Website Terms of Use

Last Modified: Dec 05, 2021

Acceptance of the Terms of Use

Welcome to the website of The Maryland Chapter of The Associated General Contractors of America (“MDAGC”, “we” or “us”). The following terms and conditions, together with any documents they expressly incorporate by reference (collectively, “Terms of Use”), govern your access to and use of www.marylandagc.org (“Website”), including any content, functionality, software, services, tools, features, and databases offered on or through the Website, whether as a guest or a registered user.

Please read the Terms of Use carefully before you start to use the Website. By using the Website, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy, which is found at http://www.marylandagc.org/privacy-policy (“Privacy Policy”) and hereby incorporated into these Terms of Use by reference. If you do not want to agree to these Terms of Use or the Privacy Policy, you must not access or use the Website.

Changes to the Terms of Use

We may revise and update these Terms of Use from time to time in our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when we post them, and apply to all access to and use of the Website thereafter. However, any changes to the dispute resolution provisions set forth in Governing Law and Jurisdiction will not apply to any disputes for which the parties have actual notice on or prior to the date the change is posted on the Website.

Your continued use of the Website following the posting of revised Terms of Use means that you accept and agree to the changes. It is your responsibility to review the Terms of Use prior to each use of the Website so you are aware of any changes, as they are binding on you.

Accessing the Website; Account Security

We reserve the right to withdraw or amend this Website, and any service or material we provide on the Website, in our sole discretion without notice. We will not be liable if for any reason all or any part of the Website is unavailable at any time or for any period. From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of the Website, or the entire Website, to users, including registered users.

To access the Website or some of the resources it offers, you may be asked to provide certain registration details or other information. It is a condition of your use of the Website that all the information you provide on the Website is correct, current and complete. You agree that all information you provide to register with this Website or otherwise, including but not limited to through the use of any interactive features on the Website, is governed by our Privacy Policy and you consent to all actions we take with respect to your information consistent with our Privacy Policy.

If you choose, or are provided with, a user name, password or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential, and you must not disclose it to any other person or entity. You also acknowledge that your account is personal to you and agree to take precautions to prevent access to this Website or portions of it by any other person using your user name, password, or other security information. You agree to notify us immediately of any such access to or use of your user name or password or any other breach of security.

We have the right to disable any user name, password or other identifier, whether chosen by you or provided by us, at any time in our sole discretion for any or no reason, including if, in our opinion, you have violated any provision of these Terms of Use.

Intellectual Property Rights

The Website and its entire contents, features and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video and audio, and the design, selection and arrangement thereof), are owned by MDAGC, its licensors or other providers of such material and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.

The MDAGC name, the MDAGC logo, and all related names, logos, product and service names, designs and slogans are trademarks of MDAGC or its affiliates or licensors. You must not use such marks found on the Website without MDAGC’s written permission. All other names, logos, product and service names, designs and slogans on this Website are the trademarks of their respective owners.

These Terms of Use permit you to use the Website for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store or transmit any of the material on our Website, except as follows:

·        Your computer may temporarily store copies of such materials in RAM incidental to your accessing and viewing those materials.

·        You may store files that are automatically cached by your Web browser for display enhancement purposes.

·        You may print or download a reasonable number of pages of the Website for your own personal, non-commercial use and not for further reproduction, publication or distribution.

·        If we provide desktop, mobile or other applications for download, you may download a single copy to your computer or mobile device solely for your own personal, non-commercial use, provided you agree to be bound by our end user license agreement for such applications.

·        If we provide social media features with certain content, you make take such actions as are enabled by such features.

You must not:

·        Modify copies of any materials from this site.

·        Use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from the accompanying text.

·        Delete or alter any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices from copies of materials from this site.

·        You must not access or use for any commercial purposes any part of the Website or any services or materials available through the Website.

If you print, copy, modify, download or otherwise use, or provide any other person with access to any part of, the Website in breach of the Terms of Use, your right to use the Website will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. No right, title or interest in or to the Website or any content on the Website is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by MDAGC. Any use of the Website not expressly permitted by these Terms of Use is a breach of these Terms of Use and may violate copyright, trademark and other laws.

Prohibited Uses

You may use the Website only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms of Use. You agree not to use the Website:

·        In any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local or international law or regulation (including, without limitation, any laws regarding the export of data or software to and from the US or other countries).

·        For the purpose of exploiting, harming or attempting to exploit or harm minors in any way by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable information or otherwise.

·        To send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use or re-use any material which does not comply with the Content Standards set out in these Terms of Use.

·        To transmit, or procure the sending of, any advertising or promotional material without our prior written consent, including any “junk mail,” “chain letter,” or “spam” or any other similar solicitation.

·        To impersonate or attempt to impersonate MDAGC, an MDAGC employee, another user or any other person or entity (including, without limitation, by using e-mail addresses associated with any of the foregoing).

·        To engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of the Website, or which, as determined by us, may harm MDAGC or users of the Website or expose them to liability.

Additionally, you agree not to:

·        Use the Website in any manner that could disable, overburden, damage, or impair the site or interfere with any other party’s use of the Website, including their ability to engage in real time activities through the Website.

·        Use any robot, spider or other automatic device, process or means to access the Website for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any of the material on the Website.

·        Use any manual process to monitor or copy any of the material on the Website or for any other unauthorized purpose without our prior written consent.

·        Use any device, software or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Website.

·        Introduce any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful.

·        Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, damage or disrupt any parts of the Website, the server on which the Website is stored, or any server, computer or database connected to the Website.

·        Attack the Website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack.

·        Otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Website.

User Contributions

The Website may contain comment areas, questionnaires, letter-writing tools, personal profiles, message boards and other electronic discussion groups, and other interactive features (collectively, “Interactive Services”) that allow users to post, submit, publish, display or transmit to others (hereinafter, “post”) content or materials (collectively, “User Contributions”) on or through the Website.  All User Contributions must comply with the Content Standards set out in these Terms of Use. 

Any User Contribution you post to the site will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary.  By providing any User Contributions on the Website, you grant us and our affiliates and service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors and assigns a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sub-licensable, perpetual license to reproduce, distribute, transmit, modify, create derivative works of, create collective works containing, disclose, display, and perform any User Contributions by all means and in any media now known or hereafter developed for any use or purpose.

You represent and warrant that:

·        You own or control all rights in and to the User Contributions and have the right to grant the license granted above.

·        All of your User Contributions do and will comply with these Terms of Use, including the Content Standards set out below.

You understand and acknowledge that you are responsible for any User Contributions you submit or contribute, and you, not AGC, have full responsibility for such content, including its legality, reliability, accuracy and appropriateness.

 We are not responsible, or liable to any third party, for the content or accuracy of any User Contributions posted by you or any other user of the Website.

Monitoring and Enforcement

We have the right to:

·        Remove or refuse to post any User Contributions for any or no reason in our sole discretion.

·        Take any action with respect to any User Contribution that we deem necessary or appropriate in our sole discretion, including if we believe that such User Contribution violates the Terms of Use, including the Content Standards, infringes any intellectual property right or other right of any person or entity, threatens the personal safety of users of the Website or the public or could create liability for MDAGC.

·        Disclose your identity or other information about you to any third party who claims that material posted by you violates their rights, including their intellectual property rights or their right to privacy.

·        Take appropriate legal action, including without limitation, referral to law enforcement, for any illegal or unauthorized use of the Website.

·        Terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Website for any or no reason, including without limitation, any violation of these Terms of Use.

Without limiting the foregoing, we have the right to fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity or other information of anyone posting any materials on or through the Website. YOU WAIVE AND HOLD HARMLESS AGC AND ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSEES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS FROM ANY CLAIMS RESULTING FROM ANY ACTION TAKEN BY ANY OF THE FOREGOING PARTIES DURING OR AS A RESULT OF ITS INVESTIGATIONS AND FROM ANY ACTIONS TAKEN AS A CONSEQUENCE OF INVESTIGATIONS BY SUCH PARTIES OR BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.

However, we do not undertake to review all material before it is posted on the Website, and cannot ensure prompt removal of objectionable material after it has been posted. Accordingly, we assume no liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications or content provided by any user or third party. We have no liability or responsibility to anyone for performance or nonperformance of the activities described in this section.

Content Standards

These content standards apply to any and all User Contributions and use of Interactive Services. User Contributions must comply with all applicable federal, state, local and international laws and regulations. Without limiting the foregoing, User Contributions must not:

·        Contain any material which is defamatory, obscene, indecent, abusive, offensive, harassing, violent, hateful, inflammatory or otherwise objectionable.

·        Promote sexually explicit or pornographic material, violence, or discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, age, or other legally protected status.

·        Infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual property or other rights of any other person or entity.

·        Violate the legal rights (including the rights of publicity and privacy) of others or contain any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable laws or regulations or that otherwise may be in conflict with these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.

·        Be likely to deceive any person.

·        Promote any illegal activity, or advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act.

·        Cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety or be likely to upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy any person or entity.

·        Impersonate any person, or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or organization.

·        Involve commercial activities or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes and other sales promotions, barter or advertising.

·        Give the impression that they emanate from or are endorsed by us or any other person or entity, if this is not the case.

·        Contain information regarding specific prices, fees, discounts, other terms or conditions of sale, salaries, costs, or profit margins of your company or any other company, or any other information that could be deemed anticompetitive in nature. 

·        Contain malicious code, viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another’s computer, network, or the Website.

Your Claims of Infringement

If you believe that any Website content, including any User Contributions, violate your copyright, trademark, or other property rights, promptly send the following information to MDAGC’s admin, Sue Battey, at the contact information provided below.

·        a description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;

·        a description of where on the Website the material that you claim is infringing is located;

·        a statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property, the owner’s agent, or the law;

·        a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or are authorized to act on the owner’s behalf;

·        an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest; and

·        your physical address, telephone number, and email address.

Contact MDAGC’s Admin can be reached as follows:

Sue Battey

Maryland AGC

1301 York Road, Suite 202

Lutherville, MD 21093-6005

Phone: (410) 321-7870

Email: sue@marylandagc.org

Reliance on Information Posted

The information presented on or through the Website is made available solely for general information purposes. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of this information. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. We disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by you or any other visitor to the Website, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents.

This Website may include content authored by third parties. All statements and opinions expressed in these materials, and all articles and responses to questions and other content, other than the content authored by MDAGC, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity providing those materials. These materials do not necessarily reflect the opinion of MDAGC. We are not responsible, or liable to you or any third party, for any materials provided by any third parties.

Online Purchases

Purchases formed through our site or other transactions for the sale of goods or services formed through the Website or as a result of your Website visits may be  governed by additional terms and conditions that are hereby incorporated into these Terms of Use.  

Additional Terms and Conditions

In addition to the Privacy Policy, and other terms and conditions expressly incorporated herein, additional terms and conditions may also apply to specific portions, services, or features of the Website and to MDAGC membership, receipt of services, participation in a particular program, and/or other goods and services.  All such additional terms and conditions are hereby incorporated into these Terms of Use.

Linking to the Website and Social Media Features

You may link to our homepage, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part without our written consent.

This Website may provide certain social media features that enable you to:

·        Link from your own or certain third-party websites to certain content on this Website.

·        Send e-mails or other communications with certain content, or links to certain content, on this Website.

·        Cause limited portions of content on this Website to be displayed or appear to be displayed on your own or certain third-party websites.

You may use these features solely as they are provided by us and otherwise in accordance with any additional terms and conditions we provide with respect to such features. Except as subject to the foregoing, you must not cause the Website or portions of it to be displayed, or appear to be displayed by (for example, framing, deep linking or in-line linking) on any other site.

You agree to cooperate with us in causing any unauthorized framing or linking immediately to cease. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice.

We may disable all or any social media features and any links at any time, with or without notice, in our discretion.

Links from the Website

Links from the Website to websites and resources provided by third parties are provided for your convenience only. This includes links contained in advertisements, including banner advertisements and sponsored links. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources, and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. If you decide to access any third-party website or resources linked to this Website, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites or resources.

Geographic Restrictions

The owner of the Website is based in the state of Maryland in the United States. We provide this Website for use by persons located in the United States. We make no claims that the Website or any of its content is accessible or appropriate outside of the United States. Access to the Website may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the Website from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with applicable laws.

Disclaimer of Warranties

You understand that we cannot and do not guarantee or warrant that files available for downloading from the internet or the Website will be free of viruses or other destructive code. You are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and checkpoints to satisfy your particular requirements for anti-virus protection and accuracy of data input and output, and for maintaining a means external to our site for any reconstruction of any lost data. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A DISTRIBUTED DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACK, VIRUSES OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICALLY HARMFUL MATERIAL THAT MAY INFECT YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, DATA OR OTHER PROPRIETARY MATERIAL DUE TO YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR TO YOUR DOWNLOADING OF ANY MATERIAL POSTED ON IT, OR ON ANY WEBSITE LINKED TO IT.

YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. NEITHER MDAGC NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH MDAGC MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY OR AVAILABILITY OF THE WEBSITE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NEITHER MDAGC NOR ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH MDAGC REPRESENTS OR WARRANTS THAT THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, ERROR-FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, THAT OUR SITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS OR THAT THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL OTHERWISE MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS.

MDAGC HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

Limitation on Liability

IN NO EVENT WILL MDAGC, ITS AFFILIATES OR THEIR LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS OR DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE WEBSITE, ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO OR FROM IT, ANY CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY LIABILITY WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless MDAGC, its affiliates, licensors and service providers, and its and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms of Use or your use of the Website, including, but not limited to, your User Contributions, any use of the Website’s content, services and products other than as expressly authorized in these Terms of Use or your use of any information obtained from the Website.

Dispute Resolution

You and MDAGC agree that, if any dispute between you and us arises out of or relating to the Website or to these Terms of Use, you and we will first endeavor to settle the dispute through direct discussions.  To initiate such discussions, contact Sue Battey, Sue@marylandagc.org.  If any matter remains unresolved more than 30 days after either party requests such discussions, either party may then endeavor to settle such dispute through mediation in accordance with the Commercial Mediation Rules of the American Arbitration Association.  A request for mediation will be filed in writing with the other party and the American Arbitration Association.  Unless mutually agreed otherwise, the mediation will be held at the offices of MDAGC.  If requested in accordance with this provision, mediation will be a condition precedent to litigation.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

All matters relating to the Website and these Terms of Use and any dispute or claim arising therefrom or related thereto (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the substantive laws of the State of Maryland.

Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of, or related to, these Terms of Use or the Website shall be instituted exclusively in the federal courts of the United States or the courts of the State of Maryland, although we retain the right to bring any suit, action or proceeding against you for breach of these Terms of Use in your country of residence. You waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over you by such courts and to venue in such courts.

Limitation on Time to File Claims

REGARDLESS OF ANY STATUTE OR LAW TO THE CONTRARY, ANY CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM YOU MAY HAVE ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OF USE OR THE WEBSITE MUST BE COMMENCED WITHIN ONE YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES; OTHERWISE, SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM IS PERMANENTLY BARRED.

Waiver and Severability

No waiver of by MDAGC of any term or condition set forth in these Terms of Use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or a waiver of any other term or condition, and any failure of MDAGC to assert a right or provision under these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

If any provision of these Terms of Use is held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be eliminated or limited to the minimum extent such that the remaining provisions of the Terms of Use will continue in full force and effect.

Entire Agreement

The Terms of Use and incorporated policies and terms constitute the sole and entire agreement between you and MDAGC with respect to the Website and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations and warranties, both written and oral, with respect to the Website.

Your Questions and Comments

All feedback, comments, requests for technical support and other communications relating to the Website other than claims of infringement (addressed above) should be directed to: info@marylandagc.org.