User Agreement

This statement covers The Mary Sue and any associated content including email and RSS feeds. Please read this statement carefully before proceeding to access any of TheMarySue.com. Your use of The Mary Sue indicates your agreement to abide by the Terms in effect.

Use of Content

Attribution Non-Commercial: The Mary Sue is pleased to make its original content available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, for non-commercial reproduction with credit to the source site.

This license permits anyone to do the following with original The Mary Sue content, in any medium:

1. To reproduce, remix, or otherwise alter original The Mary Sue site material so long as the logo is displayed and credit is given. This includes, specifically, permission:
   • to reproduce quotes
   • to reproduce screenshots of any page of a The Mary Sue site
   • to include original The Mary Sue material in mash-ups, mixes, parodies, caricatures, etc for movies, TV, print or online

Important Note: This does not include the right to republish images from The Mary Sue, for which The Mary Sue may not the copyright holder, except in the context of a screenshot of the whole site.

The Mary Sue makes no representations or guarantees about the suitability for third-party use of content that appears on The Mary Sue, and licenses herewith only the content of which The Mary Sue is the copyright holder.

The Mary Sue Media provides two feeds for each of its Sites: If you are using all or substantially all of a feed, we ask that you do not modify it in any way, including the stripping out of advertisements.

1. Full ad-supported feeds are intended only for personal use in RSS readers.
2. For all other feed uses, including reproduction on websites, you should only use the Excerpt feeds, unless otherwise agreed with the company.
3. Please do not splice the RSS feeds into or otherwise redistribute them via third-party RSS providers.
4. Please do not add content, including any advertisements or other promotional content, to the RSS feeds.
5. The Mary Sue reserves the right to object to your presentation of the RSS feeds and the right to require you to cease using the RSS feeds at any time.
6. The Mary Sue further reserves the right to terminate its distribution of the RSS feeds or change the content or formatting of the RSS feeds at any time without notice to you.

Web Syndication Terms of Use

1. Internal links in the Site content must not be removed.
2. The Site logo and/or URL should appear on each page displaying site content.
3. The format or branding of the headlines, text and other information provided in the RSS feeds must not be modified.
4. “More From…” links back to original Site at the end of each post must be included on content pages and may not be removed.

Print Syndication Terms of Use

1. Reproduction of screenshots from any Site is permissible, without prior written approval, so long as the site logo and URL is fully visible or otherwise included on the page. See above for general permissions on partial content.
2. The Site logo and URL must appear prominently at the top of each section displaying site content.
3. Content must appear unedited, except for replacement of hyperlinks with full URLs and use of product manufacturer’s site links where appropriate.
4. Images from a Site must not be used in print without you obtaining the appropriate copyright clearances yourself.

General Terms of Use

The Mary Sue provides this content “as is” and The Mary Sue shall not be held liable for your use of the information or the feeds.

Use of a Site’s content, including text and images, on your site, or in print, is entirely at your discretion. The Mary Sue is not responsible for any complaints regarding content or images that you choose to display on your site or in print.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED, THE MARY SUE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES INCLUDING WARRANTIES FOR MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. By accessing the RSS feeds or the XML instructions provided above, you indicate that you understand and agree to these terms and conditions.

Corresponding with The Mary Sue

Any correspondence with The Mary Sue, including any documentation or images, are considered property of The Mary Sue. The Mary Sue reserves the right to reproduce such correspondence, in whole or in part, on any of the The Mary Sue or its affiliates.

Comments Terms of Use

The comments sections on The Mary Sue are accessible to users by invitation only (such invitations coming either from The Mary Sue editors directly or by referral from existing comment users). The Mary Sue’s comment user registration system has been designed so that, if the user so chooses, they can remain completely anonymous, even to us.

In order to make our comments useful and interesting, the following guidelines have been established for comment users:

• Do not post threatening, harassing, defamatory, or libelous material.
• Do not intentionally make false or misleading statements.
• Do not offer to sell or buy any product or service.
• Do not post material that infringes copyright.
• Do not post information that you know to be confidential or sensitive or otherwise in breach of the law.
• Keep all comments relevant to the particular The Mary Sue Site where the comment is being posted.
• The Mary Sue will not accept responsibility for information posted in the Comments.

Please note that once you post a comment to one of our sites, it becomes part of the public conversation. Our policy is that we will not remove a user’s comments unless we deem them to be in violation of our Terms of Service. So if you want to say something that you will later regret personally, it is advisable that you use a username that does not identify you. We cannot remove your comments simply because you have a change of heart about making them.

Additionally, it is our policy not to delete comment accounts.

However, The Mary Sue reserves the right to remove comments entirely at its discretion, including for alleged violations of terms of service or legal rights.

The Mary Sue is not responsible for the content of user comments. If a third party complains that your comment violates our TOS or their rights, we will invite them to respond in the comments themselves. If they pursue the complaint, we will make reasonable efforts to contact you by the means you have provided us, to alert you to the situation. We will protect your contact information as described in our privacy policy, but may be compelled to turn it over pursuant to legal process.

Image and Video Terms of Use

The Mary Sue typically displays images, audio, and video (the “Material”) as part of blog posts written by our editors. The types of Material editors are authorized to use on The Mary Sue include:

• Material licensed from photographic archive and video vendors
• Material supplied to our editors or released into the public domain by public relations and marketing companies for press purposes
• Reader-submitted Material, with the implied representation that the person submitting the material owns the copyright in the material and the right to give it to us for use on our site(s)
• Material published on Flickr or other public photo / video sites with licenses granted under Creative Commons, with attribution in accordance with the CC license granted in each case
• Material commissioned by The Mary Sue
• Material that we believe to be covered by the Fair Use Doctrine, taking into account factors such as:
  1. The purpose and character of the use (i.e. transformation from the original, use for criticism, satire or parody
  2. The nature of the copyrighted work (i.e. factual or newsworthy vs creative works)
  3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the whole (i.e. use of cropped, reduced, low-resolution Material used for no more than to convey the point made)
  4. The effect on the potential market for the copyrighted work (e.g. use that is not substitutive for the original, or would never be licensed in any event)

If The Mary Sue receives notice that Material posted is not in keeping with these terms and conditions or the intended use of the Comments section where it is posted, we reserve to right to remove the material.

If you think we have published Material that infringes your copyright, we will address your concerns; however, if the material falls into one of the categories listed above, we believe that our use is legitimate and we will not remove it from the site.

Please note that we will respond only to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The text of the Act can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office Web Site, http://lcWeb.loc.gov/copyright/.

To file a notice of infringement with us, you must provide a written communication (by email with an attached and signed PDF or by fax) that sets forth the items specified below. Please do not send us regular mail, as we may not receive it in a timely fashion. In all cases, if you do not hear a response from us within 10 days of submitting a complaint, please telephone us at (646) 370-1233 to confirm that we received your original complaint. Spam blockers sometimes devour important emails from strangers!

To enable us to address your concerns, please provide the following information:

1. For each allegedly infringing image, video or piece of text that you wish to have removed from one of our sites, provide the exact permanent URL for the page containing the material.
2. Provide information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you: an email address is preferred, as well as a telephone contact number.
3. For images, provide the following information detailing your claim to ownership of the copyright in the allegedly infringing image:
   1. Proof of copyright in the image concerned, namely proof of registration of the Image under the DMCA,

   OR, absent such registration,

   1. a detailed description of where the photograph was taken, by whom, who or what the subject of the image is, AND
   2. Evidence to support your claim that you own the copyright in the image.

   We will not comply with requests to remove an image where the complainant cannot prove that they own the copyright in the image in question.

4. Include the following statement: “I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.”
5. Sign the document and fax it to: (212) 941-6720, Attn: The Mary Sue Legal / DMCA Complaints
   OR email it to: info AT themarysue DOT com, Subject: DMCA Complaints

Please note that you will be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that any material on our sites is infringing your copyrights.

Indeed, in a recent case a company that sent an infringement notification seeking removal of online materials that were protected by the Fair Use doctrine was ordered to pay such costs and attorneys` fees. The company agreed to pay over $100,000. Accordingly, if you are not sure whether material available online infringes your copyright, we suggest that you first contact an attorney.

We also reserve the right to publish your letter on the site(s).

External Links Disclaimer

The Mary Sue routinely contains links to external, third party websites. By providing links to other sites, The Mary Sue does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to The Mary Sue.

The Mary Sue does not operate or control and has no responsibility for the information, products and/or services found on any external sites. Nor do such links represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any information, products and/or services provided on or through any external sites, including, without limitation, warranties of any kind, either express or implied, warranties of title or non-infringement or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Visitors to The Mary Sue assume complete responsibility and risk in their use of any external sites. Visitors should direct any concerns regarding any external link to its site administrator or webmaster.