GIA: About GIA: User Agreement and Disclaimer

Last updated 09/22/00

LEGAL NOTICE, DISCLAIMER, AND TERMS OF USE
This World Wide Web site with its home page in the domain "gia.edu" (the "Web site") is a complimentary information service offered by the Gemological Institute of America, Inc. ("GIA") at no charge to users of the World Wide Web, with the express condition that these users agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set forth in this User Agreement. GIA reserves the right to change these terms and conditions any time. You must consult the most recent version of this User Agreement (not an older cached version) each time you view the Web site. Access to and use of this Web site is provided subject to these terms and conditions. PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY AS USE OF THIS SITE CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
You acknowledge that the services, information or data (collectively, "Information") on the Web site is provided "As Is" for general information only. GIA makes no warranties of any kind regarding this Web site, including, but not limited to, any warranty of accuracy, completeness, currency, reliability, implied merchantability or implied fitness for a particular purpose, or any warranty that these pages, or the server that makes them available, are free of viruses or other harmful elements. GIA makes no warranty, representation or guaranty that the Information may be relied on for any reason, that the Information will be uninterrupted or error-free or that any defects can be corrected. All warranties, including the implied warranty of merchantability, non-infringement and implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose are hereby expressly disclaimed. GIA shall have absolutely no liability in connection with the Information including without limitation, any liability for damage to your computer hardware, data, information, materials and business resulting from information or lack of information on the GIA Web site. You agree GIA shall have no liability for: (1) any loss or injury caused, in whole or in part, by its actions, omissions or negligence or for contingencies beyond its control, in procuring, compiling or delivering the Information; (2) any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in the Information regardless of how caused, or delays or interruptions in delivery of the Information; or (3) any decision made or taken or not taken in reliance upon the Information.

You agree that you will hold harmless GIA and its governors, officers, directors, and employees from all claims arising out of or related to your access or use of, or your inability to access or use, this Web site or the Information contained in this Web site or other Web sites to which it is linked, including but not limited to claims that you have found something you have heard, viewed or downloaded from this Web site or another Web site to which it is linked to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, or infringing upon your intellectual property rights. In no event will GIA or the contributors of Information to this Web site be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken by you in reliance on such Information or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if GIA or the contributors of Information are advised of the possibility of such damages.

You acknowledge that opinions and recommendations contained in this Web site are not necessarily those of the GIA or endorsed by GIA.

GEMOLOGICAL INFORMATION DISCLAIMER
The Information provided in or made available through the GIA Web site (including, but not limited to, message boards, text files, chat rooms or auditoriums, is not intended to replace the services of a trained jeweler or gemologist regarding analysis or appraisal of any particular gem or jewelry item or to be a substitute for their advice regarding gem value or other commercial evaluation. The user is advised to consult with a trained jeweler or gemologist prior to purchasing any particular gem or piece of jewelry.

LINKING TO GIA
You may provide a link to this Web site on another Web site, provided you agree to the Link conditions described below. By establishing a link to a GIA Web site you agree to these link conditions.

that the link solely consists of the "To learn more about GIA" link button, with image and text supplied by GIA;
that you will update all images and text within seven days after receipt of notice of any changes from GIA. GIA may modify images and text at any time;
that the link must "point" to the URL "http://www.gia.edu" and not to other pages within the GIA Web site;
that except for a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free license to use the link button on your Web site solely for the purpose of providing a hyperlink to GIA's Web site, you acknowledge and agree that (i) GIA's trademarks, name and linking button, including, but not limited to, the familiar "GIA" mark and "GIA trio logo" (collectively, the "Marks"), GIA's Web site and its contents are and shall remain the sole property of GIA, (ii) nothing in this Agreement shall give you any right of ownership in the Marks, link button or GIA's Web site; (iii) you shall not now or in the future contest the validity of the Marks; and (iv) you shall not take any action that would impair the value or goodwill associated with the Marks, link button or GIA's image or reputation; (v) you shall not use the link button in any way that might be misleading;
that you will not use the link or link button to disparage GIA and its services;
that the appearance, position and other aspects of the link button may not be such as to misrepresent your relationship with GIA, or present false or misleading impressions about GIA or its services;
that the appearance, position and other aspects of the link button may not create the false appearance that you or any non-GIA entity or any non- GIA product or service is associated with, or endorsed, or sponsored by GIA;
that the link, when activated by a user, must display this Web site full-screen and not with a "frame" on the linked Web site or use other techniques which alter the visual presentation or content of GIA's Web site, such as the imposition of browser windows or third party content;
that the link button may only be used on your Web site, and not for any other purpose including, but not limited to promotion, advertising or publicity for your Web site;
that the link button must be displayed adjacent to a reference to GIA or at the bottom of that same page;
that the link button must be surrounded on all sides by a clear zone. The clear zone must measure no less than the height of the button;
that you may not alter or change the link button in any way, including color, size, proportions, etc. or animate or change its perspective;
that you may not deviate or edit any of the technical code that accompanies the button;
that the linking Web site may not contain materials that may be interpreted as distasteful or offensive and should be appropriate for all age groups;
that GIA has the right to terminate this Agreement with or without cause at any time, and may amend this Agreement without notice at any time;
that you agree to defend, indemnify and hold GIA, its trustees, officers, employees and agents from and against any claims, demands, damages, causes of action, loss or judgments arising from your breach of this Agreement or your hyperlink to GIA's Web site.

YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT THE USE OF GIA's MATERIALS, MARKS, LINK BUTTON AND WEB SITE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. GIA DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ITS SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE, GIA PROVIDES THIS ACCESS "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. GIA DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND WARRANTY OF NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT WILL GIA BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFIT, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR OTHER LOSS ARISING OUT OF OR RESULTING FROM THIS AGREEMENT OR THE USE OF ANY OF THE MATERIALS, MARKS OR LINK BUTTON UNDER THIS AGREEMENT OR ACCESS TO ANY OF THE SERVICES DESCRIBED IN THIS AGREEMENT EVEN IF GIA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THE FOREGOING SHALL APPLY REGARDLESS OF THE NEGLIGENCE OF GIA AND REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH LIABILITY IS FOUND IN CONTRACTS, NEGLIGENCE, TORT OR ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY.

GIA reserves the right to revoke its consent to the link at any time in its sole discretion by amending this Hyperlink Agreement.

You agree that any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or any content posted to the GIA Web site including copies and republication thereof, whether based in contract, tort, statutory or other law, will be governed by the laws of the State of California, excluding its conflicts of law provisions. You further consent to the personal jurisdiction of and exclusive venue in the federal and state courts located in and serving SAN DIEGO County, California as the legal forum for any such dispute.

If you will agree to these Link conditions to use the link button, please go to the GIA Hyperlink Agreement.

USE OF MATERIAL ON GIA WEB SITE
The works of authorship contained in this Web site, including but not limited to all design, text and images, are owned or licensed by GIA, and may not be copied, reproduced, transmitted, displayed, performed, distributed, rented, sublicensed, altered, stored by subsequent use or otherwise used in whole or in part in any manner without GIA's prior written consent, except that the user may make such temporarily copies in a single computer's RAM and hard drive cache as are necessary to browse the Web site, and the user may make one permanent printout of each page of the Web site (unmodified in form, with a copy of this User Agreement attached) to be used by the user for personal and non-commercial uses which do not harm the reputation and interests of GIA or create a likelihood of confusion as to its trademarks. GIA does not waive any of its proprietary rights in the Web site or Information including, but not limited to, copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property rights.

ENDORSEMENTS
GIA does not endorse any specific commercial product or company mentioned on the GIA Web site or any commercial product or company linked to this Web site.

GIA CONTROL OF WEB SITE
This Web site (excluding linked sites) is controlled by GIA which is headquartered in the State of California, United States of America. It can be accessed from all 50 states, as well as from other countries around the world. As each of these places has laws that may differ from those of California, by accessing this Web site both you and GIA agree that the statutes and laws of the State of California, without regard to conflicts of laws principles thereof, will apply to all matters arising from or relating to use of this Web site. You and the Gemological Institute of America also agree and hereby submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of the Superior Court of San Diego County, California, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of California with respect to such matters. GIA makes no representation that materials on the Web site are appropriate or available for use in other locations, and accessing them from territories where their contents are illegal is prohibited. Those who choose to access this Web site from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

OTHER
For purposes of disclaimer, GIA shall include Gemological Institute of America, its governors, officers, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees and any third party providers or sources of information or data.

COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK NOTICES
Copyright © GIA 2000, all rights reserved. GIA, Gemological Institute of America, the GIA seal, Diamond Dossier and the GIA Trio logo are the registered trademarks of GIA.

LICENSES AND IDEA SUBMISSIONS
You agree to grant to the GIA Web site a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license, with the right to sublicense, to reproduce, distribute, transmit, create derivative works of, publicly display and publicly perform any materials and other information (including, without limitation, ideas contained therein for new or improved products or services) you submit to public areas of the GIA Web site by all means and in any media now known or hereafter developed. You hereby waive your moral rights in any such materials and information, and you hereby warrant that any such materials and information are original with you, or that you have the right to submit such materials and information. You agree that you shall have no recourse against GIA for any alleged or actual infringement or misappropriation of any proprietary right in your communication to us.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
Under no circumstances shall GIA be liable for any losses or damages whatsoever, whether in contract, tort or otherwise, from the use of, or reliance on, the Information or from the use of the Internet generally.