Legal Information
Terms and Conditions of Use
Effective date: October 25, 2023
Thank you for visiting our website, which is owned and operated by the Council for Inclusion in Financial Services, Inc.™ (“CIFS”). The Terms and Conditions of Use (“Terms”) applies to the www.councilforinclusion.org and www.finservexpo.com websites (collectively “Site”). You should not access this Site, mobile applications, online services, or use our services until you have carefully read and agreed to these Terms.
NOTE: THESE TERMS CONTAIN A DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ARBITRATION PROVISION, INCLUDING CLASS ACTION WAIVER THAT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THESE TERMS AND WITH RESPECT TO DISPUTES YOU MAY HAVE WITH US. YOU MAY OPT OUT OF THE BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER AS PROVIDED BELOW.
Use of this Site
By using this Site, you and other users of the Site agree to these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Site. We may modify the Terms from time to time without notice to you. You should check these Terms periodically for modifications. The provisions contained herein supersede all previous notices or statements regarding our Terms with respect to this Site. We include the effective date of our Terms at the top of the statement. We encourage you to check our Site frequently to see the current Terms in effect and any changes that may have been made to them. If we make material changes to the Terms we will post the revised Terms and the revised effective date on this Site. By using the Site following any modifications to the Terms, you agree to be bound by such modifications. These terms include dispute resolution by binding resolution.
CIFS provides you with access to and use of the Site, mobile applications, or online services subject to your compliance with the Terms. No material from the Site may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted or distributed in any way, except for as specifically allowed in the Site.
User age and access. The Site is available only to individuals and entities that can form legally binding contracts under applicable law. By submitting information through this Site you represent that you are a United States of America resident over the age of 18. If you do not qualify, you may not use the Site.
License. The Site, including all of its contents, such as data, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages or other text, images, and the HTML used to generate the pages, (“Materials”), are our property or that of our suppliers or licensors and are protected by patent, trademark and/or copyright under United States and/or foreign laws. Except as otherwise provided herein, you may not use, download, upload, copy, print, display, perform, reproduce, publish, modify, delete, add to, license, post, transmit, or distribute any Materials from this Site in whole or in part, for any public or commercial purpose without the specific written permission of CIFS. We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access our web site and to use the information and services contained here.
By displaying, publishing, or otherwise posting any user content on or through the Site, you hereby grant to CIFS a non-exclusive, sub-licensable, worldwide, fully-paid, royalty free license to use your user content (including, without limitation, to modify, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce, and distribute such user content) in any and all media now known or hereinafter developed without the requirement to make payment to you or to any third party or the need to seek any third party permission. This license includes the right to host, index, cache, distribute, and tag any user content, as well as the right to sublicense user content to third parties, including other users, for use on other media or platforms known or hereinafter developed, such as for use on mobile phones, or in video, music, or software programs. You continue to retain all ownership rights in your user content, and you continue to have the right to use your user content in any way you choose, subject to these Terms and the license described herein. You represent and warrant that you own the user content submitted, displayed, published or posted by you on the Site and otherwise have the right to grant the license set forth herein, and the displaying, publishing or posting of any user content you submit, and our use thereof does not and will not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, trademark rights, patents, contract rights or any other intellectual property rights or other rights of any person or entity. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you further understand and agree that you have no ownership rights to any account you may have with us, or other access to the Site or features therein. CIFS may cancel your account and delete all user content associated with your account at any time, and without notice, including without limitation if CIFS deems that you have violated these Terms, the law, or for any other reason.
Site Use Limitation
Unless otherwise specified and allowed herein, the use of this Site and/or material is strictly prohibited. The Site may be used only for lawful purposes by individuals accessing services. You may not otherwise use, download, upload, print, display, perform, reproduce, publish, modify, delete, add to, license, post, transmit, copy, distribute, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell any information, software, products or services obtained from the Services.
Rules and Limits on and Modifications to the Site
We reserve the right, for any reason, in our sole discretion and without notice to you, to terminate, change, suspend or discontinue any portion of the Site, including, but not limited to, all Materials, features and/or hours of availability, and we will not be liable to you or to any third party for doing so. We may also impose rules for and limits on use of the Site or restrict your access to part, or all, of the Site or user account without notice or penalty. We have the right to change these rules and/or limitations at any time, in our sole discretion.
Specific Prohibited Uses
The Site may be used only for lawful purposes by individuals using authorized services of CIFS. You are responsible for your own communications, including the upload, transmission and posting of information, and are responsible for the consequences of their posting on or through the Site. CIFS specifically prohibits any use of the Site, and requires all users to agree not to use the Site, to do any of the following:
Security Rules
Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability. CIFS will investigate occurrences and may involve, and cooperate with, law enforcement authorities in prosecuting the user or users who are involved in such violations. CIFS reserves the right at all times to disclose any information as CIFS deems necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, or to edit, refuse to post or to remove any information or Materials, in whole or in part, in CIFS’s sole discretion. You are prohibited from violating or attempting to violate the security of the Site, including, without limitation, the following:
Privacy Policy: User Information
In the course of your use of the Site, you may be asked to provide certain information to us. CIFS use of any information you provide via the Site shall be governed by our Privacy Policy. We recommend you read our Privacy Policy. You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for the accuracy and content of such information.
Additionally, by using the Site, you acknowledge and agree that Internet transmissions are never completely private or secure. You understand that any message or information you send to the Site may be read or intercepted by others, even if there is a special notice that a particular transmission (for example, credit card information) is encrypted.
Use Compliance with Applicable Laws
We do not represent that Materials on the Site are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Users who choose to access the Site from outside the United States do so on their own initiative. You agree to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations in connection with your use of the Site.
Proprietary Rights
As between you and CIFS, (or other company whose marks appear on the Site), CIFS (or the respective company) is the owner and/or authorized user of any trademark, registered trademark and/or service mark appearing on the Site, and is the copyright owner or licensee of the Content and/or information on the Site, unless otherwise indicated.
Except as otherwise provided herein, use of the Site does not grant you a license to any Content, features or Materials you may access on the Site and you may not modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works of such Content, features or Materials, in whole or in part. Any commercial use of the Site is strictly prohibited, except as allowed herein or otherwise approved by us. You may not download or save a copy of any of the Content or screens for any purpose except as otherwise provided by CIFS. If you make use of the Site, other that as provided herein, in doing so you may violate copyright and other laws of the United States, other countries, as well as applicable state laws and may be subject to liability for such unauthorized use. We do not grant any license or other authorization to any user of our trademarks, registered trademarks, service marks, other copyrightable material or any other intellectual property by including them on the Site.
The information on the Site including, without limitation, all site design, text, graphics, interfaces, and the selection and arrangements is protected by law including copyright law.
Product names, logos, designs, titles, words or phrases may be protected under law as the trademarks, service mark or trade names of CIFS or other entities. Such trademarks, service marks and trade names, including those listed below, may be registered in the United States and internationally.
The CIFS logos and service names are trademarks of CIFS (the “CIFS Marks”). Without CIFS’ prior permission, you agree not to display or use CIFS Marks in any manner. Nothing on the Site should be construed to grant any license or right to use any CIFS Mark without the prior written consent of CIFS.
Trademarks and Service Marks. CIFS, FinServ, and FinServ Expo are service marks or trademarks of Council for Inclusion in Financial Services, Inc.™
Claims of Copyright Infringement
CIFS respects the intellectual property of others. If you believe that any material on this Site infringes on any copyright that you own or control, or that any link on this Site directs you to another website that contains material that infringes on any copyright that you own or control, please provide our copyright agent the following written information: (i) an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest; (ii) a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed upon; (iii) a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Site; (iv) your address, telephone number, and e-mail address; (v) a statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (vi) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner of authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf. Our copyright agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement on the Site can be reached as follows:
Copyright Agent: legal@councilforinclusion.com
It is often difficult to determine if your intellectual property rights have been violated or if the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) requirements have been met. We may request additional information before we remove any infringing material. If a dispute develops as to the correct owner of the rights in question, we reserve the right to remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material pending resolution of the matter. We will terminate the accounts of users that we determine are repeat infringers.
Please note that under Section 512(f) of the Copyright Act any person who makes false claims that material or an activity is infringing may be subject to liability for damages.
Links from and to the Site
You may be able to link to third party websites (“Linked Sites”) from the Site. Linked Sites are not, however, reviewed, controlled or examined by CIFS in any way and CIFS is not responsible for the content, availability, advertising, products, information or use of user information or other Materials of any such Linked Sites, or any additional links contained therein or any changes or updates to such sites. CIFS is providing these links only as a convenience. These links do not imply CIFS’ endorsement of or association with the Linked Sites. It is your sole responsibility to comply with the appropriate terms of service of the Linked Sites as well as with any other obligation under copyright, secrecy, defamation, decency, privacy, security and export laws related to the use of such Linked Sites and any content contained thereon. In no event shall CIFS be liable, directly or indirectly, to anyone for any loss or damage arising from or occasioned by the creation or use of the Linked Sites or the information or material accessed through these Linked Sites. You should direct any concerns to that site’s administrator or Webmaster. CIFS reserves the exclusive right, at its sole discretion, to add, change, decline or remove, without notice, any feature or link to any of the Linked Sites from the Site and/or introduce different features or links to different users.
Accounts and Passwords
Certain features or services offered on or through the Site may require you to open an account. You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the information you hold for your account, including your password, and for any and all activity that occurs under your account as a result of your failing to keep this information secure and confidential. You agree to (a) create only one account; (b) provide accurate, truthful, current and complete information when creating your account; (c) maintain and promptly update your account information; (d) maintain the security of your account by not sharing your password with others and restricting access to your account and your computer, laptop or mobile device; (e) promptly notify CIFS if you discover or otherwise suspect any security breaches relating to the Sites; and (f) take responsibility for all activities that occur under your account and accept all risks of unauthorized access You agree to notify CIFS immediately of any unauthorized use of your account. You further agree not to email, post, or otherwise disseminate any user ID, password, or other information which provides you access to the Site. CIFS is not liable for any loss that you may incur as a result of someone else using your password or account, either with or without your knowledge, and is not responsible for any delay in shutting down your account after you have reported a breach of security to us.
Indemnity
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold CIFS, its directors, officers, shareholders, employees, agents, and affiliates harmless from any and all claims, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, in any way arising from, related to or in connection with your or your authorized users’ use of the Site, your violation of the Terms or the posting or transmission of any Materials on or through the Site by you, including without limitation, any third party claim that any information or Materials you post, submit, or otherwise provide infringes any third party proprietary right.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW:
THE SITE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ALL CONTENT, FUNCTION, MATERIALS AND SERVICES IS PROVIDED “AS IS,” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY FOR INFORMATION, DATA, DATA PROCESSING SERVICES OR UNINTERRUPTED ACCESS, ANY WARRANTIES CONCERNING THE AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, USEFULNESS, OR CONTENT OF INFORMATION, AND ANY WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. CIFS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE OR THE FUNCTION, CONTENT OR SERVICES MADE AVAILABLE THEREBY WILL BE TIMELY, SECURE, UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED. CIFS MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE SITE WILL MEET USERS’ EXPECTATIONS OR REQUIREMENTS. NO ADVICE, RESULTS OR INFORMATION, OR MATERIALS WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE SITE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY MADE HEREIN. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE SITE, YOUR SOLE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE SITE.
ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SITE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.
CIFS DOES NOT ENDORSE, WARRANT, VERIFY, OR GUARANTEE ANY INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES OFFERED OR PROVIDED BY OR ON BEHALF OF THIRD PARTIES ON OR THROUGH THE SITE. NOTHING SHALL BE CONSIDERED AS AN ENDORSEMENT, VERIFICATION, OR GUARANTEE. CIFS IS NOT A PARTY TO, AND DOES NOT MONITOR, ANY TRANSACTION BETWEEN USERS AND THIRD PARTIES WITHOUT THE DIRECT INVOLVEMENT OF CIFS. CIFS HAS NO OBLIGATION TO MONITOR THE SITE. HOWEVER, CIFS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REVIEW MATERIALS POSTED TO THE SITE AND TO REMOVE ANY MATERIALS IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION. CIFS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO TERMINATE YOUR ACCESS TO ANY OR ALL OF THE SITE AT ANY TIME, WITHOUT NOTICE, FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL CIFS, ITS AFFILIATES OR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OR CONTENT OR SERVICE PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY RELATED TO THE USE OF, OR THE INABILITY TO USE, THE SITE OR THE CONTENT, MATERIALS AND FUNCTION RELATED THERETO, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF REVENUE, OR ANTICIPATED PROFITS, OR LOST BUSINESS, DATA OR SALES, OR COST OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, EVEN IF CIFS OR ITS REPRESENTATIVE OR SUCH INDIVIDUAL HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF CIFS TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION (WHETHER IN CONTRACT OR TORT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING FROM THE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE SITE EXCEED, IN THE AGGREGATE, $100.00. CIFS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY WITH REGARD TO THE SITE AND ANY ACTIONS RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SITE.
Applicable Law/Jurisdiction; Arbitration; Waiver of Jury Trial and Class Action;
(A) Applicable law/Jurisdiction. This Site is controlled and operated by CIFS from offices in Texas, California, and servers in the United States. CIFS makes no representation or warranty that Materials on this Site are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Use of this Site and these Terms and the Privacy Policy shall be governed by and construed in accordance with California law, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts or choice of law provisions.
(B) Binding Arbitration. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms, or its breach, which cannot be resolved between the parties through negotiation within thirty (30) days, shall be submitted to the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) for mandatory binding arbitration in front of a single arbitrator chosen in accordance with the AAA Rules. Discovery shall be permitted, but only to the extent that the documents are directly relevant to and needed for fair resolution of one or more of the issues of importance and can be located and produced at a cost that is reasonable in the context of all surrounding facts and circumstances. When the cost and burden of discovery are disproportionate to the likely importance of the requested materials, the arbitrator may deny the requests or require that the requesting party advance the reasonable cost of production to the other side.
(C) Additional Provisions. The arbitrator may not award non-monetary or equitable relief of any sort, nor award damages inconsistent with these Terms. All aspects of the arbitration shall be treated as confidential. Neither the parties nor the arbitrator may disclose the existence, content or results of the arbitration, except as necessary to enforce the results of the arbitration or to comply with legal or regulatory requirements. The arbitrator shall render its award in writing and will include the findings of fact and conclusion of law upon which the award is based. The result of the arbitration shall bind the parties and judgment on the arbitrators’ award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. In addition to any and all other relief to which a Party may be entitled, the arbitrator shall award reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, including reasonable expert witness fees and costs, to the prevailing Party (should there be one) in any such arbitration.
(D) Waiver of Jury Trial; Individual Basis; Equitable Relief. The parties surrender and waive the right to submit any dispute to a court or jury, or to appeal to a higher court. The parties agree to arbitration on an individual basis. Where enforceable, NEITHER YOU NOR WE SHALL BE ENTITLED TO JOIN OR CONSOLIDATE CLAIMS BY OR AGAINST OTHER SELLERS OR PERSONS, OR ARBITRATE ANY CLAIM AS A CLASS REPRESENTATIVE, CLASS MEMBER OR IN A PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL CAPACITY. UNLESS BOTH YOU AND WE AGREE OTHERWISE, THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT CONSOLIDATE OR JOIN MORE THAN ONE PERSON’S OR PARTY’S CLAIMS, AND MAY NOT OTHERWISE PRESIDE OVER ANY FORM OF A CONSOLIDATED, REPRESENTATIVE, OR CLASS PROCEEDING. ALSO, THE ARBITRATOR MAY AWARD RELIEF ONLY IN FAVOR OF THE INDIVIDUAL PARTY SEEKING RELIEF AND ONLY TO THE EXTENT NECESSARY TO PROVIDE RELIEF NECESSITATED BY THAT PARTY’S INDIVIDUAL CLAIM(S). ANY RELIEF AWARDED CANNOT AFFECT OTHER SITE USERS/SELLERS. If any provision of this arbitration agreement is found unenforceable, the unenforceable provision shall be severed, and the remaining arbitration terms shall be enforced (but in no case shall there be a class arbitration).
Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in these Terms shall prohibit either party from seeking and obtaining from a court of competent jurisdiction (without necessity of posting bond) injunctive relief in order to preserve the status quo and/or avoid irreparable harm for which monetary damage would be insufficient.
(E) Where Held; Language. The place of arbitration shall be the County of Los Angeles, California, USA, and the proceedings shall be conducted in the English language. These Terms shall be governed by the United States Federal Arbitration Act to the exclusion of any inconsistent state laws and the arbitrator shall follow the law and judicial precedents that a United States District Judge sitting in the Central District of California would apply to the dispute.
Consent to Processing
By providing any personal information to the Site, all users, including without limitation users in the European Union, fully understand and unambiguously consent to the collection and processing of such information in the United States.
Notices
Notices to you may be made via either email or regular mail. The Site may also provide notices of changes to the Terms or other matters by displaying notices or links to notices to you on the Site.
Contacting Us
To contact us with any questions or concerns in connection with these Terms or the Site, or to provide any notice under these Terms to us please contact us at Council for Inclusion in Financial Services, Inc.™ , Attention: Legal Department, 740 Corporate Drive, Suite 600, Pomona, CA 91768, Tel 888-316-2272 or email legal@councilforinclusion.org.
Site Accessibility Assistance
CIFS is dedicated to making our websites accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities. For assistance, please contact accessibility@councilforinclusion.org or reach us by phone at 888-316-2272. In your message, please include the website name, your contact information, and any other applicable information.
General Information
The Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and CIFS and govern your use of the Site, superseding any prior agreements between you and CIFS. You also may be subject to additional terms and conditions that are applicable to certain parts of the Site.
You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between CIFS and you as a result of these Terms or your use of the Site.
Any claim or cause of action you may have with respect to CIFS or the Site must be commenced within one (1) year after the claim or cause of action arose.
The failure of CIFS to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of the Terms is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Terms remain in full force and effect.
You may not assign the Terms or any of your rights or obligations under the Terms without express written consent by CIFS.
The Terms inure to the benefit of CIFS successors, assigns and licensees. The section titles in the Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.
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