Terms of Use
Last Updated February 27, 2022
This website (located at www.innovatorslegal.com, the “Innovators Site“) including all data, text, reports, templates, agreements and other materials made available or enabled via the Innovators Site and all newsletters, podcasts, videos, webinars, and other content advertised or provided (the “Innovators Materials“) have been prepared by The Sears Group, LLC dba Innovators Legal (“Innovators”) for informational purposes only and do not constitute advertising, a solicitation, or legal advice. By accessing or using the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials in any way, by registering for any webinar, by subscribing to or listening to any podcast, by clicking on the “I accept” button, and/or by browsing the Innovators Site, you agree to follow and be bound by these Terms. These Terms govern (1) the information made available or enabled via the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials; (2) the nature of the relationship between you and Innovators; (3) certain other matters of professional responsibility; and (4) your use of this Innovators Site, the Innovators Materials, and related systems. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials. The Terms require the use of arbitration on an individual basis to resolve disputes, rather than jury trials or class actions, and also limit the remedies available to you in the event of a dispute.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TERMS OF USE ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE BY INNOVATORS IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION AT ANY TIME. When changes are made, Innovators will make a new copy of the Terms of Use available on the Innovators Site. We will also update the “Last Updated” date at the top of the Terms of Use. You should check these Terms of Use, available through a link on every page of the Innovators Site, each time you use the Innovators Site to determine if any changes have been made. If you use the Innovators Site after the amended Terms of Use have been posted, you will be deemed to have agreed to the amended Terms of Use.
1. No Legal or Tax Advice. Through your use of the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials, you may be given access to certain legal information and access to certain self-help, “fill in the blank” forms (the “Forms“). The Innovators Site and the Innovators Materials are not intended to constitute specific legal, tax and/or accounting advice or to be a substitute for advice from qualified counsel and other tax or accounting professionals. Any opinions expressed on the Innovators Site or in the Innovators Materials are the opinions of the particular author and may not reflect the opinions of Innovators or any individual agent or attorney working for or with Innovators. Without limiting the foregoing, the Innovators Site and the Innovators Materials may not reflect recent developments in the law, may not be complete, and may not be accurate in or applicable to your jurisdiction. Because the Innovators Site and Innovators Materials are general in nature and may not pertain to your specific circumstances, you should not act or refrain from acting based on the Innovators Site or any Innovators Materials without first obtaining advice from professional counsel qualified in the applicable subject matter and jurisdiction.
2. No Attorney-Client Relationship. Innovators has a policy of entering into attorney-client relationships with its clients only in accordance with certain procedures which include executing an engagement letter and addressing professional responsibility conflicts as required by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the Bar Associations of the states which Innovators is subject to due to our presence or conducting of business in those states. You agree that your access and use of the Innovators Site, your access and use of the Innovators Materials, or your transmission of e-mails to addresses on the Innovators Site, does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Innovators. You should not send us any confidential information in connection with your use of the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials. Such responses will not create an attorney-client relationship, and whatever you disclose to us will not be privileged or confidential unless we have agreed to act as your legal counsel and you have executed an engagement letter with us.
3. Other Matters of Professional Responsibility.
3.1 No Advertising or Solicitation. The Innovators Site and Innovators Materials are not intended to be an advertisement or solicitation, but may be deemed an ADVERTISEMENT in certain jurisdictions. Under New York State Lawyer’s Code of Professional Responsibility, the content of the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials might contain advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each representation has unique facts and circumstances that may impact results.
3.2 Sensitive Communications. You agree that e-mails sent by you to Innovators will not be treated as confidential or invoke an attorney-client privilege; provided, however, that if you are an existing client of Innovators and you send an e-mail to Innovators pertaining to a matter in which Innovators then represents you, such e-mail may be entitled to be treated as confidential or privileged. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you acknowledge that e-mail and the Internet are generally insecure media of communication, and Innovators cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any e-mail sent to or received by it or any information submitted by you to Innovators through the Innovators Site.
3.3 Principal Office, Responsible Attorney. Innovators is a virtual firm, does not maintain physical offices in every state where we conduct business, and no individual Innovators attorney is admitted to practice in all locations where we may conduct business. Please consult the attorney biographies on the Innovators Site to determine the particular jurisdictions in which individual Innovators attorneys are licensed to practice. Innovators is a limited liability company; as such, it does not have partners, it has members who are the equivalent of shareholders. Because of the prevalence in the industry to refer to members as partners, we have referred to them as such throughout the Innovators Site. If the State Bar Rules in your jurisdiction require us to designate a principal office and/or a single attorney responsible for the Innovators Site, Innovators designates its Atlanta, Georgia office as its principal office and designates John Sears as the person responsible for the Innovators Site.
4. Ownership. You acknowledge that the Innovators Site and the Innovators Materials are protected by copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents or other proprietary rights, and that these worldwide rights are valid and protected in all forms, media and technologies now existing or hereafter developed. You agree to comply with all intellectual property laws and you shall not encumber any interest in, or assert any rights to, the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials. You are granted a limited, non-sublicensable license to access and use the Innovators Site and the Innovators Materials, to electronically copy (except where prohibited without a license) and print to hard copy portions of the Innovators Materials for your informational, non-commercial and personal use only. Such license is subject to these Terms and does not include: (1) any resale or commercial use of the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials; (2) the distribution, public performance or public display of all or any portion of the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials; (3) modifying or otherwise making any derivative uses of the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials; (4) use of any data mining, robots or similar data gathering or extraction methods; (5) downloading (other than the page caching) of any portion of the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials, except as expressly permitted on the Innovators Site; (6) making any portion of the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials available through any timesharing system, service bureau, the Internet or any other technology now existing or developed in the future; (7) using any automatic or manual process to harvest information from the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials; or (8) any use of the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials for other than its intended purpose. Unless expressly stated herein, nothing in these Terms shall be construed as conferring any license to intellectual property rights, whether by estoppel, implication or otherwise. This license is revocable at any time.
4.1 Use of Legal Forms. You understand that download and/or use of a Form is neither legal nor tax advice nor does it constitute the practice of law, and that each Form and any applicable instruction or guidance is not customized to your particular needs.
4.2 License to Use. Innovators grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use our Forms for your own personal internal business use. Except as otherwise provided and to the extent permitted under applicable law, you acknowledge and agree that you have no right to modify edit, copy, reproduce, create derivative works of, reverse engineer, alter, enhance or in any way exploit any of the Forms in any manner, except for modifications in filling out the Forms for your authorized use. You shall not remove any copyright notice from any Form.
4.3 Resale of Forms Prohibited. By downloading Forms, you agree that the Forms you download may only be used by you for your personal or internal business use and may not be sold or redistributed without the express written consent of Innovators.
4.4 Linking and Framing. We prohibit the use of any links to the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials from any other websites unless establishment of such a link is approved in advance by us in writing. You may not frame any elements of the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials with any other website without our prior written permission.
5. Limited Permission to Download. Innovators hereby grants you permission to download, view, copy and print the Innovators Site and the Innovators Materials solely for your personal, informational, non-commercial use, provided that (1) where provided, the copyright and trademark notices appearing on any Innovators Site and the Innovators Materials not be altered or removed, (2) the Innovators Site and the Innovators Materials are not used on any other website or in a networked computer environment, and (3) the Innovators Site and the Innovators Materials are not modified in any way, except for authorized editing or downloadable forms for personal use. This permission terminates automatically without notice if you breach any of the provisions of these Terms. Any unauthorized use of the Innovators Site and the Innovators Materials may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, laws of privacy and publicity, data protection laws and communications regulations and statutes. Innovators does not grant you any rights in its trademarks.
6. Disclaimer of Warranties. YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, YOUR USE OF THE INNOVATORS SITE AND INNOVATORS MATERIALS, INCLUDING THE FORMS, IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK, AND THE INNOVATORS SITE AND INNOVATORS MATERIALS, INCLUDING THE FORMS, IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITH ALL FAULTS. INNOVATORS AND ITS PARTNERS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS (COLLECTIVELY, THE “INNOVATORS PARTIES”) EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS AND CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, RELATED TO THE INNOVATORS SITE AND THE INNOVATORS MATERIALS, INCLUDING THE FORMS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED TERMS, WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABIILTY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. The Forms may be inappropriate for your particular circumstances. Furthermore, state laws or national laws may require different or additional provisions to ensure the desired result. You should consult with legal counsel to determine the appropriate legal or business documents necessary for your particular transactions, as the Forms are only samples and may not be applicable to a particular situation.
7. Limitation of Liability. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY OF THE INNOVATORS PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS WHETHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT OR FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE INNOVATORS SITE WHETHER OR NOT INNOVATORS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THE AGGREGATE CUMULATIVE LIABILITY OF THE INNOVATORS PARTIES IN CONNECTION WITH ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE INNOVATORS SITE SHALL NOT EXCEED $100 (USD), AND THAT AMOUNT SHALL BE IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER REMEDIES WHICH YOU MAY HAVE AGAINST THE INNOVATORS PARTIES.
8. Indemnification. You agree to make the Innovators Parties whole for any and all claims, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) arising from your use of the Innovators Site or any violation of these Terms.
9. Responsibility for User Content.
9.1 Types of Content. You acknowledge that you, and not Innovators, are entirely responsible for all information, data text, messages and/or other materials (“Content“) that you upload, post, e-mail, transmit or otherwise make available (“Make Available“) through the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials (“Your Content“), and other users of the Innovators Site, and not Innovators, are similarly responsible for all Content they Make Available through the Innovators Site.
9.2 No Obligation to Pre-Screen Content. You acknowledge that Innovators has no obligation to pre-screen Content (including but not limited to Your Content and other Content uploaded, posted, transmitted or otherwise made available by third parties on the Innovators Site), although Innovators reserves the right in its sole discretion to pre-screen, refuse or remove any Content. By entering into the Terms, you hereby provide your irrevocable consent to such monitoring. You acknowledge and agree that you have no expectation of privacy concerning the transmission of Your Content, including without limitation chat, text or voice communications. In the event that Innovators pre-screens, refuses or removes any Content, you acknowledge that Innovators will do so for Innovators’s benefit, not yours. Without limiting the foregoing, Innovators shall have the right to remove any Content that violates the Terms, violates any applicable laws, regulations or codes, or is otherwise objectionable.
9.3 Storage. Innovators has no obligation to store any of Your Content that you Make Available on the Innovators Site. Innovators has no responsibility or liability for the deletion or accuracy of any Content, including Your Content; the failure to store, transmit or receive transmission of Content; or the security, privacy, storage or transmission of other communications originating with or involving use of the Innovators Site.
9.4 Personal Data. Where Your Content contains your personal data (such as your name and voice), Innovators will collect, use and disclose your personal data in compliance with all applicable personal data protection laws and our privacy policy.
10. Acceptable Use Policy. As a condition of use, you agree not to use the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials for any purpose that is prohibited by the Terms or by applicable law. You shall not (and shall not permit any third party to) (1) take any action or (2) Make Available any Content on or through the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials that: (a) infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of publicity, personal data or other right of any person or entity; (b) is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, fraudulent, invasive of another’s privacy, tortious, obscene, offensive, or profane; (c) constitutes unauthorized or unsolicited advertising, junk or bulk e-mail; (d) involves commercial activities and/or sales without Innovators’s prior written consent, such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising, or pyramid schemes; (e) impersonates any person or entity, including any employee or representative of Innovators; (f) interferes with, or attempts to interfere with, the proper functioning of the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials, or uses the Innovators Site or Innovators Materials in any way not expressly permitted by the Terms; or (g) attempts to engage in, or engages in, any potentially harmful acts that are directed against the Innovators Site, including but not limited to violating or attempting to violate any security features of the Innovators Site, using manual or automated software or other means to access, “scrape,” “crawl” or “spider” any pages contained in the Innovators Site or any Innovators Materials, introducing viruses, worms, or similar harmful code into the Innovators Site, or interfering or attempting to interfere with use of the Innovators Site by any other user, host or network, including by means of overloading, “flooding,” “spamming,” “mail bombing,” or “crashing” the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials.
11. Dispute Resolution.
11.1 Arbitration. Any claim or dispute (including whether the claims asserted are arbitrable but excluding claims for injunctive or other equitable relief as set forth below) arising out of or related to these Terms or your use of the Innovators Materials shall be referred to and finally determined by binding and confidential arbitration in accordance with sections 11.1 to 11.4 of these Terms. Arbitration shall be subject to the Federal Arbitration Act and not any state arbitration law. The arbitration shall be conducted before one commercial arbitrator with substantial experience in resolving commercial contract disputes from the American Arbitration Association (“AAA“). As modified by the Terms, and unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties in writing, the arbitration will be governed by the AAA’s Commercial Arbitration Rules. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Innovators may seek injunctive or other equitable relief to protect its intellectual property rights in any court of competent jurisdiction. You are thus GIVING UP YOUR RIGHT TO GO TO COURT to assert or defend your rights EXCEPT for matters that may be taken to small claims court. Your rights will be determined by a NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR and NOT a judge or jury. You are entitled to a FAIR HEARING, BUT the arbitration procedures are SIMPLER AND MORE LIMITED THAN RULES APPLICABLE IN COURT. Arbitrator decisions are as enforceable as any court order and are subject to VERY LIMITED REVIEW BY A COURT.
11.2 Rules. You and Innovators must abide by the following rules: (1) ANY CLAIMS BROUGHT BY YOU OR INNOVATORS MUST BE BROUGHT IN THE PARTIES’ INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING; (2) THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT CONSOLIDATE MORE THAN ONE PERSON’S CLAIMS, MAY NOT OTHERWISE PRESIDE OVER ANY FORM OF A REPRESENTATIVE OR CLASS PROCEEDING, AND MAY NOT AWARD CLASS-WIDE RELIEF; (3) in the event that you are able to demonstrate that the costs of arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to costs of litigation, Innovators will pay as much of your filing and hearing fees in connection with the arbitration as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the arbitration from being cost-prohibitive as compared to the cost of litigation; (4) Innovators also reserves the right in its sole and exclusive discretion to assume responsibility for all of the costs of the arbitration; (5) the arbitrator shall honor claims of privilege and privacy recognized at law; (6) the arbitration shall be confidential, and neither you nor we may disclose the existence, content or results of any arbitration, except as may be required by law or for the purposes of enforcement of the arbitration award; (7) the arbitrator may award any individual relief or individual remedies that are permitted by applicable law; and (8) each side pays its own attorneys’ fees and expenses unless there is a statutory provision that requires the prevailing party to be paid its fees and litigation expenses, and then in such instance, the fees and costs awarded shall be determined by applicable law.
11.3 Proceedings and Award. The arbitral proceedings, and all pleadings and written evidence will be in the English language. Any written evidence originally in a language other than English will be submitted in English translation accompanied by the original or true copy thereof. The English language version will control. The arbitrator shall issue a written award and statement of decision describing the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based, including the calculation of any damages awarded. The arbitrator will not have authority to award damages in excess of the amount, or other than the types, allowed by Section 7 of the Terms. Judgment on the award of the arbitrator may be entered by any court of competent jurisdiction. The arbitrator also shall be authorized to grant any temporary, preliminary or permanent equitable remedy or relief it deems just and equitable and within the scope of the Terms, including, without limitation, an injunction or order for specific performance. The arbitration award shall be final and binding upon the parties without appeal or review except as permitted by California law or United States federal law.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, either you or Innovators may bring an individual action in small claims court. Such claims shall be exclusively brought in the state or federal courts located in Fulton or Cobb County, Georgia. Additionally, notwithstanding this agreement to arbitrate, either party may seek emergency equitable relief before the state or federal courts located in Fulton or Cobb County, Georgia, in order to maintain the status quo pending arbitration, and each party hereby agrees to submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the courts located within Fulton or Cobb County, Georgia, for such purpose. A request for interim measures shall not be deemed a waiver of the right to arbitrate.
11.4 With the exception of subsections 11.2(1) and 11.2(2) above (prohibiting arbitration on a class or collective basis), if any part of this arbitration provision is deemed to be invalid, unenforceable, or illegal, or otherwise conflicts with the Rules and Procedures, then the balance of this arbitration provision shall remain in effect and shall be construed in accordance with its terms as if the invalid, unenforceable, illegal or conflicting provision were not contained herein. If, however, either subsection 11.2(1) or 11.2(2) is found to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal, then the entirety of this arbitration provision shall be null and void, and neither you nor Innovators shall be entitled to arbitration. If for any reason, a claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration, the dispute shall be exclusively brought in state or federal court in Fulton or Cobb County, Georgia. By using the Innovators Site or the Innovators Materials in any manner, you agree to the above arbitration provision.
For more information on AAA, its Rules and Procedures, and how to file an arbitration claim, you may call AAA at 800-778-7879 or visit the AAA website at http://www.adr.org.
11.5 Governing Law. The Terms, and any action related thereto will be governed and interpreted by and under the laws of the State of Georgia, consistent with the Federal Arbitration Act, without giving effect to any principles that provide for the application of the law of another jurisdiction.
12. General.
12.1 Termination. Notwithstanding any of these Terms, Innovators reserves the right, without notice and in its sole discretion, to terminate your license to use the Innovators Site, and to block or prevent your future access to the Innovators Site.
12.2 Submissions. You acknowledge and agree that any questions, comments, suggestions, feedback, ideas or other information or materials regarding the Innovators Site (but excluding any client information) (the “Feedback“) that is provided by you in the form of e-mail or other submissions or suggestions to Innovators, whether provided by you when accessing Innovators Materials or in any postings on the Innovators Site, are (as between you and Innovators) non-confidential and shall become the sole property of Innovators. Innovators shall own exclusive rights, including all intellectual property rights, and shall be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of such Feedback for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgement or compensation to you.
12.3 IRS Circular 230. Any discussion of U.S. tax matters contained herein (including any Innovators Materials available at the Site) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (1) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (2) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or other matter. The foregoing language is intended to satisfy the requirements under the regulations in Section 10.35 of Circular 230.
12.4 Third Party Information. We may hyperlink to or otherwise make third party information available on the Innovators Site. This is done solely for the purposes of convenience. We do not endorse or approve of any such third party information or such third parties. If you decide to access linked third party sites, you do so at your own risk. You should direct any concerns regarding any third party sites to the administrator of the applicable third party site. You should also refer to the separate terms of use, privacy policies, and other rules posted on the third party sites before you use them.
12.5 Waiver. Any waiver or failure to enforce any provision of the Terms on one occasion will not be deemed a waiver of any other provision or of such provision on any other occasion.
12.6 Severability. If any provision of the Terms is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unenforceable, the other provisions of the Terms will remain enforceable, and the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed modified so that it is valid and enforceable to the maximum extent permitted by law.
12.7 Export Control. You may not access, download, use or export the Innovators Site in violation of United States export laws or regulations or in violation of any other applicable laws or regulations. You agree to comply with all export laws and restrictions and regulations of any United States or foreign agency or authority and to assume sole responsibility for obtaining licenses to export or re-export as may be required. You acknowledge and agree that the Innovators Materials are subject to the United States Export Administration Laws and Regulations and agree that none of the Innovators Materials or any direct product therefrom is being or will be acquired for, shipped, transferred, or re-exported, directly or indirectly, to proscribed or embargoed countries or their nationals or used for any prohibited purpose.
12.8 Entire Agreement. The Terms are the final, complete and exclusive agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede and merge all prior discussions between the parties with respect to such subject matter.