Terms of Service For You | Terms of Service for Your Lawyer | Privacy Policy
Litsy's original Terms of Service were written to be lawyer- not human-readable. There's a lot of important stuff in there, and all of it is still operative, and included below. We've put it below this section, which lays out some simplified human-readable rules for using Litsy.
Litsy is a wonderful community, full of wonderful people. Always remember that the person on the other end of the keyboard is human, and it will remain that way.
As of April 2019, Litsy has adopted LibraryThing's rule prohibiting personal attacks against other Litsy members. If you must criticize, criticize words and ideas, not people. Name-calling is included within personal attacks. We know people get angry and make mistakes. Egregious and repeat offenders will be barred from Litsy. Please note that one violation of this policy does not excuse another.
Litsy is not an advertising medium. Spam and all egregious commercial solicitation is forbidden. Members may not post affiliate links.
For legal reasons, Litsy may not be used by children under 13. Citizens and residents of the European Union must be at least 16 to use Litsy.
Litsy is a glorious community. But members of all ages are warned not to provide information online without weighing the risks and benefits, and never to provide their phone number, address, or other critical personal data online.
Litsy encourages members to participate in book give-away programs. (LibraryThing has two: Early Reviewers and Member Giveaways). We forbid reviews from "pay-for-review" schemes.
These terms add to the above.
These Terms of Service (this "Agreement") is a binding contract between LibraryThing.com, Inc. ("Litsy") and you ("You"), as a user of the Litsy application, Litsy's websites, APIs, and other applications and services (collectively, the "Services"). Litsy reserves all rights in the Services not expressly granted to You under this Agreement.
Litsy grants to You a limited and revocable right to use the Services in accordance with this Agreement, any other End User License Agreement that may accompany the Services, and Litsy's Community Guidelines. Furthermore, in using the Services:
You agree that Litsy may collect and use technical data and related information, including but not limited to technical information about Your device, system and application software, and peripherals, that is gathered periodically to facilitate the provision of software updates, product support and other services to You (if any), related to the Services (collectively, "Data"). You may also voluntarily provide information, feedback, images, data, text, files, information, usernames, images, graphics, photos, profiles, audio and video clips, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, applications, links, and other content or materials, reviews and other content in connection with your use of the Services (together with the Data, collectively, "Content"). You agree that Litsy may use the Content to improve its products and services or to provide products and services to You, and You hereby grant Litsy a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up, transferable and sublicensable license in and to the Content, including all intellectual property rights therein, for Litsy to use, modify and create derivative works from and perform in any venue or media, online or offline, as well as
"In Painting, Sculpture, and rapt Poesy, / And arts, though unimagined, yet to be." (Shelley, Prometheus Unbound)
in connection with or related to any business purposes. You represent and warrant to Litsy that (i) You have the necessary rights to grant the licenses and rights in and to the Content, and (ii) the Content and Litsy's use thereof as permitted in this Agreement will not infringe, violate or misappropriate any third party right. Your personal information will be collected and processed in accordance with the terms of Litsy's Privacy Policy
The Agreement is effective until terminated by You or Litsy. Your rights under this Agreement will terminate automatically without notice from Litsy if You fail to comply with any term of this Agreement. Upon termination of this Agreement, You shall cease all use of the Services, and destroy all copies, full or partial, of the Services.
The Services may enable access to Litsy's and third party services and web sites (collectively and individually, "Services"). Use of the Services may require Internet access and that You accept additional terms of service. The information provided by the Services is provided to You for informational and reference purposes only. While every effort has been made to ensure the quality and accuracy of information displayed through the Services, Litsy shall not be held responsible for incomplete, inaccurate, invalid or incorrect information displayed through the Services.
Certain Services may display, include or make available content, data, information, applications or materials from third parties ("Third Party Materials") or provide links to certain third party web sites. By using the Services, You acknowledge and agree that Litsy is not responsible for examining or evaluating the content, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, validity, copyright compliance, legality, decency, quality or any other aspect of such Third Party Materials or web sites. Litsy does not warrant or endorse, and does not assume and will not have any liability or responsibility to You or any other person for any third party services or Third Party Materials. Third Party Materials and links to other websites are provided solely as a convenience to You. Neither Litsy, nor any of its content providers, guarantees the availability, accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any Services. You should exercise judgment in your use of any Services.
You agree that Services contain proprietary content, information and material that is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws, including but not limited to copyright, and that You will not use such proprietary content, information or materials in any way whatsoever except for permitted use of the Services. No portion of the Services may be reproduced in any form or by any means. You agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute, or create derivative works based on the Services, in any manner, and You shall not exploit the Services in any unauthorized way whatsoever, including but not limited to, by trespass or burdening network capacity.
In addition, Services are not available in all languages or in all countries. Litsy makes no representation that Services are appropriate or available for use in any particular location. To the extent You choose to access such Services, You do so at Your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with any applicable laws, including but not limited to applicable local laws. Litsy and its licensors reserve the right to change, suspend, remove, or disable access to any Services at any time without notice. In no event will Litsy be liable for the removal of or disabling of access to any such Services. Litsy may also impose limits on the use of or access to certain Services without notice or liability.
YOU WILL DEFEND, INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS LITSY, ITS AFFILIATES, AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, MEMBERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS (EACH, AN "INDEMNITEE") FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL LOSSES, DAMAGES, LIABILITIES, JUDGMENTS, AWARDS, PENALTIES, INTEREST, FINES, COSTS, FEES OR EXPENSES OF WHATEVER KIND, INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEYS' FEES, PROFESSIONAL FEES, THE COST OF ENFORCING ANY RIGHT TO INDEMNIFICATION HEREUNDER AND THE COST OF PURSUING ANY INSURANCE PROVIDERS, INCURRED BY ANY INDEMNITEE ARISING OUT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, OR ANY BREACH OF ANY REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY OR OBLIGATIONS IN THIS AGREEMENT.
USE OF THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK AS TO SATISFACTORY QUALITY, PERFORMANCE, ACCURACY AND EFFORT. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, AND LITSY HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICES, EITHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OF ACCURACY, OF QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS. LITSY DOES NOT WARRANT AGAINST INTERFERENCE WITH YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THE SERVICES, THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN, OR SERVICES PERFORMED OR PROVIDED BY, THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, THAT THE OPERATION OF THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY LITSY OR ITS AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY. SHOULD THE SERVICES PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR LIMITATIONS ON APPLICABLE STATUTORY RIGHTS OF A CONSUMER, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION AND LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS SECTION SURVIVES TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT.
TO THE EXTENT NOT PROHIBITED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL LITSY BE LIABLE FOR PERSONAL INJURY, OR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES, HOWEVER CAUSED, REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY (CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE) AND EVEN IF LITSY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR PERSONAL INJURY, OR OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN NO EVENT SHALL LITSY'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES (OTHER THAN AS MAY BE REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW IN CASES INVOLVING PERSONAL INJURY) EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF FIFTY DOLLARS ($50.00). THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS WILL APPLY EVEN IF THE ABOVE STATED REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. THIS SECTION SURVIVES TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT.
You and each of Litsy and its affiliates are independent contractors for all purposes related to the Services and this Agreement. Nothing contained in this Agreement or any other agreement related to the Services shall be construed as creating any agency, partnership, joint venture or other form of joint enterprise, employment or fiduciary relationship between the parties. Neither party shall have authority to contract for or bind the other party in any manner whatsoever.
You may not use or otherwise export or re-export the Services except as authorized by United States law and the laws of the jurisdiction in which the Services was obtained. In particular, but without limitation, the Services may not be exported or re-exported (a) into any U.S. embargoed countries or (b) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Department of Commerce Denied Person's List or Entity List. By using the Services, You represent and warrant that you are not located in any such country or on any such list. You also agree that you will not use these products for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons.
The Services and related documentation are "Commercial Items", as that term is defined at 48 C.F.R. §2.101, consisting of "Commercial Computer Software" and "Commercial Computer Software Documentation", as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. §12.212 or 48 C.F.R. §227.7202, as applicable. Consistent with 48 C.F.R. §12.212 or 48 C.F.R. §227.7202-1 through 227.7202-4, as applicable, the Commercial Computer Software and Commercial Computer Software Documentation are being licensed to U.S. Government end users (a) only as Commercial Items and (b) with only those rights as are granted to all other end users pursuant to the terms and conditions herein. Unpublished-rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United States.
If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof and believe that any Content on the Services infringes upon your copyrights ("Posting"), you may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") by providing Litsy's Copyright Agent (identified below) with the following information in writing:
Litsy's designated Copyright Agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement is: Tim Spalding. Only claimed infringement notifications may be sent to the Copyright Agent.
If you believe that your Content that was removed or disabled is not infringing, or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner's agent, or pursuant to the law, to post and use the content in your Content, you may send a counter-notice containing the following information to the Copyright Agent:
The laws of Maine, excluding its conflicts of law rules, govern this license and Your use of the Services. Your use of the Services may also be subject to other local, state, national, or international laws.
Any claim, dispute, or controversy ("Claim") arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the relationships among the parties hereto shall be resolved by one arbitrator through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), under the AAA Consumer Rules in effect at the time the Claim is filed ("AAA Rules"). Copies of the AAA Rules and forms can be located at www.adr.org, or by calling 1-800-778-7879. The arbitrator's decision shall be final, binding, and non-appealable. Judgment upon the award may be entered and enforced in any court having jurisdiction. This clause is made pursuant to a transaction involving interstate commerce and shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. Neither party shall sue the other party other than as provided herein or for enforcement of this clause or of the arbitrator's award; any such suit may be brought only in Federal District Court or, if any such court lacks jurisdiction, in any state court that has jurisdiction. The arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court, shall have exclusive authority to resolve any dispute relating to the interpretation, applicability, unconscionability, arbitrability, enforceability, or formation of this Agreement including any claim that all or any part of the Agreement is void or voidable. However, the preceding sentence shall not apply to the clause entitled "Class Action Waiver" immediately below.
Any Claim must be brought in the respective party's individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, representative, multiple plaintiff, or similar proceeding ("Class Action"). The parties expressly waive any ability to maintain any Class Action in any forum. The arbitrator shall not have authority to combine or aggregate similar claims or conduct any Class Action nor make an award to any person or entity not a party to the arbitration. Any claim that all or part of this Class Action Waiver is unenforceable, unconscionable, void, or voidable may be determined only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator. THE PARTIES UNDERSTAND THAT THEY WOULD HAVE HAD A RIGHT TO LITIGATE THROUGH A COURT, TO HAVE A JUDGE OR JURY DECIDE THEIR CASE AND TO BE PARTY TO A CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. HOWEVER, THEY UNDERSTAND AND CHOOSE TO HAVE ANY CLAIMS DECIDED INDIVIDUALLY, THROUGH ARBITRATION.
Your questions, complaints or claims with respect to the Services should be directed to:
LibraryThing.com, Inc.
286 Spring St
Portland, ME 04102
USA
litsy@librarything.com
LibraryThing.com, Inc. ("Litsy," "We," "Our" or "Us," as appropriate) takes the privacy of personal information you may provide Us seriously. This Privacy Policy applies to all users of the Litsy application access via either your mobile device through the Litsy App or the www.litsy.com website and includes any software used on or in connection with Litsy services (collectively, the "Services"), and applies only to information gathered via the Services. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, you must immediately cease use of the Services.
We collect information, which may include personally identifiable information or "PII", that you voluntarily provide via the Services (referred to here on out as "your information"). Personal Information collected through the Services may include some or all of the following: name, gender, user name, or contact information such as street address, phone number, email address, and any other information you may voluntarily provide. (Litsy does not currently collect most of this information, and has no plans to.) You have the choice whether or not to disclose your information, however, some parts of the Services will be impossible to use if you do not disclose your information. Therefore, at times, you may be requested to voluntarily supply Us with your information. Generally this information is requested when you:
This section covers the Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Litsy collects, as defined by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
PII we collect for all site users may include:
If you use a mobile device ("Device") to access any of the Services, We may collect certain information in addition to what We collect when you use other kinds of Devices to access the Services. We may receive information about your location and your mobile Device, including a unique identifier for your Device and your mobile operating system. We may, at times, use this information to provide you with location-based services and information, such as advertising, search results, and other personalized content. (Again, we do not currently do this, and have no plans to.) Most Devices provide users with the ability to disable location services. If you have questions about how to disable your Device's location services, we recommend you contact your mobile service carrier or your Device manufacturer.
Litsy wants to inform you that whenever you use our Services, in case of an error in the apps we collect data and information which is transmitted directly to our server in the form of Log Data. This Log Data may include information such as your devices' Internet Protocol ("IP") address, operating system version, configuration of the app when utilising the Service, the time and date of your use of the Service, and possibly other anonymous statistics.
We may use your information for any of the following purposes:
Pursuant to the California Online Privacy Protection Act, neither We nor any of the Services follow the Do Not Track setting of your web browser.
Litsy will not sell or give your information to any third party, except as described below.
We take reader privacy very seriously. Reader privacy enjoys special Constitutional protections under US law, and LibraryThing will not cooperate with US law enforcement unless compelled to do so, for example by a court order or subpoena. Litsy will not cooperate with non-US law enforcement unless compelled, or if we are convinced the law is at least as just, and applied as justly, as US standards. If you are using Litsy from a foreign country with an oppressive government, Litsy urges you not to put yourself at risk.
As of April 10, 2019, we have never received a National Security Letter, FISA order, or any other classified request for user information. You are invited to watch for the removal of this provision.
By default, Litsy users grand the right to sell or share reviews with libraries and other book-world parties, to display alongside the books they are about. At present, Litsy does not do so. Should we ever do so, we will allow members to opt-out, generally and by category.
We may also share your information with third parties under any of the following other circumstances:
We intend to continue improving the content and function of the Services. For this reason, We may monitor customer traffic patterns and Service usage to help Us improve the design and layout of Our Services. As such, in addition to Personally Identifiable Information (PII) provided to Us as identified above, We may also collect certain non-personally identifiable information (non-PII). For example, Our web servers may automatically identify computers by their IP addresses, and We may use certain tracking technologies (such as cookies), as further described below. We and each of Our service providers may use this non-PII information to analyze trends, administer the Services, track users' movement and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. We will not link these IP addresses to PII other than to the extent necessary to enforce the Services' terms of service.
Our Services may use tracking technologies such as "cookies" to provide users with tailored information upon each return visit. Cookies are a common part of many Services that allow small text files to be sent by a website, accepted by your web browser, and then placed on your hard drive as recognition token. Every time you visit the Services, cookies may record basic technical information, such as your domain name, the address of the last URL visited prior to the Services, your browser, and your operating system. You do not need to enable cookies to visit the Services; however, some parts of the Services will be impossible to use if cookies are disabled. Cookies do not contain any PII.
Litsy reserves the right to use third-party cookies from Google to anonymously track web usage and analytics (Google). These cookies are not essential to site functionality.
You control the accuracy of your information. If your information changes, please correct, update or delete it by logging into your account at the Services.
After termination of your account, We will have no obligation to maintain or provide any of your information and may thereafter, unless legally prohibited, delete all of your information in Our systems or otherwise in Our possession or under Our control. Except as prohibited by law, we may also retain all or a subset of your information for business or legal purposes.
While We will take reasonable security measures to protect your Personal Information, no transmission of data over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, given the electronic nature of the Internet, by using the Services, you accept the inherent risks in doing so, including, but not limited to, the security risks of interception, unauthorized access, the risks of corruption and the risks of viruses or other harmful devices.
Litsy values your trust in providing us your information, thus we are striving to use industry-standard means of protecting it. But remember that no method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure and reliable, and Litsy cannot guarantee its absolute security.
We use the following security measures and technologies to protect your information:
Despite our efforts, no security measure can be absolute, and there can be no guarantee that Your information will not be accessed through malicious means, inadvertent disclosure, or mistake.
In the case of a breach of data, as defined in the GDPR, we will notify affected members within 72 hours of our discovery, describing the breach in all appropriate detail, along with our mitigation actions.
Litsy allows "private" accounts—ones that others can't see without being invited to see it. We cannot give an absolute 100% guarantee of privacy. If the public disclosure of your information would really damage you, by all means don't post it online.
The Services may contain links to other applications or Services that may not be owned or operated by Us. We cannot control and are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of such other applications or Services. We encourage you to read the privacy statements of each application that you use and website that you visit.
Integration with social networking sites may be present through the Services, and such integration is provided to enhance member experience. If you access the Services through your other social networking account(s), you authorize Us to collect relevant information necessary to enable the Services to access and collect your data contained within that particular social networking service (e.g., such as your Facebook profile information). Please remember, however, that the manner in which such third party social network provider uses, stores and discloses your information is governed solely by that provider's policies, and We will have no liability or responsibility for the privacy practices or other actions of any third party site or provider that you may enable and link to your online experience with Us.
Litsy does not store any information for Facebook and Twitter except the keys necessary to perform API requests. We reserve the right to store your Facebook name.
Litsy abides by US law. We also intend to voluntarily follow the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which applies to EU citizens and residents. To do so we must identify who is and who is not covered by the GDPR.
Litsy may attempt to assign EU status to members based upon their IP address at sign-up, but such assignments can never be fully accurate. To change your EU status, go to your Preferences / Notification Preferences. Choosing the incorrect legal status is a violation of Litsy's Terms of Service.
Per the GDPR, Litsy's Data Protection Officer (DPO) is Tim Spalding. Our DPO can be reached at tim@librarything.com.
The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) includes certain rights for certain covered individuals, concerning their personally identifiable information. We intend to voluntarily comply with these provisions, except as limited under applicable law. These rights include:
As of April 2019, the programming to effect some of these rights (e.g., the right to "stop processing" temporarily—that is, to leave the service but hold open the possibility of coming back) are not implemented in software. We will be working through the Member Rights above, and attemping to bring Litsy into voluntary compliance as time permits.
If you have any questions about your rights under the GDPR, and how they relate to your Litsy data, please contact litsy@librarything.com making clear your question and your status under the GDPR.
We updated this Privacy Policy effective as of the date set forth above. It may be appropriate to update our Privacy Policy and other terms and conditions from time to time. We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time in our sole discretion, with or without advance notice. We will post any changes on the Privacy Policy page of the Services so users are always aware of any change. We encourage you to periodically review this Privacy Policy to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the Personal Information We receive from you. Your continued use of the Services shall constitute your agreement to this Privacy Policy and any of its updates. If We decide to use your Personal Information in a manner not set forth in this Privacy Policy, We will notify registered account holders by email to the email addresses on record. If you choose to visit the Site or use any of our other services, your visit and/or any dispute over privacy is subject to this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use.
We take Children's Privacy seriously. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) severely restricts what information can be collected from children under 13. The EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) also severely restricts what information can be collected from children under 16. For these reasons, all children under 13 are prohibited from using Litsy, and, unfortunately, all European Union children under 16 are prohibited from using Litsy.
If you are under 18 years old, you may use the Services only with the permission of your parent(s) or guardian.
If you have any further questions concerning this Privacy Policy or Our privacy practices, please contact us via email at litsy@LibraryThing.com.
