LegalZoom Terms of Use
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS SITE.
By using the LegalZoom.com, Inc. website (the "Site"), you agree to follow and be bound by these terms of use (the "Terms of Use") and agree to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including United States export and re-export control laws and regulations. In these Terms of Use, the words "you" and "your" refer to each customer or Site visitor, "we", us" and "our" refer to LegalZoom.com, Inc. and "Services" refers to all services provided by us.
It is your responsibility to review these Terms of Use periodically. If at any time you find these Terms of Use unacceptable or if you do not agree to these Terms of Use, please do not use this Site. We may revise these Terms of Use at any time without notice to you. If you have any questions about these Terms of Use, please contact our Customer Care Center.
YOU AGREE THAT BY USING THE SITE AND THE SERVICES YOU ARE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE AND YOU ARE LEGALLY ABLE TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT.
Please also refer to the LegalZoom Terms of Service, Supplemental Terms of Service for Corporate Center, Supplemental Terms of Service for Advantage Subscriptions, Legal Plan Contract, and Privacy Policy, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
LegalZoom.com provides an online legal portal to give visitors a general understanding of the law and to provide an automated software solution to individuals who choose to prepare their own legal documents. Customer need not download or even license LegalZoom software. LegalZoom hosts its LegalZip software as a backend service for customers when they create their own documents. The Site includes general information on commonly encountered legal issues. The LegalZoom Services also include a review of your answers for completeness, spelling and grammar, and for internal consistency of names, addresses and the like. At no time do we review your answers for legal sufficiency, draw legal conclusions, provide legal advice or apply the law to the facts of your particular situation. LegalZoom and its Services are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney.
LegalZoom strives to keep its legal documents accurate, current and up-to-date. However, because the law changes rapidly, LegalZoom cannot guarantee that all of the information on the Site is completely current. The law is different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be subject to interpretation by different courts. The law is a personal matter, and no general information or legal tool like the kind LegalZoom provides can fit every circumstance. Furthermore, the legal information contained on the Site is not legal advice and is not guaranteed to be correct, complete or up-to-date. Therefore, if you need legal advice for your specific problem, or if your specific problem is too complex to be addressed by our tools, you should consult a licensed attorney in your area.
From time to time, LegalZoom may perform certain attorney access services and introduce our visitors to attorneys through various methods, including but not limited to (i) legal plans, (ii) third party attorney directory listings, and (iii) third party limited scope agreements. At no time is an attorney-client relationship fostered or created with LegalZoom through the performance of any such services.
This Site is not intended to create any attorney-client relationship, and your use of LegalZoom does not and will not create an attorney-client relationship between you and LegalZoom. Instead, you are and will be representing yourself in any legal matter you undertake through LegalZoom's legal document service.
1. Privacy Policy. LegalZoom respects your privacy and permits you to control the treatment of your personal information. A complete statement of LegalZoom's current Privacy Policy can be found by clicking here. LegalZoom's Privacy Policy is expressly incorporated into this Agreement by reference.
When you open an account to use or access certain portions of the Site or the Services, you must provide complete and accurate information as requested on the registration form. You will also be asked to provide a user name and password. You are entirely responsible for the maintaining the confidentiality of your password. You may not use a third party's account, user name or password at any time. You agree to notify LegalZoom immediately of any unauthorized use of your account, user name or password. LegalZoom shall not be liable for any losses you incur as a result of someone else's use of your account or password, either with or without your knowledge. You may be held liable for any losses incurred by LegalZoom, our affiliates, officers, directors, employees, consultants, agents and representatives due to someone else's use of your account or password.
In connection with the use of certain LegalZoom products or services, you may be asked to provide personal information in a questionnaire, application, form or similar document or service. This information will be protected pursuant to our Privacy Policy. In addition, you grant LegalZoom a worldwide, royalty-free, nonexclusive, and fully sublicensable license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, publish and translate this personal information solely for the purpose of enabling your use of the applicable service. You may revoke this license and terminate rights held by LegalZoom at any time by removing your personal information from the applicable service.
2. Ownership. This Site is owned and operated by LegalZoom.com, Inc. All right, title and interest in and to the materials provided on this Site, including but not limited to information, documents, logos, graphics, sounds and images (the "Materials") are owned either by LegalZoom or by our respective third party authors, developers or vendors ("Third Party Providers"). Except as otherwise expressly provided by LegalZoom, none of the Materials may be copied, reproduced, republished, downloaded, uploaded, posted, displayed, transmitted or distributed in any way and nothing on this Site shall be construed to confer any license under any of LegalZoom's intellectual property rights, whether by estoppel, implication or otherwise. See the "Legal Contact Information" below if you have any questions about obtaining such licenses. LegalZoom does not sell, license, lease or otherwise provide any of the Materials other than those specifically identified as being provided by LegalZoom. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved by LegalZoom.
3. Limited Permission to Download. LegalZoom hereby grants you permission to download, view, copy and print the Materials on any single, stand-alone computer solely for your personal, informational, non-commercial use provided that (i) the copyright and trademark notice appearing below appears in such Materials, (ii) the Materials are not used on any other website or in a networked computer environment and (iii) the Materials are not modified in any way. This permission terminates automatically without notice if you breach any of the terms or conditions of these Terms of Use. On any such termination, you agree to immediately destroy any downloaded or printed Materials. Any unauthorized use of any Materials contained on this Site may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, laws of privacy and publicity and communications regulations and statutes.
4. Links to Third Party Sites. This Site may contain links to websites controlled by parties other than LegalZoom (each a "Third Party Site"). LegalZoom works with a number of partners and affiliates whose sites are linked with LegalZoom. LegalZoom may also provide links to other citations or resources with whom it is not affiliated. LegalZoom is not responsible for and does not endorse or accept any responsibility for the availability, contents, products, services or use of any Third Party Site, any website accessed from a Third Party Site or any changes or updates to such sites. LegalZoom makes no guarantees about the content or quality of the products or services provided by such sites. LegalZoom is not responsible for webcasting or any other form of transmission received from any Third Party Site. LegalZoom is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by LegalZoom of the Third Party Site, nor does it imply that LegalZoom sponsors, is affiliated or associated with, guarantees, or is legally authorized to use any trade name, registered trademark, logo, legal or official seal, or copyrighted symbol that may be reflected in the links. You acknowledge that you bear all risks associated with access to and use of content provided on a Third Party Site and agree that LegalZoom is not responsible for any loss or damage of any sort you may incur from dealing with a third party. You should contact the site administrator for the applicable Third Party Site if you have any concerns regarding such links or the content located on any such Third Party Site.
5. Use of LegalZoom Legal Forms. On our Site and through certain partners, we offer for sale self-help "fill in the blank" forms. If you buy a form from one of our partners, you will be directed to that partner's website and their terms of use will control. If you buy a form on our Site, the terms and conditions of these Terms of Use control. You understand that your purchase and use of a form document is neither legal advice nor the practice of law, and that each form and any applicable instructions or guidance is not customized to your particular needs.
License to Use.
LegalZoom grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use our forms (the "Forms") for your own personal, internal business use, or if you are an attorney or professional, for your client. Except as otherwise provided, you acknowledge and agree that you have no right to modify, edit, copy, reproduce, create derivative works of, reverse engineer, alter, enhance or in any way exploit any of the Forms in any manner, except for modifications in filling out the Forms for your authorized use. You shall not remove any copyright notice from any Form.
Resale of Forms Prohibited:
By ordering Forms, you agree that the Forms you purchase may only be used by you for your personal or business use or used by you in connection with your client and may not be sold or redistributed without the express written consent of LegalZoom.com.
LegalZoom grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use our forms (the "Forms") for your own personal, internal business use, or if you are an attorney or professional, for your client. Except as otherwise provided, you acknowledge and agree that you have no right to modify, edit, copy, reproduce, create derivative works of, reverse engineer, alter, enhance or in any way exploit any of the Forms in any manner, except for modifications in filling out the Forms for your authorized use. You shall not remove any copyright notice from any Form.
Resale of Forms Prohibited:
By ordering Forms, you agree that the Forms you purchase may only be used by you for your personal or business use or used by you in connection with your client and may not be sold or redistributed without the express written consent of LegalZoom.com.
6. DISPUTE RESOLUTION BY BINDING ARBITRATION
Please read this carefully. It affects your rights.
Summary:
Most customer concerns can be resolved quickly and to the customer's satisfaction by calling our Customer Care Center at (800) 773-0888. In the unlikely event that the LegalZoom Customer Care Department is unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction (or if LegalZoom has not been able to resolve a dispute it has with you after attempting to do so informally), we each agree to resolve those disputes through binding arbitration or in small claims court rather than in a court of general jurisdiction. Arbitration is less formal than a lawsuit in court. Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator instead of a judge or jury, allows for more limited discovery than a court does, and is subject to very limited review by courts. Any arbitration under these Terms will take place on an individual basis; class arbitrations and class actions are not permitted. For any non-frivolous claim that does not exceed $75,000, LegalZoom will pay all costs of the arbitration. Moreover, in arbitration you may recover attorney's fees from LegalZoom to the same extent or more as you would in court. Under certain circumstances (as explained below), LegalZoom will pay you more than the amount of the arbitrator's award and will pay your attorney (if any) his or her reasonable attorney's fees if the arbitrator awards you an amount greater than what LegalZoom offered you to settle the dispute.
Arbitration Agreement:
(a) LegalZoom and you agree to arbitrate all disputes and claims between us before a single arbitrator. The types of disputes and claims we agree to arbitrate are intended to be broadly interpreted. It applies, without limitation, to:
- claims arising out of or relating to any aspect of the relationship between us, whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation, or any other legal theory;
- claims that arose before these or any prior Terms (including, but not limited to, claims relating to advertising);
- claims that are currently the subject of purported class action litigation in which you are not a member of a certified class; and
- claims that may arise after the termination of these Terms.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may bring an individual action in small claims court. This arbitration agreement does not preclude your bringing issues to the attention of federal, state, or local agencies. Such agencies can, if the law allows, seek relief against us on your behalf. You agree that, by entering into these Terms, you and LegalZoom are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action. These Terms evidence a transaction or website use in interstate commerce, and thus the Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this provision. This arbitration provision will survive termination of these Terms.
(b) A party who intends to seek arbitration must first send, by U.S. certified mail, a written Notice of Dispute ("Notice") to the other party. A Notice to LegalZoom should be addressed to: Notice of Dispute, General Counsel, LegalZoom.com, Inc., 101 North Brand Blvd., 11th Floor, Glendale, CA 91203 (the "Notice Address"). The Notice must (a) describe the nature and basis of the claim or dispute and (b) set forth the specific relief sought ("Demand"). If LegalZoom and you do not reach an agreement to resolve the claim within 30 days after the Notice is received, you or LegalZoom may commence an arbitration proceeding. During the arbitration, the amount of any settlement offer made by LegalZoom or you shall not be disclosed to the arbitrator until after the arbitrator determines the amount, if any, to which you or LegalZoom is entitled.
You may download or copy a form Notice from http://www.legalzoom.com/arbitration-forms.pdf.
You may download or copy a form to initiate arbitration from the AAA website at http://www.adr.org/si.asp?id=3477. (There is a separate form for California residents, also available on the AAA's website at http://www.adr.org/si.asp?id=3485.)
(c) After LegalZoom receives notice at the Notice Address that you have commenced arbitration, it will promptly reimburse you for your payment of the filing fee, unless your claim is for more than $75,000. (Currently, the filing fee is $125 for claims under $10,000, but this is subject to change by the arbitration provider. If you are unable to pay this fee, LegalZoom will pay it directly after receiving a written request at the Notice Address.) The arbitration will be governed by the Commercial Dispute Resolution Procedures and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (collectively, the "AAA Rules") of the American Arbitration Association (the "AAA"), as modified by these Terms, and will be administered by the AAA. The AAA Rules are available online at www.adr.org or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879. (You may obtain information about the arbitration process directed to non-lawyers, including information about providing notice to LegalZoom, at http://www.legalzoom.com/arbitration-information.pdf.) The arbitrator is bound by these Terms. Unless LegalZoom and you agree otherwise, any arbitration hearings will take place in the county (or parish) of your contact address. If your claim is for $10,000 or less, you may choose whether the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of documents submitted to the arbitrator, by a telephonic hearing, or by an in-person hearing as established by the AAA Rules. If you choose to proceed either in person or by telephone, we may choose to respond only by telephone or submission. If your claim exceeds $10,000, the AAA Rules will determine whether you have a right to a hearing. Regardless of the manner in which the arbitration is conducted, the arbitrator shall issue a reasoned written decision sufficient to explain the essential findings of fact and conclusions of law on which the award is based. The parties agree that any awards or findings of fact or conclusions of law made in an arbitration of their dispute or claim are made only for the purposes of that arbitration, and may not be used by any other person or entity in any later arbitration of any dispute or claim involving LegalZoom. The parties agree that in any arbitration of a dispute or claim, neither party will rely for preclusive effect on any award or finding of fact or conclusion of law made in any other arbitration of any dispute or claim to which LegalZoom was a party. Except as otherwise provided for herein, LegalZoom will pay all AAA filing, administration, and arbitrator fees for any arbitration initiated in accordance with the notice requirements above. If, however, the arbitrator finds that either the substance of your claim or the relief sought in the Demand is frivolous or brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)), then the payment of all such fees will be governed by the AAA Rules. In such case, you agree to reimburse LegalZoom for all monies previously disbursed by it that are otherwise your obligation to pay under the AAA Rules. In addition, if you initiate an arbitration in which you seek more than $75,000 in damages, the payment of these fees will be governed by the AAA rules. An award may be entered against a party who fails to appear at a duly noticed hearing.
(d) If, after finding in your favor in any respect on the merits of your claim, the arbitrator issues you an award that is greater than the value of LegalZoom's last written settlement offer made before an arbitrator was selected, then LegalZoom will:
- pay you either the amount of the award or $2,000 ("the alternative payment"), whichever is greater; and
- pay your attorney, if any, the amount of attorney's fees, and reimburse any expenses (including expert witness fees and costs), that your attorney reasonably accrues for investigating, preparing, and pursuing your claim in arbitration (the "attorney's fees").
(e) The right to attorney's fees and expenses discussed in paragraph (d) supplements any right to attorney's fees and expenses you may have under applicable law. Thus, if you would be entitled to a larger amount under applicable law, this provision does not preclude the arbitrator from awarding you that amount. However, you may not recover duplicative awards of attorney's fees or costs. Although under some laws LegalZoom may have a right to an award of attorney's fees and expenses if it prevails in an arbitration, LegalZoom will not seek such an award.
(f) The arbitrator may award injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that party's individual claim. YOU AND LEGALZOOM AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITIES AND NOT AS PLAINTIFFS OR CLASS MEMBERS IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING OR IN THE CAPACITY OF A PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL. The arbitrator shall not have the power to commit errors of law or legal reasoning, and the parties agree that any injunctive award may be vacated or corrected on appeal by either party to a court of competent jurisdiction for any such error. Each party will bear its own costs and fees on any such appeal. The arbitrator shall not award relief in excess of what these Terms provide or award punitive damages or any other damages not measured by actual damages. Further, unless both you and LegalZoom agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. If this specific proviso is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this arbitration provision shall be null and void.
(g) All aspects of the arbitration proceeding, and any ruling, decision or award by the arbitrator, will be strictly confidential, other than as part of an appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction.
(h) The Arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve any dispute relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability or formation of this Agreement including, but not limited to, any claim that all or any part of this Agreement is void or voidable. If this specific proviso is found to be unenforceable, it is severable from the rest of the arbitration agreement.
7. Additional Terms. Some LegalZoom Services may be subject to additional posted guidelines, rules or terms of service ("Additional Terms") and your use of such Services will be conditioned on your agreement to the Additional Terms. If there is any conflict between these Terms of Use and the Additional Terms, the Additional Terms will control for that Service, unless the Additional Terms expressly state that these Terms of Use will control.
8. Reviews, Comments, Communications, and Other Content. At various locations on the Site, LegalZoom may permit visitors to post reviews, comments, and other content (the "User Content"). Contributions to, access to and use of the User Content is subject to this paragraph and the other terms and conditions of these Terms of Use.
Rights and Responsibilities of LegalZoom:
LegalZoom is not the publisher or author of the User Content. It is a passive service for storage and dissemination of the ideas and opinions that LegalZoom members may choose to post and distribute as User Content. LegalZoom does not screen works before they are posted, and no prior approval is required for posting. LegalZoom disclaims all copyright and ownership in such works and all responsibility for them.
Although we cannot make an absolute guarantee of system security, LegalZoom takes reasonable steps to maintain security. If you have reason to believe system security has been breached, contact us by email for help.
If LegalZoom's technical staff finds that files or processes belonging to a member pose a threat to the proper technical operation of the system or to the security of other members, LegalZoom reserves the right to delete those files or to stop those processes. If the LegalZoom technical staff suspects a user name is being used by someone who is not authorized by the proper user, LegalZoom may temporarily disable that user's access in order to preserve system security. In all such cases, LegalZoom will contact the member as soon as feasible.
LegalZoom has the right, in our sole and absolute discretion, to (i) edit, redact or otherwise change any User Content, (ii) re-categorize any User Content to place it in a more appropriate location or (iii) pre-screen or delete any User Content that is determined to be inappropriate or otherwise in violation of these Terms of Use, including but not limited to User Content containing offensive language and advertisements.
LegalZoom reserves the right to refuse service to anyone and to cancel user access at any time.
Rights and Responsibilities of LegalZoom Users or Other Posters of User Content:
You are legally and ethically responsible for any User Content - writings, files, pictures or any other work - that you post or transmit using any LegalZoom service that allows interaction or dissemination of information. In posting User Content, you are responsible for honoring the rights of others, including intellectual-property rights (copyright, patent and trademark), the right to privacy and the right not to be libeled or slandered. For example, if you wish to post a copyrighted work as User Content, you are responsible for obtaining the copyright holder's permission first. Under United States federal law, you retain copyright on all works you create and post as User Content, unless you choose specifically to renounce it. In posting a work as User Content, you authorize other members who have access to that service to make personal and customary use of the work, including creating links or reposting, but not otherwise to reproduce or disseminate it unless you give permission for such dissemination.
You also give permission to LegalZoom to copy your works as part of the normal backup process. You have the right to remove any of your works from User Content at any time.
The use of your LegalZoom user account or posting User Content for any illegal activity under the laws of California and the United States is a violation of these Terms of Use. Since the law as to jurisdiction of online systems is unsettled, we urge you to consider the possible effect of laws outside LegalZoom's locality or your own residence. LegalZoom is open to members worldwide (and works published on the World Wide Web, Usenet or other such services are accessible to anyone on the Internet), and LegalZoom cannot guarantee that you won't run into legal trouble in other jurisdictions over your posting.
Your Rights and Responsibilities as a LegalZoom User and Reader of User Content:
You are not required to provide your real name when signing up as a user of LegalZoom. LegalZoom permits anonymous or pseudonymous accounts. Any user may request that such member's email address be hidden to provide for additional privacy.
If you have a complaint about the behavior or posts of another user, it is your responsibility to attempt to resolve the conflict, typically by contacting that person directly, if possible. Normally, LegalZoom staff will not take a role in mediating conflicts between you and other users. LegalZoom does not take responsibility for your behavior or that of other users. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if such a complaint or conflict arises, the user or users may request that LegalZoom moderator intervene and attempt to resolve any such dispute. Any such request is not a guarantee that a moderator will (i) intervene, (ii) intervene in a timely manner, (iii) resolve the dispute in favor of one party or the other or, (iv) successfully resolve the situation. The decision to intervene rests with LegalZoom, in our sole and absolute discretion.
Your access to the postings that users have posted as User Content is for your personal use only. If you want to redistribute postings you find as User Content, it is your responsibility to obtain permission from the poster (and any other person with rights in such work).
You agree to help protect your account and the security of other users by guarding your password. If you have reason to believe your password has been compromised or there has been any unauthorized use of your account, contact LegalZoom via email as soon as possible.
9. NO WARRANTY. THE SITE AND ALL MATERIALS, DOCUMENTS OR FORMS PROVIDED ON OR THROUGH YOUR USE OF THE SITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, LEGALZOOM EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
LegalZoom is not the publisher or author of the User Content. It is a passive service for storage and dissemination of the ideas and opinions that LegalZoom members may choose to post and distribute as User Content. LegalZoom does not screen works before they are posted, and no prior approval is required for posting. LegalZoom disclaims all copyright and ownership in such works and all responsibility for them.
Although we cannot make an absolute guarantee of system security, LegalZoom takes reasonable steps to maintain security. If you have reason to believe system security has been breached, contact us by email for help.
If LegalZoom's technical staff finds that files or processes belonging to a member pose a threat to the proper technical operation of the system or to the security of other members, LegalZoom reserves the right to delete those files or to stop those processes. If the LegalZoom technical staff suspects a user name is being used by someone who is not authorized by the proper user, LegalZoom may temporarily disable that user's access in order to preserve system security. In all such cases, LegalZoom will contact the member as soon as feasible.
LegalZoom has the right, in our sole and absolute discretion, to (i) edit, redact or otherwise change any User Content, (ii) re-categorize any User Content to place it in a more appropriate location or (iii) pre-screen or delete any User Content that is determined to be inappropriate or otherwise in violation of these Terms of Use, including but not limited to User Content containing offensive language and advertisements.
LegalZoom reserves the right to refuse service to anyone and to cancel user access at any time.
Rights and Responsibilities of LegalZoom Users or Other Posters of User Content:
You are legally and ethically responsible for any User Content - writings, files, pictures or any other work - that you post or transmit using any LegalZoom service that allows interaction or dissemination of information. In posting User Content, you are responsible for honoring the rights of others, including intellectual-property rights (copyright, patent and trademark), the right to privacy and the right not to be libeled or slandered. For example, if you wish to post a copyrighted work as User Content, you are responsible for obtaining the copyright holder's permission first. Under United States federal law, you retain copyright on all works you create and post as User Content, unless you choose specifically to renounce it. In posting a work as User Content, you authorize other members who have access to that service to make personal and customary use of the work, including creating links or reposting, but not otherwise to reproduce or disseminate it unless you give permission for such dissemination.
You also give permission to LegalZoom to copy your works as part of the normal backup process. You have the right to remove any of your works from User Content at any time.
The use of your LegalZoom user account or posting User Content for any illegal activity under the laws of California and the United States is a violation of these Terms of Use. Since the law as to jurisdiction of online systems is unsettled, we urge you to consider the possible effect of laws outside LegalZoom's locality or your own residence. LegalZoom is open to members worldwide (and works published on the World Wide Web, Usenet or other such services are accessible to anyone on the Internet), and LegalZoom cannot guarantee that you won't run into legal trouble in other jurisdictions over your posting.
Your Rights and Responsibilities as a LegalZoom User and Reader of User Content:
You are not required to provide your real name when signing up as a user of LegalZoom. LegalZoom permits anonymous or pseudonymous accounts. Any user may request that such member's email address be hidden to provide for additional privacy.
If you have a complaint about the behavior or posts of another user, it is your responsibility to attempt to resolve the conflict, typically by contacting that person directly, if possible. Normally, LegalZoom staff will not take a role in mediating conflicts between you and other users. LegalZoom does not take responsibility for your behavior or that of other users. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if such a complaint or conflict arises, the user or users may request that LegalZoom moderator intervene and attempt to resolve any such dispute. Any such request is not a guarantee that a moderator will (i) intervene, (ii) intervene in a timely manner, (iii) resolve the dispute in favor of one party or the other or, (iv) successfully resolve the situation. The decision to intervene rests with LegalZoom, in our sole and absolute discretion.
Your access to the postings that users have posted as User Content is for your personal use only. If you want to redistribute postings you find as User Content, it is your responsibility to obtain permission from the poster (and any other person with rights in such work).
You agree to help protect your account and the security of other users by guarding your password. If you have reason to believe your password has been compromised or there has been any unauthorized use of your account, contact LegalZoom via email as soon as possible.
LEGALZOOM MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT: (A) THE SITE OR THE MATERIALS WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; (B) THE SITE OR THE MATERIALS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON AN UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE BASIS; (C) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SITE, OR ANY MATERIALS OFFERED THROUGH THE SITE, WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE; OR (D) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE SITE OR IN RELIANCE ON THE MATERIALS WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS.
OBTAINING ANY MATERIALS THROUGH THE USE OF THE SITE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND AT YOUR OWN RISK. LEGALZOOM SHALL HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY CONTENT, MATERIALS, INFORMATION OR SOFTWARE.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE ABOVE, LEGALZOOM OFFERS A 60 DAY SATISFACTION GUARANTEE, THE TERMS OF WHICH ARE AVAILABLE HERE.
10. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION. YOU WILL HOLD LEGALZOOM AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS HARMLESS FOR ANY INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGE, HOWEVER IT ARISES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS' FEES AND ALL RELATED COSTS AND EXPENSES OF LITIGATION AND ARBITRATION, OR AT TRIAL OR ON APPEAL, IF ANY, WHETHER OR NOT LITIGATION OR ARBITRATION IS INSTITUTED), WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, OR ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY CLAIM FOR PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, ARISING FROM THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY VIOLATION BY ME OF ANY FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL LAWS, STATUTES, RULES, OR REGULATIONS, EVEN IF LEGALZOOM HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. IF THERE IS LIABILITY FOUND ON THE PART OF LEGALZOOM, IT WILL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID FOR THE PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES, EXCEPT AS ALLOWED PURSUANT TO THE LEGALZOOM ARBITRATION AGREEMENT, CONTAINED IN PARAGRAPH 6 OF THESE TERMS OF USE, AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THERE BE CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO ME. FURTHER, EXCEPT AS PERMITTED BY LAW, NOTHING IN THIS PARAGRAPH IS INTENDED TO MODIFY THE PROVISIONS OF CALIFORNIA BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE SECTIONS 6400, ET SEQ.
11. Unsolicited Submissions. Except as may be required in connection with your use of LegalZoom Services, LegalZoom does not want you to submit confidential or proprietary information to us through this Site. All comments, feedback, information or material submitted to LegalZoom through or in association with this Site shall be considered non-confidential and LegalZoom's property. By providing such submissions to LegalZoom you hereby assign to LegalZoom, at no charge, all worldwide right, title and interest in and to the submissions and any intellectual property rights associated therewith. LegalZoom shall be free to use and/or disseminate such submissions on an unrestricted basis for any purpose. You acknowledge that you are responsible for the submissions that you provide, including their legality, reliability, appropriateness, originality and content.
12. Compliance with Intellectual Property Laws. When accessing LegalZoom or using the LegalZoom legal document preparation Service, you agree to obey the law and you agree to respect the intellectual property rights of others. Your use of the Service and the Site is at all times governed by and subject to laws regarding copyright, trademark and other intellectual property ownership. You agree not to upload, download, display, perform, transmit or otherwise distribute any information or content in violation of any third party's copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property or proprietary rights. You agree to abide by laws regarding copyright ownership and use of intellectual property, and you shall be solely responsible for any violations of any relevant laws and for any infringements of third party rights caused by any content you provide or transmit or that is provided or transmitted using your LegalZoom user account.
LegalZoom has adopted a policy that provides for the immediate removal of any content, article or materials that have infringed on the rights of LegalZoom or of a third party or that violate intellectual property rights generally. LegalZoom's policy is to remove such infringing content or materials and investigate such allegations immediately.
Copyright Infringement:
- Notice. LegalZoom has in place certain legally mandated procedures regarding allegations of copyright infringement occurring on the Site or with the Service. The Company has adopted a policy that provides for the immediate suspension and/or termination of any Site or Service user who is found to have infringed the rights of the Company or of a third party, or otherwise violated any intellectual laws or regulations. The Company's policy is to investigate any allegations of copyright infringement brought to its attention. If you have evidence, know, or have a good faith belief that your rights or the rights of a third party have been violated and you want the Company to delete, edit, or disable the material in question, you must provide the Company with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C 512(c)(3) for further detail): (1) A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; (2) Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site; (3) Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material; (4) Information reasonably sufficient to permit the Company to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, email address; (5) A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (6) A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
The above written information must be sent to our registered Copyright Agent:
Copyright Agent
c/o LegalZoom.com, Inc.
101 North Brand Blvd., 10th Floor
Glendale, CA 91601
copyrightagent@legalzoom.com
- Counter-Notice. If you believe that your Content that was removed (or to which access was disabled) is not infringing, or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner's agent, or pursuant to the law, to post and use the material in your Content, you may send a written counter-notice containing the following information to the Copyright Agent: (1) Your physical or electronic signature; (2) Identification of the Content that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the Content appeared before it was removed or disabled; (3) A statement that you have a good faith belief that the Content was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or a misidentification of the Content; and (4) Your name, address, telephone number, and email address, a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal court in Los Angeles, California, and a statement that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification of the alleged infringement. If a counter-notice is received by the Copyright Agent, the Company may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing that person that it may replace the removed Content or cease disabling it in 10 business days. Unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order against the Content provider, member or user, the removed Content may be replaced, or access to it restored, in 10 to 14 business days or more after receipt of the counter-notice, at the Company's sole discretion.
14. Compliance with Export Restrictions. You may not access, download, use or export the Site or the Materials in violation of United States export laws or regulations or in violation of any other applicable laws or regulations. You agree to comply with all export laws and restrictions and regulations of any United States or foreign agency or authority and to assume sole responsibility for obtaining licenses to export or re-export as may be required. You acknowledge and agree that the Materials are subject to the United States Export Administration Laws and Regulations and agree that none of the Materials or any direct product therefrom is being or will be acquired for, shipped, transferred or re-exported, directly or indirectly, to proscribed or embargoed countries or their nationals or used for any prohibited purpose.
15. Personal Use. The site is made available for your personal use on your own behalf.
16. Children. Minors are not eligible to use the Site and we ask that they do not submit any personal information to us.
17. Governing Law; Venue. By using this Site, you expressly agree that your rights and obligations shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of California, excluding its choice of law rules. Any legal action or proceeding relating to your access to or use of the Site or Materials is governed by the Arbitration Agreement contained in paragraph 6 of these Terms of Use. These Terms of Use expressly exclude and disclaim the terms of the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, which shall not apply to any transaction conducted through or otherwise involving this Site.
18. Copyrights. All Site design, text, graphics, the selection and arrangement thereof, Copyright ©, LegalZoom.com, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
19. Trademarks. LegalZoom, LegalZoom.com, LegalZip, the bi-colored "flying document" logo, all images and text, and all page headers, custom graphics and button icons are service marks, trademarks and/or trade dress of LegalZoom. All other trademarks, product names and company names or logos cited herein are the property of their respective owners.
20. Attorney Access Services; Use of term "Experience." The term "experience" or "experienced," as used on the Site and in other communications in reference to third party attorneys participating in LegalZoom's legal plans or other attorney access services means that the legal plan primary handling partner of each law firm fulfills the following: (a) possesses a minimum of five years' experience practicing law, (b) maintains errors and omissions insurance policies consistent with industry standards, (c) is in good standing with the state bar in each jurisdiction in which the attorney is licensed to practice, (d) has no pending malpractice lawsuit, as of the date of joining one of LegalZoom's legal plans, and (e) has no public record of discipline by a state bar within the last five years. The term "experience" or "experienced" is not intended to be a comparison to any other attorney's services or qualifications.
21. Inquiries. BY USING LEGALZOOM'S SERVICES OR ACCESSING THE LEGALZOOM SITE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND ACCEPT THAT SUBMITTING YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER TO LEGALZOOM VIA THE LEGALZOOM SITE CONSTITUTES AN INQUIRY TO LEGALZOOM, AND THAT LEGALZOOM MAY CONTACT YOU AT THE NUMBER SUBMITTED EVEN IF SUCH NUMBER APPEARS ON ANY STATE OR FEDERAL DO NOT CALL LISTS (TAKING INTO ACCOUNT INQUIRY EXCEPTION TIME FRAMES AS APPROPRIATE).
22. Acknowledgement. BY USING LEGALZOOM'S SERVICES OR ACCESSING THE LEGALZOOM SITE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THESE TERMS OF USE AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THEM.
Updated December 14, 2011