Terms of Use

READ BEFORE USING THE SERVICE          

Last updated on November 4, 2013                           

 

Please note that all persons under the age of majority in their jurisdiction are required to have a parent or legal guardian read and accept the Terms of Use on their behalf and take full responsibility for compliance with the Terms of Use.

 

This document (“Terms of Use”), as amended from time to time, governs your use of any website (“Site”), and any online or mobile product or service (collectively and individually, the “Service”), on which the Terms of Use is posted, where such Site or Service is offered by Ganz, an Ontario partnership, located at One Pearce Road, Woodbridge, Ontario, L4L 3T2 Canada.  If you have any questions relating to the Site or Service, they can be sent to the attention of our Customer Service Representative at this address.  You may also contact Ganz by email at ganzworldsupport@ganz.com.

 

Unless stated otherwise, in each case, the Terms of Use are brought about for a single platform (e.g. a specific social network or operating system), and may cover one or more games.  Several Terms of Use may exist concurrently if the user plays Ganz-branded games on different platforms.  All supplemental terms and rules that apply to the Service, e.g. those regarding subscription-based services, on-line sales, rules for particular contests, social networking and other features and activities, form an integral part of the Terms of Use and are incorporated herein by this reference.

 

BEFORE YOU OR A CHILD AUTHORIZED BY YOU (FOR WHOM YOU ARE A PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN) MAY ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICE, READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY.  BY CLICKING THE “I ACCEPT” BUTTON BELOW OR BY YOUR CONTINUED USE OF THE SERVICE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, HAVE THE RIGHT, AUTHORITY AND CAPACITY TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT, OR YOU ARE OF THE LEGAL AGE REQUIRED TO FORM A BINDING CONTRACT IN YOUR JURISDICTION IF THAT AGE IS GREATER THAN 18 AND YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF USE.

 

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF USE, DO NOT SET UP AN ACCOUNT, PURCHASE A SUBSCRIPTION OR OTHERWISE USE THE SERVICE.  PLEASE PRINT A COPY OF THE TERMS OF USE FOR YOUR RECORDS.

The Internet offers a world of opportunity for children. Your guidance and involvement are essential to help ensure that children have a safe and rewarding online experience. Your efforts to instill responsible information practices will help steer your children to age-appropriate websites and will go a long way toward ensuring that your children have enriching experiences online.

 

We encourage you to spend time online with your children and to become familiar with the types of content available through the Service and the Internet in general.  You should regularly oversee the kids’ use of e-mail and other online communication and transactional features.

  1. A.  AMENDMENTS

You understand that the Service is an evolving one.  Ganz may require that you accept updates to the Service accessed through the Site or installed on your authorized mobile device.  Ganz reserves the right to change, modify, add or remove portions of the Terms of Use, at any time, for any reason, with or without notice to you, or to do any of the following:

  1. Modify, suspend or terminate operation of, or access to, any portion, applicable policies or terms, including hours or availability, features or functions of the Service;
  2. Change any fees or charges, if any, related to your use of the Service;
  3. Change the equipment, hardware or software required to use and access the Service; and
  4. Interrupt the Service, or any portion of the Service, as necessary to perform routine or non-routine maintenance, error correction, or other changes.

Although the Service is accessible worldwide, the Service may not be available to all persons or in all geographic locations, or appropriate or available for use, outside Canada. You understand and agree that the Service is provided by Ganz and may be terminated or otherwise discontinued by Ganz at its discretion pursuant to the Terms of Use.  In particular, if you stop using the Service, we reserve the right to permanently erase your Account and everything associated with your Account, in-game currency balance or privileges that may have been licensed through the payment of money.  Currently, our policy is to terminate any Account that has not been active for eighteen months.

 

Ganz may find it necessary to update, or reset certain parameters to balance game play and usage of the Service.  These updates or “resets” may cause you setbacks within the relevant game world and may affect characters, games, groups or items under your control.  Ganz reserves the right to make these updates and is not liable to you for these changes.

 

Any changes we make will be effective immediately upon notice, which we may provide by any means, including, without limitation, by electronic posting.  You agree to check the Terms of Use periodically for the new provisions that govern your use of the Service.  Your continued use of the Service following the posting of changes will mean that you accept and agree to them.

 

B. PRIVACY

 

Your privacy is important to us.  All information provided by you or collected by us in connection with your use of the Service will be collected and used in the manner described herein and pursuant to the terms of Ganz’s Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy”), where such Privacy Policy is incorporated and made a part of the Terms of Use by this reference.

 

You hereby acknowledge that Ganz has the right to obtain, without notification to you, (i) certain information about your computer or software, including, but not limited to, your operating system, identification of your hard drive, central processing unit, IP address, and Internet browser for internal purposes; (ii) non-personal information from your connection to the Service for demographic purposes; (iii) information from your computer, software, and parts or portions thereof, including, without limitation, your computer’s random access memory, video card, central processing unit, hard drive(s) and any other storage devices to assist our efforts in policing users who may develop and/or use “hacks” and/or “cheats” to gain advantage over other users. The information obtained will only be used as outlined in the Privacy Policy.

 

You expressly agree that we have the right, at all times, and in our sole discretion, to disclose any User Generated Content and other information (including without limitation chat text, voice communications, IP addresses and your personal information): (a) in response to legal process (for example, a court order, search warrant or subpoena) when we have a good faith belief that the information is required to be disclosed in response to legal process; (b) to allow us to satisfy any applicable law, regulation or governmental request; (c) to allow us to enforce  the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy or any other Ganz policy, (d) to protect our legal rights and remedies; (e) in other circumstances in which we believe that our Service is being used in the commission of a crime (including exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction) and for the purpose of reporting the same to the appropriate authorities; (f) to report any other suspected crime or other offensive behavior to the appropriate authorities; (g) when we have a good faith belief that there is a threat to the health and/or safety of you or another person; or (h) when necessary either to protect the rights or property of Ganz, or for us to render the Service you have requested.

 

We have put physical, electronic and operational procedures into place in order to help safeguard and prevent unauthorized access, use and/or disclosure of any personally identifiable information that we may collect in relation to your use of the Service.  Although we use reasonable efforts to safeguard personally identifiable information we collect and process, transmissions made on or through the Internet and personally identifiable information stored on our servers are vulnerable to attack and cannot be guaranteed to be secure. 

 

C.  OTHER SITES

 

Through the Service, Ganz may provide links to other websites owned and/or operated by Ganz (collectively and individually, “Affiliated Site” and, in plural, “Affiliated Sites”) and other independent third-party websites.  Ganz is providing these links to you only as a convenience.  GANZ DOES NOT ENDORSE OR CONTROL ANY INFORMATION ACCESSED ON OR FROM ANY UNAFFILIATED THIRD PARTY WEBSITE AND ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY MATERIAL OUTSIDE OF THE SERVICE OR THE AFFILIATED SITES WHICH MAY BE ACCESSED THROUGH SUCH LINKS.

 

The unaffiliated third-party websites are not part of the Service, and each may be subject to separate terms and conditions, including different policies with respect to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information.  These third-party sites may collect data or solicit personal information from you.  We do not have control over such third-party websites. You will need to make your own independent judgment regarding your interaction with them.  Furthermore, the trademarks used in connection with such third party websites may not be trademarks of Ganz.  Please be sure to review the applicable agreements and policies carefully when visiting any third party websites.

 

You understand that the Service may feature advertisements from Ganz or third parties.  Third party advertising service providers may use cookie-based ad serving technology for the purposes of (i) ad delivery and reporting; and (ii) re-targeting and/or online advanced targeting provided, however, that your visit to our Service shall be excluded from your online profile used for such advertising purposes.   Furthermore, to monitor usage or transfer of content to another site or location and to collect advertising metrics, such third parties may include in the content web beacons or clear GIFs.  Clear GIFs (a.k.a. web bugs, beacons or tags) are small graphic images placed on a web page, web-based document, or in an e-mail message.  Clear GIFs are invisible to the user because they are typically very small and the same colour as the background of the web page, document or e-mail message.  Because your web browser must request such content from the third parties’ servers, such third parties can track your usage, or set their own cookies, just as if you had requested a web page from their site.

 

Although the third party advertising service providers may not have access to tracking technologies set by Ganz, or any of your personal information collected on the Service, they may themselves set and access their own tracking technologies and/or they may otherwise have access to information about you. The use of such technology by these third parties is within their control and not ours. Even if Ganz has a relationship with the third parties, it does not control their sites or policies and practices regarding your information.

 

We encourage you to investigate and ask questions directly of them in this regard. If you would like more information about the practices used by third party advertising service providers and advertisers and to know your choices about not having the information gathered used by these companies, visit http://networkadvertising.org. Please note that Flash cookies operate differently than browser cookies and cookie management tools available in a web browser will not remove Flash cookies.  To learn more about and manage Flash cookies, visit www.adobe.com and make changes at the privacy setting panel.  You are always free to decline our cookies if your browser permits, but some parts of the Service may not work properly if you do.

 

Ganz’s disclosure of information for third party advertising is addressed in the Privacy Policy.  Your correspondence or business dealings with, or participation in promotions of, third party service providers and advertisers, whether or not found on or through the Service, including payment and delivery of related goods or services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such third party service provider or advertiser, as the case may be. You agree that Ganz shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings or as the result of the presence of such third party service providers and advertisers on the Site.

 

We have given users on webkinz.com (except Alumni and free users) an option of not viewing third party ads.  To opt out, parents should visit the “Account Controls” section of the Parent’s Area and turn off the ads.  This blocks all third party ads.  Please note that this option is not available to free or Alumni Webkinz users, but they may still opt out of third party tracking technologies by following the steps outlined above. Please note that if, after having opted out of 3rd party ads, you clear your computer’s cache and/or cookies, or access webkinz.com from another computer, you will need to opt out of 3rd party ads again in order to prevent 3rd party ads from appearing on the home, login, and logout pages, as well as pages that follow the logout page.  If users do not opt out of 3rd party ads again, they will still be opted out of any 3rd party ad campaigns within webkinz.com.

 

Please note that, in some instances and geographical locations, you may not be able to either view or participate in ad-based activities due to conflicts with your system or internet provider, which are beyond our control.

  1. D.    REGISTRATION

 

Subject to your agreement and continued compliance with the Agreement and any relevant Ganz Policy, Ganz grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable limited licence to access the Service using Ganz supported web browsers or authorized mobile devices solely for your own non-commercial entertainment purposes.

 

You must provide all equipment and software necessary to connect to the Service, including, but not limited to, a mobile device that is suitable to connect with and use the Service, in cases where the Service offers a mobile component.  You are responsible for any fees, including Internet connection or mobile fees that you incur when accessing the Service.  By accessing or using the Service, including browsing any Affiliated Site or accessing a game, you accept and agree to the Agreement and Privacy Policy.  You may also be required to register an account on the Service (the “Account”), have a valid account on the social networking service (“SNS”) through which you connect to the Service, if any, and/or have an account with the applications provider for your mobile device.

 

 

  1. Your Account. Certain Content, as it is defined below, may be accessed and/or used by you without requiring registration or login.  In order to access and use other Content, you must sign up for an account (the “Account”).   Some part of the Service may be limited to users over the age of 18 (e-commerce transactions; games available through SNSs and on mobile devices).   You agree that you are entirely liable for all activities conducted through the Account. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY HEREIN, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU SHALL HAVE NO OWNERSHIP OR OTHER PROPERTY INTEREST IN THE ACCOUNT, AND YOU FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT ALL RIGHTS IN AND TO THE ACCOUNT ARE AND SHALL FOREVER BE OWNED BY AND INURE TO THE BENEFIT OF GANZ. FURTHERMORE, YOU ARE ENTIRELY RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF YOUR PASSWORD AND FOR ANY AND ALL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING PURCHASES AND CHARGES, AS APPLICABLE) THAT ARE CONDUCTED THROUGH YOUR ACCOUNT. You accept full responsibility for any unauthorized use of the Service by minors in connection with your Account.  You are responsible for any use of your credit card or other payment instrument (e.g. Facebook Credits) by minors.  If you have reason to believe that your Account with us is no longer secure, you must immediately notify us of the problem by e-mailing our Customer Service Representative.
  2. Registration Process/Information.  You may register and set up an Account for free and should register all secret and feature codes (each, a “Code”) on the same Account.   At the time your Account is set up, you may be required to provide us with certain information about yourself, which may include personally identifiable information. The information you provide to us and that we collect will be used by us for a variety of internal purposes, including without limitation to verify your rights to and maintain the Account, to ensure that your Account is unique, to deal with security, debugging and technical support issues, for billing and payment-related issues and to protect ourselves and others from abuse. You agree at all times to provide accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by our registration form or otherwise. You acknowledge that, if any information provided by you is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, we reserve the right to terminate your Account and, at our sole discretion, to report you to the appropriate government authorities. Accounts, usernames and passwords are not transferable, even between your other Accounts, if you have more than one, and have no retail value and are not redeemable for cash.

 

Free Accounts may have limited access to games, game environment, social networking and trading features available on the Service.  In order to receive full access to the Service, Free Account users must subscribe to the Service under one of the available subscription plans.

 

  1. Passwords. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and you are responsible for any harm resulting from your disclosure or allowing the disclosure of your password or from use by any person of your password to gain access to your Account. At no time should you respond to an online request for a password. Ganz will never ask for your password offline or online, except that you will be required to enter your password as part of the log-on process.   We will use your username and password to identify you when you attempt to access the Service.

 

  1. Screen Name.  As part of the registration process, you may be asked to select a screen name. We reserve the right to refuse to grant you or to terminate a screen name that:

(i)             impersonates someone else, including, without limitation, another user or a non playing character;

(ii)            is or may be

  1. illegal;
  2. protected by trademark or other proprietary right;
  3. considered vulgar, defamatory, obscene, hateful, racially, ethnically or otherwise offensive, including any screen name which is sexual in nature;

(iii)           is comprised of or includes any of the following

  1. the name of a popular culture icon, persona or media personality, religious deity or figure, or your real name (e.g., “BarbaraWalters” or “JamesBond”);
  2. the names (including “street” names) of any drug, narcotic or other criminal activity;
  3. partial or complete sentences (e.g., “Iwillgetyou”);
  4. gibberish (e.g., “Bgrewazx”);
  5. “Leet” or “Dudespeak” (e.g., OMGnewb, xLOLx);
  6. any rank and/or fantasy titles (e.g., “MajorDude” or “QueenKate”);
  7. special characters (i.e., ASCII codes);

(iv)          is otherwise inappropriate, regardless of our software’s ability to disallow such screen names; and/or

(v)           which may mislead others to believe that you are affiliated with Ganz.

You agree that you will not use misspellings or alternative spellings or take any other actions for the purpose of circumventing the foregoing restrictions. You understand and agree that, in addition to the foregoing restrictions, we reserve the right to change, remove, alter or delete any screen name at any time and for any reason. If your screen name is canceled, and you wish to resume your use of the Service, you will need to re-register and obtain a new screen name.

  1. Minimum Technical Requirements.  You understand and agree that you are solely responsible for obtaining and maintaining all telephone, cable, wireless, computer hardware and other equipment needed to access and use the Service and that you shall be solely responsible for all charges and fees related thereto. To make the Service experience more enjoyable, you will need, at a minimum,  high-speed Internet, monitor resolution of 1024×768, one of Windows XP, Vista or Mac OSX, Internet Explorer, Safari or Firefox, and Unity3D plug-in (available free online). These requirements may change and such changes will be posted on the Site and/or in the Terms of Use.  You and not Ganz shall be responsible for purchasing any necessary additional software and/or hardware in order to access the Service. If you download, access or use software through the Service, the software, including any files, codes, images, and audio clips incorporated in or generated by the software, and data accompanying the software (collectively, the “Software”) are licensed to you for your personal, non-commercial use pursuant to a personal, non-exclusive, non-assignable, non-transferable licence. Ganz keeps full and complete title to the Software and all Intellectual Property Rights therein. You may not redistribute, sell, lend, decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble or otherwise render the Software to a human-readable form. Any unauthorized or prohibited use may subject you to civil liability and criminal prosecution under applicable laws.

 

  1. Beta Tests.  From time to time, Ganz may offer you the opportunity to review and evaluate one or more games prior to their commercial release for the sole purpose of evaluating the games and identifying errors.  This process is known as a “Beta Test”.  The beta games are provided for testing on an “as is” and “as available” basis and Ganz makes no warranty to you of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such beta games.  Furthermore, nothing herein shall be construed as granting you any rights or privileges of any kind with respect to the beta games. When playing some beta games, you may accumulate Virtual Items.  Such data may be erased when the testing phase is complete.  You understand and agree that the pre-release copy and all other Content provided to you by Ganz during the Beta Test are confidential and proprietary information owned by Ganz.  You agree as a condition of participating in a Beta Test to safeguard the pre-release Content and prevent its copying, reproduction or unauthorized access, disclosure or use.  Your obligation to keep the Beta Test Content confidential will continue until Ganz publicly distributes, or has otherwise disclosed it to the public, through no fault of yours.
    1. E.    CONTENT

All content offered by Ganz through the Service, including but not limited to games, titles, computer code, themes, objects, characters, character names, stories, dialogue, catch phrases, concepts, artwork, animation, sound, musical composition, audio-visual elements, methods of operation, moral rights, documentation, in-game chat transcripts, character profile information, recordings of games, video, text, graphics, images and information and all other material appearing on or emanating to and/or from the Service, as well as their overall design and appearance, (collectively and individually, “Content”) is owned, controlled or licensed by or to Ganz, and is protected by trade dress, copyright, patent and trademark laws, and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws within and outside of Canada.   You acknowledge that any reliance upon any review, advice, opinion, statement, or other Content, is at your sole risk.  Such Content is presented for entertainment and informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice of any sort, including, without limitation, medical, legal, tax, investment or insurance advice.

 

Subject to the Terms of Use and so long as you remain compliant with the Terms of Use, Ganz grants you a personal, non-exclusive, limited, fully revocable licence to use such Content in conjunction with the Service. You may not modify, publish, transmit, transfer, sell, reproduce, upload, post,  perform, display, create derivative works from, in any way exploit such Content or distribute it in any way (including “mirroring”) to any other computer, server, website or other medium for publication or distribution or for any commercial purpose, except as Ganz expressly permits in the Terms of Use. For clarification purposes only, a “derivative work based on” the Content is a work substantially similar, both in ideas and expression, to the Content. Similarity of ideas in the Content and derivative works concern similarities between things such as plot, theme, mood, setting, appearance, and character traits. Similarity of expression concerns the total concept and feel of the Content and the derivative works. Thus, if a work created by you or someone other than Ganz is likely to bring to mind the Content, then it is likely that such work is a derivative work of the Content, and as such may not be used for commercial purposes.

 

You may use information on Ganz products and services purposely made available by Ganz for downloading for your own personal, non-commercial use, provided that you agree not to remove, obscure, or alter copyright, patent, trademark, or other proprietary right notices affixed to such Content, or block visual elements adjoining such Content. Without limiting the generality of the Terms of Use, you shall not use any Content on any other website or network computer environment or in a manner that suggests an association with any of our Services or Ganz itself, or in a manner that disparages us.

 

Ganz reserves all rights in Ganz-owned and licensed Content that are not expressly granted to you in the Terms of Use.  Making unauthorized copies of the Content may result in the termination of your Account, prohibition to use the Service, and further legal action.

 

We take great care and pride in creating the Service and Content posted on the Service. We are always on the lookout for technical glitches that effect how the Service works. When we find them on our end, we will fix them.   Unfortunately, your home computer and/or mobile device may cause some glitches that effect how you see our Service and that is beyond our control.

 

If you experience any unusual behavior, content or ads on the Service, it may be the result of Malware on your computer. Malware is a term used to broadly classify a form of software which is installed in a computer system with malicious intentions, usually without the owner’s knowledge or permission. Malware includes computer viruses, key loggers, malicious active content, rogue programs and dialers, among others. While we continuously work closely with our partners to ensure that everything on the Service is working properly, sometimes Malware programs on your personal computer may interfere with your experience on our Service and on other sites that you visit.

 

We suggest that you take some of the following actions which may help to clean your computer and which could prevent future installations of Malware.

  • Update your computer via Windows Update (found in the Tools menu in your Internet Explorer web browser);
  • Install a SpyWare Removal Tool to clean your computer of Malware, e.g.  Spybot Search and Destroy or AdAware;
  • Install antivirus software;
  • Install Microsoft Defender (for Windows computers).

Please note that we cannot be responsible for the effects of any third-party software including Malware on your computer system. Please make sure to carefully read the Help or Customer Support areas of any software download site. If you do discover any Malware on your system, we also suggest you speak with a qualified computer technician. If, after taking the above actions, you are still experiencing any problems, please feel free to contact our Customer Service team.

 

  1. F.   SALES POLICY

From time to time, Ganz may offer, for “real world” money, licences to use (a) “virtual currency”, including but not limited to virtual coins, cash, tokens, or points, all for use in the Service; (b) “virtual  in-game items” (together with “virtual currency”, “Virtual Items”); and (c) other goods or services . You may also be able to obtain a licence to use eStore Items by redeeming third party virtual currency such as Facebook Credits.

 

You understand that, while at times you may “earn”, “buy” or “purchase” Virtual Items, these real world terms are only being used as shorthand. You do not in fact “own” the Virtual Items and the amounts of virtual currency do not refer to any credit balance of real currency or its equivalent. Rather, you may purchase a limited licence to use the Service, including software programs that occasionally manifest themselves as these items. The purchase and sale of the limited licence referred to in the Terms of Use is a completed transaction upon receipt of your direct payment or redemption of a Ganz game card or a third party virtual currency like Facebook Credits. Any “virtual currency” balance shown in your Account does not constitute a real-world balance or reflect any stored value, but instead constitutes a measurement of the extent of your licence.

 

All matters related to online purchases completed on the Service shall be governed by the Ganz eStore user agreement and privacy policy.  eStore Points deposited to your Account do not expire and cannot be transferred or refunded.  You are responsible for managing the eStore Points balance on your Account.  Ganz prohibits and does not recognize any purported transfers of Virtual Items effectuated outside of the Service, or the purported sale, gift or trade in the “real world” of anything that appears or originates in the Service, unless otherwise expressly authorized by Ganz in writing.  Accordingly, you may not sublicense, trade, sell, or attempt to sell in-game Virtual Items for “real” money, or exchange Virtual Items for value of any kind outside of the game, without Ganz’s permission.  Any such transfer or attempted transfer is prohibited and void, and will subject your Account to termination.

 

Where offered, you may place an order for Virtual Items by visiting the purchase page in the game and following the applicable rules. When you place an order, we may send you a confirmatory e-mail that will contain details of your order. Please check that the details in the confirmatory e-mail are correct as soon as possible and maintain a copy of it for your records. Ganz keeps records of transactions in order to deal with any subsequent queries. If you purchase Facebook Credits from Facebook, you are agreeing to Facebook’s Payment Terms and Ganz is not a party to that transaction.

 

For Virtual Items, your order will represent an offer to us to acquire a licence which will be accepted by us when we make the Virtual Items available in your Account for you to use in our games or debit your credit card, whichever comes first. If you reside in the European Union and you purchase a product or service from Ganz, you have the right to withdraw from a purchase within seven calendar days, commencing on the day after the date of purchase (the “Cooling Off Period”). However, you lose your right of withdrawal if the performance of the services begins before the end of the Cooling Off Period. Accordingly, please note that if you order Virtual Items from us, your right of withdrawal is lost as the performance of our services begins immediately once your order is placed with us.

  1. In-Game Currency and Game Points. In-game currency is not a real currency or any type of financial instrument but rather a virtual token representing contractual permission from Ganz to access various features of the Service.  In order to obtain the in-game currency (e.g. eStore Points), you may be required to either use Facebook Credits, redeem a game card or provide us or another payment service designated by us with your credit card information and other information related to your credit card transaction (e.g., your billing and shipping address on record with the applicable credit card company, your credit card expiration date, etc.). You may be awarded virtual currency for playing games and completing in-game challenges, or through certain of our promoted events. When offered, you may be able to exchange virtual currency for virtual currency used on an Affiliated Site, or transfer it to another user of the Service.  All Virtual Items obtained from Ganz in-game will be included in your Account until the earlier of your Account’s expiration or termination date, or such date when the Service is discontinued.  REGARDLESS OF THE CONSIDERATION OFFERED OR PAID IN EXCHANGE FOR THE VIRTUAL ITEMS, YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY OWNERSHIP RIGHT IN THEM.   NO INTEREST IS PAID OR EARNED ON THE REMAINING VIRTUAL CURRENCY BALANCE.

 

  1. Fees and Taxes. Our published fees and billing procedures apply to the payment of fees and are incorporated herein by this reference.  You may pay fees using the methods available for the particular Service and you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to each payment method you choose.  When you provide credit card or other payment information to Ganz, you represent to Ganz that you are the authorized user of the credit card or other payment method.  We will automatically charge your chosen method of payment on a recurring basis for applicable Account fees or automatically for any additional in-game purchases, plus any applicable taxes we are required to collect, where you authorize us to do so.  YOU ARE FULLY LIABLE FOR ALL CHARGES TO YOUR ACCOUNT AND YOUR CHOSEN METHOD OF PAYMENT.  YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT ONCE YOU AUTHORIZE US OR ANOTHER DESIGNATED PAYMENT SERVICE TO CHARGE YOUR CREDIT CARD FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT, SUCH AMOUNT SHALL UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES BE REFUNDABLE IN WHOLE OR IN PART, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, UPON TERMINATION OF YOUR ACCOUNT FOR ANY REASON, TERMINATION OF THE TERMS OF USE, TERMINATION OF THE ESTORE AND/OR INTERRUPTION OR DISCONTINUATION OF THE SERVICE. If you choose a recurring subscription to any Service, you acknowledge that payments will be processed automatically until you cancel the subscription or the Account.
  2. Order Processing. If you place a Virtual Item order with Ganz, you warrant that (i) you are of the age of majority in your jurisdiction, (ii) your use of the particular credit card or other accepted method of payment is authorized, (iii) all information that you submit is true and accurate, and (iv) you agree to pay all fees you incur, including all recurring subscription fees unless and until you affirmatively terminate the Service or Account in accordance with the steps outlined by Ganz.   Where and to the extent required by applicable laws, you will be able to verify and modify your order information before confirming your order.  Where offered, you will receive an e-mail receipt from Ganz providing full details of your purchase/subscription as well as have the purchase recorded in your Account History.
  3. Price Changes. Ganz may change prices and fees at any time, without notice. If you pay a periodic subscription fee, Ganz will provide you with notice of any change to the fee or billing method in advance.
  4. G.  USER GENERATED CONTENT

While using the Service, you may be given the opportunity to submit to Ganz, among other things, (i) images, art, fiction and/or (ii) comments, suggestions, ideas, notes, feedback, concepts or other information (collectively referred to as “User Generated Content“).  User Generated Content may be solicited or unsolicited.  Except as expressly stated in the Terms of Use, its provisions apply equally to Unsolicited User Generated Content and Solicited User Generated Content (collectively and individually, “User Generated Content” or “Submission”). “Solicited User Generated Content” means those submissions (a) that we expressly request or enable you to provide to us via any feature or activity for our review or display and possible specifically-defined consideration or compensation (collectively, “Consideration“) (such as prizes or other value in games, contests and promotions); and (b) that you distribute for which you do not seek Consideration (such as through our social communication features).  “Unsolicited User Generated Content” includes any and all submissions that do not fall within the above subparagraphs (a) or (b).

 

By transmitting or submitting any User Generated Content through the Service, you affirm, represent and warrant that such transmission or submission is (a) accurate and not confidential; (b) not in violation of any laws, contractual restrictions or other third party rights, and that you have permission from any third party whose personal information or intellectual property is comprised in the User Generated Content; (c) free of viruses, adware, spyware, worms or other malicious code; and (d) you acknowledge and agree that any of your personal information within such content will at all times be governed by the Privacy Policy. Ganz may, without prior notice to you, remove User Generated Content that appears to infringe the intellectual property or other rights of third parties.

 

DO NOT SUBMIT ANY UNSOLICITED USER GENERATED CONTENT; NO IMPLIED CONTRACT. Our long-standing company policy does not allow us to accept or consider Unsolicited User Generated Content so please do not submit Unsolicited User Generated Content. We want to avoid the possibility of future misunderstandings when projects developed by us or under our direction might seem to others to be similar to their own creative work. In any event, you agree that any Submission you make is not being made in confidence or trust and that no confidential or fiduciary relationship is intended or created between you and us in any way, and that you have no expectation of any review, compensation or consideration of any type (other than any stated Consideration). Ganz reserves the right to return such Submission without reviewing.

 

You hereby grant us and our licensees, distributors, agents, representatives and other authorized users, a perpetual, non-exclusive, irrevocable, fully-paid, royalty-free, sub-licensable and transferable (in whole or part) worldwide licence under all copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, privacy and publicity rights and other intellectual property rights, including the right to sublicense and assign to third parties (collectively, “Intellectual Property Rights“) you own or control to copy, fix, use, reproduce, transmit, display, exhibit, distribute, index, comment on, modify, adapt, improve, reformat, manufacture, introduce into circulation, commercialize, publish, create derivative works based on, perform, sell, license, sublicense, transfer, rent, lease, transmit, provide access to electronically, enter into computer memory,  and otherwise exploit such User Generated Content, in whole or in part, in any way and in all media formats and channels now known or hereafter devised (including on any of the Affiliated Sites, on third party websites, on broadband and wireless platforms, products and services, and on physical media) for any and all purposes including entertainment, news, advertising, promotional, marketing, publicity, trade or commercial purposes, all without further notice to you, with or without attribution, and without the requirement of any permission from or payment to you or to any other person or entity.

 

You hereby appoint us as your agent with full power to enter into and execute any document and/or do any act we may consider appropriate to confirm the grant of rights, consents, agreements, assignments and waivers set forth in the Terms of Use.   To the extent any “moral rights,” “ancillary rights,” or similar rights exist in or to such User Generated Content and are not exclusively owned by us, you hereby waive and agree not to enforce any such rights as to us or our licensees, distributors, agents, representatives and other authorized users, and you shall procure the same agreement not to enforce from anyone who may possess such rights.

  1. H.    CHAT AND FORUM PARTICIPATION

As part of the Service, Ganz may offer users various social communication features (e.g. discussion boards, user-generated pages such as blogs, messaging services, user generated video, images and other interactive features which allow you and other users to post information, provide feedback and interact in real-time) that permit users, consistent with applicable laws, to post comments, information and opinions visible to others. To the extent that the Service provides users an opportunity to post and/or exchange information, ideas, opinions, photographs, images, video, creative works, or any other material (the “Postings”), please be advised that such Postings do not necessarily reflect the views of Ganz.

 

You further acknowledge that a large volume of information is exchanged through such Postings and that people occasionally post messages or make statements, whether intentionally or unintentionally, that are inaccurate, misleading, deceptive, abusive or even unlawful. We neither endorse nor are responsible for such messages or statements, or for any opinion, advice, information or other utterance made or displayed in the forums/chat rooms by you or other users of the Service.

 

WHEN USING THE SOCIAL COMMUNICATION FEATURES YOU AGREE NOT TO:

  1. Disclose personally identifiable information of any person, including yourself, under the age of 13;
  2. Disrupt the normal course and pace of postings or chat, including through: (i) use of a macro with large amounts of text; (ii) use of mechanisms causing the forum or chat screen to scroll faster than other users are able to read; (iii) hitting the return key repeatedly; (iv) excessive shouting through the use of the “all caps” key; (v) posting spam messages; and/or (vi) sending repeated unsolicited or unwelcome messages to a single user or repeatedly posting similar messages;
  3. Harass, threaten, stalk, embarrass or cause distress, unwanted attention or discomfort to any other user; or
  4. Participate in any action that, in our sole discretion, “scams” or otherwise defrauds any other user, including with respect to any items that a user has earned or otherwise obtained.

 

Under no circumstances will Ganz, any of its partners, affiliates, related companies, or any of their directors, employees, agents, distributors, licensees and licensors (collectively and individually, the “Ganz Group”) be responsible for any errors or omissions in the Postings, or for hyperlinks embedded in them, or for any loss or damage caused by your use of a social communication feature or reliance on the information posted through such feature.  You should be aware that, when you disclose information about yourself in a forum/chat room, the information is being made publicly available and may be collected and used by other Service users. When you disclose any information on the Service, you do so at your own risk.

 

Unless otherwise specified and except for the Service directed to children under the age of thirteen (13), there is no requirement or expectation that Ganz will monitor or record any online activity on the Service, including communications.  You acknowledge and agree that, despite the foresaid, we have the right (but not the obligation) to monitor our social communication features as well as everything that you and the other users transmit and post; to alter or remove any such materials; to ban Accounts that breach our Privacy Policy and to disclose such materials and the circumstances surrounding their transmission to any third party in order to operate the Service properly, to protect ourselves, our sponsors and our users and visitors and/or to comply with legal obligations or governmental requests.

  1. I.       CODE OF CONDUCT

By accepting the Terms of Use, you agree that you shall not:

  1. Monitor, harvest, collect or attempt to obtain passwords or other Account information from or about other users of the Service, disclose your personally identifiable information or any other person’s or user’s personally identifiable information (e.g., name, e-mail address, telephone number, age, address, etc.) without the information owner’s express consent;

 

  1. Impersonate another person (including celebrity), attempt to mislead others by indicating that you represent the Ganz Group, express or imply that any statements you make or actions you take are endorsed by us;

 

  1. Download or copy any Content, except as may occur through the normal caching function of your browser and except to print and retain a copy of the Content for your own personal, non-commercial use, or reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, modify, distribute or publicly display any of the Content except as expressly authorized by the Terms of Use;
  2. Sell, advertise, or post information on hacks for the Service, whether for free or for the commercial benefit of you or third parties;
  3. Use the Service or any Content for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by the Terms of Use, harms minors in any way or to solicit the performance of any illegal activity or other activity which infringes the rights of Ganz or third parties, including without limitation, transmission of any content that

(i)             is unlawful, harassing, vulgar, obscene, hateful, fraudulent, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, sexually explicit, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable, or that could be deemed to be stalking or constitute an invasion of another person’s privacy;

(ii)            infringes our or any third party’s Intellectual Property Rights or other rights, or that you otherwise do not have permission to transmit;

(iii)           carries viruses, worms, Trojan horses, defects, date bombs, time bombs or other items of  destructive nature;

(iv)          contains any

  1. material, non-public information about companies without the authorization to do so;
  2. trade secret of third parties;
  3. advertisements, solicitations, chain letters, contests, surveys, spamming, pyramid schemes, investment opportunities, duplicative or other unsolicited communication, commercial or otherwise (except as otherwise expressly permitted by us);

 

  1. Improperly use in-game support or complaint buttons or make false reports to Ganz;

 

  1. Use the Service or any part thereof for performing in-game services, such as power-leveling and item collection services, in exchange for payment outside the Service.

 

  1. Forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any Posting transmitted through the Service;

 

  1. Engage in hacking, password “mining” or any other behavior that allows you (or any character you are controlling) to automatically function or effect any action in a game with or without your presence or take steps to change “game play” in any way, including, without limitation, by creating cheats and/or hacks;

 

10. Use any device, software or routine to access any Content, interfere or attempt to interfere with any transaction being conducted through the Service, or with any other person’s use of the Service; or

11. Probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Service or breach its security or authentication measures; take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the infrastructure used to deliver the Service, Ganz’s systems or networks, or any systems or networks connected to the Service or to Ganz.

  1. J.     NO SPAM

The publication of electronic mail addresses is to facilitate communications relating to the Service and must not be inferred as consent by us to receiving unsolicited commercial electronic messages.

  1. K.    CONTESTS AND OTHER PROMOTIONS

From time to time, Ganz or its suppliers and advertisers may conduct promotions on or through the Service, including without limitation, contests and games of skill (each, a “Promotion”). Each such Promotion will have additional terms, conditions and rules which will be posted or otherwise made available to you and, for purposes of each Promotion, will be deemed incorporated into and form a part of the Terms of Use (the “Rules”). If any conflict arises between the Terms of Use and the Rules, the Rules shall govern for purposes of your participation or involvement in the Promotion to which the Rules relate.

In any Promotion, the following minimum rules shall apply:

  1. We will tell you the number and type of prizes to be won;
  2. Your chances of winning depend on your skill; your chances of winning also depend on the number of contest participants and their skill;
  3. For some contests, it may be possible for there to be no winner (for example, a trivia game where none of the players answers the questions correctly);
  4. Unless we tell you otherwise, there will be no special allocation of prizes by country, state, province or region;
  5. Some games may have skill level by age group, so check the game instructions carefully; however, unless we tell you otherwise, there will be no special allocation of prizes by age group;
  6. We will clearly advise you of the start and stop times applicable to the contest selected;
  7. There may be limits on the number of times you may participate in the contest, so read the Rules carefully; and
  8. Prizes will be awarded without undue delay.

 

By entering contests on social networks, you acknowledge having read and accepted privacy policies governing your activities on such social networks and accept the risk of having personal information of yourself or your child disclosed on such social networks.

 

  1. L.   COMMUNICATIONS

 

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the parties have requested that the Terms of Use and all communications and documents relating hereto be expressed in the English language.  Dans la mesure où la loi est applicable, les parties ont demandé à ce que ces présentes Conditions d’Utilisation ainsi que toutes les communications et documents s’y rattachant soient exprimés en langue anglaise.

If we provide you with a translation of the English language version of the Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy or any other documents related to the Service (collectively, “Ganz Policies”), then you agree that the translation is provided for information purposes only, may be updated with delay and does not modify the English version of the Ganz Policies.  In the event of a conflict between a translation of the Ganz Policies and the English version, the English version of the Ganz Policies will control.

 

You further acknowledge and agree that all communications and documents between you and Ganz with respect to your use of the Service may take place electronically and that all such electronic notices, agreements, and other communications from Ganz shall be the legal equivalent of written communications.

  1. M.  DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, FOR USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE GANZ GROUP DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS AND CONDITIONS, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICE, SITE OR CONTENT WITH WHICH IT IS LINKED.  THE GANZ GROUP DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR SECURE, THAT IT WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME, FREE OF INACCURACIES, ERRORS, OMISSIONS, VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPPONENTS, OR WILL BE CORRECTED IF FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MODIFY AND/OR DISCONTINUE THE SERVICE, OR ACCESS THERETO, AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU COMMUNICATE WITH GANZ’S CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT OR A GANZ REPRESENTATIVE THROUGH ANY SOURCE, THE STATEMENTS AND PROMISES MADE OR ACTIONS TAKEN BY THEM SHALL NOT LIMIT OR OTHERWISE MODIFY THE TERMS OF THIS DISCLAIMER AND/OR THE TERMS OF USE AND THIS DISCLAIMER AND THE TERMS OF USE SHALL APPLY TO ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED TO YOU THROUGH SUCH SOURCES.

 

GANZ PROVIDES THE SERVICE ON A COMMERCIALLY REASONABLE BASIS AND DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICE AT TIMES OR LOCATIONS OF YOUR CHOOSING, OR THAT GANZ WILL HAVE ADEQUATE CAPACITY FOR THE SERVICE AS A WHOLE OR IN ANY SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION.

 

IN ADDITION, THE GANZ GROUP DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE OR THE SERVERS THAT MAKE THE SERVICE AVAILABLE WILL WORK WITH ANY PARTICULAR HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE SYSTEMS OR CONFIGURATIONS.

 

SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW DISCLAIMERS OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED.

  1. N.  LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO NEGLIGENCE, SHALL THE GANZ GROUP BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF INCOME OR PROFIT, LOSS OF OR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY, OR FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND OR CHARACTER (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY COMPENSATORY, INCIDENTAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES), ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF, OR THE INABILITY TO USE, THE SERVICE, EVEN IF THE GANZ GROUP HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR LOSSES.

 

NOTHWITHSTANDING THE GENERALITY OF THE ABOVE, GANZ DOES NOT SEEK TO LIMIT ITS LIABILITY, OR THAT OF THE GANZ GROUP, IN RESPECT OF FRAUD OR FOR DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY CAUSED BY GANZ’S NEGLIGENCE OR ITS EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS ACTING IN THEIR CAPACITY AS EMPLOYEES OR REPRESENTATIVES OF GANZ.

 

YOU AGREE THAT YOU WILL NEVER ASSERT OR BRING ANY CLAIMS OR SUIT AGAINST ANY MEMBER OF THE GANZ GROUP, WHICH IS RELATED TO OR BASED ON (I) A CLAIM THAT YOU “OWN” ANY VIRTUAL ITEMS; (II) A CLAIM FOR THE “VALUE” OF VIRTUAL ITEMS IF GANZ DELETED THEM (AND/OR TERMINATED YOUR ACCOUNT(S)) IF YOU OR ANYONE ACTING IN CONCERT WITH YOU VIOLATES THE TERMS OF USE, (III) THE “VALUE” OF VIRTUAL ITEMS THAT YOU MAY LOSE IF GANZ DOES ANYTHING THAT IT IS ENTITLED TO DO PURSUANT TO THE TERMS OF USE, OR FOR ANY MALFUCTIONS AND/OR “BUGS” IN THE GAME, AND/ OR (IV) A CLAIM THAT THE “VALUE” OF ANY VIRTUAL ITEM HAS INCREASED OR DECREASED BY VIRTUE OF ANY GAME MODIFICATION THAT GANZ HAS MADE OR WILL MAKE.

 

GANZ SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DELAY OR FAILURE TO PERFORM RESULTING FROM CAUSES OUTSIDE THE REASONABLE CONTROL OF GANZ, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY FAILURE TO PERFORM HEREUNDER DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES OR CAUSE BEYOND GANZ’S CONTROL SUCH AS ACTS OF GOD, WAR, TERRORISM, RIOTS, EMBARGOES, ACTS OF CIVIL OR MILITARY AUTHORITIES, FIRE, FLOODS, ACCIDENTS, NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE FAILURES, STRIKES, OR SHORTAGES OF TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES, FUEL, ENERGY, LABOUR OR MATERIALS.

 

APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. HOWEVER, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF THE GANZ GROUP FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES AND CAUSES OF ACTION AND COSTS AND EXPENSES (INCLUDING LEGAL FEES) WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE, RELATED TO YOUR USE OF, OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE EXCEED THE LESSER OF (I) THE AMOUNT, IF ANY, PAID BY YOU IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR ACCESS, USE AND/OR PURCHASES MADE IN RELATION TO THE SERVICE OR (II) USD$100.

  1. O.  INDEMNITY

YOU HEREBY AGREE TO INDEMNIFY, DEFEND AND HOLD EACH MEMBER OF THE GANZ GROUP HARMLESS FROM AND AGAINST ANY LOSS, LIABILITY, CLAIM, DEMAND, DAMAGES, COSTS AND EXPENSES, INCLUDING ALL LEGAL AND OTHER FEES AND EXPENSES FOR INVESTIGATING OR DEFENDING ANY ACTION OR THREATENED ACTION, AS WELL AS SETTLEMENT COSTS) WHICH ANY OF THE INDEMNIFIED PARTIES MAY INCUR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RESULTING FROM: (I) ANY BREACH BY YOU OF THE TERMS OF USE; (II) YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, YOUR ACCOUNT(S) AND/OR YOUR USER GENERATED CONTENT; (III) YOUR PURCHASE OF ANY VIRTUAL ITEM; AND/OR (IV) ANY VIOLATION BY YOU OF ANY LAW OR THIRD PARTY RIGHTS.  YOU MUST USE YOUR BEST EFFORTS TO COOPERATE WITH THE GANZ GROUP IN THE DEFENCE OF ANY CLAIM.  WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO ENGAGE SEPARATE COUNSEL AND ASSUME THE EXCLUSIVE DEFENCE AND CONTROL OF ANY MATTER OTHERWISE SUBJECT TO INDEMNIFICATION BY YOU.

  1. P.     TERMINATION

The Terms of Use shall remain effective until terminated. If you wish to terminate your Account, you may do so by contacting our Customer Service. Upon our acceptance of your request, your Account will be terminated.  Ganz reserves the right to suspend or terminate your Account immediately and without notice if you are, or Ganz suspects that you are, (i) breach any of the provisions contained in the Terms of Use, (ii) willfully infringing any third party’s Intellectual Property Rights, or if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us, or (iii) upon game play, chat or any user activity whatsoever which is, in our opinion, inappropriate and/or in violation of the spirit of the game.  In response to a violation of the Terms of Use, Ganz may issue you a warning, suspend your Account or portion thereof, selectively remove, prohibit access to the Service or portion thereof, Content or tools, delay or remove hosted Content, revoke or garnish Virtual Items associated with your Account or immediately terminate any and all Accounts that you have established with Ganz.

 

Ganz reserves the right to terminate without notice any Account if its user is determined by Ganz, in its sole discretion, to be a “repeat infringer”.  You can lose your username and persona as a result of Account termination or limitation, as well as any benefits, privileges, earned items and purchased Virtual Items associated with your use of the Service, and Ganz is under no obligation to compensate you for any such loss or result.

 

In addition, Ganz may terminate or suspend your Account and/or access to all or part of the Service in the event Ganz ceases its operations and/or provision of any applicable products or services in connection with the Service.

 

You understand that Ganz provides access to the Service via the Internet through the use of servers, Sites and other technology. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Terms of Use, Ganz reserves the right to permanently discontinue the Service at any time. Upon such discontinuation, your Account and the agreement contemplated by the Terms of Use shall terminate.

 

Sections B, D, F-J, L-S of the Terms of Use shall survive any termination or discontinuance of the Service or your access to it.

  1. Q.  JURISDICTION

Ganz administers and operates the Service from Ontario, Canada.  The Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario, and the laws of Canada applicable therein, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law.  If the arbitration and dispute resolution provisions contained herein are not enforceable, you agree that, except as set forth below, any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to the Terms of Use shall be filed only in the Superior Court of Justice or, for matters involving intellectual property, the Federal Court of Canada, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and you hereby consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action.  The language of any proceedings arising under the Terms of Use shall be English.

 

If you choose to access and use the Service from another location, country or jurisdiction, you are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable.  Nothing in the Terms of Use shall be deemed to affect any statutory or other consumer rights that you may have under local laws which cannot be or have not been altered, limited or waived by the Terms of Use.  You might wish to consult with a legal professional in your own jurisdiction about the exact implications of the Terms of Use. 

 

Regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action against Ganz arising out of or related to your use of the Service must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.

  1. R.  DISPUTE RESOLUTION

The Service is owned and operated by Ganz, an Ontario partnership, which is located at One Pearce Road, Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada L4L 3T2. If you have any questions or concerns relating to the Service, they can be sent to the attention of our Customer Service at this address. You may also contact Ganz by email at ganzworldsupport@ganz.com.   All issues related to the purchase of Virtual Items shall be brought to the attention of the eStore Customer Service team at ganzestorecs@ganz.com or by phone at 1-888-818-8770 from the US and Canada or at 1-888-818-8768 from everywhere else around the world.  Please note that international calls from outside of North America may require replacement of “1” with the local long distance code for Canada and may be subject to long distance charges.

 

Should Ganz be unable to resolve the issue, the following rules may apply to the dispute.

 

If you have a dispute with one or more Service users, you release the Ganz Group from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes.

 

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THIS SECTION PROVIDES FOR THE RESOLUTION OF MOST DISPUTES OR CLAIMS THROUGH ARBITRATION INSTEAD OF COURT TRIALS AND CLASS ACTIONS. YOU SHOULD READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY; ARBITRATION IS FINAL, BINDING, AND SUBJECT TO ONLY VERY LIMITED COURT REVIEW. THIS SECTION GOVERNING DISPUTES WILL SURVIVE ANY TERMINATION OF THE TERMS OF USE.

 

Mandatory Arbitration – YOU AND GANZ AGREE TO ARBITRATE ANY CLAIM, CONTROVERSY OR DISPUTE ARISING UNDER OR RELATED TO THE TERMS OF USE, EXCEPT THAT YOU OR GANZ MAY BRING AN INDIVIDUAL ACTION IN ANY COURT OF APPROPRIATE JURISDICTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. TO INITIATE ARBITRATION, YOU OR GANZ MUST FIRST SEND A WRITTEN NOTICE, VIA CERTIFIED MAIL, TO THE OTHER PARTY INDICATING AN INTENT TO ARBITRATE, WHICH WILL INCLUDE: (1) A DESCRIPTION OF THE FACTS; (2) A DESCRIPTION OF THE NATURE OF THE CLAIM; AND (3) THE RELIEF SOUGHT (”NOTICE TO ARBITRATE”). SEND NOTICE TO ARBITRATE TO: GANZ, ATTN: GENERAL COUNSEL, ONE PEARCE ROAD, WOODBRIDGE, ONTARIO, CANADA L4L 3T2. BOTH PARTIES AGREE TO MAKE REASONABLE ATTEMPTS TO RESOLVE ANY SUCH DISPUTE; HOWEVER, IF THE PARTIES CANNOT RESOLVE THE DISPUTE WITHIN FORTY-FIVE (45) DAYS OF RECEIPT OF THE NOTICE TO ARBITRATE, THEN AN ARBITRATION CLAIM MAY COMMENCE. ANY ARBITRATION INITIATED UNDER THE TERMS OF USE WILL BE ADMINISTERED BY THE ADR INSTITUTE OF CANADA INC. OR THE ADR CHAMBERS INTERNATIONAL, AS APPLICABLE, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NATIONAL ARBITRATION RULES OR THE INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION RULES, AS APPLICABLE, AS SUCH RULES MAY BE MODIFIED BY THE TERMS OF USE. THE LANGUAGE TO BE USED IN THE ARBITRAL PROCEEDINGS SHALL BE ENGLISH AND THE PLACE OF ARBITRATION WILL BE TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

 

ANY ARBITRATION WILL BE CONDUCTED BY A SINGLE NEUTRAL MUTUALLY AGREED UPON BY BOTH PARTIES ARBITRATOR OR, OTHERWISE, ARBITRATOR SELECTED BY THE ADR INSTITUTE OF CANADA INC. OR THE ADR CHAMBERS INTERNATIONAL, AS APPLICABLE. YOU AND GANZ FURTHER AGREE THAT NO ARBITRATOR WILL HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO AWARD ANY RELIEF OR REMEDY IN EXCESS OF OR CONTRARY TO WHAT IS PROVIDED IN THE TERMS OF USE, EXCEPT WHERE SUCH PROVISION IS NOT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. THE ARBITRATOR’S DECISION AND AWARD WILL BE FINAL AND BINDING, AND JUDGMENT ON THE AWARD RENDERED BY THE ARBITRATOR MAY BE ENTERED INTO ANY COURT HAVING JURISDICTION. THE LAW THAT IS APPLIED TO THE TERMS OF USE ALSO WILL BE APPLIED IN ANY ARBITRATION PROCEEDING. THE COST OF ARBITRATION SHALL BE PAID FOR AS DETERMINED BY THE ARBITRATOR.

 

Waiver of Jury Trial and Class Actions – BY ACCEPTING THE TERMS OF USE, YOU AND GANZ ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE TO WAIVE CERTAIN RIGHTS TO LITIGATE DISPUTES IN COURT, TO RECEIVE A JURY TRIAL, OR TO PARTICIPATE AS A PLAINTIFF OR AS A CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLAIM ON A CLASS OR CONSOLIDATED BASIS OR IN A REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY. YOU AND GANZ BOTH AGREE THAT THE ARBITRATOR SHALL HAVE NO AUTHORITY TO PROCEED WITH ARBITRATION ON A CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE BASIS. 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. IF FOR ANY REASON THE ARBITRATION CLAUSE SET FORTH IN THE TERMS OF USE IS DEEMED INAPPLICABLE OR INVALID, OR THE EXTENT THE ARBITRATION CLAUSE ALLOWS FOR LITIGATION OF DISPUTES IN COURT, YOU AND GANZ BOTH WAIVE, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, ANY RIGHT TO PURSUE OR TO PARTICIPATE AS A PLAINTIFF OR AS A CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLAIM ON A CLASS OR CONSOLIDATED BASIS OR IN A REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY.

  1. S.  GENERAL

The Terms of Use (including all agreements and policies referenced herein) constitutes the entire agreement between you and Ganz with regard to your use of the Service, and any and all other written or oral agreements or understandings previously existing between you and Ganz with respect to such use are hereby superseded and cancelled. Ganz will not accept any counter-offers to the Terms of Use, and all such offers are hereby categorically rejected. Your use of the Service is not intended and shall not be deemed to create any agency, joint venture or other legal relationship of any kind between you and Ganz other than that of independent contractors. The Terms of Use may not be assigned by you.

Ganz’s failure to insist on or enforce strict performance of the Terms of Use shall not be construed as a waiver by Ganz of any provision or any right it has to enforce the Terms of Use, nor shall any course of conduct between Ganz and you or any other party be deemed to modify any provision of the Terms of Use. The Terms of Use shall not be interpreted or construed to confer any rights or remedies on any third parties.

 

If any provision of the Terms of Use is found to be illegal, void or unenforceable, then: (i) such provision (or portion thereof as applicable) will be deemed to be restated to reflect as nearly as possible the original intentions of the parties in accordance with applicable law, and (ii) the remaining terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions of the Terms of Use will remain in full force and effect. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any provision of the Terms of Use which is held null, void or otherwise ineffective or invalid by an arbitrator or a court of competent jurisdiction cannot be restated by such arbitrator or court to reflect as nearly as possible the original intentions of the parties, then that provision shall be deemed severable from the Terms of Use. If you have purchased any licences to Virtual Items from ganzestore.com for use in the Service, such transaction shall be governed by the Terms of Use and the Ganz eStore’s User Agreement.

 

Please note that certain people are susceptible to epileptic seizures and loss of consciousness when exposed to certain flashing lights or light patterns in everyday life.  Such people may have a seizure while watching certain monitor images or playing games.  This may happen even if the person has no medical history of epilepsy or has never had any epileptic seizures.  If you or your child experience any of the following symptoms: dizziness, blurred vision, eye or muscle twitches, loss of consciousness, disorientation, any involuntary movement or convulsion, while using  the Service, immediately discontinue use of the Service and consult with your doctor.

 

The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly disclaimed. Notwithstanding anything else in the Terms of Use, no default, delay or failure to perform on the part of Ganz shall be considered a breach of the Terms of Use if such default, delay or failure to perform is shown to be due to causes beyond the reasonable control of Ganz.

 

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