Terms of Use

TERMS OF USE

Empowering The Pew believes in sharing what we produce with as many people and groups as possible around the world. We want our videos, audio recordings, lessons, posts, and any other materials and functionality found on our Website to be used free of charge by religious leaders, laymen and educators to advance knowledge and discussion of the Bible. These Terms of Use (sometimes referred to as just “Terms”) are intended to achieve that goal, while at the same time protecting our content and reputation from misuse or misappropriation. If you want to use our creations, you need to follow these Terms. In these Terms, we may refer to ourselves as “we”, “us”, “our”, “ETP”, “Empowering The Pew”, or as “empoweringthepew.org”.

These Terms, together with our Privacy Notice, govern your use of our websites, social media pages, channels, and any other Empowering The Pew online presence (collectively, the “Website”). Please read these Terms carefully before you start using the Website.

ACCEPTANCE

To access, browse, or use our Services, you must accept and agree to be unconditionally bound by these Terms as long as you use the Website, Content (defined below), or our products or services, classes, conferences or other events. If you do not agree and accept these Terms, you may not use the Services. Your acceptance constitutes a binding legal contract. Our Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Empowering The Pew regarding your use of the Website and Content and operate to the fullest extent permissible by law. Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision in our Terms shall not operate as a waiver of such right or provision.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding these Terms or the Services, please contact us at [email protected].

OVERVIEW

Empowering The Pew is not part of any specific Christian denomination or tradition. We hope that people from all backgrounds will find value in our work, regardless of their religious or non-religious convictions. Our goal is not to promote the distinctive teachings of any specific Christian tradition, but rather to explore the theological themes and ideas that emerge from a poetic- and narrative-focused reading of the Bible that takes seriously its historical and cultural context. On occasion we end up exploring parts of the Bible where our interpretive and theological commitments may become evident, but our main goal is simply to let the story and theological claims of the Scriptures speak for themselves.

Because we’re committed to ecumenism in biblical interpretation, as well as the selection of resources and methodologies for that interpretive work, we’re especially concerned about people divorcing our Content from its context in order to prove a point. Moreover, we object to any individual or organization profiting from their use of our Content. Attempting to profit from our Content, or using our Content in a way that alters the message, conclusions, inferences, or substance of the Content, violates these Terms and will end your right to use the Content.

These Terms apply to your use of our videos, audio recordings, lessons, posts, and any other materials and functionality found on our Website, such as empoweringthepew.org, as well as to any such content on our social media pages or our media streaming pages, such as our YouTube and Vimeo channels (collectively, the “Content”). The Content may not be used except as expressly stated in these Terms. To the extent that other companies provide hosting or other services to Empowering The Pew (collectively, “Service Providers”), and those Service Providers’ terms of use apply to any websites, social media pages, channels or other online locations where Content appears, these Terms are intended to operate in addition to those terms.

To access, browse, or use the Website or Content, you must agree to be unconditionally bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use the Content or the Website or any of the services or functionality they provide.

REGISTRATION

Our Website provides you with general information about Empowering The Pew’s products and services, classes, conferences, and other events. You may register with us to receive newsletters and other information, make an online purchase or donation, attend classes, conferences and other events, access or use certain Content, or access and use other features on the Website, all under these Terms. By registering with us, you agree that (a) you are able to and have the appropriate authority and authorization to create a binding agreement with Empowering The Pew; (b) the information you provide about yourself is true, accurate, current and complete; and (c) you will only use credential we issue to you to use limited-access portions of the Website. If Empowering The Pew has previously terminated your access to the Website for any reason, you may not access or use the Website under any circumstances.

If you register with us, you are responsible for all matters relating to your account and password (including maintaining their confidentiality) and the use of your account by others, with or without your authorization. You agree to be responsible for ensuring that others using your account comply with these Terms. Empowering The Pew will not be liable for any losses caused by any unauthorized use of your account.

You must notify us immediately of any breach of security or unauthorized use of your account by sending an e-mail to [email protected] with “Unauthorized Use” in the subject line. Even if you notify us, you will be responsible for any activities that occur using your access credentials, including any charges resulting from the use of your account. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to terminate your access to the Website or any portion thereof at any time, without notice.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OWNERSHIP

The copyrights, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights in the Content and any other information contained in the Website including, without limitation, software, text, graphics, logos, button icons, images, audio clips, video clips, digital downloads, data compilations and the collection, compilation and overall design of the Website (collectively, the “Intellectual Property”), are owned or licensed by Empowering The Pew, and we reserve all rights with respect to the Intellectual Property.

EMPOWERING THE PEW TRADEMARKS

While the copyrights in certain Content are licensed under these Terms for certain specific uses, no trademark or service mark license whatsoever is granted to you by these Terms. This means you may not use our name, logo, or any other Empowering The Pew identifier in any way that doesn’t qualify as referential fair use under U.S. law. This is so no one is confused as to the relationship between Empowering The Pew and our Content users, for instance by being led to believe that Empowering The Pew endorses or sponsors someone who is only using Content under these Terms, and not under a separate agreement. If you wish to make any use of our trademarks beyond referential fair use, please contact us to request a special usage license. Such licenses are not common, but may be granted under special circumstances. A license to use any of our marks may only be granted in a formal written license agreement signed by one of our duly authorized officers. No other person or agent is authorized to grant any rights or to authorize the use of any of our marks, and any such attempted grant or related promise or guidance is invalid.

YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE CONTENT

As a user of the Website, you have a revocable, non-transferable, non-exclusive license to access the Website, view information contained on the Website, and interact with the Website as described in these Terms. By using the Website, including any interactive components that require inputs, you represent and warrant that (a) any information you submit to the Website is truthful and accurate; (b) you will maintain the accuracy of that information; and (c) your use of the Website does not violate any applicable law, rule or regulation. Any information that you provide to us will also be subject to our Privacy Notice.

You may not use the Website for any commercial purpose or for any unlawful or wrongful purpose. You agree not to use, rent, retransmit, duplicate, disclose, publish, sell, assign, lease, sublicense, market or transfer the Website, or any portion or component thereof (including the Content) except as expressly authorized by these Terms. You further agree not to copy, reverse engineer, translate, port, modify or make derivative works of the Website, or any portion of the Website. Tampering with the Website, conducting fraudulent activities on the Website and all other illegal activities are prohibited and may subject the misuser to legal action.

Video Content. Certain of our videos are available to download from our empoweringthepew.org site or our channel on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6EheMY5SO_aMAnp_17YZ8A) or such other channels we may create in the future (collectively, “Video Content”). You are permitted to embed streams of, or links to, any of our Video Content into your own website or mobile application unless and until we instruct you to remove it, but only as long as you comply strictly with the Terms and, in particular, the following requirements:

You may not require payment of a monetary fee, or require any action or inaction that leads to indirect monetary benefit to you, as a pre-requisite for users of your website or app to access the Video Content.

You may not sell or distribute copies of Video Content.

You must place a clear and prominent notice, in close proximity to the Video Content, that identifies Empowering The Pew as the author and owner of the Video Content and contains a link to https://empoweringthepew.org enabling viewers to visit that site and learn more about Empowering The Pew.

You may not edit, modify, or make changes of any sort to any Video Content, nor may you create any derivative works based upon the Video Content.

You may not upload any Video Content to a new server or streaming service other than the ones we provide.

You agree to the YouTube Terms of Service.

Digital Downloads. Certain of our electronic Bible lessons are available to download from our empoweringthepew.org site (collectively, “Digital Downloads”). You are permitted to download, reproduce and display any of our Digital Downloads, either digitally or in tangible media, unless and until we withdraw this permission, but only as long as you comply strictly with these Terms and, in particular, the following requirements:

You may not require payment of a monetary fee, or require any action or inaction that leads to indirect monetary benefit to you, as a pre-requisite for third parties to view the Digital Downloads, nor may you sell copies of Posters.

You may create and distribute up to 500 paper copies of each different Digital Downloads, so long as you comply with the above restriction on sales, so all Digital Downloads are distributed free of charge. (If you wish to produce 500 or more copies of a Digital Download, please contact us to request a special license.)

You may not edit, modify, or make changes of any sort to any Digital Downloads, nor may you create any derivative works based upon the Digital Downloads.

You must place a clear and prominent notice, in close proximity to any digital displays of any Digital Downloads, that identifies Empowering The Pew as the author and owner of the Digital Downloads and contains a link to empoweringthepew.org enabling viewers to visit that site and learn more about Empowering The Pew.

In the event that we withdraw this permission, you must remove all digital displays of the Digital Downloads, and cease distribution of any Digital Downloads reproduced in tangible media.

Other Visual Content / Bible Lessons. Certain of our lessons, scripts and static visual content other than digital downloads are available to download from our empoweringthepew.org site (collectively, “Other Visual Content”). You are permitted to download, reproduce and display any of our Other Visual Content, either digitally or a single time in tangible media, unless and until we withdraw this permission, but only as long as you comply strictly with these Terms and, in particular, the following requirements:

You may not require payment of a monetary fee, or require any action or inaction that leads to indirect monetary benefit to you, as a pre-requisite for third parties to view the Other Visual Content, nor may you sell copies of Other Visual Content.

You may not create multiple copies of Other Visual Content in tangible media.

You may not edit, modify, or make changes of any sort to any Other Visual Content, nor may you create any derivative works based upon the Other Visual Content.

You must place a clear and prominent notice, in close proximity to any digital displays of the Other Visual Content, that identifies Empowering The Pew as the author and owner of the Other Visual Content and contains a link to https://empoweringthepew.org enabling viewers to visit that site and learn more about Empowering The Pew.

In the event that we withdraw this permission, you must remove all digital displays of the Other Visual Content, and cease distribution of any Other Visual Content reproduced in tangible media.

Audio. Certain of our audio content are available to stream from our empoweringthepew.org site and various other authorized audio streaming services (collectively, “Audio Content”). While you are permitted to play our Audio Content on demand from our site or authorized services such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify (so long as you conform to any requirements of those authorized services), you are not permitted under these Terms to record, reproduce, rebroadcast or make any other use of our Audio Content. If you wish to make any use of our Audio Content other than as allowed above, please contact us to arrange a special usage license.

RESTRICTIONS ON YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE AND CONTENT

Accessing the Website does not authorize you to use any Content in any manner other than specifically authorized by these Terms. Without limiting the foregoing, unless specifically permitted by these Terms, you may not under any circumstances:

Remove, alter, bypass, avoid, interfere with or circumvent any copyright, trademark or other proprietary notices marked on the Content or any digital rights management mechanism, device or other Content protection measures either directly or through other means;
Mirror, frame, screen scrape or deep link to any aspect of the Website or access any Content through technology or means other than those provided or authorized by us;
Access the Website via any automated system, including, without limitation, by “robots,” “spiders,” “offline readers,” etc., or take any action that imposes, or may impose (as determined in our sole discretion), an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure;
Knowingly or recklessly upload invalid data or introduce viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other malware or software agents, whether harmful or not, to the Website, or tamper with, impair, damage, attack, exploit or penetrate our system or network, or otherwise attempt to interfere with or compromise the system integrity or security of Empowering The Pew or any connected networks, or take any action to impact the proper operation of the Website and any person’s or entity’s use or enjoyment thereof;
Bypass the measures used to prevent or restrict access to or use of the Website, such as by hacking into secured or non-public areas of the Website or circumventing any geo-blocking mechanisms;
Use the Website to collect any Personal Information, including account names and e-mail addresses, or use the Website for any commercial solicitation purposes, without our prior express written permission; or
Attempt to reverse engineer any aspect of the Website or attempt to derive the source code (including the tools, methods, processes and infrastructure) that enables or underlies the Website, create any derivative works or materials of any kind using the Content, whether or not you intend to give away the derivative materials free of charge, or otherwise build a business utilizing any aspect of the Website.
The permissions described in these Terms will automatically terminate if you breach any provision of these Terms. Any use of the Content not expressly permitted by these Terms may violate copyright or trademark laws, and, without the prior written permission of Empowering The Pew, is strictly prohibited.

USER GENERATED MATERIAL

If and to the extent that Empowering The Pew elects to accept user generated material, you may have the opportunity to publish, transmit, submit or otherwise post comments, photos, or other materials on the Website (“User Generated Material”) that may be accessible and viewable by the public. With respect to any User Generated Material posted by you, you represent that (i) you created and own the rights to the content or you have the owner’s express permission to post such content, and (ii) the content does not infringe any other person’s or entity’s rights (including, without limitation, copyrights, trademarks or privacy rights) or violate any applicable laws, rules or regulations, these Terms of Use or any of our other posted policies. Additionally, User Generated Material must not:

Contain any material that is false, defamatory, libelous, obscene, harassing, threatening, discriminatory, bigoted, hateful, violent, vulgar, profane, pornographic or otherwise offensive, inappropriate, damaging, unlawful, disruptive or harmful;
Violate Empowering The Pew’s or any others’ legal rights, contain any material that could give rise to civil or criminal liability under applicable laws or regulations or otherwise promote, advocate or assist any illegal activity or unlawful act;
Create or threaten harm to any person or loss or damage to property;
Include others’ Personal Information, such as their address, phone number, e-mail address, social security number, financial information, or any other information that may be used to track, contact, or impersonate that individual;
Infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, contract or other intellectual property or other proprietary rights of Empowering The Pew, it’s staff or any other person;
Seek to harm or exploit children by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for Personal Information or otherwise;
Misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or organization, including Empowering The Pew;
Seek to collect others’ e-mail addresses, usernames, or passwords by any means for any purpose;
Seek to transmit chain letters, bulk or junk e-mail, whether automated or not, or interfere with, disrupt or create an undue burden on Empowering The Pew or the networks or services connected to the Website or install or attempt to install or promote spyware, malware or other computer code on our computers or equipment or the computers or equipment of third parties;
Relate to commercial activities such as contests, sweepstakes, or other sales promotions, barter, advertising or offers of sale or purchase of goods and services; or
Be otherwise objectionable or non-family friendly as determined by Empowering The Pew at our sole discretion.

Please choose carefully the information you post on the Website and that you give to other users. Empowering The Pew discourages you from publicly posting your full name, telephone number, street address, e-mail address or other information that identifies you or allows strangers to find you or to steal your identity. You are solely responsible for your User Generated Material and the consequences of posting it online. You assume all risks associated with dealing with other users with whom you come in contact through the Website, and to the extent that the law permits, you release us from any claims or liability related to any User Generated Material posted on the Website and from any claims related to the conduct of any other users.

We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to monitor, review, screen, post, remove, reject, modify or store User Generated Material at any time and for any reason without notice. We also reserve the right to take any action regarding disputes between you and any other user and shall have no liability for your interactions or any disputes with other users or for any user’s action or inaction. You are solely responsible for your conduct on the Website and your interactions with other users.

We may refuse, alter, or remove User Generate Material without notice for any reason at our sole discretion, including our belief that the User Generate Material may violate these Terms or is otherwise objectionable. We do not endorse any User Generated Material and the User Generated Material posted does not reflect our opinions, views or advice. We take no responsibility and assume no liability for any User Generated Material that you or any other user or third-party posts or sends on or through the Website, nor do we assume any liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications or content provided by any user or third party.

WEBSITE SECURITY

You are strictly prohibited from violating or trying to violate the security features of the Website, such as by:

Accessing data not intended for you or logging onto a server or an account which you are not authorized to access;
Attempting to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system or network or to breach security or authentication measures unless we expressly authorize that you do so in writing;
Attempting to interfere with service to any user, host or network, such as by means of submitting a virus, overloading, flooding, spamming, mail bombing or crashing; or
Sending unsolicited email, including promotions and/or advertising of products or services forging any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any email or newsgroup posting.
You hereby agree not to use any device, software or routine to interfere or try to interfere with the proper working of the Website or any activity conducted on the Website. You further agree not to use or try to use any engine, software, tool, agent or other device or mechanism (including browsers, spiders, robots, avatars or intelligent agents) to navigate or search the Website other than the search engine and search agents which we make available on this Website and other than generally available third party web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge.

If you violate our system or network security, you may face civil or criminal liability. We will investigate occurrences that may involve such violations. We may involve or cooperate with law enforcement authorities in prosecuting users who are involved in such violations.

MODIFICATION, SUSPENSION, OR TERMINATION WEBSITE USE

We reserve the right to change, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Website at any time and from time to time, in our sole discretion and without notice or liability, including by adding or eliminating certain features or discontinuing the Website entirely. From time to time, we may restrict access to some or all of the Website. We also reserve the right to terminate or suspend your account or restrict your use of or access to the Website, without notice or liability, for any reason or no reason at our sole discretion. Accordingly, for any reason, and without notice, all or any part of the Website may become unavailable to you at any time and for any period.

If we suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Website or terminate your account, we are not responsible for providing you with any information or content. We may also delete your other preferences and interests to the extent stored within or in connection with your account. You have no recourse with regard to any information that we delete regardless of any value you may ascribe to that information, and we expressly disclaim any value you may attribute to any of your information stored on our servers.

PRIVACY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Privacy Notice. You acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Notice. You may review our Privacy Notice at any time.

Consent to Electronic Communication. You consent to receive communications from us electronically, either by e-mail, notice posted on the Website, or other electronic means, as determined by us in our sole discretion. You agree that any requirement to send you a notice, disclosure, agreement or other communication in writing is satisfied by such electronic communication. We are not responsible for any automatic filtering you or your network provider may apply to such electronic communications.

Access to Your Information via Third Parties. When you sign up for, use our products and services, or register for events you may give us permission to access information collected about you by third parties. For example, you may link your Facebook account, which allows us to obtain information from those accounts (like your full name and email). The information we get from those services often depends on your settings or their privacy notices, so be sure to check your settings.

GOVERNING LAW

Empowering The Pew controls and operates the Website from its offices within the United States. Claims relating to, including the use of, the Website and the materials contained herein are governed by the laws of the United States and the State of Maryland. If you choose to access the Website from another location, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with applicable local laws.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

Empowering The Pew IS PROVIDING ITS WEBSITE AND ITS CONTENT ON AN “AS IS” BASIS AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT AS TO THE SITES OR THEIR OPERATION OR CONTENT. ALTHOUGH Empowering The Pew THE CONTENT TO BE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, AND CURRENT, Empowering The Pew DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE INFORMATION ACCESSIBLE ON THE SITES IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE, OR CURRENT. EMPOWERING THE PEW CANNOT GUARANTEE OUR SITES’ AVAILABILITY AND WE DO NOT PROMISE ANY SPECIFIC RESULTS FROM YOUR USE OF OUR SITES. YOU USE OUR SITES AT YOUR OWN RISK.

We are not responsible for and make no warranties, express or implied, as to any content on our site, including, without limitation, with respect to the accuracy and reliability of any content posted on or through our site, whether caused by us, by our agents or representatives, by users, by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized by our site or otherwise. Our sites may contain links to other websites, and we are not responsible for the content, accuracy or opinions expressed on those other websites, and we do not investigate, monitor or check those websites for accuracy or completeness. Inclusion of any linked website on our site does not imply our approval or endorsement of the linked website. When you access these third party sites, you do so at your own risk. We take no responsibility for third-party advertisements or third-party applications that may be posted on or through our site, nor do we take any responsibility for the goods or services provided by such advertisers. We are not responsible for any act or omission (whether online or offline) of any user of our sites including for any user’s posting of content on our site. We assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, any user communication. We are not responsible for any problems, damage, injury or malfunction relating to our sites or your use thereof (including those that may arise from or through communication network or lines, computer online systems, viruses or other malware, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email due to technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet and/or on our sites). Under no circumstances will we be responsible for any loss or damage, including personal injury or death, resulting from use of our sites, from the conduct of any users (whether online or offline), or otherwise. We are not responsible for any damage to your computer, software, modem, telephone or other property resulting from your use of (or inability to use) our sites. We will not be liable to you if you are unable to access information through our sites. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain warranties and/or liabilities, so some of the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

IN NO EVENT SHALL Empowering The Pew OR ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS OR THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON RELATED TO OR ARISING OUT OF USE OF OUR SITES OR CONTENT, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, FOR SPECIAL, INDIRECT, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF USE, DATA, PROFITS OR GOODWILL, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, OR COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, WITHOUT REGARD TO THE FORM OF ANY ACTION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, NEGLIGENCE, OR OTHER TORTUOUS ACTIONS, ALL ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE, INABILITY TO USE, COPYING, OR DISPLAY OF THE CONTENTS. THIS LIMITATION APPLIES TO ALL CLAIMS INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, BREACH OF CONTRACT, BREACH OF WARRANTY, DEFAMATION, STRICT LIABILITY, MISREPRESENTATION, PRODUCTS LIABILITY, VIOLATIONS OF LAW (INCLUDING REGULATIONS), NEGLIGENCE, AND OTHER TORTS, AS WELL AS THIRD-PARTY CLAIMS.

Without limiting the foregoing provisions, the limit on total cumulative liability owed by Empowering The Pew to you or any person for any claims shall be limited to a maximum of any amount you have paid Empowering The Pew in the last 12 months.

INDEMNIFICATION

YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD US, OUR SUBSIDIARIES AND OUR AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE MEMBERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, AGENTS, PARTNERS AND EMPLOYEES, HARMLESS FROM ANY LOSS, LIABILITY, COST, EXPENSE, CLAIM, DAMAGES, OR DEMAND, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION REASONABLE ATTORNEYS’ FEES, DUE OR RELATING TO OR ARISING OUT OF (I) YOUR USE OF OUR SITES IN VIOLATION OF OUR TERMS, (II) YOUR BREACH OF OUR TERMS, OR (III) ANY BREACH OF YOUR REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES SET FORTH IN OUR TERMS.

REVISIONS TO THESE TERMS OF USE

Empowering The Pew reserves the right to revise these Terms by updating this posting without prior notice. We may modify or update these Terms of Use at any time for any reason, with or without prior notice to you, and any such changes to these Terms of Use will supersede and replace any previous Terms of Use effective immediately upon posting to this page. You agree that in the event any portion of these Terms are found to be unenforceable, the remainder of these Terms shall remain in full force and effect and the otherwise unenforceable portion shall be amended so as to be enforceable to the greatest extent permitted by law. You agree to be bound by any such revisions. You are advised to periodically visit this page to determine the then current Terms of Use.

CLASS ACTION WAIVER

You hereby waive any right to commence or participate in any class action lawsuit against Empowering The Pew related to any claim, dispute or controversy, and, where applicable, you hereby agree to opt out of any class proceeding against Empowering The Pew otherwise commenced.

ARBITRATION AGREEMENT

Note: this Arbitration Agreement applies only to users in the United States.

YOU AND Empowering The Pew AGREE TO GIVE UP ANY RIGHTS TO LITIGATE CLAIMS IN A COURT OR BEFORE A JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION WITH RESPECT TO A CLAIM. OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU WOULD HAVE IF YOU WENT TO COURT, SUCH AS ACCESS TO DISCOVERY, ALSO MAY BE UNAVAILABLE OR LIMITED IN ARBITRATION.

Any claim or dispute arising from or relating to these Terms of Use and their interpretation or the breach, termination or validity thereof, the relationships which result from these Terms of Use, including disputes about the validity, scope or enforceability of this arbitration provision (collectively, “Covered Disputes”) will be settled exclusively by binding, individual arbitration, rather than in court, and to be held in Lanham, Maryland or another location mutually agreeable to the parties. The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its rules and procedures. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Arbitration Agreement. Alternatively, you may assert your claims in small claims court, if your claims qualify and so long as the matter remains in such court and advances only on an individual (non-class, non-representative) basis.

Prior to initiating any arbitration, the initiating party will give the other party at least 60-days’ advanced written notice of its intent to file for arbitration. Empowering The Pew will provide such notice by e-mail to your e-mail address on file with us and you must provide such notice by e-mail to [email protected]. During such 60-day notice period, the parties will endeavor to settle amicably by mutual discussions any Covered Disputes. Failing such amicable settlement and expiration of the notice period, either party may initiate arbitration.

The arbitrator will have the power to grant whatever relief would be available in court under law or in equity and any award of the arbitrator(s) will be final and binding on each of the parties. Judgment upon the award rendered by an arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Notwithstanding the foregoing obligation to arbitrate disputes, each party shall have the right to pursue injunctive or other equitable relief at any time, from any court of competent jurisdiction. Arbitrator will apply applicable law and the provisions of these Terms of Use and the failure to do so will be deemed an excess of arbitral authority and grounds for judicial review. Neither Empowering The Pew nor you are entitled to arbitrate any Covered Dispute as a class, representative or private attorney action and the arbitrator(s) will have no authority to proceed on a class, representative or private attorney general basis. If any provision of the agreement to arbitrate in this section is found illegal or unenforceable, the remaining arbitration terms shall continue to be fully valid, binding, and enforceable (but in no case will there be a class, representative or private attorney general arbitration). These Terms of Use and related transactions will be subject to and governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. sec. 1-16 (FAA) and, where otherwise applicable, by the laws of the State of Maryland.