TERMS OF USE

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, a religious corporation formed and existing under the laws of Japan, (“we,” “us,” or “our”) provides an online audio and video conferencing platform to benefit congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses (“congregations”) or directly to cooperating organizations that support Jehovah’s Witnesses so those organizations may assist congregations to use these services. Our online audio and video platforms for uploading, streaming, collaborating, watching and/or listening to content, including all features and functionalities, our website, and user interfaces, as well as our software, products, applications, features, tools, materials, and other services are referred to collectively as the “Services.” Congregations may use the Services to invite users to join a meeting via telephone or an Internet-enabled device.

Your use of the Services is subject to compliance with these Terms of Use which incorporate by reference our Privacy Notice (the “Notice”). By accessing or using any of the Services, you accept and agree to these Terms of Use.

ACCEPTABLE USE

The Services and any Content (as defined below) uploaded, streamed, viewed and/or listened to through the Services are for non-commercial use only. As a user of the Services you must (i) abide by all national, federal, state, and local laws, and (ii) observe all applicable copyright laws as such laws apply to music, videos, images, texts, and other media in both personal use and in production of electronic information.

You agree to observe all restrictions identified in these Terms of Use and you agree not to:

• directly or through the use of any device, software, Internet site, web-based service, or other means copy, record, reproduce, duplicate, archive, upload, publish, modify, translate, broadcast, perform, display, sell, offer for sale, license, or transmit or retransmit the Content viewed and/or listened to through the Service unless expressly permitted by us (except to the extent that such Content was submitted, entered into or uploaded to the Services by you).
• violate the rights of others, including patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, privacy, publicity, or other proprietary rights;
• use technology or other means to access, index, frame, or link to the Services (including content accessed using the Services) that is not authorized by us (including by removing, disabling, bypassing, or circumventing any content protection or access control mechanisms);
• access the Services (including the Content) through any automated means, including "robots," "spiders," or "offline readers";
• decompile, reverse engineer or disassemble any software or other products or processes accessible through the Services;
• circumvent, remove, alter, deactivate, degrade or thwart any of the Content protections in the Services;
• introduce viruses or any other computer code, files, or programs that interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
• damage, disable, overburden, impair, or gain unauthorized access to the Services, including our servers or computer network;
• access or use the Services in violation of any applicable law including but not limited to applicable export controls laws;
• post any Content viewed or obtained from the Services on any available website, forum or on social media;
• use the Services to advertise or promote products or services that are not expressly approved in advance in writing by us;
• collect information in violation of our Notice;
• collect information about users for the purpose of sending, facilitating, or encouraging unsolicited bulk or other communications;
• further any means of fraudulent activity, including identity theft;
• violate these Terms of Use or any other guidelines or policies posted by us; or
• attempt to do any of the foregoing.

We reserve the right to immediately terminate or restrict your use of the Services at any time, without notice or liability, if we determine or reasonably believe in our sole discretion that you have breached these Terms of Use, violated any law, rule, or regulation, engaged in other inappropriate conduct, or for any other reason. We may use technical measures to block or restrict your access to or use of the Services, and you agree not to circumvent, avoid, or bypass such restrictions. We also reserve the right to take appropriate legal action against you, and you acknowledge that you will have caused substantial harm to us and that the amount of such harm would be extremely difficult to measure.

The Services may be used for uploading, streaming, listening and/or viewing Content. By using the Services you agree to receive, without further notice or prompting, updated versions of our software (and related third-party software, if any). If you do not accept the foregoing terms, do not use the Services.

LICENSE

We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, limited, fully revocable license to access and use the Services, including accessing, uploading, viewing and/or listening to Content provided through the Services for personal, non-commercial purposes as set forth in these Terms of Use. Except for the license rights set forth herein, as between you and us, (with the exception of any rights retained by our licensors) we retain all right, title and interest, including all intellectual property rights, in and to the Services. Notwithstanding any language to the contrary set forth herein, your use of the Services is subject and governed by certain open-source licenses, including but not limited to those set forth at www.gnu.org/licenses (the “Software Licenses”) and you agree to abide by the terms of such licenses, and in the event of a conflict between these Terms of Use and such Software Licenses, the terms of the Software Licenses shall prevail.

CONTENT

“Content” means any and all information provided in connection with your use of the Services, including without limitation information, content, data, messages, text, files, images, video, audio, sounds, and other materials.

If you are posting or streaming any Content, including video and audio of yourself, through the use of the Services,

• you expressly represent and warrant that you have the right and/or license to post any and all Content posted by you through the use of the Services;
• you understand that you are solely responsible for all Content that you post, transmit, publish, or stream through the Services;
• you shall not post, transmit, or link through the Services any Content that contains obscene, profane, defamatory, harassing, abusive or threatening language or any Content that violates applicable laws, rules and regulations;
• you must not submit any Content through the Services that is or has ever been the subject of any threatened or actual legal proceedings or other similar complaint;
• you grant us a non-exclusive, sublicensable, irrevocable and royalty-free worldwide license under all copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, privacy and publicity rights, moral rights and other intellectual property rights for the full duration of those rights to use, reproduce, transmit, publish, publicly display, exhibit, distribute, redistribute, copy, modify, transform, adapt, translate, create derivative works based upon, publicly perform, publicly communicate, make available, and otherwise exploit such Content, in whole or in part, in all media formats now known or hereafter devised, in any number of copies and without limit as to time, manner and frequency of use, without further notice to you, without attribution and without the requirement of permission from or payment to you or any other person or entity.

You agree to indemnify and hold us and our directors, and officers, harmless from any demands, loss, liability, claims or expenses (including attorneys’ fees), made against us by any third party arising out of or in connection with our use, publication and streaming of the Content that you have posted resulting from your breach of any warranty, representation, or other provision of these Terms of Use.

You represent and warrant that the Content provided by you and the streaming, publication or any other use by us of such Content will not infringe or misappropriate any patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, or other intellectual property rights of any third party.

You acknowledge that we do not pre-screen or approve Content, but that we shall have the right (but not the obligation) in our sole discretion to refuse, delete, or remove any Content that is in violation of the Terms of Use or for any other reason.

You may not either directly or through the use of any device, software, Internet site, web-based service, or other means remove, alter, bypass, avoid, interfere with, or circumvent any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices marked on the Content.

Content may elicit varying reactions among different people. You may come across Content that you view and/or listen to through the Services that you find offensive or objectionable. We do not guarantee that you will agree with the Content. You acknowledge these risks.

The quality of the display of the Content and the transmission of Content may vary from device to device, and may be affected by a variety of factors, such as your location, the bandwidth available through and/or speed of your Internet or telephone connection. We make no representations or warranties about the quality of your transmission or watching or listening experience. In order to access and use the Services, you must have a high-speed broadband, wireless or similar Internet connection from an Internet service provider that meets certain technical specifications. Please note that multiple simultaneous streams may require higher Internet bandwidth. You are responsible for your Internet service used to access and use the Services. When you access the Services through a mobile network, your network or roaming provider’s messaging, data, and other rates and fees may apply. If you experience difficulties with the Services because of expense or unstable connectivity, please contact your Local Administrator and ask for the Services to include the ability to connect via the “Low Bandwidth” feature. Your use of the Services may count toward your data usage, depending on the terms of your agreement with your Internet service provider.

We may make changes to the Services. The availability of the Content may change from time to time. We hope not to, but we may change, suspend, or discontinue - temporarily or permanently - some or all of the Services, with respect to any or all users, at any time without notice. You also agree that we will not be liable to you for any modification, suspension, or discontinuance of the Services.

SECURITY

You agree to protect the confidentiality, security, integrity, and recoverability of the Services and the data stored on the Services and take reasonable and appropriate steps to guard these resources from improper or unauthorized use, including such use by third parties. You agree to immediately notify us of any unauthorized uses of the Services or any other breaches of security related to the use of the Services.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

YOU AGREE THAT USE OF THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE SERVICES, INCLUDING THE CONTENT, AND ANY OTHER SOFTWARE OR MATERIALS CONTAINED ON OR PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICES, ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ARE PROVIDED WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, WE DO NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, COMPLETENESS, AVAILABILITY, SECURITY, COMPATIBILITY OR NONINFRINGEMENT; OR THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, FREE OF VIRUSES AND OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, ACCURATE, ERROR FREE, OR RELIABLE.

FOR ITS OWN OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES AND PURPOSES, WE, FROM TIME TO TIME, BACK UP DATA ON OUR SERVERS, BUT WE ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION OR DUTY TO YOU TO DO SO UNDER THESE TERMS. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE WILL WE BE LIABLE TO ANYONE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY FOR LOSS OF YOUR FILES AND/OR DATA.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

IN NO EVENT SHALL WE OR OUR DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, AGENTS, LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS (COLLECTIVELY, “THE PROVIDER PARTIES”) BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, RELIANCE, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, REVENUES, OR GOODWILL, LOSS OR INACCURACY OF DATA OR LOSS OR INTERRUPTION OF USE, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO THE USE OF THE SERVICES WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHER THEORY, EVEN IF THE PROVIDER PARTIES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGES. CERTAIN STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS, OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. NOTHING IN THESE TERMS OF USE SHALL AFFECT ANY NON-WAIVABLE STATUTORY RIGHTS THAT APPLY TO YOU. IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES AND CAUSES OF ACTION WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE EXCEED $10.

YOU AGREE TO DEFEND, INDEMNIFY, AND HOLD HARMLESS THE PROVIDER PARTIES FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL LIABILITIES, CLAIMS, DAMAGES, EXPENSES (INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS), AND OTHER LOSSES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO YOUR BREACH OR ALLEGED BREACH OF THESE TERMS OF USE OR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES (INCLUDING YOUR USE AND/OR RECEIPT OF THE CONTENT). WE RESERVE THE RIGHT, AT OUR OWN EXPENSE, TO EMPLOY SEPARATE COUNSEL AND ASSUME THE EXCLUSIVE DEFENSE AND CONTROL OF ANY MATTER OTHERWISE SUBJECT TO INDEMNIFICATION BY YOU.

To help resolve any issues between us promptly, you agree to bring any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use (including the Notice), our relationship, or the use of the Services within one year after a claim arises; otherwise, the claim is waived. This limitation applies regardless of the venue in which such claim is or could otherwise be asserted.

We shall not be liable for delay or failure in performance due to fire, flood, hurricane, earthquake, other elements of nature or acts of God, acts of war, acts of a public enemy, acts of a nation or any state, territory, province or other political division, terrorism, riots, civil disorders, rebellions or revolutions, epidemics, pandemics, theft, quarantine restrictions, freight embargoes or for any other causes beyond our control or any other damage which does not result from a breach of our obligation.

BREACH OF TERMS OF USE

Without prejudice to our other rights under these Terms of Use, if you breach these Terms of Use in any way, we may take such action as we deem appropriate to deal with the breach, including suspending your access to the Services, prohibiting you from accessing the Services, blocking computers using your IP address from accessing or using the Services, contacting your Internet service provider to request that they block your access to the Services and/or bringing legal action against you.

GOVERNING LAW

These Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed according to the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A., without regard to conflict of laws provisions. Any legal action relating to these Terms of Use shall be brought in a state or federal court having jurisdiction in the State of New York, U.S.A.

CHANGES TO TERMS, NO WAIVER

We may revise these Terms of Use from time to time. Revised Terms of Use will apply to the use of these Services from the date of the publication of the revised Terms of Use. Please check this page regularly to ensure you are familiar with the current version. You can see when it was last updated by checking the “last updated” date displayed at the bottom of this page. Your continued use of the Services following the posting of a revised Terms of Use means that you accept and agree to the changes. Failure by us to enforce any provision of these Terms of Use shall not constitute or be construed as a waiver of such provision or the right to enforce such provision. Revised Terms of Use will apply to the use of the Services from the date of the publication of the revised version.

SEVERABILITY, ENTIRE AGREEMENT

If a provision of these Terms of Use is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be void, invalid, unenforceable, or illegal, the other provisions will continue in effect. Please note that these Terms of Use, including the Notice, constitute the entire legal agreement between you and us and govern your use of the Services and completely replaces any prior agreements between you and us in relation to the Services.

LAST UPDATED: November 1, 2022