Terms of Use

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR PRIVACY POLICY

Thank you for using these online legacy services provided by America’s Footprints, L.L.C. (the “Services”) offered on AmericasFootprints.com® (the “Website”).

By using our Services, you are agreeing to these terms. Please read them carefully.

The AmericasFootprints.com® Services are offered free of charge to anyone interested in browsing the site at the introductory level and you agree to these terms by such use.

The complete AmericasFootprints.com® services that allow you to create your own online legacy are offered at several levels of membership (“Membership”). Additional terms and requirements apply to each level of Membership and are posted with the relevant level of Membership. Those additional terms become part of your agreement with us if you purchase that level of Membership.

The liability and obligations of AmericasFootprints.com® in connection with viewing, publishing, or commenting on any content belonging to you or anyone else is strictly limited by these Terms of Use. By submitting, contributing, or posting family history information, or by viewing or commenting on the legacies or posts of others on the AmericasFootprints.com website, you agree to these Terms of Use.

Terms of Use.

1. Using the Services.

1.1 You may use the Services to build your own online legacy (a “Footprint”) and to view the Footprints posted by other Members, provided you comply with these Terms of Use and any policies referenced in and made a part of these Terms of Use. The Terms of Use and any such policies constitute an agreement between us and you regarding the Services.

1.2 You must follow any policies made available to you within the Services.  We may suspend or stop providing our Services to you if you do not comply with our terms or policies or if we are investigating suspected misconduct. Also, you agree to comply with all applicable laws in your use of our Services.

1.3 Members must be at least 18 years old. The Website and the Services are intended for adults.  If a minor views the Website, the parent or guardian of that minor will be held responsible for the minor’s actions.

2. Member Content

2.1 Your Responsibility for What You Upload.  Some of our Services allow you to upload, submit, store, send, and receive content to build your Footprint. You are responsible for your uploaded content. The decision to upload information, text, photographs, video, images, and other content and materials (collectively, “Member Content”) to the AmericasFootprints.com Website is your responsibility. All information that you post will become avaiable to Members (contigent upon the privacy settings you have selected) and the general public to search, view, or hear.  Do not contribute any photographs, material, or personal information which you do not want to be viewed by others.  You are responsible for the content you post. You agree that you will not use your Footprint to post family secrets, skeletons in the closet, inaccuracies, or other information that is likely to upset friends and family members.  In the event another individual contact us with an issue about the content of your Footprint, with your permission we may provide your email address to such individual to contact you directly to resolve the issue. 

The Footprint is intended to be a legacy that lives on after you pass. Once you are no longer living, an aggrieved individual will not be able to request you to modify your Footprint.

2.2 Content Submission Policy.  You agree to follow our rules and restrictions for what you can and cannot post. The Content Submission Policy is available here and this policy is a part of the Terms of Use regarding the Services.

2.3 Your Ownership of Your Content. You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in uploaded Member Content. What belongs to you stays yours.

2.4 AmericasFootprints.com Content and Third Party Content.

Using our Services does not give you ownership of any intellectual property rights in our Services or content you access that does not belong to you. You may not use content from our Services unless you obtain permission from its owner or are otherwise permitted by law.

Our Services display content that belongs to third parties other than AmericasFootprints.com. This content is the sole responsibility of the entity that makes it available. We may review content to determine whether it is illegal or violates our policies, and we may remove or refuse to display content that we reasonably believe violates our policies or the law. But that does not necessarily mean that we review content, so please don’t assume that we do.

2.5 Uploading your Member Content.

Do not upload any Member Content to our Services unless you have the necessary rights to grant us the license in Section 3 below.

2.5 (a)  Right to Submit. By submitting Member Content to the AmericasFootprints.com site, you represent and warrant to AmericasFootprints.com that you have the legal right to contribute that Member Content and that the submission will not violate any third party’s privacy rights, publicity rights, contract rights, copyrights, or other proprietary rights. By affirming your legal right to submit Member Content, you accept legal responsibility for our use of your Member Content.  Upon the request of AmericasFootprints.com, you agree to provide any documentation, substantiation, and/or releases required to verify your compliance with this provision.

2.5 (b) Proprietary Rights. We are sensitive to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of others. Be aware that content, including photographs, stories, and personal experiences, even if submitted to a site to which you belong, remains the property of the creator or submitter. You should not reproduce it and post content that does not belong to you to the AmericasFootprints.com site unless you have the written permission of the owner. Photographs of living individuals, except your own minor children, must not be posted without their written consent. When creating an audio / voice recording, the personal content recorded should be your own, or if the creation of another, (for example a poem or article), used by written permission of the owner.

2.5 (c)  Claims of Intellectual Property Infringement or Illegal Conduct.  We reserve the right to act expeditiously to remove or disable access to any Member Content that we believe violates these Terms of Use. If you have a complaint regarding intellectual property infringement or illegal conduct, you can contact us using the Support links and information provided on AmericasFootprints.com

2.6  Our Rights Regarding Your Member Content.

Although we are not obligated to do so, we reserve the right to edit, delete, or restrict access to your Member Content for any or no reason.

In addition, the following terms apply:

(a)    Automated Screening. We reserve the right, without obligation, to monitor and edit your Member Content. We may use automated filtering tools to suppress Member Content which appears in our judgment to violate the Content Submission Policy or other Terms of Use. We intend to use reasonable efforts to preserve the integrity of your Member Content and to avoid errors or omissions in the content of the Website. We provide the opportunity to submit information subject to the Content Submission Policy and these Terms of Use.

(b)    Accuracy of Member Content. You agree to provide true, accurate, and complete information. If any information you provide is, in our sole discretion, false or misleading, we shall have the right, but not the obligation, to take any remedial or preventative action we deem appropriate in our sole discretion, including restricting access and/or deleting or editing any of your Member Content.

(c)   Sensitivity to Other Users. Please be sensitive and selective in submitting your Member Content. We reserve the right to remove any Member Content which we believe, in our sole discretion, to be irrelevant to an individual, which includes information that might harm or embarrass living and/or deceased relatives, which is offensive, indecent, inappropriate, threatening, abusive, or which otherwise violates the Content Submission Policy or other Terms of Use. We may also take any action, including restricting access for violations of this Terms of Use and notifying law enforcement of any activity which appears in our sole discretion to violate applicable law or for the safety of others.

3.   License to  Americas’ Footprints – What AmericasFootprints.com can do with Member Content.

When you upload, submit, store, send or receive content to or through our Services, you give us (and those we work with such as our affiliates and contractors) a worldwide, royalty-free, paid-up license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content ) for any and all purposes, in any and all manners, and in any and all forms of media that we, in our sole discretion, deem appropriate. This license includes the right to grant sublicenses through multiple tiers of distribution.

As part of this license, you give us permission to copy, publicly display, transmit, broadcast, and otherwise distribute your Member Content throughout the world, by any means we deem appropriate (electronic or otherwise, including the Internet). You also understand and agree that as part of this license, we have the right to create derivative works from your Member Content by combining all or a portion of it with that of other contributors or by otherwise modifying your Member Content.

The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. This license is perpetual and continues even if you stop using our Services.  Some Services may offer you ways to access and remove content that has been provided to that Service. Also, in some of our Services, there are terms or settings that narrow the scope of our use of the content submitted in those Services.

4.    Member Restrictions on Use of the Services.

You agree that you will not:

4.1  Impersonate anyone else or otherwise misrepresent your identity or status.

4.2  Hold yourself out as an employee or representative of America’s Footprints, LLC or any of its affiliates.

4.3 Stalk or harass or make persistent or regular contact with other users without their consent or encouragement or after any consent or encouragement has, expressly or impliedly, been withdrawn.

4.4  Restrict or inhibit any other person from using the Website or Services.

4.5  Use our Website or Services in any way that we believe, in our sole discretion, might result in harm to our name or reputation.

4.6  Use for any commercial purposes any portion of, use of or access to the Website.

4.7  Advertise or offer to sell products or services or solicit employees.

4.8 Send commercial emails, SPAM emails, unsolicited bulk mail or any other email which may be unwanted by  a recipient.

4.9  Perform any activity that requires any form of payment from Members on any other area of AmericasFootprints.com.

4.10 Include links on our website or service to third party websites outside the America’s Footprints, LLC website group.

5.  Privacy and Personal Information.

5.1   Privacy Policy. You agree to comply with AmericasFootprints.com Privacy Policy [view here].

5.2 Acknowledgement Regarding Personal Information.  You acknowledge that your Footprint, including but not limited to any personal information such as your name, date of birth, address and other contact information, or work history you submit, will be publicly viewable. You hereby release AmericasFootprints.com from any and all claims, liens, demands, actions or suits in connection with the Member Content, including, without limitation, any and all liability for any use or nonuse of your Member Content, claims for defamation, invasion of privacy, right of publicity, emotional distress or economic loss.

5.3 Data Protection Laws. If you are located outside the United States, you consent to the processing in the United States of America of any personal data that you submit. You also agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of personal information to or from the United States of America and the country in which you reside.

5.4   Acknowledgement; Your Ability to Remove Member Content. You also acknowledge that any images or documents you upload become part of the collection hosted by AmericasFootprints.com, which is publicly viewable and accessible by anyone online. You will be able to remove Member Content you have contributed, but we are under no obligation to monitor or inhibit the use of contributed images or documents by others. You may withdraw any of your Member Content from our sites, but we shall not be required to remove links or references to withdrawn Member Content.

6. Payment Terms.  Membership levels and available here [link to different Membership options).  Payment terms are here [link to Payment section; page 9]. All fees are non-refundable once paid.

7.  No Warranty.

The Services are provided “AS IS” and AmericasFootprints.com shall be neither responsible nor liable for errors or omissions in any content you may find on this site, nor for loss, damage, or corruption of Member Content that you submit. OTHER THAN AS EXPRESSLY SET OUT IN THESE TERMS OR ADDITIONAL TERMS, NEITHER AMERICASFOOTPRINTS.COM NOR ITS LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, OR DISTRIBUTORS MAKE ANY SPECIFIC PROMISES ABOUT THE SERVICES. FOR EXAMPLE, WE DON’T MAKE ANY COMMITMENTS ABOUT THE CONTENT WITHIN THE SERVICES, THE SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS OF THE SERVICES, OR THEIR RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, OR ABILITY TO MEET YOUR NEEDS.

SOME JURISDICTIONS PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN WARRANTIES, LIKE THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE EXCLUDE ALL WARRANTIES.

8.  Term of Services.  Your Membership continues provided you are in compliance with these Terms of Use.

9.  Termination of Services.

You may de-activate your Membership account at anytime by following the instructions provided on our website.   Doing so does not mean you get a refund of your Membership fees.  It just disables your account and will prevent your Footprint from being seen publicly.  Depending on the amount of time your account has been deactivated, you may be able to contact AmericasFootprints.com to re-activate your account.

10. Indemnity.

You agree to hold harmless and indemnify AmericasFootprints.com and its affiliates, officers, agents, and employees from any claim, suit or action arising from or related to your use of the Services or violation of these terms, including any liability or expense arising from claims, losses, damages, suits, judgments, litigation costs and attorneys’ fees.

11. Limitation of Liability.

TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF AMERICASFOOTPRINTS.COM, AND ITS LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, AND DISTRIBUTORS, FOR ANY CLAIMS UNDER THESE TERMS OF USE, INCLUDING FOR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES, IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US TO USE THE SERVICES IF YOU ARE A MEMBER AND TO $500 IF YOU ARE A USER WHO HAS BROWSED THE WEBSITE FREE OF CHARGE.

IN ALL CASES, AMERICASFOOTPRINTS.COM, AND ITS LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS AND DISTRIBUTORS, WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE THAT IS NOT REASONABLY FORESEEABLE.

12.  Waiver of Consequential Damages.

TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, AMERICASFOOTPRINTS.COM, AND ITS LICENSORS,  SUPPLIERS AND DISTRIBUTORS, WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUES, OR LOSS OF USE OR DATA, FINANCIAL LOSSES OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES.

We are not liable for any special or consequential damages resulting from your submission of Member Content, our refusal to accept your Member Content, or our deletion or modification of any of your Member Content.

13.  General.

We may modify these terms, our Policies, or any additional terms that apply to the Services to, for example, reflect changes to the law or changes to our Services. You should look at the terms regularly. We will post notice of updates to these terms on this page. We will also post notice of modified additional terms in the applicable Service. Changes will not apply retroactively and will become effective no sooner than fourteen days after they are posted. Changes addressing new functions for a Service or changes made for legal reasons, however, will be effective immediately. If you do not agree to the modified terms for a Service, you should discontinue your use of that Service.

If there is a conflict between these terms and any additional terms in the applicable Policy, the additional terms will control for that conflict.

These terms control the relationship between AmericasFootprints.com and you. They do not create any third party beneficiary rights.

If you do not comply with these terms, and we don’t take action right away, this doesn’t mean that we are giving up any rights that we may have (such as taking action in the future).

If it turns out that a particular term is not enforceable, this will not affect any other terms and they will continue to be part of our agreement.

You agree to comply with all applicable laws, including but not limited to all export control laws and regulations.

The laws of the State of Pennsylvania, U.S.A., excluding its conflict of laws rules, will apply to any disputes arising out of or relating to these terms or the Services. All claims arising out of or relating to these terms or the Services will be litigated exclusively in the federal or state courts of Monroe County, Pennsylvania, USA, and you and AmericasFootprints.com consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts.

For information about how to contact AmericasFootprints.com, click here.

Content Submission Policy

This Content Submission Policy supplements and is incorporated into and made a part of the Terms of Use.

Rules for Uploading Member Content to Build Your Footprint:

Please build a Footprint with photographs or other images of yourself and text that helps your family and friends come to know you better and to establish your online legacy for future generations.

While we cannot preview or monitor your Member Content, we may apply, at our discretion, automated filtering tools which monitor and/or delete any content that we believe to be in violation of this Content Submission Policy or the Terms of Use (for example, we could use automated tools to suppress obscene content). We reserve the right to act expeditiously to remove or disable access to any Member Content that we believe violates this Agreement.”  We can remove any Member Content or any other information or comments you post on the Website if we believe that it violates this Policy or our Terms of Use.

Content such as vulgarity, nudity, and anything else that may be deemed inappropriate as described in this Content Submission Policy may be deleted.   Any group shot that contains even one individual that violates any of the rules in this Policy is not allowed and is subject to deletion.

The following overall principles apply to photographs and other images and all other Member Content:

1.  Appropriate Attire. Photographs and other images should reflect community standards of dress

No nudity or immodesty. Clothing should be zipped and buttoned properly.

No body shots without a head or face.

2.  Relevant. Member Content should accurately support your legacy or a general family history purpose. You are responsible for the content you post. You agree that you will not use your Footprint to post family secrets, skeletons in the closet, inaccuracies, or other information that is likely to upset friends and family members.  In the event another individual contacts us with an issue about the content of your Footprint, we will provide your email address to such individual to contact you directly to resolve the issue.  The Footprint is intended to be a legacy that lives on after you pass, so once you are no longer living, an aggrieved individual will not be able to request you to modify your Footprint.

3. Noncommercial/No product or website endorsements. Member Content should not advertise or promote commercial products, services, or websites. Logos and wording on clothing or on billboards, trucks, etc. may be altered or removed if in violation of this Content Submission Policy.

4.   Keep it kind, positive, and law abiding.

Content may not be racist, sexist, or discriminate. Content may not be obscene, indecent, defamatory, derogatory, fraudulent, degrading, abusive, hateful, false, misleading, inaccurate, untrue, malicious, offensive, harassing, threatening, or incites racial, religious or ethnic hatred.

By example, but not limitation:

Photographs and other content which include nudity, pornography, indecency, vulgarity, violence and/or any offensive subject matter.
No profanity.
No images of illegal acts, products, or services. This includes drugs.
No vulgarity or vulgar gestures.
No expressions of hatred or discrimination.
No images of violence and mutilation.
War, hunting, and fishing photos may be evaluated and may  be altered or removed..
Photos with piercing and tattoos may be evaluated and may  be altered or removed.
No sacred or other religious clothing is allowed if it is displayed in a way that desecrates an associated religious belief.
Any content that causes anyone alarm, annoyance, anxiety, embarrassment, offence or distress.
Any content that could prejudice any active legal proceedings of which you are aware; is unlawful or promotes or teaches unlawful activity.
4.  Privacy and Rights of Others.

The following content is not allowed:

Any content which may violate the privacy or breach the confidentiality of other people, including members of your family. Our Services allows you to define specific privacy settings regarding Footprint availability and publicity. Please make use of these abilities and respect the privacy of others.

Any photos or email addresses of living individuals (other than your own), if done without their consent.

Any information relating to minors, which identifies them, their personal details or their address and other means of communication with them, without the direct consent of their parent or guardian.

Any content which does not belong to you or which you do not have a right to use.

Any content that impairs and/or infringes the property or other rights of others, including copyrights and trademarks. We are extremely sensitive to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of others. Be aware that content, including photographs, even if submitted to a site of which you are a Member, belongs to its creator or submitter and you should not reproduce it without permission of the owner. Any content that violates our Privacy Policy.

5. Additional Restrictions.

No commercial photos. The only exceptions are:

You have legal rights to the photo.
The copyright has expired.
Photographs edited in such a way as to make them inaccurate, false, or misleading are not allowed.

Any computer virus or other malicious or harmful code.

POLICIES/PAGES FOR MEMBERSHIP LEVELS AND FEES

1.   GENERAL

a)  Random visitors to the site will be very limited in what you can do.   You will see preview cards of other Footprints that show a few words and maybe a single image of someone.  But that’s it.  In order to do ANYTHING else on the site, you must become a member and pay the membership fee.

b) You must be at least 18 years old to register as a Member.    You must provide AmericasFootprints.com with accurate and complete registration information. Failure to do so will be a breach of these Terms of Use.

2. ENROLLMENT

The Services allow you to create a Footprint to leave a legacy behind (or you can use the Services to search for someone else’s Footprint). Either way, you must first sign up and pay a membership fee for the Membership level you select.  Remember this is a one-time only payment (not recurring or annual).  But most important – the fee is not refundable.

Once you have paid the membership fee, you are granted access to create a Footprint for yourself and/or search the database of existing Footprints.  A few email confirmations and a temporary login password are then sent to your email address (the login password can be updated anytime).

You cannot downgrade your membership.  But you can upgrade to a higher level at anytime upon paying the difference for a higher membership.

3. PAYMENT

a)  Payment made be made via Credit Card or Paypal.  Billing information (card/account numbers) is NOT stored.  As soon as the transaction is complete, the billing information (credit card / paypal info) is deleted. The only content that may remain is the billing address you entered.

4. MINI FOOTPRINTS

You may create a mini-footprint only for a child for whom you are the parent or legal guardian. Upon the request of AmericasFootprints.com, you agree to furnish us with any documentation, substantiation and releases necessary and reasonably required to verify and substantiate your compliance with this provision.  Failure to provide this information may result in removal of a Mini Footprint or futher action.  Additional guidelines, rules, and limitations for Mini-Footprints are as follows:

Members can create mini-footprints for your children or any relative under the age of 18 (limited to nieces, nephews, and grandkids). AmericasFootprints.com reserves the right to request proof or official documentation legally claiming you as their relative 

Mini Footprints are limited to children who are 17 years old or younger. Members cannot create a Mini Footprint for children who are 18 years or older.

You cannot begin creating a Mini Footprints until you have partially completed your Main Footprint.

The number of Mini Footprints you can create will depend on your Membership level.

Mini Footprints become part of your profile. They do not have a unique Footprint ID# or custom URL. They are only visible when someone visits your specific Footprint.

OTHER / ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES, RULES, AND LIMITATIONS FOR FOOTPRINT CONTENT

Do NOT upload documents that may threaten the security of your identity or the identity of others. For example:

Do not upload a copy of your birth certificate without first hiding, blocking, crossing-out, deleting, or otherwise protecting information that could be used to steal your identity

Do not upload a copy of your government-issued ID or passport

Do not upload a bill, bank statement, or credit card / statement

Do not upload files that contain account information and/or login and password credentials

Designated Copyright Office Agent and attorney for America’s Footprints

Crown, LLP
155 Montgomery Street, Suite 1401
San Francisco, California 94104
tel: 415.932.6557
elizabeth@crownllp.com