to receive notices electronically by way of transmitting the notice to you by email.

5. REFUSAL OF SERVICES
We reserve the right to refuse access to the Site and/or Services to any person or entity, without the obligation to assign a reason for doing so. We reserve the right to immediately remove you from the Site and/or Services, without refund (if applicable) or liability, if you violate these Terms of Services or other Agreements governing your use of the Site and/or Services.

receive the returned item(s), we will credit your original method of payment excluding non-refundable shipping costs as soon as possible. Please note refunds may take two to three (2-3) weeks to process and show on your account due to varying processing times between payment providers. Personalized or custom items as well as items marked final sale cannot be returned or exchanged.

6. THE SURFACE DESIGN NEWS SUBSCRIPTION: ACCESS, PAYMENT POLICY, REFUND POLICY, AND CANCELLATION POLICY
In addition to the terms set forth herein, the following terms apply if you purchase or access the Surface Design News Monthly Subscription. 

Access: The Surface Design News Subscription is an online monthly subscription service. The Subscription is for your own personal use, not for agencies or companies. You agree not to share access to or the contents of the Subscription with anyone who is not a customer of record with the Company. In order to use the Subscription, you will be required to create an account by providing information about yourself including your name, email address, and other personal information. Your access to the Subscription may be revoked, without refund, for failure to abide by these Terms of Service or for failure to make timely and full payments to the Company for your purchase of the Subscription.

Payment Policy: You agree to make timely and full payments to the Company for the Subscription. You authorize the Company to automatically charge the credit card on file for any and all Subscription balances owed and you agree to keep this information current and up-to-date with the Company. If any payment is insufficient or declined for any reason, Company may remove you from the Subscription without liability or refund. At the time of purchase, you will pay through PayPal. If different payment arrangements need to be made, we can manually subscribe you through Square.  No other payment methods are acceptable.

Refund Policy: Refunds for your purchase of the Subscription are not available. 
Cancellation Policy: Your Subscription may be canceled at any time by logging into your PayPal Recurring Payments tab. If you wish to cancel, you must do so before your next billing date which will be the same day each month. Please make note of the day of the month that your subscription renews. Refunds are not available once the payment has been processed. If you cancel your Subscription and return in the future, the fees will be subject to the current price of the Subscription and you must email info@surfacedesignnews.comto alert us that you have resubscribed in order to be added back to the email list. 

7. SUBSCRIBER FEEDBACK & COMMENTS
You agree that the Company has the right to use your feedback and comments whether in the form of emails, surveys, comments, discussions in forums, social media, or otherwise, for the purposes of marketing or promoting its Site and Services. 

8. RELEASE
You agree that the Company may use any images, audio recordings, or video recordings of you obtained while enrolled as a subscriber or while engaging with us on our Site or on social media. You waive any right to payment, royalties, or any other consideration for the use of such images, audio recordings, or video recordings. You waive the right to inspect or approve the finished product, including written or electronic copy, wherein your likeness appears. The Company is hereby held harmless and released and forever discharged from all claims, demands, and causes of action which you, your heirs, representatives, and your estates have or may have by reason of this authorization.

9. NO CONFIDENTIALITY
You understand that given the group format of the Surface Design News Facebook group and Subscription, the information provided or shared with the Company or other participants, whether in the form of comments, discussions in forums, social media comments, or otherwise is not confidential.

10. PARTICIPANT’S CONDUCT
You agree to conduct yourself in a dignified and professional manner and will not engage in any activity that is detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of other Subscribers or Facebook community members. You acknowledge and agree that the Company reserves the right to remove you from the Subscription or Facebook group forum, without reimbursement or liability, if Company, in its sole discretion, determines that your behavior creates a disruption or hinders the enjoyment, safety, or well-being of other subscribers or participants.

11. NO GUARANTEES OF RESULTS
The Company may share the successful results of its subscribers on the Site and/or Services. Such examples are not to be interpreted as a promise or guarantee, verbally or in writing, regarding your results, future earnings, business profit, marketing performance, audience growth, or results of any kind. By accessing the Site and/or using our Services, you accept, agree, and understand that you are fully responsible for your progress and results from your participation and that we offer no representations, warranties, or guarantees verbally, or in writing, regarding your future earnings, business profit, marketing performance, audience growth, or results of any kind. The Company does not guarantee that you will get any results using any of our ideas, tools, strategies, contacts, or recommendations, and nothing in our Site and Services is a promise or guarantee to you of such results. 

12. DISCLAIMER 
Your use of the site and services is at your own risk. Any service and/or information provided by the Site and services are provided “as is” and without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied. Company disclaims all warranties, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, or non-infringement. Company does not warrant that any function or content contained on this site and services will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that this Site or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or other harmful components. Company does not warrant or make any representation regarding the use, or the result of the use of any site or services, or content in terms of accuracy, reliability, or otherwise. The user acknowledges that the content may include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors, and Company may make changes or improvements to the Site and Services at any time. You assume the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair, or correction in the event of loss or damage arising from the use of the Site and Services, or its content. Company makes no warranties that your use of the content will not infringe the rights of others and assumes no liability or responsibility for errors or omissions in any content on the Site & Services. 


13. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The Site and/or Services contain intellectual property owned by the Company (“Company’s Intellectual Property”) including, without limitation, trademarks, copyrights, proprietary information, and other intellectual property as well as the business name, logo, all designs, text, videos, audio files, graphics, HTML/CSS, Javascript, other files, the Subscription and the selection and arrangement thereof, also termed the “look and feel.” You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, create derivative works from, distribute, display, reproduce or perform, or in any way exploit in any format whatsoever, the Site and/or Services, Company’s Intellectual Property, in whole or in part, without our prior written consent. We reserve the right to immediately remove you from the Site and/or Services, without liability or refund, if you are caught violating this intellectual property policy. We further reserve the right to pursue all legal remedies.

All trade names, trademarks, images, and biographical information of people used on the Site and/or Services, including without limitation the Company’s name and trademark(s), are either the property of or used with permission by, the Company. Their use by you is strictly prohibited unless specifically permitted by these Terms of Service or by prior written permission from the Company. Any unauthorized use may violate the copyright, trademark, and other proprietary rights of the Company and/or third parties, as well as the laws of privacy and publicity, and other regulations and statutes. 

Company respects the copyright, trademark, and all other intellectual property rights of others. The Company has the right but has no obligation, to remove content and accounts containing materials that it deems, in its sole discretion, to be unlawful, offensive, threatening, libelous, defamatory, pornographic, obscene, or otherwise objectionable or violates any party’s intellectual property or these Terms of Service. If you believe that your intellectual property rights are being violated and/or that any work belonging to you has been reproduced on the Site and/or Services in any way, you may notify Company at info@surfacedesignnews.com. Please provide your name and contact information, the nature of your work and how it is being violated, all relevant copyright and/or trademark/copyright registration information, the location/URL of the violation, and any other information you believe is relevant. Surface Design News operates as a news and media outlet and therefore, may publish public information with the intent to inform their subscribers.

14. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
To the extent permitted by law, Company, its subsidiaries, affiliates, licensors, service providers, content providers, employees, agents, officers, and directors will not be liable for any incidental, direct, indirect, actual, punitive, consequential, special, exemplary, or other damages, including loss of revenue or income, loss of data, pain and suffering, emotional distress, or similar damages, even if Company has been advised of the possibility of such damages, such damages were reasonably foreseeable or company was grossly negligent.  In no event will the collective liability of Company and subsidiaries, affiliates, licensors, service providers, content providers, employees, agents, officers, and directors, regardless of the form of action (whether in contract, tort, or otherwise), exceed the greater of $100 U.S. dollars or the amount you have paid to Company for the use of the Site or Services it provides. 

15. THIRD-PARTY WEBSITE AND RESOURCES 
The Site and Services contain links to third-party websites and resources. You acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible or liable for the availability, accuracy, content, or policies of third-party websites or resources. Links to such websites or resources do not imply any endorsement by or affiliation with the Site and/or Services. You acknowledge sole responsibility for and assume all risk arising from your use of any such websites or resources.

16. AFFILIATE LINKS 
From time to time, Company may include affiliate links on its Site and/or Services. This means that if you purchase an item using an affiliate link, the Company may earn a commission. Affiliate links will be highlighted in some manner so as to disclose the affiliate relationship.

17. INDEMNIFICATION
You shall indemnify and hold us harmless from and against any and all losses, damages, settlements, liabilities, costs, charges, assessments, and expenses, as well as third-party claims and causes of action, including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees, arising out of any breach by you of any of these Terms of Service, or any use by you of the Sites and/or Services. You shall provide us with such assistance, without charge, as we may request in connection with any such defense, including, without limitation, providing us with such information, documents, records, and reasonable access to you, as we deem necessary. You shall not settle any third-party claim or waive any defense without our prior written consent.

18. GOVERNING LAW
The Terms of Service shall be governed by the laws of the State of Pennsylvania.

19. DISPUTE RESOLUTION
We agree to attempt to resolve any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to the Terms of Service, by agreeing to first try to resolve the dispute with the help of a mutually agreed-upon mediator in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Any costs and fees other than attorney fees associated with the mediation will be shared equally by the parties. If the dispute is not resolved within thirty (30) calendar days after it is referred to the mediator, any party may take the matter to court.
 
20. EFFECT OF HEADINGS
The subject headings of the paragraphs of the Terms of Service are included for convenience only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of any of its provisions.

21. ENTIRE AGREEMENT
These Agreements (i.e., this Terms of Service and any other written agreement that governs your use of our Site and/or Services) constitute the entire agreement between you and the Company with respect to the Site and/or Services and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral or written, between you and the Company with respect to the Site and/or Services.

22. WAIVER
Company’s waiver of any of the provisions of these Terms of Service shall not be deemed, nor shall constitute, a waiver of any other provision, whether or not similar, nor shall any waiver constitute a continuing waiver. No waiver shall be binding unless executed in writing by an authorized representative of the Company.

23. SEVERABILITY
If any term, provision, covenant, or condition of the Terms of Service is held by an arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void, or unenforceable, the rest of the Terms of Service shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired, or invalidated.

24. ASSIGNMENT
These Terms of Service bind and inure to the benefit of the parties’ successors and assigns. These Terms of Service are not assignable, delegable, sub-licensable, or otherwise transferable by you. Any transfer, assignment, delegation, or sublicense by you is invalid.

25. CHANGED TERMS
We reserve the right to update any portion of our Site and/or Services, including these Terms of Service at any time. Such amendments are effective immediately upon notice to you by us posting the new Terms of Service on this Site. If you have provided us with your email address, we will also email you to let you know of material amendments to our Terms of Service. Any use of the Site and/or Services by you after an amendment is made means you accept these amendments. We will post the most recent versions to the Site and list the effective dates on the pages of our Terms of Service.

26. HOW TO CONTACT US
If you have any questions about this Terms of Service, please contact us at: 

Freelance Surface Designers Directory & Surface Design News are dbas of Stacie Dale Designs Inc.
Email:   info@surfacedesignnews.com