This web site
(“Site”) is owned and operated by Moody's. These Terms of Use (“Terms of Use”)
contain the terms, covenants, conditions, and provisions upon which you (also
referred to herein as “User”) may access and use this Site and the content,
including (without limitation) the ratings and other opinions, displayed on the
Site. These Terms of Use are current as of April 23, 2008.
By using this Site, you acknowledge that you have
read these Terms of Use, understand them, and agree to be bound by their terms and
conditions. You also hereby acknowledge that you have read and understand the
Privacy Policy and consent to Moody’s use of your Personal Data set out therein
(including, with respect to Users resident in the European Union, the transfer
of your Personal Data outside the European Economic Area). If you do not agree to these Terms of Use or the
Privacy Policy, you should not use this Site. If you
register with this Site, the user agreement you enter into as part of that
registration process will, rather than these Terms of Use, govern your use of
this Site.
Terms and Conditions
1.
Grant of License.
These Terms of Use provide you with a personal, revocable, non-exclusive,
non-transferable license to use the Site conditioned on your continued
compliance with the terms and conditions of these Terms of Use. You may, on an
occasional and irregular basis, print and download materials and information on
a Website solely for personal and non-commercial use, or, only to the extent
permitted by an Other Agreement (defined below), for internal business use,
provided that you do not obscure, alter, remove or delete any copyright or
other proprietary notices contained in such materials and information. With the
exception of the foregoing and except as otherwise expressly permitted herein,
you may not modify, create derivatives of, copy, distribute, broadcast,
transmit, reproduce, publish, license, transfer, sell, mirror, frame, “deep
link”, “scrape”, data mine, or otherwise use any information or material
obtained from or through a Website. Further, you may not post any content from
a Website to forums, newsgroups, list serves, mailing lists, electronic
bulletin boards, or other websites, without the prior written consent of
Moody’s. You warrant to Moody’s that you will not use a Website for any purpose
that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms of Use, including but not limited
to attempting or actually (i) disrupting, impairing or interfering with a
Website, (ii) collecting any information about other users of a Website,
including passwords, accounts or other information, or (iii) systematically
extracting data contained in a Website to populate databases for internal or
external business use.
2.
Intellectual Property
Rights. All material contained on the Site,
unless otherwise indicated, is protected by law including, but not limited to,
United States copyright, trade secret, and trademark law, as well as other
state, national, and international laws and regulations. The Site, its content,
layout and design are the exclusive property of Moody’s or its licensors and,
except as expressly provided herein, Moody’s does not grant any express or
implied right in any such materials to you. The contents of the Site are © 2008,
Moody's Investors Service, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. In particular and without
limitation, Moody’s owns copyright in the Site as a collective work and/or
compilation, any and all databases accessible on the Site, and in the
selection, coordination, arrangement, and enhancement of the content of the
Site. Moody’s, Moody’s Investors Service, the M Circle Logo, and all other
names, logos, and icons identifying Moody’s and/or Moody’s products and
services are proprietary marks of Moody’s or its licensors. Third party product
and company names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective
owners.
3.
Privacy Policy.
Please see Moody’s Privacy Policy for a summary of Moody’s personal data
collection and use practices with respect to the Site. By using the Site, you
consent to Moody’s collection and use of personal data as outlined therein.
4.
Password Policy.
Your use of certain portions of the Site requires a password. As part of the
registration process, you must select a member name and password and provide
Moody’s with accurate, complete and up-to-date information. Anyone with
knowledge of your password can gain access to the restricted portions of the
Site and the information available to you. Accordingly, you must keep your
password secret. By agreeing to these Terms of Use, you agree to be solely
responsible for the confidentiality and use of your respective password, as
well as for any communications entered through a Website using your password.
You will also immediately notify Moody’s if you become aware of any loss or
theft of your Password or any unauthorized use of your password. Moody’s
reserves the right to delete or change a password at any time and for any
reason.
5.
Assumption of Risk.
You use the Internet solely at your own risk and subject to all applicable
local, state, national, and international laws and regulations. While Moody’s
has endeavored to create a secure and reliable website, please be advised that
the confidentiality of any communication or material transmitted to/from a
Website over the Internet cannot be guaranteed. Accordingly, Moody’s and
Moody’s licensors and suppliers are not responsible for the security of any
information transmitted via the Internet, the accuracy of the information
contained on the Site, or for the consequences of any reliance on such information.
Moody’s and Moody’s licensors and suppliers shall have no liability for
interruptions or omissions in Internet, network or hosting services. You assume
the sole and complete risk of using the Site.
6.
Enforcing Security. Actual
or attempted unauthorized use of any of the Website may result in criminal
and/or civil prosecution. For your protection, Moody’s reserves the right to
view, monitor, and record activity on the Site without notice or further
permission from you, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Any
information obtained by monitoring, reviewing, or recording is subject to
review by law enforcement organizations in connection with the investigation or
prosecution of possible criminal activity on any of the Site. Moody’s will also
comply with all court orders involving requests for such information.
7.
Links to Other Websites.
Moody’s may provide links, in its sole discretion, to other websites on the
World Wide Web for your convenience in locating related information and
services. These websites have not necessarily been reviewed by Moody’s and are
maintained by third parties over which Moody’s exercises no control.
Accordingly, Moody’s expressly disclaims any responsibility for the content,
the accuracy of the information, the quality of products or services provided
by or advertised on and/or software downloaded from these third party websites.
Moreover, these links do not imply an endorsement of any third party or any
website or the products or services provided by any third party.
8.
Events Beyond Moody’s
Control. You expressly absolve and release
Moody’s and Moody’s licensors and suppliers from any claim of harm resulting
from a cause beyond their control, including, but not limited to, the failure
of electronic or mechanical equipment or communication lines, telephone or
other interconnect problems, computer viruses, unauthorized access, theft,
operator errors, severe weather, earthquakes, or natural disasters, strikes or
other labor problems, wars, terrorism or governmental restrictions.
9.
Disclosures.
Moody’s hereby discloses that most issuers of debt securities (including
corporate and municipal bonds, debentures, notes and commercial paper) and
preferred stock rated by Moody’s have, prior to assignment of any rating,
agreed to pay to Moody’s for the appraisal and rating services rendered by it
fees ranging from $1,500 to $2,400,000. Moody's Corporation (MCO) and its
wholly-owned credit rating agency subsidiary, Moody's Investors Service (MIS)
also maintain policies and procedures to address the independence of MIS's
ratings and rating processes. Information regarding certain affiliations that
may exist between directors of MCO and rated entities, and between entities who
hold ratings from MIS and have also publicly reported to the SEC an ownership
interest in MCO of more than 5%, is posted annually on Moody's website at
www.moodys.com under the heading "Shareholder Relations -- Corporate
Governance -- Director and Shareholder Affiliation Policy."
10. DISCLAIMERS.
Moody’s obtains all information furnished on the Site from sources believed by
it to be accurate and reliable. You expressly agree that (a) the credit ratings
and other opinions provided via the Site are, and will be construed solely as,
statements of opinion and not statements of fact as to credit worthiness or
recommendations regarding credit decisions or decisions to purchase, hold or
sell any securities or endorsements of the accuracy of any of the data or
conclusions, or attempts to independently assess or vouch for the financial
condition of any company; (b) each rating or other opinion will be weighed, if
at all, solely as one factor in any investment or credit decision made by or on
behalf of you; and (c) you will accordingly make your own study and evaluation
of each credit decision or security, and of each issuer and guarantor of, and
each provider of credit support for, each security or credit that you may
consider purchasing, holding, selling, or providing. You should always seek the
assistance of a professional for advice on investments, tax, the law, or other
professional matters. Because of the possibility of human and mechanical error
as well as other factors, the Site and all related materials, products,
services and information are provided on an "as is" and as available
basis without representation or warranty of any kind, and MOODY'S AND ITS
LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY AS TO THE ACCURACY, RESULTS, TIMELINESS,
COMPLETENESS, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH RESPECT
TO THE SITE OR ANY RELATED MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, SERVICES OR INFORMATION.
Moody’s makes no representation that materials on the Site are appropriate or
available for use in any particular locations, and access to them from
territories where any of the contents of a Website are illegal is prohibited.
If you choose to access a Website from such locations, you do so on your own
volition and are responsible for compliance with any applicable local laws. You
agree and acknowledge that no oral or written information or advice given by
Moody’s or any of its employees or agents in respect to the Site shall
constitute a representation or a warranty unless such information or advice is
incorporated into these Terms of Use by a written agreement. FURTHER, THE
INFORMATION, MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES AVAILABLE ON A WEBSITE MAY
INCLUDE INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS, AND THERE MAY BE TIMES WHEN A
WEBSITE OR ITS CONTENTS ARE UNAVAILABLE. MOREOVER, MOODY’S MAY MAKE
MODIFICATIONS AND/OR CHANGES TO THE SITE OR TO THE INFORMATION, MATERIALS,
PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES DESCRIBED ON THE SITE AT ANY TIME, FOR ANY REASON. YOU
ASSUME THE SOLE RISK OF MAKING USE AND/OR RELYING ON THE INFORMATION,
MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES AVAILABLE ON THE SITE.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL MOODY’S OR ITS LICENSORS OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO
YOU FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, COMPENSATION, REIMBURSEMENT OR DAMAGES ON
ACCOUNT OF THE LOSS OF PRESENT OR PROSPECTIVE PROFITS, EXPENDITURES,
INVESTMENTS OR COMMITMENTS, WHETHER MADE IN THE ESTABLISHMENT, DEVELOPMENT OR
MAINTENANCE OF BUSINESS REPUTATION OR GOODWILL, FOR LOSS OF DATA, COST OF
SUBSTITUTE MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, SERVICES OR INFORMATION, COST OF CAPITAL, AND
THE CLAIMS OF ANY THIRD PARTY, OR FOR ANY OTHER REASON WHATSOEVER, EVEN IF
MOODY’S OR ITS LICENSORS OR SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
DAMAGES.
TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, MOODY’S AND ITS LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS
DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ANY DIRECT DAMAGES BASED ON YOUR USE OF A WEBSITE AND
ITS CONTENT.
IN ANY EVENT, THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF MOODY’S AND ITS LICENSORS AND
SUPPLIERS FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER RELATED TO USE OF ANY WEBSITE AND ITS
CONTENT SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY THE USER
FOR SERVICES PROVIDED VIA SUCH WEBSITE PURSUANT TO THESE TERMS OF USE DURING
THE 12 MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY, OR (B)
U.S. $100.
11. Indemnity.
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Moody’s, its licensors and suppliers,
all of their affiliates, and all of their respective officers, directors,
employees, shareholders, legal representatives, agents, successors and assigns,
from and against any damages, liabilities, costs and expenses (including
reasonable attorneys’ and professionals' fees and court costs) arising out of
any third party claims based on or related to your use of the Site or any breach
by you of these Terms of Use.
12. Submissions.
Moody’s also welcomes your feedback and suggestions about how to improve a
Website. Any ideas, suggestions, information, know-how, material, or any other
content (collectively, “Submissions”) received through a Website, however, will
be deemed to include a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive right
and license for Moody’s to adopt, publish, reproduce, disseminate, transmit,
distribute, copy, use, create derivative works, display, (in whole or part)
worldwide, or act on such Submissions without additional approval or
consideration, in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed
for the full term of any rights that may exist in such Submissions. You hereby
waive any claim to the contrary.
13. Event
Participation.
You may register for any Moody’s hosted event (including briefings and
teleconferences) from the “Events Page” located on a Website. If you are not
already entitled to participate in a given Moody’s hosted event free of charge
(for example, because you are a Moody’s research client and such event is
included in your subscription fee), you may be required to pay the posted fee
for each event you choose to attend at the time of registration, whether you
self-register online, or a Moody’s employee registers you at your request by
telephone or e-mail.
14. Governing
Law. These Terms of Use, including
(without limitation) any disputes relating to the content the Site, whether
sounding in contract, tort, statute or otherwise, is governed by the laws of
the State of New York, without reference to its conflict of law principles and
without regard to the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale
of Goods.
15. Dispute
Resolution. Any dispute, controversy or claim
arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use, including any disputes
relating to the content of Site, whether sounding in contract, tort, statute or
otherwise, shall be finally resolved by arbitration. The arbitration shall be
conducted by one arbitrator in English and in accordance with the International
Rules of the American Arbitration Association, which shall administer the
arbitration and act as appointing authority. The place of the arbitration shall
be New York, New York. The decision of the arbitrators shall be binding upon
the parties hereto, and the expense of the arbitration (including without
limitation the award of attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party) shall be paid
as the arbitrators determine. The decision of the arbitrator may be entered by
any court of competent jurisdiction. You agree to submit to the jurisdiction of
the state and federal courts in New York for the purposes of any judicial
proceedings to obtain interim relief and in aid of the arbitration or judicial
proceedings to confirm or enforce the award. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
Moody’s may seek preliminary injunctive relief from a court of law in the event
of a breach by you.
16. Term,
Termination, Amendments. These Terms of Use will
take effect when you first commence using the Site. Moody’s reserves the right
at any time and for any reason to deny you access to the Site or any portion
thereof. Termination will be effective
without notice. Please note that Moody’s reserves the right to change the terms
and conditions of these Terms of Use upon notice, which may be given by Moody’s
posting such change on the Site, by e-mail, or any other reasonable way. If a
change is notified by a posting on the Site, it shall be deemed to take effect
when posted; if a change is notified by e-mail, it shall be deemed to take
effect when the e-mail is sent; and if a modification is notified in any other
way, it shall be deemed to take effect when the relevant notice is sent or
issued by or on behalf of Moody’s. Your continued use of a Website following
notice of such modifications will be conclusively deemed acceptance of any
changes to these Terms of Use. You agree that notice of changes to these Terms
of Use on the Site, delivered by email, or provided in any other reasonable way
constitutes reasonable and sufficient notice.
17. Waiver.
Failure to insist on strict performance of any of the terms and conditions of
these Terms of Use will not operate as a waiver of any subsequent default or
failure of performance. No waiver by Moody’s of any right under these Terms of
Use will be deemed to be either a waiver of any other right or provision or a
waiver of that same right or provision at any other time.
18. Nature
of Relationship / Severability. No joint venture,
partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and Moody’s
as a result of these Terms of Use or your utilization of a Website. If any
provision of these Terms of Use is held unenforceable by a court or tribunal of
competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent
permissible so as to effect the intent of the parties, and the remainder of
these Terms of Use shall continue in full force and effect.
19. Entire
Agreement/Reservation of Rights. Your rights to use
certain material available on or through a Website may be subject to separate
written agreements with Moody’s (“Other Agreements”). Particular pages or
features of a Website with content supplied by Moody’s or its licensors may
have different or additional terms ("Special Terms"), which will be
disclosed to you when you access those pages or features, and by accessing or
using such pages and features, you will be deemed to have agreed to the
applicable Special Terms. If there is a conflict between these Terms of Use and
the Special Terms, the Special Terms will govern with respect to such pages or
features or content. In the event of a conflict between these Terms of Use and
one or more Other Agreements, the terms of such Other Agreement(s) shall govern
and control. . With the exception of any
Special Terms and Other Agreements, these Terms and Conditions and Moody’s
Privacy Policy represent the entire agreement between you and Moody’s with
respect to your use of and material available on or through the Site, and it
supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether
electronic, oral, or written between you and Moody’s with respect to the
Site. Any rights not expressly granted
herein are reserved.
20. CUSIP
Database. You agree and acknowledge that the
CUSIP Database and the information contained therein is and shall remain
valuable intellectual property owned by, or licensed to, Standard & Poor’s
CUSIP Service Bureau ("CSB") and the American Bankers Association
("ABA"), and that no proprietary rights are being transferred to you
in such materials or in any of the information contained therein. Any use by you outside of the clearing and
settlement of transactions requires a license from CSB, along with an
associated fee based on usage. You agree that misappropriation or misuse of
such materials will cause serious damage to CSB and ABA, and that in such event
money damages may not constitute sufficient compensation to CSB and ABA;
consequently, you agree that in the event of any misappropriation or misuse,
CSB and ABA shall have the right to obtain injunctive relief in addition to any
other legal or financial remedies to which CSB and ABA may be entitled. You agree that you shall not publish or
distribute in any medium the CUSIP Database or any information contained therein
or summaries or subsets thereof to any person or entity except in connection
with the normal clearing and settlement of security transactions. You further
agree that the use of CUSIP numbers and descriptions is not intended to create
or maintain, and does not serve the purpose of the creation or maintenance of,
a master file or database of CUSIP descriptions or numbers for itself or any
third party recipient of such service and is not intended to create and does
not serve in any way as a substitute for the CUSIP MASTER TAPE, PRINT, DB, INTERNET,
ELECTRONIC, CD-ROM Services and/or any other future services developed by the
CSB.
NEITHER CSB, ABA NOR ANY OF THEIR AFFILIATES MAKE ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, AS TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY OF THE INFORMATION
CONTAINED IN THE CUSIP DATABASE. ALL SUCH MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN
"AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES AS TO MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE NOR WITH RESPECT TO THE RESULTS WHICH
MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF SUCH MATERIALS.
NEITHER CSB, ABA NOR THEIR AFFILIATES SHALL HAVE ANY RESPONSIBILITY OR
LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS NOR SHALL THEY BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES,
WHETHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE LIABILITY OF CSB, ABA OR ANY OF THEIR AFFILIATES
PURSUANT TO ANY CAUSE OF ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE,
EXCEED THE FEE PAID BY YOU FOR ACCESS TO SUCH MATERIALS IN THE MONTH IN WHICH
SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION IS ALLEGED TO HAVE ARISEN.
FURTHERMORE, CSB AND ABA SHALL HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR
DELAYS OR FAILURES DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND THEIR CONTROL.
You agree that the foregoing terms and conditions shall survive any termination
of your rights of access to the materials identified above.
21. Acknowledgement
and Agreement. By using this Site, you acknowledge
that you have read these Terms of Use, understand them, and agree to be bound
by their terms and conditions. You also hereby acknowledge that you have read
and understand the Privacy Policy and consent to Moody’s use of your Personal
Data set out therein (including, with respect to Users resident in the European
Union, the transfer of your Personal Data outside the European Economic Area).
If you would like to contact Moody’s