TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR USE OF THE MMA WEB SITE

The following terms and conditions govern your use of the MMA Web site, which is owned and operated by the Massachusetts Municipal Association (“MMA” or “we”).

By accessing, browsing and/or using this site you represent and warrant that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, do not use this site.

All content of this web site is protected by U.S. and foreign copyright laws. You may not copy, modify, upload, download, post, transmit, republish or distribute any of the content, including without limitation the code, contained in this web site without our prior written permission except for your own personal, noncommercial purposes. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, and your compliance therewith, we grant to you a limited and revocable non-exclusive, non-transferable, license to access and display this site, all software, text, graphics, logos, images, design elements, and all other information and materials contained in this site (collectively, the “Proprietary Elements”). Except as provided in the preceding sentence, nothing contained in this web site shall be construed as granting a license or other rights under any patent, trademark, copyright or other intellectual property of MMA or any third party. Unauthorized use of any MMA trademark, service mark or logo may be a violation of federal and state trademark laws. Further, you may not use any metatags or any other “hidden text” utilizing our name or any Proprietary Element without our prior written consent.

Disclaimers
This site and all content are provided on an “as is” basis and “as available” basis, and are intended for educational, informational, and research purposes only. We do not warrant that this site will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that defects, if any, will be corrected; nor do we make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, currency, quality, performance or suitability of this site, any content, or any products or services described on this site. You expressly agree that your use of this site and your reliance upon any content is at your sole risk and discretion.

We are not responsible for printing or typographical errors. Availability of the products and services described on this site are subject to change without notice.

To the fullest extent permissible pursuant to applicable law, we disclaim all warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to any implied warranties of title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.

Limitations of Liability

In the event of any problem with this site or any content, you agree that your sole remedy is to cease using this site.

Under no circumstances shall we or any of our officers, directors, employees, agents or representatives, or any other party involved in creating, producing, transmitting or distributing this site or any content appearing on this site, or any part thereof, be liable for any punitive, exemplary, consequential, incidental, indirect or special damages arising from or in connection with this site, any content, or any products or services described on this site, whether under a theory of breach of contract, negligence, strict liability or otherwise, even if we, such persons or such parties have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

We do not warrant that the functions or content contained in this web site are free of computer viruses or other harmful components. Although the content of this web site is updated periodically, we do not have a duty to update information contained in this web site, and we will not be liable for any failure to update such information.

Links
We make no claim or representation regarding the quality, content, nature or reliability of sites accessible by hyperlink from (or referenced within) this site or sites linking to this site, and we accept no responsibility in connection therewith. Any linked sites are not under our control, and we are not responsible for the content of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site, or for any review, changes or updates to any such sites. Any linked sites are provided to you only as a convenience. The inclusion of any link does not imply affiliation, endorsement or adoption by us of the linked site or any information contained therein. When leaving this site, for example to go to a linked site, you should be aware that our terms and policies no longer govern, and, therefore, you should review the applicable terms, conditions and policies, including privacy and data-gathering practices, of each linked site.

Confidentiality on the Internet
Use of the Internet is solely at your own risk and discretion and is subject to all applicable local, state, national and international laws and regulations. We shall not be responsible for the security of any information transmitted over the Internet. You assume all risks in transmitting material to or from this site and must make your own determination as to these matters.

User Feedback and Improper Transmissions
Except for personal information, if you transmit to or otherwise provide to the MMA any feedback (such as questions, comments, suggestions, or the like) or data or materials (“User Feedback”), such User Feedback shall be deemed to be non-confidential and non-proprietary. The MMA shall have no obligation of any kind with respect to such User Feedback and shall be free to reproduce, use, disclose, modify, display and distribute the User Feedback to others without limitation. By transmitting such User Feedback to the MMA, you are deemed to grant us a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, non-exclusive license (with rights to sublicense) to use any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques contained in such User Feedback for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to developing, manufacturing and marketing products incorporating such User Feedback.

You are prohibited from posting or transmitting to the site any unsolicited chain letters or “spam,” or any threatening, harassing, libelous, false, defamatory, offensive, obscene, or pornographic material, or other material that would violate any applicable law or regulation, including but not limited to any federal or state laws or regulations governing equal employment opportunities. However, if such communications do occur, we will have no liability related to the content of any such communications.

You may not post or transmit to the site any advertising, surveys, promotional materials, contests, or any other commercial or non-commercial solicitations. You are also prohibited from impersonating any individual.

We may, but are not obligated to, review or monitor areas on the site where users may transmit or post communications, including discussion groups, bulletin boards, chat rooms, and user forums. We are not responsible for the accuracy of any posted information, including but not limited to information, data, opinions, advice, or statements transmitted or posted in discussion groups, bulletin boards, chat rooms, and user forums.

Governing Law
The laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts govern these terms and conditions in all respects, without giving effect to its conflicts of laws principles. You agree to the sole and exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the federal or state courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the event of any dispute of any kind arising from or relating to this site, or your use or review of it.

Severability
If any provision of these terms and conditions is held invalid or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, the other provisions of these terms and conditions shall remain in full force and effect. Any provision of these terms and conditions held invalid or unenforceable only in part or degree will remain in full force and effect to the extent not held invalid or unenforceable. The parties further agree to replace such invalid or unenforceable provision of these terms and conditions with a valid and enforceable provision that will achieve, to the extent possible, the economic, business and other purposes of such invalid or unenforceable provision.

Violations and Additional Policies
We reserve the right to seek all remedies available at law and in equity for violations of the terms and conditions set forth in this web site, including the right to block access from a particular Internet address to the web site.

Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, hold harmless, and defend the MMA and its officers, directors, employees, agents, affiliates, subsidiaries (collectively “Indemnified Parties”) from and against any and all liability, loss, claim, damages, expense, or cost (including but not limited to attorneys’ fees), incurred by or made against the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising from or related to your use of this web site, the placement, posting or transmission of any messages, information, software, content or other materials on or through this web site by you or any breach or violation of these terms and conditions by you. You agree to fully cooperate as reasonably required by an Indemnified Party(ies). Each Indemnified Party may, at its own expense, assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which it is indemnified hereunder. You shall not settle any matter without the consent of the applicable Indemnified Party.

Registered Agent
We have registered an agent with the United States Copyright Office in accordance with the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “Act”) and avail ourselves of the protections under the Act. We reserve the right to remove any content on this site which allegedly infringes another person’s copyright. Notices to us regarding any alleged copyright infringement on this site should be directed to the following individual and address:

John Ouellette
Web Director
MMA
One Winthrop Square
Boston, Massachusetts 02110

For all other requests, you may contact us by email [webteam at mma.org] or by regular mail.

PRIVACY POLICY

The Massachusetts Municipal Association (“MMA”) respects the privacy of visitors to its web sites. As a result, we have developed this web site privacy policy. This policy applies only to the operation of web sites that directly link to this policy when you click on “Terms of Use” in the web site footer.

Through this web site, the MMA may collect information that can identify you, such as your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and other similar information (“Your Information”) when it is voluntarily submitted to us. (However, see discussion below about “IP Addresses” if you have a broadband connection.) We will use Your Information to respond to requests you may make of us, and from time to time, we may refer to Your Information to better understand your needs and how we can improve our web sites, products and services. We may also use Your Information to contact you and/or provide you with general information about our services. We may also enhance or merge Your Information with data obtained from third parties for the same purposes.

Any other information transferred by you in connection with your visit to this site (“Other Information” – that is, information that cannot be used to identify you) may be included in databases owned and maintained by the MMA or its agents. The MMA retains all rights to these databases and the information contained in them. Other information we collect may include your IP Address and other information gathered through our web logs and cookies (see below).

This site may collect web log information. Web log information is gathered when you visit one of our web sites by the computer that hosts the web site (called a “web server”). The web server automatically recognizes some non-personal information, such as the date and time you visited our site, the pages you visited, the website you came from, the type of browser you are using (e.g., Internet Explorer), the type of operating system you are using (e.g., Windows 2000), and the domain name and address of your Internet service provider (e.g., AOL).

This web site may use a technology called a “cookie.” A cookie is a piece of information that our web server sends to your computer (actually to your browser file) when you access the web site. Then, when you come back our site, it will detect whether you have one of our cookies on your computer. Our cookies help provide additional functionality to the site and help us analyze site usage more accurately.

This web site uses Internet Protocol (IP) Addresses. An IP Address is a number assigned to your computer by your Internet service provider so you can access the Internet. Generally, an IP address changes each time you connect to the Internet (it is a “dynamic” address). Note, however, that if you have a broadband connection, depending on your individual circumstance, it is possible that your IP Address that we collect, or even perhaps a cookie we use, may contain information that could be deemed identifiable. This is because with some broadband connections your IP Address doesn’t change (it is “static”) and could be associated with your personal computer. We use your IP address to report aggregate information on use and to help improve the web site.

We may share Your Information with agents, contractors or partners of the MMA in connection with services that these individuals or entities perform for, or with, the MMA. These agents, contractors or partners are restricted from using this data in any way other than to provide services for the MMA, or services for the collaboration in which they and the MMA are engaged. We may, for example, provide your information to agents, contractors or partners for hosting our databases, for data processing services, or so that they can mail you information that you requested.

The MMA reserves the right to share Your Information to respond to duly authorized information requests of governmental authorities or where required by law. In exceptionally rare circumstances where national, state or company security is at issue (such as with the World Trade Center terrorist act in September 2001), the MMA reserves the right to share our entire database of visitors and customers with appropriate governmental authorities.

We may also provide Your Information to a third party in connection with the assignment or transfer of the business of this web site to which the information relates, in which case we will require any such transferee to agree to treat Your Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

As a convenience to our visitors, this web site currently contains links to a number of sites that we believe may offer useful information. The policies and procedures we described here do not apply to those sites. We suggest contacting those sites directly for information on their privacy, security, data collection, and distribution policies.

To be removed from our contact lists, please write to the MMA at the following address:

MMA
One Winthrop Square
Boston, MA 02110
Attention: MMA Webmaster

Please note that you may continue to receive materials while we are updating our lists.

We may update this web site Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do update it, for your convenience, we will make the updated policy available on this page.