Terms of Service

Effective as of May, 2016

THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY AS THEY GOVERN YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE EARLY CHILDHOOD INVESTIGATIONS DIRECTORY AND ANY MATERIALS, SOFTWARE FUNCTIONALITY, AND INFORMATION AVAILABLE THROUGH THE EARLY CHILDHOOD INVESTIGATIONS DIRECTORY (THE FOREGOING COLLECTIVELY REFERENCED HEREIN AS THIS “SITE”). ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES IS WILLING TO LICENSE THE USE OF THE SITE TO YOU ONLY ON THE CONDITION THAT YOU ACCEPT ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CONTAINED IN THIS TOS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS TOS, YOU ARE NOT GRANTED PERMISSION BY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO ACCESS OR OTHERWISE USE THE SITE AND ARE INSTRUCTED TO EXIT THE SITE IMMEDIATELY.

1. PURPOSE. The Early Childhood Investigations Directory is a directory of experienced early childhood service providers. Our mission is to connect childhood organizations with reliable consulting, training, business, research, and content development services from leading experts (collectively, “Consultants”) through a single online hub. In order to access the Site, you must register with the site as a user (“User”). As a User, you may view the Site and search the directory of Consultants. If you choose to register as a Consultant, you may create a profile where other Users may view your credentials and contact you about your products or services.

2. LICENSE GRANT. This TOS provides to you a personal, revocable, limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free, nontransferable, and nonsublicenseable license to use this Site conditioned on your continued compliance with the terms and conditions of this TOS. You may print and download materials and information from this Site solely for your personal use, provided that all hard copies contain all copyright and other applicable notices contained in such materials and information and that you do not distribute or disclose such materials and information. This TOS is only a license and not an assignment or sale. Accordingly, you expressly acknowledge and agree that Engagement Strategies transfers no ownership or intellectual property interest or title in and to this Site to you or anyone else.

3. LICENSE GRANT RESTRICTIONS. All rights not expressly granted under this Agreement are hereby reserved to Engagement Strategies. You therefore may not modify, reproduce, duplicate, copy, download, store, further transmit, disseminate, transfer, disassemble, broadcast, publish, remove or alter any proprietary notices or labels, license, sublicense, sell, mirror, frame, rent, lease, private label, grant a security interest in, create derivative works of, or otherwise exploit the Site, or any portion of the Site without Engagement Strategies’ prior written consent except as expressly authorized herein.

4. USER OBLIGATIONS. By installing, accessing, or using this Site you represent that you are at least eighteen (18) years of age (or the legal age of majority, whichever is greater) and will, at all times, provide true, accurate, current, and complete information when submitting information or materials on or through this Site, including, without limitation, when you provide information via a Site registration or submission form. If you are registering and using the Site on behalf of a business entity, you represent that you have all necessary rights and permissions to register and use the Site on behalf of such business entity. If you provide any false, inaccurate, untrue, or incomplete information, Engagement Strategies reserves the right to immediately terminate your access and use of this Site. In addition, you agree to abide by all applicable local, state, national, and international laws and regulations with respect to your use of this Site. You also acknowledge and agree that use of the Internet and this Site is solely at your own risk. While Engagement Strategies has endeavored in each instance to create a secure and reliable Site, you should understand that the confidentiality of any communication or material transmitted to/from this Site over the Internet or other global communication network cannot be guaranteed. Accordingly, Engagement Strategies is not responsible for the security of any information transmitted via the Internet or other global communication network.

5. ACCOUNT REGISTRATION AND USER NAME HANDLING POLICY: Engagement Strategies requires all Users to register for an account, including access credentials, such as a user name and a password. You hereby agree to consider your access credentials as confidential information and not to disclose such information to any third party without the prior express written consent of Engagement Strategies, which may be withheld in its sole discretion. If you create an account on behalf of a business entity, your registration information must accurately reflect your role and relationship to that entity. Accounts are not transferrable, except that responsibility for an account for a business entity may be transferred to another designated User on behalf of that entity. You are responsible for all actions undertaken through your account. You shall immediately notify Engagement Strategies if you suspect or become aware of any loss or theft of your password or any unauthorized use of your user name and password. Engagement Strategies will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure (whether inadvertent or intentional) to comply with these obligations. If you wish to register for an account and access the Site as a Consultant, additional terms may apply to your use of the Site as set forth in Section 6 below, including payment of applicable fees.

6. ADDITIONAL REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSULTANTS. Without limiting the foregoing, in order to create a profile for yourself or your business entity and make such profile available on the Site for other Users to view, you must first register on the Site as a Consultant and the following additional terms apply to your use of the Site. When you register as a Consultant, you agree to pay the applicable fees and taxes associated with such registration at the frequency designated by Engagement Strategies. Failure to pay these fees may result in the termination of your registration. Payment may be made by personal check, credit card, or through a third party payment service accepted by Engagement Strategies (paypal®). Note that if you choose to utilize a third party payment service, you will be directed to such third party’s website to complete your transaction and additional terms and conditions may apply to your use of such website. If you pay by personal check, your profile will not be activated until payment has been received and cleared by Engagement Strategies. Engagement Strategies cannot and does not guaranty that by registering as a consultant and creating a profile on the Site, any Users will contact you or purchase your products or services. Further, Engagement Strategies does not facilitate or guaranty any payment or compensation from a User on the Site who may wish to purchase products or services from a Consultant. Engagement Strategies is not a party to any such arrangement between Users and Consultants.

7. MESSAGES AND SHARING. The Site allows messaging and sharing of information in many ways, such as through the creation of a profile, posting of original content, information, or links to third party content or articles (“Content”), and messaging other Users through the Site’s messaging feature. Content that you share or post may be seen by other Users and Consultants. Please note that Engagement Strategies cannot guarantee that other Users, Consultants or third parties will not use or otherwise disseminate the Content that you share on the Site and Engagement Strategies shall have no liability for such use of your Content. Therefore, if you have Content that you would like to keep confidential and/or do not want others, including Engagement Strategies to use, do not post it to the Site. Note that the Site’s messaging feature is by default private, and the contents of such message are only visible to the addressee(s), however, if you contact a Consultant via the Site’s messaging feature, the Consultant will be able to access information you provide to the Site in order to respond to you as further set forth in Engagement Strategies’ Privacy Policy. Engagement Strategies is not responsible for screening or editing your or another User’s profiles or Content and encourages all of its Users to use reasonable discretion and caution in evaluating or reviewing any such Content or information. Moreover, and except as provided below with respect to Engagement Strategies’ right and ability to delete or remove Content (or any part thereof), Engagement Strategies does not endorse, oppose, or edit any opinion or information provided by you or another User and does not make any representation with respect to, nor does it endorse the accuracy, acceptability, completeness, timeliness, or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other material displayed, uploaded, or distributed by you or any other Consultant or User. Engagement Strategies is not obligated to publish any Content on the Site and you acknowledge and agree that Engagement Strategies can remove Content in its sole discretion, with or without notice to you. If you engage with another User or Consultant through the messaging feature of the Site, any relationship you may form with such other User or Consultant is independent of, and not governed by, this TOS and Engagement Strategies is not a party to any such engagement.

8. LICENSE TO CONTENT AND FEEDBACK. As between you and Engagement Strategies, you own the Content that you submit or post to the Site, however, you hereby grant to Engagement Strategies a non-exclusive, worldwide, transferable and sublicensable right to use, copy, modify, distribute, publish, and process, Content that you provide through the Site, without any further consent, notice and/or compensation to you or others. Additionally, Engagement Strategies welcomes your feedback and suggestions about how to improve this Site (“Feedback”). By submitting Feedback regarding the Site, you agree that Engagement Strategies can use and share (but is not required to) such Feedback for any purpose without compensation to you. You agree to only provide Content and Feedback that does not violate the law nor anyone's rights (e.g., without violating any intellectual property rights or breaching a contract).

9. COPYRIGHT; DESIGNATED AGENT FOR NOTIFICATION OF CLAIMS OF INFRINGEMENT. Engagement Strategies respects the intellectual property of others, and it asks its Users to do the same. Accordingly, it is Engagement Strategies' policy to respond to a notice of alleged infringement that complies with U.S. Copyright Law, and in particular, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Responses may include removing or disabling access to content or material claimed to be the subject of infringing activity and/or terminating your right to access and use the Site. But, you acknowledge that you may be liable for damages, including attorneys' fees and costs, if you materially misrepresent that a work or activity is infringing your rights. If Engagement Strategies terminates or suspends a User's access to or use of the Site, Engagement Strategies will make a good-faith attempt (as warranted) to contact the person who posted the content so that they may make counter notification pursuant to applicable laws. It is Engagement Strategies' policy to document all notices of alleged infringement upon which Engagement Strategies decides to take action. As with all legal notices, a copy of the notice may be sent to one or more third parties who may make such notice available to the public. If you believe that one or more of your works have been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide a written notice of your claim of copyright infringement that is directed to Engagement Strategies' designated agent as specified below along with the following information:

1. A signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest that is allegedly infringed;
   
2. A description, in reasonable detail (including any applicable URL address), of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
   
3. A description, in reasonable detail, of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Site;
   
4. Your address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
   
5. A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
   
6. A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your written notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.
   
7. Designated Agent: Fran S. Simon, Fran.Simon@EngageStrat.com, 9609 Windcroft Way, Potomac, MD 20854.
   
8. Counter notification, as permitted by applicable law and, in particular, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, may be sent to Engagement Strategies’ Designated Agent. All counter notifications must include responsive information to what is set forth above including any required statements or signatures.
   

10. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS. All text, graphics, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, audio, video, sounds, artwork, computer code (including html code), programs, software, products, information, and documentation as well as the design, structure, selection, coordination, expression, "look and feel," and arrangement of any content contained on or available through this Site, unless otherwise indicated, are owned, controlled, and licensed by Engagement Strategies and/or its suppliers and are protected by law including, but not limited to, United States copyright, trade secret, patent, and trademark law, as well as other state, national, and international laws and regulations. Except as expressly provided herein, Engagement Strategies does not grant any express or implied right to you or any other person under any intellectual or proprietary rights. Accordingly, your unauthorized use of this Site may violate intellectual property or other proprietary rights laws as well as other laws, regulations, and statutes. This Site is Copyright © 2016 Engagement Strategies, LLC and/or its licensors. All rights reserved. Engagement Strategies also owns a copyright in the contents of this Site as collective work and/or compilation and in the selection, coordination, arrangement, and enhancement of the content of this Site. Any downloadable or printable programs, information, or materials available through this Site and all copyrights, trade secrets, and know-how related thereto, unless otherwise indicated, are owned by Engagement Strategies and/or its licensors. Engagement Strategies, the Engagement Strategies logo, Early Childhood Investigations Directory, and all other names, logos, and icons identifying Engagement Strategies and its programs, products, and services are proprietary trademarks of Engagement

Strategies, and any use of such marks without the express written permission of Engagement Strategies is strictly prohibited. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks and/or service marks of their respective owners.

11. ADVERSITERS ON THIS SITE. Engagement Strategies, in its sole discretion, may post (and remove at any time) the advertisements of third parties on this Site. The inclusion of advertisements on the Site does not imply endorsement of the advertised products or services by Engagement Strategies. Your correspondence or any other dealings with advertisers found on this site are solely between you and such advertiser. You agree that Engagement Strategies shall not be responsible for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as a result of any such dealings or as the result of the presence of such advertisers on this Site. Moreover, Engagement Strategies shall not be responsible or liable for the statements or conduct of any third party on this Site.

12. LINKS TO OTHER SITES. Engagement Strategies may provide links, in its sole discretion, to other sites on the World Wide Web for your convenience in locating related information, products, and services. Such other sites have not necessarily been reviewed by Engagement Strategies and are maintained by third parties over which Engagement Strategies exercises no control. Accordingly, Engagement Strategies expressly disclaims any responsibility for the content, the materials, the accuracy of the information, and/or quality of the information, products or services provided by, available through, or advertised on these third party web sites. Moreover, these links do not imply an endorsement with respect to any third party or any third party web site or the information, products, or services provided by any third party.

13. DISCLAIMER. WHILE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES ENDEAVORS TO PROVIDE ACCURATE, UP-TO-DATE, AND RELIABLE INFORMATION, SERVICES, PROGRAMS, PRODUCTS, SOFTWARE, AND MATERIALS, THE INFORMATION, SERVICES, PROGRAMS, PRODUCTS, SOFTWARE, AND MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THIS SITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS-IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS AND MAY INCLUDE ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR OTHER INACCURACIES. ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES ALSO DOES NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF ANY INFORMATION, MATERIALS, CONSULTANT, BUSINESS, PRODUCT OR SERVICES FOUND ON THE SITE. MOREOVER, ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES MAY MAKE MODIFICATIONS AND/OR CHANGES WITH RESPECT TO THIS SITE OR IN THE INFORMATION, SERVICES, PROGRAMS, PRODUCTS, SOFTWARE, AND MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THIS SITE AT ANY TIME AND FOR ANY REASON. YOU ASSUME THE SOLE RISK OF MAKING USE AND/OR RELYING ON THE INFORMATION, SERVICES, PROGRAMS, PRODUCTS, SOFTWARE, AND MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THIS SITE. ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS, RELIABILTY, LEGALITY, OR ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION, SERVICES, PROGRAMS, PRODUCTS, SOFTWARE, AND MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THIS SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OR ANY OTHER IMPLIED WARRANTY UNDER THE UNIFORM COMPUTER INFORMATION TRANSACTIONS ACT AS ENACTED BY ANY STATE. ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SCREENING CONSULTANTS, BUSINESSES, PRODUCTS OR PROFILES MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE AND THE APPEARANCE OF A PERSON, BUSINESS OR PRODUCT ON THE SITE DOES NOT IMPLY AN ENDORSEMENT OF SUCH PERSON, BUSINESS OR PRODUCT BY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING IF A CONSULTANT, BUSINESS OR PRODUCT FOUND ON THE SITE WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS AND ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES CANNOT AND WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIONS OR OMISSIONS OF ANY CONSULTANT OR BUSINESS FOUND ON THE SITE.

14. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. You expressly absolve and release Engagement Strategies from any claim of harm resulting from a cause beyond Engagement Strategies’ control, including, but not limited to, failure of electronic or mechanical equipment or communication lines, telephone or other interconnect problems, computer viruses, unauthorized access, theft, operator errors, severe weather, earthquakes, or natural disasters, strikes, or other labor problems, wars, or governmental restrictions. MOREOVER, IN NO EVENT SHALL ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY

CONNECTED WITH THE USE OF THIS SITE OR WITH THE DELAY OR INABILITY TO USE THIS SITE, OR FOR ANY INFORMATION, SERVICES, CONSULTANTS, BUSINESSES, PROGRAMS, PRODUCTS, SOFTWARE, AND MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS SITE, OR OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF UTILIZATION OF THIS SITE, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES/JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABLITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, TOTAL LIABILITY OF ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER RELATED TO USE OF THIS SITE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES DURING THE PAST SIX MONTHS IN CONNECTION WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PARTICULAR DISPUTE.

15. GOVERNING LAW. This TOS has been made in and will be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland as applied to agreements entered into and completely performed in the State of Maryland. Any action to enforce this TOS will be brought in the state or federal courts in the State of Maryland and all parties to this TOS expressly agree to be subject to the jurisdiction of such courts. Any claim you might have against Engagement Strategies must be brought within one (1) year after the cause of action arises, or such claim or cause of action is barred. A printed version of this TOS and of any related notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this TOS to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form. This Site is controlled and operated by Engagement Strategies from its offices within the United States. Engagement Strategies makes no representation that this Site is appropriate or available for use in other locations, and access to this Site from territories or nations where any aspect of this Site is illegal is prohibited. You access this Site on your own volition and are responsible for compliance with all applicable local laws.

16. SECURITY & ENFORCEMENT. Actual or attempted unauthorized use of this Site may result in criminal and/or civil prosecution, including, without limitation, punishment under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 under U.S. federal law. Engagement Strategies reserves the right to view, monitor, and record activity on this Site without notice or permission from you, including, without limitation, by archiving notices or communications sent by you through this Site. Any information obtained by monitoring, reviewing, or recording is subject to review by law enforcement organizations in connection with investigation or prosecution of possible criminal or unlawful activity on this Site as well as to disclosures required by or under applicable law or related government agency actions. Engagement Strategies will also comply with all court orders or subpoenas involving requests for such information. In addition to the foregoing, Engagement Strategies reserves the right to, at any time and without notice, modify, suspend, terminate, or interrupt operation of or access to this Site, or any portion of this Site in order to protect this Site, Engagement Strategies, or Engagement Strategies' business

17. PRIVACY POLICY. You understand, acknowledge, and agree that the operation of certain portions of this Site and/or the receipt of certain information, such as registering through this Site to be contacted by other Users of the Site, requires the submission, use, and dissemination of various personally identifiable information. Accordingly, if you wish to access and use those areas of this Site or receive access to the associated information, materials, or functionality, you acknowledge and agree that your use of this Site will constitute acceptance of Engagement Strategies’ personal identifying information collection and use practices. Please see Engagement Strategies’ Privacy Policy for a summary of Engagement Strategies’ personal identifying information collection and use practices.

18. INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. You acknowledge that any breach, threatened or actual, of this TOS, including, without limitation, with respect to unauthorized use of Engagement Strategies proprietary assets, will cause irreparable injury to Engagement Strategies, such injury would not be quantifiable in monetary damages, and Engagement Strategies would not have an adequate remedy at law. You therefore agree that Engagement Strategies shall be entitled, in addition to other available remedies, to seek and be awarded an injunction or other appropriate equitable relief from a court of competent jurisdiction restraining any breach, threatened or actual, of your obligations under any provision of this TOS. Accordingly, you hereby waive any requirement that Engagement Strategies post any bond or other security in the event any injunctive or equitable relief is sought by or awarded to Engagement Strategies to enforce any provision of this TOS.

19. TERM AND TERMINATION. This TOS will take effect (or re-take effect) at the time you click “I Accept” or begin installing, accessing, or using this Site, whichever is earliest. Engagement Strategies reserves the right at any time and for any reason to deny you access to this Site or to any portion thereof. This TOS will terminate automatically if you fail to comply with this TOS, subject to the survival rights of certain provisions identified below. Termination will be effective without notice. You may also terminate this TOS at any time by ceasing to use this Site, but all applicable provisions of this TOS will survive termination, as identified below, and each re-access or use of this Site will reapply the Terms of Use (then in effect) to you. Upon termination, you must destroy all copies of any aspect of this Site in your possession or control. The provisions concerning proprietary rights, submissions, disclaimer of warranty, limitation of liability, governing law, enforcing security on the Site, injunctive relief, term and termination, waiver and severability, and entire agreement will survive the termination of this TOS for any reason.

20. MISCELLANEOUS. Failure to insist on strict performance of any of the terms and conditions of this TOS will not operate as a waiver of any subsequent default or failure of performance. If any part of this TOS is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers, venue, claim, and liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most clearly matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of this TOS shall continue in effect. No joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and Engagement Strategies as result of this TOS or your utilization of any this Site. This TOS and Engagement Strategies’ Privacy Policy represent the entire agreement between you and Engagement Strategies with respect to use of this Site, and supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral, or written between you and Engagement Strategies with respect to this Site. Please note that Engagement Strategies reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of this TOS and the terms and conditions under which this Site and its offerings are extended to you (including any payment obligations) by posting online a revised TOS or mailing and/or e-mailing notice thereof to you. In addition, Engagement Strategies may add, modify, or delete any aspect, program, functionality, or feature of this Site. Your continued use of this Site following any addition, modification, or deletion will be conclusively deemed acceptance of any change to the terms and conditions of this TOS. Accordingly, please review the TOS found at this location on a periodic basis.

21. CONTACT INFORMATION. If you have questions regarding this Site or if you are interested in obtaining more information concerning Engagement Strategies and its products or services or permission to use any Engagement Strategies content, please contact Engagement Strategies, LLC at info (at) eceexperts.com(e-mail).