Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

WELCOME TO WWW.THEBEACONNEWSPAPERS.COM. PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY BECAUSE THEY DESCRIBE YOUR RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND CONSTITUTE A LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND THE BEACON NEWSPAPERS, INC. REGARDING YOUR USE OF OUR WWW.THEBEACONNEWSPAPERS.COM WEB SITE

These are official terms and conditions (“Terms of Use”) and form a legally binding agreement between you and the Beacon Newspapers, Inc. (“Beacon”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) regarding your use of the WWW.THEBEACONNEWSPAPERS.COM Internet Web site located at http://beacon50expo.com, as well as the associated Web pages, features and functions made available by the site (individually and collectively, the “Beacon Site”).

YOU AGREE TO READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE EACH USE OF THE BEACON SITE.

The Beacon Site is offered and made available only to users 13 years of age or older and if you are not yet 13 years old you must have a parent or guardian’s permission to view the Beacon Site. Moreover, if your use of the Beacon Site is prohibited or restricted in any way by the laws, regulations or other governmental requirements of the jurisdiction in which you live or reside, or if, for any reason and at any time, you do not agree with all of the terms and conditions contained in these Terms of Use, please discontinue using the Beacon Site immediately.BY USING THE BEACON SITE: (I) YOU CERTIFY THAT YOU ARE AT LEAST 13 YEARS OF AGE OR HAVE A PARENT OR GUARDIAN’S PERMISSION FOR YOUR USE OF THE BEACON SITE AND (II) YOU UNDERSTAND, ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF USE. YOUR REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE BEACON SITE, OR ANY SERVICES, CONTENT OR OTHER INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THE BEACON SITE, IS TO STOP USING THE BEACON SITE AND/OR THOSE PARTICULAR SERVICES OR CONTENT. YOUR AGREEMENT WITH US REGARDING COMPLIANCE WITH THESE TERMS OF USE BECOMES EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY UPON COMMENCEMENT OF YOUR USE OF THE BEACON SITE.

When we use the term “Agreement” we mean and are referring to these Terms of Use, as well as any additional terms and conditions that apply to and govern your use of the features, functions and services we make available to you from time to time through the Beacon Site. These Terms of Use and our use of the term “Agreement” also includes our Privacy Policy that appears below and can be accessed through a link on the Site’s home page. The Privacy Policy is hereby incorporated into our Agreement with you by this reference and this Agreement will remain in full force and effect as long as you are a user of the Beacon Site, even if your use of or participation in any particular service, feature, or function terminates, expires, ceases, is suspended or deactivated for any reason.

The words “use” or “using” in this Agreement, means any time an individual (a “user”), directly or indirectly, with or without the aid of a machine or device, does or attempts to access, interact with, use, display, view, print or copy from the Beacon Site, receive data from the Beacon Site, or in any way utilizes, benefits, takes advantage of or interacts with any function, service or feature of the Beacon Site, for any purpose whatsoever. This Agreement does not cover your rights or responsibilities with respect to third party content or any links on the Beacon Site that may direct your browser or your connection to third party Web sites or Web pages.

1. GENERAL USE OF THE BEACON SITE

Viewing of the Beacon Site is available to the general public without registering and you may visit and browse the Beacon Site without charge or obligation; provided, however, we reserve the right in our sole discretion to make changes, limit or restrict any portion of the Beacon Site at any time and from time to time, without notice to you. We try to assure the accuracy of all information displayed on the Beacon Site, but it is possible that the information contains errors, inaccuracies or omissions. You accept full responsibility for your use of the Beacon Site.

2. MODIFICATIONS

These Terms of Use are effective as of August 15, 2019. We reserve the right, at any time and from time to time, for any reason in our sole discretion, to change the terms of this Agreement without any liability or obligation to you, with or without notice. We will post or display notices of material changes on the Beacon Site. Once we post them on the Beacon Site, these changes become effective immediately and if you use the Beacon Site after they become effective it will signify your agreement to be bound by the changes. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to review the Beacon Site and these Terms of Use periodically and to be aware of any modifications or revisions. You should check back frequently and review the terms and conditions of this Agreement regularly so you are aware of the most current rights and obligations that apply to you and the terms and conditions of your agreement with us.

3. OWNERSHIP AND PROPRIETARY RIGHTS

The Beacon Site, including all content, media and materials, all software, code, design, text, images, photographs, illustrations, audio and video material, media files, artwork, graphic material, articles, databases, proprietary information, writings, spoken statements, music, video recordings, audio-visual works and recordings, slides, portraits, animated and/or motion pictures, caricatures, likenesses, vocal or other sounds, sound recordings, voices, voice reproductions, computer graphics and visual effects, as well as any accompanying documentation, packaging or other materials, tangible or intangible, and all copyrightable or otherwise legally protectable elements of the Beacon Site, including, without limitation, the selection, sequence and ‘look and feel’ and arrangement of items, and all derivative works, translations, adaptations or variations of same, regardless of the medium, broadcast medium, format or form, now known or hereinafter developed or discovered, and regardless of where produced, on location, in a studio or elsewhere, in black-and-white or in colors, alone or in conjunction with other works, characters, real or imaginary, in any part of the world, are the property of the Beacon and/or its affiliates, and their authorized advertisers, licensors, suppliers, service providers, promotional partners and/or sponsors (all of the foregoing, individually and/or collectively, is referred to herein as “Content”).

All Content on the Beacon Site is legally protected, without limitation, under U.S. Federal and State, as well as applicable foreign laws, regulations and treaties. The Beacon authorizes you to access Content and grants you the right to use the Beacon Site solely for your non-commercial, non-exclusive, non-assignable, non-transferable and limited personal use and for no other purpose whatsoever. You must not alter, delete or conceal any copyright or other notices contained on the Beacon Site, including notices on any Content you display, print or reproduce from the Beacon Site. Unless we explicitly and specifically notify you otherwise in writing, you shall not, nor will you allow any third party (whether or not for your benefit) to reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, display, perform, publish, distribute, sell, upload, transmit, disseminate, broadcast or circulate to any third party (including, without limitation, on or via a third party Web site) or otherwise use, any Content without the express prior written consent of Beacon. Any unauthorized or prohibited use of any Content, including use in contravention of this Agreement, may subject you to civil liability, criminal prosecution, or both.

You may not use any computerized or automatic mechanism, including without limitation, any Web scraper, spider or robot, to access, extract or download any Content from the Beacon Site unless you are expressly authorized to do so by the Beacon. (Exception is made for Internet search engines (e.g., Google) and non-commercial public archives that comply with our Terms of Use.) As an express condition of your use of the Beacon Site, you warrant to the Beacon that you will not use the Beacon Site for any unlawful purpose or purpose prohibited by this Agreement. If you violate any part of this Agreement, your permission to use the Content automatically terminates and you must immediately destroy any copies you have made of any of the Content. The Beacon makes no representation that any Content is legal or appropriate for use outside of the United States of America or that it is authorized for export from the United States of America or for import into any foreign country. You are solely responsible for complying with all import and export laws and regulations and all applicable laws of any jurisdiction inside and outside of the United States of America from which you may access the Beacon Site.

We respect the intellectual property of others, and we ask you to do the same. Accordingly, the Beacon has adopted the following Intellectual Property Compliance Policy. If you or any user of the Beacon Site believes its copyright, trademark, or other property rights (“IP Rights”) have been infringed, the IP Rights owner (“Complaining Party”) should send notification to our Designated Agent (as identified below) immediately. To be effective, the notification must include:

A physical or electronic signature of the Complaining Party or such person authorized to act on behalf of the Complaining Party;
Identification of the IP Rights claimed to have been infringed;
Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the Complaining Party or such person authorized to act on behalf of the Complaining Party, such as address, telephone number and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the Complaining Party may be contacted;
Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be subject to infringing activity on the Complaining Party’s IP Rights that is to be removed and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate such materials;
A statement that the Complaining Party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, agent, or by law; and
A statement that the information in the notification is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, the Complaining Party or such person authorized to act on behalf of the Complaining Party is the owner of an exclusive IP Right that is allegedly infringed.

Pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512(c) (“DMCA”), our Designated Agent for notice of claims of IP Rights infringement can be reached as indicated below.

Designated Agent for Claimed Infringement:
Stuart Rosenthal
The Beacon Newspapers, Inc.
Fax: 301-949-8966
E-mail: stuart@thebeaconnewspapers.com

On notice, we will act expeditiously to review and if necessary to remove content on the Beacon Site that infringes the copyright rights of others and will disable the access to the Beacon Site and its services of anyone who uses them to repeatedly infringe the intellectual property rights of others. Any such removal will be without liability to you or any other party and that the claims of the Complaining Party will be referred to the United States Copyright Office for adjudication as provided in the DMCA. We take protection of copyrights, both our own and others, very seriously.

The brands, names, logos, trade names, trademarks, service marks and other distinctive identifications (collectively “Marks”) on or of the Beacon Site, including, without limitation, “The Beacon,” and “IN FOCUS FOR PEOPLE OVER 50” are the intellectual property of and proprietary to the Beacon, its advertisers, suppliers and others with whom the Beacon may do business. You have no right to use any of these Marks or any confusingly similar marks for any purpose without the express prior written consent of the Beacon.

4. LIMITATIONS ON USE OF SYNDICATED MATERIALS

Some of the material available on this Site is provided by various press syndicates, including but not limited to the Associated Press, Tribune Media Services, Kiplinger’s, and others. By using this Site you agree and acknowledge that (1) you will not republish, rebroadcast, or rewrite for broadcast or publication, or redistribute directly or indirectly in any medium any such syndicated text, photo, graphic, audio, and/or video material, and (2) no such syndicated materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use.

5. OUR RIGHT TO MATERIALS YOU POST

When you submit or post any material on the Beacon Site (including photos and videos) you are granting us, and anyone we authorize, a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right to use, copy, disseminate or sell such material or any part thereof for any purpose we choose without payment to you of any royalty or compensation. You also grant us and anyone we authorize the right to identify you as the author of any such postings or submissions by name, e-mail address or screen name, as we deem appropriate.

OTHER LIMITATIONS ON USERS

By accessing features of the Beacon Site that allow users to interact, such as reader forums, blogs and other social networking features that are currently on the Site, you represent and agree that you will not:

Post any threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane or indecent information of any kind, or any language constituting or encouraging a criminal offense, or giving rise to civil liability, or otherwise violating any local, state, national or international law;
Harass, threaten or personally attack other users who post comments on the site, disrupt conversations or air personal grievances,
Use the Site to solicit the purchase of products or services or donations without our express written approval,
Impersonate any other person or entity or falsify or misrepresent your affiliation with another person or entity,
Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site or any account or network connected to it by means such as hacking, password mining or other illegal means, or
Use the Site to transmit any virus or other harmful software.

6. RELEASE OF INFORMATION

We may occasionally release information about visitors if required to do so by law or if, in our business judgment, such disclosure is reasonably necessary: (a) to comply with the law; (b) to enforce our Terms of Use; or (c) to protect the rights, property or personal safety of our Site, officers, directors, employees, representatives, other users, and/or the public.

7. HYPERLINKS TO THIRD PARTY SITES

The appearance, availability, or your use of URLs or hyperlinks referenced or included anywhere on the Beacon Site or any other form of link or re-direction of your connection to, with or through the Beacon Site, does not constitute an endorsement by, or does it incur any obligation, responsibility or liability on the part of the Beacon Site, the Beacon or any of their affiliates, any of their successors and assigns, and any of their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, licensors, advertisers, suppliers, and operational service providers. We do not verify, endorse, or have any responsibility for, any such third party sites, their business practices (including their privacy policies), or any goods or services associated with or obtained in connection with any such site in any manner. If any third party site obtains or collects personally identifiable information from you, in no event shall we assume or have any responsibility or liability. Please read our Privacy Policy below, which describes how the Beacon collects and uses your personally identifiable information.

8. DISCLAIMER AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

THE BEACON SITE AND ALL MATERIALS THEREON ARE MADE AVAILABLE ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OR ANY GUARANTY OR ASSURANCE THE BEACON SITE WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR USE, OR THAT ALL PRODUCTS, FEATURES, FUNCTIONS OR OPERATIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE OR PERFORM AS DESCRIBED. Without limiting the foregoing, we are not responsible or liable for any malicious code, delays, inaccuracies, errors, or omissions arising out of your use of the Beacon Site. You understand, acknowledge and agree that you are assuming the entire risk as to the quality, accuracy, performance, timeliness, adequacy, completeness, correctness, authenticity, security and validity of any and all features and functions of the Beacon Site.

YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY LAW, THE BEACON SITE, THE BEACON, OR ANY OF THEIR AFFILIATES, OR THEIR RESPECTIVE SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS, OR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES, LICENSORS, OPERATIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS, ADVERTISERS, OR SUPPLIERS, SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE, OF ANY KIND, DIRECT OR INDIRECT, IN CONNECTION WITH OR ARISING FROM USE OF THE BEACON SITE OR FROM THIS AGREEMENT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, COMPENSATORY, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES.

9. ADS AND MALWARE

We take great care and pride in creating the Beacon Site. We are always on the lookout for technical glitches that effect how the Beacon Site works. When we find them on our end, we will fix them. Unfortunately, your home computer may cause some glitches that affect how you see the Beacon Site — and that is totally beyond our control.

If you experience any unusual behavior, content or ads on the Beacon Site, it may be the result of Malware on your computer. Malware — short for MALicious softWARE — 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 Beacon Site is working properly, sometimes Malware programs on your personal computer may interfere with your experience on the Beacon Site and on other sites that you visit. If you do discover any Malware on your system, we suggest you speak with a qualified computer technician.

10. INTERNATIONAL USE

Although the Beacon Site may be accessible worldwide, we make no representation that materials thereon are lawful, appropriate or available for use in locations outside the United States of America, and accessing them from territories where its content is illegal is prohibited. Those who choose to access the Beacon Site from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with all local laws. Any offer for any product, service, and/or information made in connection with the Beacon Site is void where prohibited.

11. MISCELLANEOUS TERMS

Without limitation, this Agreement contains the entire understanding and agreement between you and the Beacon and supersedes any and all prior, inconsistent or other understandings relating to the Beacon Site and your use of the Beacon Site. This Agreement cannot be modified, changed or terminated, except as specifically described herein.

If any provision of this Agreement is held to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, this will not affect any other provisions herein and this Agreement will be deemed amended to the extent necessary to make it legal, valid and enforceable. Any provision which must survive in order to allow us to enforce its meaning shall survive termination of this Agreement; provided, however, no action arising out of this Agreement or your use of the Beacon Site, regardless of form or the basis of the claim, may be brought by you more than one year after the cause of action has arisen (or if multiple causes, from the date the first such cause arose).

This Agreement and your use of the Beacon Site shall be governed by, construed and enforced in accordance with the substantive laws of the State of Maryland applicable to contracts made, executed and wholly performed in that State, and, for the purposes of any and all legal or equitable actions, you specifically agree and submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the applicable State and Federal Courts situated in the State of Maryland and agree you will not object to such jurisdiction or venue on the grounds of lack of personal jurisdiction, forum non conveniens or otherwise; provided, however, that notwithstanding the foregoing, you agree that the Beacon has the sole right and discretion to commence and prosecute an action against you in connection with this Agreement, in your home jurisdiction. To the extent it may be applicable, you agree to opt out from and expressly exclude any applicability of the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act.

IN ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING COMMENCED TO ENFORCE ANY RIGHT OR OBLIGATION OF THE PARTIES UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, YOUR USE OF THE BEACON SITE OR WITH RESPECT TO THE SUBJECT MATTER HEREOF, YOU HEREBY WAIVE ANY RIGHT YOU MAY NOW HAVE OR HEREAFTER POSSESS TO A TRIAL BY JURY.

A printed version of this Agreement and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this Agreement to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.

PRIVACY POLICY

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) discloses the privacy practices for: (i) the Beacon and (ii) the Beacon Site and various related services. The Beacon, in connection with the provider of the Beacon Site, is committed to protecting your privacy online. Please read the information below to learn our policies regarding your use of the Beacon Site.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS POLICY IS PART OF THE BEACON SITE’S TERMS OF USE, AND BY ACCESSING OR USING THE BEACON SITE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE POLICY. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE BOUND BY THE POLICY, PLEASE EXIT THE SITE NOW. YOUR REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH OUR POLICY OR THE SERVICES PROVIDED ON OR THROUGH THE BEACON SITE, IS TO STOP USING THE BEACON SITE. YOUR AGREEMENT WITH US REGARDING COMPLIANCE WITH THE POLICY BECOMES EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY UPON COMMENCEMENT OF YOUR USE OF THE BEACON SITE.

We reserve the right to change this Policy at any time and from time to time. Such changes, modifications, additions, or deletions shall be effective immediately upon notice thereof, which may be given by means including, but not limited to, posting the revised Policy on this page. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to review this Policy periodically, and be aware of any modifications. Your continued use of the Beacon Site after any such modifications will constitute your: (a) acknowledgment of any modified Policy; and (b) agreement to abide and be bound by any modified Policy.

1. TYPES OF INFORMATION COLLECTED

In general, you can visit the Beacon Site on the Internet without telling us who you are or giving us your personally identifiable information (“PII”).However, if you choose to submit a video response to our surveys through our affiliate talkbacktime.com, we will have access to your email address, name, and any responses that you provide. You may be emailed notices or promotional offers, and may opt out at any time by clicking unsubscribe or by emailing webmaster@thebeaconnewspapers.comwith subject line UNSUBSCRIBE.

Non-personally identifiable information (“Non-PII”) refers to information that does not by itself identify a specific individual. We may gather certain general information about you based upon where and how you visit the Beacon Site in several ways. This information may be compiled and analyzed on both an individual and an aggregated basis. This information may include the Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) that you just came from, which URL you next go to, what browser you are using, and/or your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address. A URL is the global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web (“Web”). An IP address is an identifier for a computer or device on a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (“TCP/IP”) network, such as the Web. Networks like the Web use the TCP/IP protocol to route information based on the IP address of the destination. In other words, an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web or allowing Web servers to locate and identify your computer. Computers require IP addresses in order for users to communicate on the Internet. We use Non-PII to enhance the smooth operation of the Beacon Site, improve our marketing and promotional efforts, statistically analyze the Beacon Site’s use, improve our service offerings, and customize the Beacon Site’s content, layout, and services.

2. PRIVACY POLICIES OF THIRD-PARTY SITES

As a public service, we may maintain links to other Web sites. Except as otherwise discussed in this Policy, this document only addresses the use and disclosure of information we collect from you. Other sites accessible through the Beacon Site have their own privacy policies and data collection, use, and disclosure practices. For more information on this topic, please consult each specific site’s privacy policy. You acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible for the policies or practices of third parties.

3. COOKIES

When you use the Beacon Site, we will store cookies on your computer in order to authorize access to our private content and to facilitate and customize your use of the Beacon Site. A cookie is a small data text file, which is stored on your computer’s hard drive (if your Web browser permits). Cookies contain information that can be read later by a Web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Our cookies (i) make your use of the Beacon Site easier and (ii) make the Beacon Site run more smoothly. You are always free to decline our cookies if your browser permits, but some parts of the Beacon Site may not work properly in that case. Once you leave the Beacon Site, the “cookie” remains on your hard drive while you are connected to the Web in case you choose to visit the Beacon Site again. At no time will our “cookie” collect your PII.

4. MISCELLANEOUS PRIVACY ISSUES.

You must be at least 13 years old or have your parent or guardian’s permission to use the Beacon Site. Our policy is that we do not knowingly collect, use, or disclose PII about visitors that are under 13 years of age. If you have any questions about this Policy, the practices of the Beacon Site, or your dealings with the Beacon Site, please send us a letter via facsimile or email to:

The Beacon Newspapers, Inc.
Fax: (301) 949-9766
Email: info@thebeaconnewspapers.com