Terms and Conditions

Last Updated: August 8, 2012

Please read these Terms & Conditions (“Agreement”) carefully. Your use of the Site (as defined below) constitutes your agreement to this Agreement.

This Agreement is between you and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (“ACEEE,” “we,” “us”) concerning your use of the online site currently located at http://www.aceee.org, www.greenercars.org and any successor site(s), (collectively referred to as the “Site”).

1. Acceptance of Terms.

We make the Site available to you subject to this Agreement. We reserve the right to update or make changes to this Agreement from time to time in our sole discretion, which changes we may provide to you by any reasonable means, including without limitation, by posting the revised version of this Agreement on the Site. You can determine when this Agreement was last revised by referring to the “LAST UPDATED” legend at the top of this Agreement. When using any Services (as defined below), you agree that you are subject to any additional posted guidelines, rules, terms and conditions applicable to such Services, which are hereby incorporated by reference into this Agreement. We reserve the right, at any time and from time to time, temporarily or permanently, in whole or in part, to: modify or discontinue the Site, with or without notice; charge fees in connection with the use of the Site; modify and/or waive any fees charged in connection with the Site; or offer opportunities to some or all users of the Site. You agree that we shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Site, in whole or in part, or of any Service, content, feature or product offered through the Site. Your continued use of the Site after such changes will indicate your acceptance of such changes.

2. Description of Publications and Services.

We provide users of the Site with access to research reports, white papers, fact sheets, testimony, regulatory filings, policy briefs, presentations, collaborative reports, e-books, and proceedings papers (collectively, “Publications”). We also provide users with other materials including, without limitation, press releases, links, newsletters, RSS feeds and blogs (such content and services along with the Publications, collectively, the “Services”). Your use of the Site is governed by this Agreement, regardless of how you access the Site (including, without limitation, through the Internet, through Wireless Access Protocol (commonly referred to as “WAP”), through a mobile network, or otherwise).

3. Use of Publications.

The Publications posted on this Site, except for materials that contain a copyright notice for a third party other than ACEEE, are the property of ACEEE or its licensors or affiliates and are made available for third-party copying, reproduction, distribution, modification, display, republication, transmittal, reposting, or otherwise using only upon receipt of ACEEE’s prior written permission, to be granted in ACEEE’s sole discretion on a case-by-case basis. To request such permission, please contact us at aceeeinfo@aceee.org(link sends e-mail).

4. Proprietary Rights

We or our licensors and suppliers own the information and materials made available through the Site. Such information and materials are protected by copyright, trademark, patent or other proprietary rights and laws. Except as expressly authorized in advance by us, you agree not to reproduce, modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on, all or any part of the Site or any information or materials made available through the Site.

Our trade names, trademarks and service marks on the Site, include without limitation “ACEEE” and “American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy” and any associated domain names and logos. All trademarks and service marks on the Site not owned by us are the property of their respective owners. You may not use our trade names, trademarks and service marks in connection with any product or service that is not our product or service, or in any manner that is likely to cause confusion. Nothing contained on the Site should be construed as granting any license or right to use any trade names, trademarks or service marks without express prior written consent of the owner.

5. Rules of Conduct.

While using the Site you will comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations. In addition, we expect users of the Site to respect the rights and dignity of others. Your use of the Site is conditioned on your compliance with the rules of conduct set forth in this section. Your failure to comply with such rules may result in termination of your access to the Site under this Agreement. You agree to the following:

Posting and Communication Restrictions. You will not post, transmit, or otherwise make available, through or in connection with the Site or through the Services:

o Anything that is or may be (a) threatening, harassing, degrading, hateful or intimidating; (b) defamatory; (c) fraudulent or tortious; (d) obscene, indecent, pornographic or otherwise objectionable; or (e) protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, right of publicity or other proprietary right without the express prior consent of the owner of such right.

o Any material that would give rise to criminal or civil liability; that encourages conduct that constitutes a criminal offense; that promotes gambling; or that encourages or provides instructional information about illegal activities or activities such as “hacking,” “cracking,” or “phreaking.”

o Any virus, worm, Trojan horse, Easter egg, time bomb, spyware, or other computer code, file, or program that is harmful or invasive or may or is intended to damage or hijack the operation of, or to monitor the use of, any hardware, software or equipment.

o Any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional material, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letter,” “pyramid scheme” or investment opportunity, or any other form of solicitation.

o Any material, non-public information about a company without the proper authorization to do so.

Use Restrictions. You will not:

o Use the Site for any fraudulent or unlawful purpose.

o Use the Site to defame abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights of others, including without limitation others’ privacy rights or rights of publicity, or harvest or collect personally identifiable information about other users of the Site.

o Use the Site to impersonate any person or entity, including without limitation any of our representatives; falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity; or express or imply that we endorse any statement or posting you make.

o Interfere with or disrupt the operation of the Site or the servers or networks used to make the Site available; or violate any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of such networks.

o Restrict or inhibit any other person from using the Site (including without limitation by hacking or defacing any portion of the Site).

o Use the Site to advertise or offer to sell or buy any goods or services without our express prior written consent.

o Reproduce, copy, modify, adapt, translate, sell, resell, make available, link to or otherwise exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of, use of, or access to the Site or any portion thereof, including its Services.

o Reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any portion of the Site, except where such restriction is expressly prohibited by applicable law.

o Remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notice from the Site or materials originating from the Site.

o Frame or mirror any part of the Site without our express prior written consent.

o Create a database by systematically downloading and storing Site content.

o Use any robot, spider, site search/retrieval application or other manual or automatic device to retrieve, index, “scrape,” “data mine” or in any way gather Site content or reproduce or circumvent the navigational structure or presentation of the Site without our express prior written consent. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we grant the operators of public search engines permission to use spiders to copy materials from the site for the sole purpose of and solely to the extent necessary for creating publicly available searchable indices of the materials, but not caches or archives of such materials. We reserve the right to revoke these exceptions either generally or in specific cases.

We may terminate your use of the Site for any conduct that we consider to be inappropriate, or for your actual or suspected breach of this Agreement, including, without limitation, the Rules of Conduct. Additionally, you acknowledge and agree that you (and not we) are responsible for obtaining and maintaining all telecommunications, broadband, and computer hardware, equipment, and services needed to access and use the Site, and paying all charges related thereto.

6. Purchases.

We may make available products and Services for purchase through the Site, and we may use third-party suppliers and service providers to enable e-commerce functionality on our Site.If you wish to purchase any product or service made available by us through the Site (each such purchase, a “Transaction“), you may be asked to supply certain information relevant to your Transaction, including without limitation your credit card number, the expiration date of your credit card, your billing address, and your shipping information. YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT YOU HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO USE ANY CREDIT CARD(S) UTILIZED IN CONNECTION WITH ANY TRANSACTION. By submitting such information, you grant us the right to provide such information to third parties for purposes of facilitating the completion of Transactions initiated by you or on your behalf. Verification of information may be required prior to the acknowledgment or completion of any Transaction.

7. Products, Content and Specifications.

Descriptions and images of, and references to, third-party products or services available in connection with the Site do not imply our endorsement of such third-party products or services. All descriptions, images, references, features, content, specifications, products and prices of products and services described or depicted on this Site, are subject to change at any time without notice. Certain weights, measures and similar descriptions are approximate and are provided for convenience purposes only. We make all reasonable efforts to accurately display the attributes of our products, including the applicable colors; however, the actual color you see will depend on your computer system, and we cannot guarantee that your computer will accurately display such colors. The inclusion of any products or services on this Site at a particular time does not imply or warrant that these products or services will be available at any time. It is your responsibility to ascertain and obey all applicable local, state, federal and international laws (including minimum age requirements) in regard to the possession, use and sale of any item purchased from this Site. By placing an order, you represent that the products ordered will be used only in a lawful manner. We reserve the right, with or without prior notice, to limit the available quantity of or discontinue any product or service; to honor, or impose conditions on the honoring of, any coupon, coupon code, promotional code or other similar promotions; to bar any user from making any or all Transaction(s); and to refuse to provide any user with any product or service. Refunds and exchanges will be subject to our refund and exchange policies then in effect. You agree to pay all charges that may be incurred by you or on your behalf through the Site, at the price(s) in effect when such charges are incurred, including without limitation all shipping and handling charges. In addition, you remain responsible for any taxes that may be applicable to your Transactions.

8. Shipping Limitations.

When an order is placed, it will ship to an address designated by the purchaser as long as that shipping address is complete and compliant with the shipping restrictions contained on this Site. All purchases from this Site are made pursuant to a shipment contract. As a result, risk of loss and title for items purchased from this Site pass to you upon delivery of the items to the carrier. You are responsible for filing any claims with carriers for damaged or lost shipments.

9. Information You Submit.

Your submission of information through the Site is governed by our privacy policy, which is located at http://www.aceee.org/privacy(link is external) (the “Privacy Policy”). Further, to the extent that you submit any personally identifiable information to any third party in connection with the Site, such third party’s collection, use and disclosure of such information will be governed by such third party’s own privacy policy, and not by our Privacy Policy (in any event, we are not responsible for the information collection, usage and disclosure practices of third parties). You agree that all information you provide to us is and shall remain true, accurate and complete, and you will maintain and update such information regularly. You agree that if any information you provide is false, inaccurate, obsolete or incomplete, we may terminate your use of the Site and/or any of its Services. If you choose to make any of your personally identifiable or other information publicly available on the Site, you do so at your own risk.

10. Registration; User Names and Passwords.

You may be required to register with us in order to access certain Services or areas of the Site. With respect to any such registration, we may refuse to grant you, and you may not use, a user name (or e-mail address) that is already being used by someone else; that may be construed as impersonating another person; that belongs to another person; that personally identifies you; that violates the intellectual property or other rights of any person; that is offensive; or that we reject for any other reason in our sole discretion.

Your user name and password are for your personal use only, and not for use by any other person. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any password you may use to access the Site, and agree not to transfer your password or user name, or lend or otherwise transfer your use of or access to the Site, to any third party. You are fully responsible for all interaction with the Site that occurs in connection with your password or user name (including, without limitation, all Transactions (as defined below)). You agree to immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your password or user name or any other breach of security related to your account or the Site, and to ensure that you “log off”/exit from your account with the Site (if applicable) at the end of each session. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with any of the foregoing obligations.

11. Forums.

We and/or our service providers may make available through the Site services (for example, blogs and comment functionality on the Site, among other services) to which you are able to post information and materials (each, a “Forum“).

Information contained in the Forums may be provided by ACEEE as well as by third party visitors to the Site. Please note that Site visitors may post messages or make statements in the Forums that are inaccurate, misleading or deceptive. We and our employees, officers, directors, shareholders, affiliates, agents, representatives, licensors, suppliers and service providers (collectively, the “ACEEE Parties”) neither endorse nor are responsible for any opinion, advice, information or statements made in the Forums by third parties. Without limitation, the ACEEE Parties are not responsible for any information or materials made available through the Forums (including without limitation errors or omissions in Forum postings or links or images embedded in Forum messages) or results obtained by using any such information or materials. Under no circumstances will the ACEEE Parties be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on such information or materials. The opinions expressed in the Forums reflect solely the opinions of the individuals who submitted such opinions, and may not reflect the opinions of us.

In addition, the ACEEE Parties have no control over, and shall have no liability for, any damages resulting from the use (including without limitation republication) or misuse by any third party of information voluntarily made public through a Forum or any other part of the Site. If you choose to make any of your personally identifiable or other information publicly available in a Forum or otherwise ON THE SITE, you do so at your own risk.

12. Submissions.

You retain ownership of any information, content and/or materials you submit through a Forum or otherwise through the Site (each, a “Submission”). Please note that we need certain rights to your Submissions to be able to make them available on the Site. Accordingly, you hereby grant to us and our service providers and designees a worldwide, non-exclusive, transferable, sublicenseable through multiple tiers, fully-paid up and royalty-free, perpetual and irrevocable right and license to use, reproduce, distribute, adapt, create derivative works of, transmit, publicly display and publicly perform such Submission, in any media now known or hereafter developed.

For each Submission, you represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary for you to grant the licenses granted in this section, and that such Submission, and your provision thereof to and through the Site, complies with all applicable laws, rules and regulations. You further irrevocably waive any “moral rights” or other rights with respect to attribution of authorship or integrity of materials regarding each Submission that you may have under any applicable law under any legal theory. We request this waiver to help ensure that we have all the rights we may need to provide the Services available through the Site.

The terms and conditions of this Agreement apply to all Submissions and shall govern irrespective of whether a Submission is sent via SMS, MMS or email. For purposes of clarity, your sending of a Submission via SMS, MMS or email constitutes your agreement to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

13. Monitoring.

You acknowledge and agree that (a) we reserve the right (but have no obligation) to do any or all of the following, at our discretion: (i) monitor Submissions; (ii) alter, remove, or refuse to post or allow to be posted any Submission; and/or (iii) disclose any Submissions, and the circumstances surrounding their transmission, to any third party in order to operate the Site; to protect ACEEE and the Site’s users and visitors; to comply with legal obligations or governmental requests; to enforce this Agreement; or for any other reason or purpose.

14. Links.

The Site may provide links to other web sites and online resources. Because we have no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that the ACEEE Parties are not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and the ACEEE Parties neither endorse nor are responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products or other materials on or available through such sites or resources. Other web sites may provide links to the Site with or without our authorization. You acknowledge and agree that the ACEEE Parties do not endorse such sites, and are not and shall not be responsible or liable for any links from those sites to the Site, any content, advertising, products or other materials available on or through such other sites, or any loss or damages incurred in connection therewith.

YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THIRD PARTY WEB SITES AND RESOURCES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, YOUR USE OF ANY CONTENT, INFORMATION, DATA, ADVERTISING, PRODUCTS, OR OTHER MATERIALS ON OR AVAILABLE THROUGH SUCH WEB SITES AND RESOURCES, IS AT YOUR OWN RISK AND IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE APPLICABLE TO SUCH SITES AND RESOURCES.

We have the right, at any time and in our sole discretion, to block links to the Site through technological or other means without prior notice.

15. Disclaimer of Warranties.

THE SITE AND ALL SERVICES, GOODS, INFORMATION AND MATERIALS MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE ARE PROVIDED TO YOU “AS IS” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY. YOU AGREE THAT YOU MUST EVALUATE, AND THAT YOU BEAR ALL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH, THE USE OF THE SITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY RELIANCE ON THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS OF ANY INFORMATION OR MATERIALS MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE. THE ACEEE PARTIES DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE AND ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES) OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT, AND TITLE.

16. Limitation of Liability.

THE ACEEE PARTIES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OF ANY KIND IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE, UNDER ANY CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OR INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF OTHER INTANGIBLES, LOSS OF SECURITY OF INFORMATION YOU HAVE PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SITE (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OR RECEIPT OF ANY THIRD PARTY SERVICES OR CONTENT), OR UNAUTHORIZED INTERCEPTION OF ANY SUCH INFORMATION BY THIRD PARTIES, EVEN IF ADVISED IN ADVANCE OF SUCH DAMAGES OR LOSSES. FURTHER, THE ACEEE PARTIES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE OR FROM ANY CONTENT POSTED ON THE SITE BY US OR ANY THIRD PARTY. YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SITE IS TO STOP USING THE SITE.

OUR MAXIMUM LIABILITY FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES AND CAUSES OF ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE, SHALL BE THE TOTAL AMOUNT, IF ANY, PAID BY YOU TO US TO ACCESS AND USE THE SITE.

While we try to maintain the security of the Site, we do not guarantee that the Site will be or remain secure, complete or correct, or that access to the Site will be uninterrupted. Additionally, third parties might make unauthorized alterations to the Site. If you become aware of any unauthorized third party alterations to the Site, contact us at aceeeinfo@aceee.org(link sends e-mail) with a description of the material(s) at issue and the URL or location of such materials.

17. Indemnity.

Except to the extent that you are prohibited from doing so under applicable law, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold the ACEEE Parties harmless from and against all claims, losses, costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) arising out of (a) your use of, or activities in connection with, the Site; or (b) any violation of this Agreement by you.

18. Termination.

This Agreement is effective until terminated. We may, at any time and for any reason, terminate your access to or use of: (a) the Site; (b) your user name and password; or (c) any files or information associated with your user name and password. If we terminate your access to the Site, you will not have the right to bring claims against us with respect to such termination. Upon any such termination, your right to use the Site will immediately cease. We shall not be liable to you or any third party for any termination of your access to the Site or to any such information or files, and shall not be required to make such information or files available to you after any such termination. We may take steps that we believe are appropriate to enforce or verify compliance with any part of this Agreement (including, without limitation, our right to cooperate with any legal process relating to your use of the Site, any Products or any third party claim that your use of the Site or Products is unlawful or infringes such third party’s rights). Sections 4, 12, 15through 18, 21, 23, 24and 26shall survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement.

19. Filtering.

Pursuant to 47 U.S.C. Section 230(d) as amended, we hereby notify you that parental control protections (such as computer hardware, software or filtering services) are commercially available that may assist you in limiting access to material that is harmful to minors. Information identifying current providers of such protections is available at: http://kids.getnetwise.org/(link is external) and http://onguardonline.gov/(link is external). Please note that we do not endorse any of the products or services listed at these sites.

20. Notice for California Residents.

Under California Civil Code Section 1789.3, California users are entitled to the following consumer rights notice: If you have a question or complaint regarding the Site, please send an e-mail to aceeeinfo@aceee.org(link sends e-mail). You may also contact us by phone at 202-507-4000 or by writing to us at American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, 529 14th Street N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20045-1000. California residents may reach the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs by mail at 1625 North Market Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95834, or by telephone at (916) 445-1254 or (800) 952-5210.

21. Claims of Copyright Infringement.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) provides recourse for copyright owners who believe that material appearing on the Internet infringes their rights under U.S. copyright law. If you believe in good faith that materials available on the Site infringe your copyright, you (or your agent) may send us a notice requesting that we remove the material or block access to it. If you believe in good faith that someone has wrongly filed a notice of copyright infringement against you, the DMCA permits you to send us a counter-notice. Notices and counter-notices must meet the then-current statutory requirements imposed by the DMCA. See http://www.copyright.gov/(link is external) for details. Notices and counter-notices should be sent to: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Attn: DMCA Agent, 529 14th Street N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20045-1000, 202-507-4000, copyright@aceee.org(link sends e-mail). We suggest that you consult your legal advisor before filing a notice or counter-notice.

22. Contact Us.

If you have any questions regarding the meaning or application of this Agreement, please direct such questions to aceeeinfo@aceee.org(link sends e-mail). Please note that e-mail communications will not necessarily be secure, so please do not include credit card information or other sensitive information in any e-mail to us.

23. Governing Law; Jurisdiction.

This Agreement (and any claim or dispute arising in connection with this Agreement or your use of the Site) is governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of California, without regard to its principles of conflicts of law, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal and state courts located in Washington, D.C., and waive any jurisdictional, venue or inconvenient forum objections thereto.

24. Geographic Limitations.

We control and operate the Site from the United States and the Site is not intended to subject ACEEE or any ACEEE Party to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country or territory other than that of the United States. We do not represent or warrant that the Site or any part thereof is appropriate or available for use in any particular jurisdiction. In choosing to access the Site, you do so on your own initiative and at your own risk, and you are responsible for complying with all local laws, rules and regulations. We may limit the Site’s availability, in whole or in part, to any person, geographic area or jurisdiction we choose, at any time and in our sole discretion. You are also subject to United States export controls and are responsible for any violations of such controls, including any United States embargoes or other federal rules and regulations restricting exports.

25. Ability to Enter Into This Agreement.

By using the Site, you represent, warrant and affirm that you are either more than 18 years of age, or an emancipated minor, or possess legal parental or guardian consent, and are fully able and competent to enter into the terms, conditions, obligations, affirmations, representations, and warranties set forth in these Terms of Service, and to abide by and comply with these Terms of Service.

26. Miscellaneous.

This Agreement does not create any partnership, joint venture, employer-employee, agency or franchisor-franchisee relationship between you and us. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable, that provision will not affect the validity and enforceability of any other provision. You may not assign, transfer or sublicense any or all of your rights or obligations under this Agreement without our express prior written consent. We may assign, transfer or sublicense any or all rights or obligations under this Agreement without restriction. No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder will be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default. Any heading, caption or section title contained herein is inserted only as a matter of convenience, and in no way defines or explains any section or provision hereof. This is the entire Agreement between you and us relating to the subject matter herein and supersedes any and all prior or contemporaneous written or oral agreements or understandings between you and us relating to such subject matter. Notices to you may be made via posting to the Site, by e-mail or by regular mail, in our discretion. We may also provide notice of changes to this Agreement or other matters by displaying such notices or by providing links to such notices. You agree that a printed version of this Agreement and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this Agreement to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form. We will not be responsible for failure to fulfill any obligation due to causes beyond our control.