Business Mentor NY – a program of Empire State Development

Business Mentor NY Terms of Use Agreement

By accessing or using the New York State Business Mentor NY website, located at businessmentor.ny.gov, or any successor websites, including any and all international or mobile versions thereof (the "Website") or by otherwise accessing any portion of the New York State Business Mentor NY Program (the "Program") you ("you") agree to be bound by this Terms of Use Agreement (this "Agreement") and any agreements, policies and other documents incorporated by reference herein, whether or not you become a mentor, mentee, or otherwise participate ("User" or "Users") in the Program. In addition, if you wish to become a registered User of the Website, please read this Terms of Use Agreement and indicate your acceptance by checking the appropriate box.

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, add, or delete portions of this Terms of Use at any time without further notice. If we do this, we will post the changes to this Terms of Use on this page and will indicate at the top of this page the date these terms were last revised. Your continued use of the Website after any such change constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms of Use. If you do not agree to this or any future Terms of Use, you may not use or access (or continue to use or access) the Website. It is your responsibility to regularly check the Website to determine if there have been changes to this Terms of Use and to review such changes.

You may receive a written copy of this Agreement by emailing us at: support@businessmentor.ny.gov, Subject: New York State Business Mentor NY Program Terms of Use Agreement.

1. Term.

This Agreement will remain in full force and effect while you use the Website. Whether or not you qualify to be a mentor or mentee and are eligible to participate in the mentor/mentee program shall be determined by New York State acting through New York State Urban Development Corporation d/b/a Empire State Development ("New York State") in its sole and absolute discretion. If you are eligible to participate in the mentor/mentee program, you may terminate your participation for any reason upon receipt by New York State of your written or email notice of termination. New York State may also terminate your participation in the mentor/mentee program for any reason and at any time, effective upon sending notice to you at the email address you provide in your application for membership, or such other email address as you may later provide to New York State. Even after your participation in the mentor/mentee program is terminated or your use of the Website ceases, this Agreement will remain in effect. This Website is intended solely for users who are eighteen (18) years of age or older. Any registration by, use of or access to the Website by anyone under eighteen (18) is unauthorized, unlicensed and in violation of these Terms of Use. To the extent we decide in our sole and absolute discretion to charge for any of our services, we will notify you of same, and you agree to pay the appropriate fees in order to obtain such services. Users can terminate use by contacting: support@businessmentor.ny.gov.

2. Registration Data; Account Security.

You agree to (a) provide accurate, current and complete information on any registration forms on the Website, including any mentor profile or entrepreneur profile submitted by you ("Registration Data"); (b) maintain the security of your password and identification; (c) maintain and promptly update the Registration Data, and any other information you provide to us, to keep it accurate, current and complete; and (d) be fully responsible for all use of your account and for any actions that take place using your account. You hereby authorize New York State to verify the information supplied in your New York State Application when and as New York State deems necessary and advisable, and to the extent permitted by applicable law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, New York State shall be under no obligation to verify the information supplied in your New York State Application and may rely on such information without taking any further action. You consent to receiving communications and notices from New York State at the email address you provide in your Registration Data or otherwise elect in your account settings.

This Website takes technical and other precautions to protect our users' information. If you have questions about the security of the Website, please contact: support@businessmentor.ny.gov. Please note that you post User content at your own risk. Please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We are not responsible for unauthorized circumvention of any security measures contained on the Website.

3. Non Commercial Use.

The Website is for the use by Users in their individual capacities and may not be used in connection with any commercial or other endeavors. Organizations, companies, and/or businesses may not use the Website for any purpose other than those contemplated in this Terms of Use or Privacy Policy. Illegal and/or unauthorized uses by you of the Website, including collecting user names and/or email addresses of Users by electronic or other means for any reason, including, but not limited to, the purpose of sending unsolicited emails and unauthorized framing of or linking to the Website is a violation of this Agreement, and appropriate legal action may be taken, including, without limitation, civil, criminal, and injunctive redress.

4. Proprietary Rights in Website Content.

Software, documentation, electronic text and image files, audio and video clips and all other content on the Website are proprietary and protected by copyright and intellectual property laws and may be covered by other restrictions as well. New York State retains all rights, including copyright, in data, image, text, and any other information contained in the Website or its files. Copyrights and other proprietary rights in the material on the Website may also subsist in individuals and entities other than, and in addition to, New York State. The copying of any protected materials on this Website without written permission is expressly prohibited. Permission for such use is granted on a case by case basis at the sole discretion of New York State. All requests should be directed to support@businessmentor.ny.gov. For use of copyrights and other proprietary rights that may subsist in third parties other than and in addition to New York State, those third parties must also be contacted directly for permission to copy and use their protected materials.

5. Trademarks.

"New York State", the "New York State" logo and other New York State or Empire State Development graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts and service names are our trademarks or trade dress in the U.S. and/or other countries. Our trademarks and trade dress may not be used, including as part of trademarks and/or as part of domain names, in connection with any product or service in any manner that is likely to cause confusion and may not be copied, imitated, or used, in whole or in part, without our prior written permission.

6. User Content Posted on the Website.

7. Privacy.

Use of the Website and/or the mentor/mentee program is also governed by our Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct.

8. Intellectual Property Rights Complaints.

When we receive proper notification of alleged copyright infringement, we will investigate and may remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material and may terminate, in our sole discretion, the accounts of repeat infringers in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and other applicable law. We may also, at our sole discretion, limit access to the Website and/or terminate the memberships of any Users who infringe any intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement. If you believe that any material on the Website infringes upon any copyright which you own or control, you may flag that content as inappropriate. New York State will assess the material and may remove the material from public viewing.

Non-Use. You will not use nor attempt to use any MicroMentor Partner Organizations’ activities relating to this Agreement as notice or knowledge of any patent, or as evidence of infringement in any claim or action for damages asserting that any MicroMentor Partner Organization has infringed your Intellectual Property Rights.

9. Third Party Websites and Content.

The Website contains (or you may be sent through the Website) links to other web sites ("Third Party Websites") as well as articles, photographs, text, items and other content belonging to or originating from third parties (the "Third Party Components"). Such Third Party Websites and Third Party Components are not investigated, monitored or checked for accuracy, appropriateness, or completeness by us, and we are not responsible for the acts or omissions of any Third Party Websites or Third Party Components. If you decide to leave the Website and access the Third Party Websites or to use or install any Third Party Components, you do so at your own risk and our terms and policies no longer govern. You should review the applicable terms and policies, including privacy and data gathering practices, of any Third Party Website to which you navigate from the Website or relating to any Third Party Components.

10. Content Feeds and Viral Distribution Widgets.

In order to promote the volunteer opportunities available on the Website, some features of your profile may be exported to Third Party Sites to notify prospective users of the kinds of volunteer opportunities that exist on the Website. Such features that may be exported to Third Party Sites include, but are not limited to, your name, picture, industry, business name, experience needed, city and state of business, mentoring request summary, mentoring request expertise, profile URL and mentoring request URL.

11. User Messaging.

By sending communications to other Users (including, but not limited to, mentor/mentee requests), you consent to New York State storing the conversations you have with other Users on its servers owned or controlled by us. You understand that even if you delete a conversation you have with another User, that User may also be able to save it. You further agree that we may retain, use, and scan copies of your conversations for a limited time solely to filter spam, detect viruses, and test and improve our messaging services. We may also scan the text of your conversations in order to filter spam and detect viruses.

12. Disclaimer of Warranties.

a) YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, AND ANY PROGRAMS OR SERVICES OFFERED VIA THE WEBSITE, ARE AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE WEBSITE, AND ANY PROGRAMS OR SERVICES OFFERED VIA THE WEBSITE, ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. NEW YORK STATE, NEW YORK STATE URBAN DEVELOPMENT CORPORTION D/B/A EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, PARTIES THAT HAVE FACILITATED THIS PROGRAM (the "FACILITATING PARTIES"), PARTNERS, LICENSORS AND USERS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM TO YOU ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. FOR PURPOSES OF CLARITY, YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT ALL DECISIONS MADE BY YOU WITH RESPECT TO AND AS A RESULT OF PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAMS OR SERVICES OFFERED VIA THE WEBSITE ARE YOUR'S ALONE, AND NEW YORK STATE DOES NOT MONITOR OR VERIFY THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY INFORMATION OR ADVICE PROVIDED ON OR VIA THE WEBSITE AND ANY PROGRAMS OR SERVICES OFFERED VIA THE WEBSITE.

b) NEW YORK STATE, NEW YORK STATE URBAN DEVELOPMENT CORPORTION D/B/A EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, FACILITATING PARTIES, MENTORS, PARTNERS, LICENSORS AND USERS MAKE NO WARRANTY TO YOU THAT (i) THE WEBSITE, AND ANY PROGRAMS OR SERVICES OFFERED VIA THE WEBSITE, WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; (ii) THE WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE; (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE WEBSITE, AND ANY PROGRAMS OR SERVICES OFFERED VIA THE WEBSITE, WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE OR GENERATE BENEFIT (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ECONOMIC BENEFIT) TO YOU; AND (iv) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE WEBSITE.

c) ANY MATERIAL OR INFORMATION DOWNLOADED, OTHERWISE OBTAINED OR USED THROUGH THE USE OF THE WEBSITE OR ANY PROGRAMS OR SERVICES OFFERED VIA THE WEBSITE IS MADE AVAILABLE AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR AND HEREBY WAIVE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AND CAUSES OF ACTION WITH RESPECT TO ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM, INTERNET ACCESS, BUSINESS, BUSINESS REPUTATION, DOWNLOAD OR DISPLAY DEVICE, OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OR USE OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL OR INFORMATION.

d) NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM NEW YORK STATE OR THROUGH OR FROM THE WEBSITE, AND ANY PROGRAMS OR SERVICES OFFERED VIA THE WEBSITE, SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY AND ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

13. Limitation on Liability.

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT NEW YORK STATE, NEW YORK STATE URBAN DEVELOPMENT CORPORTION D/B/A EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, FACILITATING PARTIES, MENTORS, PARTNERS, LICENSORS AND USERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DIRECT, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, COSTS, LOSSES OR EXPENSES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS AND SERVICES, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF NEW YORK STATE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (a) THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE WEBSITE OR ANY PROGRAMS OR SERVICES OFFERED VIA THE WEBSITE; (b) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (c) STATEMENTS, ADVICE, PARTICIPATING IN MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE WEBSITE; OR (d) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE WEBSITE, AND ANY PROGRAMS OR SERVICES OFFERED VIA THE WEBSITE.

14. Disputes with other Users.

You are solely responsible for your interactions with Users and any disputes that may result from such interactions. We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other Users.

15. Disputes and Jurisdiction.

If there is any dispute about or involving the Website, you agree that the dispute will be governed and interpreted under the laws of the State of New York without regard to its conflict of law provisions and will be resolved in a state or federal court located in New York County, New York. You agree to personal jurisdiction by and venue in the state and federal courts of the State of New York, New York County.

16. Indemnity.

You agree to indemnify and hold New York State, New York State Urban Development Corporation d/b/a Empire State Development, its subsidiaries and affiliates, and each of their directors, officers, agents including Facilitating Parties, Mentors, contractors, partners and employees, harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorney's fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the Website, any User Content you post on or through the Website, your conduct in connection with your participation in New York State's programs and/or arising from a breach of this Agreement.

17. Other.

This Agreement (together with any agreements, policies or other documents incorporated by reference herein), accepted upon use of the Website and further affirmed by becoming a registered User, contains the entire agreement between you and New York State regarding the use of the Website and/or the programs offered by New York State. Moreover, please note that from time to time, New York State may use this information to report to the Unites States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). HUD does not determine eligibility. If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid, the remainder of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Use will not constitute a waiver of such right or provision in that or any other instance. If any provision of these Terms of Use is held invalid, the remainder of these Terms of Use will continue in full force and effect. If any provision of these Terms of Use is deemed unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision will be deemed severable from these Terms of Use and will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. These Terms of Use are in the English language only, which language will be controlling in all respects, and all versions hereof in any other language will not be binding on the parties hereto. All communications and notices to be made or given pursuant to these Terms of Use will be in the English language.