Terms of Use

LAST MODIFIED: NOVEMBER 19, 2012

 

 

FriendsofBNSF.com ("BNSF") makes available the information, materials, services and products on the web site www.FriendsofBNSF.com (the "Site") to users of this Site (“Users” or “You”), subject to these terms and conditions ("Terms of Use"). The availability or display on the Site of information, materials, services and products does not confer or convey any rights or create any license except strictly as may be expressly provided in these Terms of Use.

 

These Terms of Use apply to all Users of the Site and the Content (defined below) available on the Site. This use includes all aspects of the Site, including but not limited to all products, software and services offered via the Site.  By using or visiting the Site and using these services, You signify Your agreement to these Terms of Use and further agree to be bound by the terms and conditions stated in or incorporated by reference in this legal notice. If You do not agree to any of the Terms of Use, please do not use the Site.

 

 

“Content” for the purposes of the Site includes the text, software, scripts, graphics, photos, sounds, music, videos, audiovisual combinations, interactive features and other materials You may view on, access through, or contribute to the Site. 

 

There are three types of Content on the Site: 

 

1. "BNSF Content" which includes any content in any form that is supplied solely by BNSF on the Site. 

2. “Third Party Content” which is supplied in whole or in part by third party suppliers subject to the Third Party Terms (defined below).

3. “User Generated Content” which is content created and posted by Users of the Site as provided for in these terms.

 

 

1. BNSF Content: Except as specifically provided elsewhere on this Site, BNSF grants to Users of this Site a limited, revocable license to view, copy, print, and distribute BNSF Content available subject to the following conditions:

 

a. BNSF Content may be used solely for (i) personal informational purposes and (ii) for business purposes in support of Your business relationship with BNSF;

b. BNSF Content may not be modified or altered in any way;

c. BNSF Content shall not be copied onto Your or any other party's website or other publicly available repository of information;

d. BNSF Content shall not be included in or with any product that You distribute to third parties, nor shall it be used to create derivative works;

e. You may not remove any trademarks, copyright notices, patent notices, or any other notice contained in any BNSF Content;

 

BNSF reserves the right to revoke Your limited license to the BNSF Content at any time without prior notice or liability. Upon notice from BNSF revoking Your license You shall immediately discontinue any use of the BNSF Content.

 

Absolutely no license is granted to the design or layout of this Site (including without limitation, individual design and graphic elements), or any trademarks or trade names used in this Site. Such elements are protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws. Trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. 

 

2. Third Party Content: Subject to any specific Third Party Terms provided together or in conjunction with Third Party Content, the following provisions shall apply: You acknowledge that the Third Party Content displayed or available through the Site contains information and other material that is protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights of Third Party Content providers, and that Third Party Content is protected by the terms of Third Party Content providers.  You agree to comply with any additional copyright notices, information, or restrictions contained in any Third Party Content. BNSF's licensors and suppliers reserve the right to restrict, suspend or terminate Your access to all or any part of Third Party Content at any time for any reason without prior notice or liability.
 

BNSF's licensors and suppliers reserve the right, at their discretion, to restrict, suspend or terminate Your access to all or any part of Third Party Content at any time for any reason without prior notice or liability.

 

3. User Generated Content: The Site may permit Users to post certain User Generated Content from time to time. All User Generated Content is subject to the following:

 

a. No Content is permitted that is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, fraudulent, invasive of another's privacy, tortious, contains explicit or graphic descriptions or accounts of sexual acts (including but not limited to sexual language of a violent or threatening nature directed at another individual or group of individuals), or otherwise violates BNSF rules or policies;

b. No Content is permitted that victimizes, harasses, degrades, or intimidates an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, or disability;

c. It may not infringe upon any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of publicity, or other proprietary right of any party;

d. It may not constitute unauthorized or unsolicited advertising, junk or bulk email (also known as "spamming"), chain letters, or any other form of unauthorized solicitation, or any form of lottery or gambling;

e. It may not contain open source software, software viruses or any other computer code, files, or programs that are designed or intended to disrupt, damage, or limit the functioning of any software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment or to damage or obtain unauthorized access to any data or other information of any third party; or

f. It may not impersonate any person or entity, including any BNSF employees or representatives.

 

 

The Site may enable Users to communicate directly with one another. All communications are subject to the User Generated Content terms set forth above.

We will not inspect or disclose the contents of private communications except with the consent of the sender or the recipient, or in the narrowly-defined situations provided under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, or as required by other law or by court or governmental order. Further information is available in our Privacy Policy.

 

We may employ automated monitoring devices or techniques to protect our users from mass unsolicited communications (also known as "spam") and/or other types of electronic communications that we deem inconsistent with our business purposes. However, such devices or techniques are not perfect, and we will not be responsible for any legitimate communication that is blocked, or for any unsolicited communication that is not blocked.

 

 

The Site may contain links to third parties that are not owned or controlled by BNSF. BNSF has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of third parties (“Third Party Content”) or third party websites.  In addition, BNSF will not and cannot censor or edit the content of any third party sites. By using the Site, You expressly relieve BNSF from any and all liability arising from Your use of any third party site. You agree to comply with all restrictions provided below under the heading Third Party Terms, or provided with T Party Content (collectively, "Third Party Terms").

 

You further acknowledge and agree that there are additional tools or functions that may be accessed through the Site, such as, without limitation, electronic payment, shipment tracing, transit time estimations, and other customer support features, that may require You to agree to additional terms and conditions. Nothing in these Terms of Use is meant to diminish the rights and/or responsibilities set forth in any such additional terms and conditions.

 

 

We reserve the right to revise the Terms of Use at any time at our sole discretion. By using this Site, You agree to be bound by the then-current version of these Terms of Use and should periodically visit this page to review these changes.

 

Additionally, the Site may contain technical, factual, typographical or other inaccuracies or errors, which may include errors in software embedded in the Site or offered for download. BNSF may at any time make corrections, improvements and changes to the information, service(s), software or other product(s) provided or described in the Site, and reserves the right to remove any of them at any time without notice.

 

 

Except as specifically permitted herein, no portion of the information on this Site may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of BNSF. Trademarks, service marks, and trade names displayed on this Site are the property of their respective owners. 

 

 

You agree that You will not use any device, software or other instruments to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site, and that You will not take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure. In addition, You agree that You will not use any robot, spider, other automatic device, or manual process to monitor or copy the BNSF Content or other Content without the prior express consent from an authorized BNSF representative (such consent is deemed given for standard search engine technology employed by Internet search websites to direct Internet users to this Site).

 

You agree that You will use the Site legitimately and in good faith for use by You only, and not for other purposes, including without limitation, impermissibly assigning or posting on third party websites, or making speculative, disparaging, false or fraudulent statements.

 

 

With respect to all communications You make to the Site, including but not limited to User Generated Content, communications with other Users, feedback, questions, comments, suggestions and the like: (a) You shall have no right of confidentiality and BNSF shall have no obligation to protect Your communications from disclosure; (b) BNSF shall be free to reproduce, use, disclose and distribute Your communications to others without limitation; and (c) BNSF shall be free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how, content or techniques contained in Your communications for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to the development, production and marketing of products and services that incorporate such information. The above is limited only by our commitment and obligations pertaining to Your personal information (for more information, please see our Privacy Policy). 

You agree that any information or material received by BNSF will not be the confidential information of You or any third party. BNSF cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information You transmit to us, and You do so at Your own risk. 

 

 

NEITHER BNSF NOR ITS LICENSORS OR SUPPLIERS WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE. BNSF AND ITS LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT WITH RESPECT TO (1) THE SITE AND (2) ANY CONTENT INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, THIRD PARTY CONTENT AND BNSF CONTENT (COLLECTIVELY, "ALL CONTENT"). THE AVAILABILITY OF ALL CONTENT DEPENDS ON MANY FACTORS, INCLUDING BNSF'S CONNECTION TO THE INTERNET, THE AVAILABILITY OF THE INTERNET, AND EQUIPMENT THAT, BY ITS NATURE, IS NOT FAULT TOLERANT. BNSF AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEE OF ACCESS OR ACCURACY OF ANY ALL CONTENT. YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SITES AND THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ALL CONTENT IS ASSUMED SOLELY BY YOU. 

IN NO EVENT SHALL BNSF OR ITS LICENSORS OR SUPPLIERS HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR LOST DATA OR COSTS OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, OR FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, HOWEVER CAUSED AND UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY. THESE LIMITATIONS SHALL APPLY WHETHER OR NOT BNSF OR ITS LICENSORS OR SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

 

YOU AGREE TO DEFEND, INDEMNIFY, AND HOLD THE BNSF, ITS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, LICENSORS, LICENSEES, MARKETING PARTNERS, AND SUPPLIERS, TOGETHER WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS, HARMLESS FROM AND AGAINST ANY CLAIMS, ACTIONS OR DEMANDS, LIABILITIES AND SETTLEMENTS INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, REASONABLE LEGAL AND ACCOUNTING FEES, RESULTING FROM, OR ALLEGED TO RESULT FROM, YOUR VIOLATION OF THESE TERMS OF USE INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION USER GENERATED CONTENT AND COMMUNICATIONS POSTED BY YOU.  WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY, DEFEND, AND HOLD BNSF HARMLESS FROM ANY COSTS OR EXPENSES THAT BNSF MAY SUSTAIN, AS A RESULT OF THE PRIVACY, DATA TRANSFER, AND DATA PROTECTION LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER COUNTRY, WITH RESPECT TO ANY AND ALL CONTENT.

 

BNSF assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the information or software or other documents which are referenced by or linked to this Site. Any such links are provided only as a convenience, and the inclusion of a link to a particular site does not imply that BNSF endorses or has investigated or verified the content of that site.

 

 

We respect the intellectual property of others, and we ask You to do the same. If You or any User of this Site believes its copyright, trademark or other property rights have been infringed by a posting on this site, You or the User should send notification to our Designated Agent (as identified below) immediately. To be effective, the notification must include:

 

1. Identify in sufficient detail the copyrighted work that You believe has been infringed upon.

2. Identify the material that You claim is infringing the copyrighted work listed in item #1 above.

3. Provide information sufficient to permit us to contact You (email address is preferred).

4. Provide information, if possible, sufficient to permit us to notify the owner/administrator of the allegedly infringing material or content (email address is preferred).

5. Include the following statement: "I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above as allegedly infringing is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law."

6. Include the following statement: "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed."

7. Sign the paper.

8. Send the written communication to the following address:

a. Designated Agent for Claimed Infringement:

b. Contact: Steve Manning

c. Address: BNSF Railway Company

d. Phone: 817  -  867  -  0770

 

You acknowledge and agree that upon receipt of a notice of a claim of copyright infringement, we may immediately remove the identified materials from our site without liability to You or any other party and that the claims of the complaining party. 

 

 

This Site is designed for use within the United States. BNSF makes no representation that materials or information available on the Site are appropriate or available or allowed by law for use in other jurisdictions.

 

The Site is controlled by BNSF from its offices located in Fort Worth, Texas. By accessing this Site, You agree that all matters relating to Your access to, or use of, this Site including its content, shall be governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to the conflicts of laws. You and BNSF also agree and hereby submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of the courts with jurisdiction in Fort Worth, Texas with respect to these matters.

 

 

BNSF may assign these Terms of Use and its rights and obligations hereunder to an affiliated company or, in the event of a merger or acquisition of BNSF, or the sale of substantially all of the BNSF’s assets related to the Site, to the surviving or successor entity.  You may not assign these Terms of Use or the rights and obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of BNSF.  If any part of these Terms of Use is determined to be void or unenforceable in whole or in part, the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use shall not be affected thereby and shall remain in force and effect.

 

 

If You would like to request additional information regarding these Terms of Use, or have questions regarding the same, please email us.