Last Update: August 29, 2012
These Terms of Service ("Agreement") constitute a legally binding agreement by and between Investor Watchdog (“Watchdog” or “Watchdog’s”) and you ("You" or "Your") concerning Your previous, current, or future use of the tools, services, and information (“Services”) on Watchdog's website ("Website"). By using the Services on the Website, You represent and warrant that You have read, understand, and agree to be bound by this Agreement and Watchdog's Privacy Policy ("Privacy Policy"), which is incorporated herein by reference and made part of this Agreement. IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS AGREEMENT, OR DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY IT OR THE PRIVACY POLICY, YOU MUST IMMEDIATELY LEAVE THE WEBSITE AND CEASE USING ITS SERVICES.
As used in this agreement "Advisor" shall mean a professional who provides financial planning advice, investment advice and investment services for fees or sells investment or insurance products for commissions. "Investor" shall mean an investor or potential investor who uses Watchdog services to learn more, find, screen, evaluate, select, monitor, or track the performance of Advisors.
We recommend you review Watchdog’s Privacy Policy, which also governs your visit to the Watchdog website, so you are familiar with our policies and procedures prior to viewing, inputting or downloading content on this website. By using the tools, services, and information on this Website, You consent to the collection and use of certain information about You, as specified in the Privacy Policy. Watchdog encourages users of the Website to frequently check Watchdog's Privacy Policy for changes.
Internet technology and applicable laws, rules, and regulations change frequently. ACCORDINGLY, WATCHDOG RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THIS AGREEMENT AND ITS PRIVACY POLICY AT ANY TIME UPON NOTICE TO YOU, TO BE GIVEN BY THE POSTING OF A NEW VERSION, A REVISION OF THE LAST UPDATE, OR A CHANGE NOTICE ON THIS WEBSITE. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO REVIEW THIS AGREEMENT AND THE PRIVACY POLICY PERIODICALLY. IF AT ANY TIME, YOU FIND EITHER TO BE UNACCEPTABLE, YOU MUST IMMEDIATELY LEAVE THE WEBSITE AND CEASE USING ITS SERVICES.
This Watchdog website is not intended for users under the age of 18 and Watchdog does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from users under the age of 18. Such users are expressly prohibited from submitting their personally identifiable information to Watchdog, and from using our information, tools, or services; any information submitted by such users will not knowingly be used, posted, or retained by Watchdog.
BY USING THE WEBSITE’S TOOLS, SERVICES, AND INFORMATION YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT YOU ARE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD AND ARE OTHERWISE LEGALLY QUALIFIED TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.
Subject to Your compliance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Watchdog grants You a non-exclusive, non-sub licensable, revocable as stated in this Agreement, non-transferable license to access and make personal use of the Website in connection with Your use of its Services, and not to save, copy or download (other than page caching) or modify the Website, or any portion of it, except with the express written consent of Watchdog in advance. This license does not include any resale or commercial use of the Website or its content; any derivative use of the Website or its content; or any use of data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools. The Website, or any portion of the Website, may not be reproduced, duplicated, copied, sold, resold, visited, or otherwise exploited for any commercial purpose without the express written consent of Watchdog in advance.
All rights not expressly granted hereunder are reserved by Watchdog. This Agreement grants You no rights in or to the intellectual property of Watchdog or any other party. Watchdog retains ownership of the Website and Services and all right, title, and interest therein, including without limitation all intellectual property rights therein, and You acknowledge and agree that You are acquiring only a limited right to use the Website and Services as licensed hereunder. In the event that You breach any provision of this Agreement, Your rights under this section will immediately terminate.
In connection with Your use of Website Services, You may be required to complete an account opening form. You represent and warrant that all user information You provide on the form or otherwise in connection with Your use of the Website and Services will be current, complete and accurate.
You may also be asked to provide a user name and password in connection with Your use of the Website and its Services. You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of Your password. You may not use the account, user name, or password of any other Website user at any time. You agree to notify Watchdog immediately of any unauthorized use of Your account, user name, or password. Watchdog will not be liable for any loss that You incur as a result of someone else using Your password, either with or without Your knowledge. You may be held liable for any losses incurred by Watchdog, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, consultants, agents, owners, and representatives due to someone else's use of Your account or password.
Watchdog provides tools, services, and content on this Website for informational purposes only. THE WEBSITE DOES NOT CONTAIN OR CONSTITUTE, AND SHOULD NOT BE INTERPRETED AS, FINANCIAL, LEGAL, TAX OR INSURANCE ADVICE OR OPINION. Watchdog is not a financial, legal, tax or insurance firm, and Watchdog does not provide financial, legal, tax or insurance services or render financial, legal, tax or insurance advice. The Website and Services are not a substitute for the advice of qualified financial, legal, tax or insurance professionals, and the information made available on or through the Website and Services should not be relied upon when making financial, legal, tax or insurance decisions. If you require financial, legal, tax or insurance advice or services, You should consult a qualified, licensed, registered financial, legal, tax or insurance professional.
YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE DOES NOT CREATE AN INVESTOR-ADVISOR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND WATCHDOG.
"Third-Party Service" is any product or service made available by third-parties (including, without limitation, Advisors) on, through, by means of, or in connection with the Website and its Services. "Third-Party Content" is any opinion, advice, claim or other information (such as investment track records, articles, market environment reports, newsletters, etc.) made available by third-parties (including, without limitation, Advisors) on, through, by means of, or in connection with the Website and its Services. Third-Party Services and Third-Party Content should not be relied on, and You hereby acknowledge and agree that it is your sole responsibility to determine the accuracy, reliability, completeness and usefulness of any Third-Party Services and/or Third-Party Content. Third-Party Services and Third-Party Content are the sole responsibility of the third-party service and/or content provider.
WATCHDOG DOES NOT: (I) REPRESENT, WARRANT, OR GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, COMPLETENESS OR USEFULNESS OF ANY THIRD-PARTY SERVICE OR THIRD-PARTY CONTENT; OR (II) ADOPT, ENDORSE, OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ADVISOR, INVESTOR, THIRD-PARTY SERVICE OR THIRD-PARTY CONTENT. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL WATCHDOG BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE RESULTING FROM YOUR RELIANCE ON ANY THIRD-PARTY SERVICE, ADVICE, OR CONTENT MADE AVAILABLE ON, THROUGH, BY MEANS OF, OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE WEBSITE OR SERVICES. YOU KNOWINGLY AND FREELY ASSUME ALL RISK WHEN USING ANY THIRD-PARTY SERVICE OR THIRD-PARTY CONTENT MADE AVAILABLE ON, THROUGH, BY MEANS OF, OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE WEBSITE OR SERVICES.
You acknowledge and agree Investors and Advisors enter into contracts or service agreements directly with one other to obtain or provide planning, investment, tax, legal, and insurance advice, services, and products. Watchdog is not a party to any contract or service agreement between Investors and Advisors for planning, investment, tax, legal, insurance advice, services, and products, and is not involved in the contracting between Investors and Advisors. All rights and obligations for planning, investment, tax, legal, and insurance advice, services, and products are solely between Investors and Advisors.
WATCHDOG HAS NO CONTROL OVER AND DOES NOT REPRESENT, WARRANT, OR GUARANTEE THE QUALITY, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, COMPLETENESS, USEFULNESS, SAFETY OR LEGALITY OF THE REQUESTED OR ADVERTISED ADVICE, SERVICES, OR PRODUCTS, OR THE ABILITY OF ADVISORS TO DELIVER HIGH QUALITY ADVICE, SERVICES, PRODUCTS, ETHICAL ADVICE, COMPETITIVE RESULTS, OR THE ABILITY OF INVESTORS TO PAY FOR SERVICES, OR THAT AN INVESTOR OR ADVISOR WILL ENTER INTO AN INVESTOR-ADVISOR RELATIONSHIP.
Each Investor and Advisor must look solely to the other for the enforcement and performance of all their rights and obligations for planning, investment, tax, legal, and insurance advice, services, or products, and any other terms, conditions, representations, or warranties associated with such dealings.
Watchdog vets advisors before they are listed in Watchdog’s Paladin Registry. Advisor information received at the time of registration may change or expire over time. While Watchdog attempts to maintain accurate and up-to-date information, and may record changes when notified, Watchdog screens Advisors solely at the time an Advisor submits data for initial registration with the Registry and does not validate the accuracy of Advisor data. Watchdog does not, and cannot, exhaustively monitor each Advisor, and Watchdog cannot guarantee that Advisor information is accurate and up-to-date. Further, You acknowledge and understand that an Advisor may be admitted to the Registry based on the submission of inaccurate information and thereafter provide unethical, fraudulent, or misleading advice.
WATCHDOG’S VETTING PROCESS HAS NO BEARING ON THE FUTURE ADVICE, SERVICES OR RESULTS OF AN ADVISOR. INCLUSION IN THE PALADIN REGISTRY DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT, RECOMMENDATION, TESTIMONIAL, OR FAVORING BY WATCHDOG OF ANY ADVISOR, NOR CONSTITUTE A CLAIM, WHETHER EXPLICIT OR IMPLICIT, BY WATCHDOG THAT AN ADVISOR'S QUALIFICATIONS, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, OPINIONS, ADVICE, OR CLAIMS ARE SUPERIOR, REPUTABLE, HONEST, ETHICAL, COMPETENT OR WILL RESULT IN EXCEPTIONAL FINANCIAL RETURNS.
As part of their registration process with Watchdog’s Paladin Registry, Advisors may elect to undergo a background check (FADD, Financial Advisor Due Diligence) that is conducted by Watchdog. In such cases, Watchdog will use commercially reasonable efforts to verify Advisor information that impacts credentials and ethics with federal and state agencies, e.g. the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), state commissioners (securities and insurance), educational institutions, associations that issue certifications, other third party sources, and via third party service providers. Watchdog reviews are subject to the availability, completeness, and accuracy of public advisor data.
WATCHDOG DOES NOT REPRESENT, WARRANT, OR GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, OR CURRENCY OF THE INFORMATION RECEIVED FROM FEDERAL, STATE, OR PRIVATE AGENCIES, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, OTHER THIRD PARTY SOURCES, AND THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS.
All provisions in this agreement apply equally whether the background check is initiated by Advisor or Investor and whether Advisor is profiled or not profiled in the Paladin Registry. Criminal checks may be limited to a period extending seven years or less from the date of the background check and compliance disclosures may be limited to a period of ten years or less.
A Watchdog background check and Findings Report are for information purposes only. You use the information to make decisions to select, retain, and terminate particular financial advisors. The information in a Findings Reports does not constitute a recommendation to select, retain, or terminate particular financial planners or financial advisors. Nor, is the Findings Report intended to act as a testimonial or recommendation to select a particular advisor. You are solely responsible for the decisions You make when You use the information in the Findings Report to make decisions that impact Your selection and retention of financial planners, financial advisors, financial consultants, stockbrokers, insurance agents, and money managers.
Advisor information, verified at the time the review process is conducted, may change and expire over time. While Watchdog attempts to maintain accurate and up-to-date information, and may confirm changes when notified, Watchdog conducts background checks on a one-time basis, with optional annual reviews, during or after registration. Watchdog does not, and cannot, exhaustively monitor each Advisor, and Watchdog cannot guarantee Advisor information is accurate and up-to-date. Further, you acknowledge and understand it is Your responsibility to require Advisors to certify the accuracy of their information during Your selection process. Further, You acknowledge and understand that an Advisor may complete a background check and thereafter provide unethical, fraudulent, or misleading advice or s
WATCHDOG'S BACKGROUND CHECK PROCESS HAS NO BEARING ON THE FUTURE ADVICE, SERVICES, OR RESULTS OF AN ADVISOR. A SUCCESSFUL BACKGROUND CHECK DOES NOT CONSITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT, RECOMMENDATION, TESTIMONIAL, OR FAVORING BY WATCHDOG OF ANY ADVISOR AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A CLAIM, WHETHER EXPLICIT OR IMPLICIT, BY WATCHDOG THAT AN ADVISOR'S QUALIFICATIONS, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, OPINIONS, ADVICE, OR CLAIMS ARE SUPERIOR, REPUTABLE, HONEST, ETHICAL, COMPETENT, OR WILL RESULT IN EXCEPTIONAL FINANCIAL RETURNS.
Advisors who are profiled in Watchdog’s Paladin Registry have the option of using Watchdog's Financial Advisor Due Diligence (FADD) certification service. Advisors who successfully complete the background checks display an icon that displays FADD Certified by Watchdog. Watchdog's certification of the accuracy of certain Advisor data is not an official industry credential, certification, designation, or accreditation.
Advisors may place Watchdog or Paladin Registry icons or links on their websites or online marketing material linking or otherwise directing Investors to the Watchdog or the Paladin Registry websites or the Advisors' professional profiles that are published on the Paladin Registry website.
A WATCHDOG OR PALADIN REGISTRY ICON OR LINK DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT, RECOMMENDATION, TESTIMONIAL, OR FAVORING BY WATCHDOG OF ANY ADVISOR AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A CLAIM, WHETHER EXPLICIT OR IMPLICIT, BY WATCHDOG THAT AN ADVISOR'S QUALIFICATIONS, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, OPINIONS, ADVICE, OR CLAIMS ARE SUPERIOR, REPUTABLE, HONEST, ETHICAL, COMPETENT OR WILL RESULT IN EXCEPTIONAL FINANCIAL RETURNS.
PRIOR TO SELECTING AN ADVISOR, PURCHASING AN ADVISOR'S PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, OR FOLLOWING THE OPINIONS, ADVICE OR RECOMMENDATIONS OF AN ADVISOR, YOU HEREBY AGREE THAT IT IS YOUR EXCLUSIVE RESPONSIBILITY TO THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATE: (A) THE PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS AND BACKGROUND OF THE ADVISOR; (B) THE ADVISOR'S ADV AND COMPLIANCE RECORDS AT, AMONG OTHER PLACES, WWW.FINRA.ORG, WWW.SEC.GOV, AND APPLICABLE STATE AGENCIES; (C) THE ADVISOR'S PRODUCTS AND SERVICES; AND/OR (D) THE OPINIONS, ADVICE, CLAIMS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND OTHER INFORMATION PROVIDED BY ADVISOR.
Advisors who are listed in the Paladin Registry and appear on the Watchdog website are required to maintain professional profiles, which may contain certain personal information such as education, years of experience, professional certifications, business practices, and services. EXCEPT AS SET FORTH ABOVE, WATCHDOG DOES NOT VALIDATE THE ACCURACY OF INFORMATION OR REPRESENTATIONS CONTAINED ON ADVISOR PROFILES UNLESS WATCHDOG'S FADD (FINANCIAL ADVISOR DUE DILIGENCE) CERTIFICATION SERVICE HAS CONDUCTED A BACKGROUND CHECK WHICH IS LIMITED TO SPECIFIC CREDENTIALS AND ETHICS OF THE ADVISOR.
Certain Advisors may display a 5 star Investor Watchdog icon on their Paladin Registry profile, website, website biography or marketing materials. This icon is not an official industry certification, designation, or accreditation. A 5 star rating means the Advisor scored in the top 10% of Advisors who submitted documentation to Paladin Registry for their credentials, ethics, business practices, and services. A 5 star rating does not constitute an Advisor track record that validates investment performance. Some Advisors who received 5 star ratings may have more credentials than other Advisors. Watchdog's screening process is based solely on information provided to Watchdog by Advisors. EXCEPT AS DESCRIBED IN THIS AGREEMENT, AND AS APPLICABLE, WATCHDOG DOES NOT VALIDATE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY ADVISORS TO WATCHDOG DURING THE SCREENING PROCESS.
A WATCHDOG 5 STAR RATING HAS NO BEARING ON THE FUTURE ADVICE, SERVICES OR RESULTS OF AN ADVISOR. A WATCHDOG RATING DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT, RECOMMENDATION, TESTIMONIAL, OR FAVORING BY WATCHDOG OR PALADIN REGISTRY OF ANY ADVISOR AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A CLAIM, WHETHER EXPLICIT OR IMPLICIT, BY WATCHDOG OR PALADIN REGISTRY THAT AN ADVISOR'S QUALIFICATIONS, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, OPINIONS, ADVICE, OR CLAIMS ARE SUPERIOR, REPUTABLE, HONEST, ETHICAL, COMPETENT OR WILL RESULT IN EXCEPTIONAL FINANCIAL RETURNS.
Advisors who are listed in the Paladin Registry may have one or more complaints on their federal and state compliance records. SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF ACCURATE DATA, Watchdog reviews the compliance records of advisors who are listed in the Paladin Registry. In the event that Watchdog determines, in Watchdog's sole discretion, that a complaint was frivolous, the Advisor may be listed in the Paladin Registry without disclosure of such complaint on the Advisor's Registry profile. Advisor’s may have additional disclosures after Watchdog has completed a compliance review. Watchdog cannot monitor the day-to-day changes in the compliance records of Advisors.
I. Terminated Advisors
An Advisor may be removed from Watchdog’s Paladin Registry voluntarily or involuntarily at any time without notice to You. After an Advisor is removed from the Paladin Registry, such Advisor may continue to act as your financial advisor and/or display a Watchdog or Paladin Registry icon on his or her website or online marketing materials. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING WHETHER AN ADVISOR IS CURRENTLY PROFILED IN THE PALADIN REGISTRY. You can obtain this information by phoning (916) 253-3334 (CA) or by emailing: info@InvestorWatchdog.com.
Watchdog provides free online services to Investors. Based on location and service level Advisors pay fixed monthly service fees of $25 to $275 to be listed in the Paladin Registry. Advisors may select a premium listing in the Registry in which case they pay higher service fees for increased visibility in Watchdog's Self Search Directory or an increased number of matches from Paladin Registry.
Watchdog Benchmarks provide the information Investors need to compare the performance of their Advisors to an Investor selected Benchmark that is comprised of asset allocated index funds with various risk characteristics. Investors are solely responsible for using Benchmark data to evaluate the performance of Advisors and any decisions to retain or terminate Advisors based on their relative performance.
Investors have the option of conducting their own searches using Watchdog's free self-search Directory service or using the free matching service on Watchdog’s Paladin Registry website. The Watchdog website also provides a Search-by-Name service iF Investor knows a particular advisor is profiled in the Registry.
Investors who search for Advisors via Watchdog's Directory or State Search functions are returned Advisor search results based on those Advisors' level of subscription and/or geographical proximity to Investor.
THE ORDER OF THE ADVISOR SEARCH RESULTS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT, RECOMMENDATION, TESTIMONIAL, OR FAVORING BY WATCHDOG OF ANY PARTICULAR ADVISOR. INVESTORS ARE ENCOURAGED TO SCROLL THROUGH ALL OF THE ADVISORS’ LISTINGS BEFORE SELECTING ONE OR MORE ADVISORS FOR CONTACT.
Scorecard is a Watchdog tool that enables Investors to compare the responses of multiple Advisors, inside and outside the Registry, side-by-side. SCORECARD LISTINGS AND RESPONSES DO NOT CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT, RECOMMENDATION, TESTIMONIAL, OR FAVORING BY WATCHDOG OF ANY PARTICULAR ADVISOR.
Investors who search for Advisors using Paladin Registry’s matching process should be connected to Advisors who: (i) meet the Investor's service requirements; (ii) meet the Advisor's minimum asset requirements; and (iii) are in close geographical proximity to the Investor. All Investor and Advisor characteristics considered equal, the Paladin Registry matching service uses a rotational system to match Investors to Advisors who have gone the longest amount of time without being matched to an Investor. ADVISOR/INVESTOR MATCHES DO NOT CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT, RECOMMENDATION, TESTIMONIAL, OR FAVORING BY WATCHDOG OR PALADIN REGISTRY OF ANY PARTICULAR ADVISOR.
For Investors utilizing Watchdog's Paladin Registry match service, Paladin Registry provides search consultants at no charge to help Investors find pre-screened Advisors in their communities. Search consultants use the same criteria as described above, to match Investors to Advisors. SEARCH CONSULTANTS DO NOT ENDORSE, RECOMMEND, PROVIDE TESTIMONIALS, OR FAVOR ANY PARTICULAR ADVISOR.
Watchdog does not recommend that You retain, replace, or terminate Your current advisor or planner, if any. The decision whether to select, retain, terminate or replace a current advisor or planner rests solely with You.
Custodians are financial institutions that are responsible for holding and safeguarding Investor assets. If You elect to use the services of financial planners, financial advisors, financial consultants, money managers, or other financial professionals, Watchdog STRONGLY recommends that You custody Your assets with a nationally known, brand name, well-capitalized company that is widely recognized for providing safe, high quality custodial services. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL WATCHDOG BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF A PARTICULAR CUSTODIAN OR YOUR FAILURE TO USE THE SERVICES OF A QUALITY CUSTODIAN.
Investors may be required to provide to Watchdog certain information (such as name, telephone number, email address and zip code), and specific details pertaining to Investors' financial characteristics and requirements. Watchdog relies on Investors to provide accurate information, and Watchdog does not, and cannot, exhaustively investigate Investor information. Accordingly, Watchdog must assume that Investor information is accurate when Investors use Watchdog Services.
In order to facilitate potential relationships between Investors and Advisors, certain information provided by Investors may be disclosed to Advisors. If You are an Investor, You expressly consent to the disclosure of information you provided to Watchdog to Advisors that are made available to you when you use Watchdog Directory or Registry match services. Further, You expressly consent to be contacted by Advisors via the contact information that You provide.
Visitors may post reviews, comments, and other content; and submit suggestions, ideas, comments, questions, or other information, so long as the content is not illegal, untruthful, obscene, indecent, abusive, harassing, racist, hateful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, infringing on intellectual property rights, or otherwise injurious to third parties and does not consist of or contain software viruses, encrypted code, political campaigning, commercial solicitation, unauthorized advertising, product or service sales information, chain letters, mass mailings, or any form of spam, or what is considered junk email. You may not use a false e-mail address, impersonate any person or entity, or otherwise mislead Watchdog as to the origin of a post, comment, or other content, or encourage conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any local, state, federal, national, or international law or regulation. You agree to use the site only for lawful purposes and You acknowledge that Your failure to do so may subject You to civil and criminal liability. Watchdog reserves the right (but not the obligation) to remove or edit such content, but does not regularly review posted content.
If You post content or submit material, including emails sent to official email addresses of Watchdog, or its employees, affiliates or assigns, and unless indicated otherwise, You grant Watchdog and its affiliates a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sub-licensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, and display such content throughout the world in any media. You grant Watchdog and its affiliates and sub-licensees the right to use the name and email address that You submit in connection with such content, if they choose. You represent and warrant that You own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that You post; that the content is accurate; that use of the content You supply does not violate this Terms of Service agreement and will not cause injury to any person or entity; and that You will indemnify Watchdog and its owners, officers, and employees or its affiliates for all claims resulting from content You supply. Watchdog has the right, but not the obligation, to monitor and edit or remove any activity or content. Watchdog takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any content posted by You or any third party.
Watchdog does not represent or warrant the truthfulness, accuracy or reliability of any material posted by others on or through the Website, nor does Watchdog endorse any opinions expressed by participants in forums or users of the Website. Visitors, users, and participants alike acknowledge that any reliance on material posted by others will be at Your own risk. Any content placed on any discussion area are the views of the user posting the statement, and do not represent the views of Watchdog. You agree to hold Watchdog and its owners, employees, contractors, officers and affiliates, harmless regarding any content published on Watchdog’s blog site.
WatchDog may make certain forums available that allow registered users, account-holders, and visitors the opportunity to participate in discussions and to post information on bulletin boards (collectively Forums). All participants in these Forums are solely responsible for the information and other content You post on and through these Forums and should be aware that when You voluntarily disclose personal information on or through these Forums, that such information is generally accessible to and may be collected and used by other participants and may result in unsolicited online and offline messages from such viewers. When You participate in a Forum You are encouraged to exercise discretion when providing personal information about You in and through Forums.
Watchdog does not endorse, support, sanction, encourage, verify, or agree with the comments, opinions, or statements posted on Forums, blogs, chat rooms or otherwise published on the Watchdog website. Any information or material placed online, including financial, tax, legal, or insurance advice are the views and responsibility of those who post the comments or statements and do not necessarily represent the views of Watchdog or its affiliates. You agree that Watchdog and its third party affiliates and service providers are not responsible, and shall have no liability to You, with respect to any information, advice, recommendations, services, products, or materials posted by others, including defamatory, offensive, or illicit material that violates these Terms of Service.
There is no partnership, joint venture or employee-employer relationship between Watchdog, Advisors, or firms that employ or license Advisors. Advisors and financial service firms do not have equity interests, or other interests, in Watchdog or its parent company. Watchdog does not receive any compensation from Advisors in the form of Investor generated revenue sharing.
By using the Website and Services, You thereby consent to receive periodic email communications from Watchdog regarding Alerts, Searches, Reports, Services, Newsletters, Surveys, and other matters.
The Website is linked with the websites of third parties ("Third-Party Websites"), some of which may have established relationships with Watchdog and some of which may not. Watchdog does not have control over the content and performance of Third-Party Websites. WATCHDOG HAS NOT REVIEWED, AND CANNOT REVIEW OR CONTROL, ALL OF THE MATERIAL, INCLUDING COMPUTER SOFTWARE OR OTHER GOODS OR SERVICES, MADE AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES. ACCORDINGLY, WATCHDOG DOES NOT REPRESENT, WARRANT OR ENDORSE ANY THIRD-PARTY WEBSITE, OR THE ACCURACY, CURRENCY, CONTENT, FITNESS, LAWFULNESS OR QUALITY OF THE INFORMATION, MATERIAL, GOODS OR SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES. WATCHDOG DISCLAIMS, AND YOU AGREE TO ASSUME, ALL RESPONSIBILITY AND LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES OR OTHER HARM, WHETHER TO YOU OR TO THIRD PARTIES, RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES.
"User Content" is any content, materials or information, not including personal information, that You upload or post to, or transmit, display, perform or distribute by means of the Website, whether in connection with Your use of Services or otherwise. YOU HEREBY GRANT WATCHDOG AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AFFILIATES, REPRESENTATIVES, SUBLICENSEES, SUCCESSORS, AND ASSIGNS (COLLECTIVELY, THE "WATCHDOG PARTIES") A PERPETUAL, FULLY PAID-UP, WORLDWIDE, SUB-LICENSABLE, IRREVOCABLE, ASSIGNABLE LICENSE TO COPY, DISTRIBUTE, TRANSMIT, PUBLICLY DISPLAY OR PERFORM, EDIT, TRANSLATE, REFORMAT AND OTHERWISE USE YOUR CONTENT IN CONNECTION WITH THE OPERATION OF THE WEBSITE SERVICES OR ANY OTHER SIMILAR OR RELATED BUSINESS, IN ANY MEDIUM NOW EXISTING OR LATER DEVISED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLICITY. YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT THE WATCHDOG PARTIES MAY PUBLISH OR OTHERWISE DISCLOSE YOUR NAME AND/OR ANY USER NAME OF YOURS IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR EXERCISE OF THE LICENSE GRANTED UNDER THIS SECTION. YOU AGREE TO WAIVE, AND HEREBY WAIVE, ANY CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE EXERCISE BY THE WATCHDOG PARTIES OF THE RIGHTS GRANTED UNDER THIS SECTION, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY CLAIMS RELATING TO YOUR RIGHTS OF PERSONAL PRIVACY AND PUBLICITY. YOU WILL NOT BE COMPENSATED FOR ANY EXERCISE OF THE LICENSE GRANTED UNDER THIS SECTION.
You hereby represent and warrant that You own all rights, title and interest in and to User Content or are otherwise authorized to grant the rights provided the Watchdog Parties under this section.
You represent and warrant that you shall not use the Website or Services to upload, post, transmit, display, perform or distribute any content, information or materials that: (a) are libelous, defamatory, abusive, or threatening, excessively violent, harassing, obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, or pornographic; (b) constitute child pornography; (c) solicit personal information from or exploit in a sexual or violent manner anyone under the age of 18; (d) incite, encourage or threaten physical harm against another; (e) promote or glorify racial intolerance, use hate and/or racist terms, or signify hate towards any person or group of people; (f) glamorize the use of hard core illegal substances and drugs; (g) violate any provision of this Agreement or any other Watchdog agreement or policy; or (h) are generally offensive or in bad taste, as determined by Watchdog (collectively, "Objectionable Content"). WATCHDOG DISCLAIMS ANY PERCEIVED, IMPLIED OR ACTUAL DUTY TO MONITOR THE CONTENTS OF THE WEBSITE AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR INFORMATION PROVIDED HEREON. Without limiting any of its other remedies, Watchdog reserves the right to terminate Your use of the Website and Services or Your uploading, posting, transmission, display, performance, or distribution of Objectionable Content. Watchdog, in its sole discretion, may delete any Objectionable Content from its servers. Watchdog intends to cooperate fully with any law enforcement officials or agencies in the investigation of any violation of this Agreement or of any applicable laws.
Watchdog imposes certain restrictions on Your use of the Website and the Services. You represent and warrant that you will not: (a) "stalk" or otherwise harass any person, or contact any person who has requested not to be contacted; (b) provide false, misleading or inaccurate information to Watchdog or any other Website user; (c) impersonate, or otherwise misrepresent affiliation, connection or association with, any person or entity; (d) create more than one unique Investor profile; (e) harvest or otherwise collect information about Watchdog users, including email addresses and phone numbers; (f) use or attempt to use any engine, software, tool, agent, or other device or mechanism (including without limitation browsers, spiders, robots, avatars, or intelligent agents) to harvest or otherwise collect information from the Website for any use, including without limitation use on third-party websites; (g) access content or data not intended for You, or log onto a server or account that You are not authorized to access; (h) attempt to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Services, the Website, or any associated system or network, or breach security or authentication measures without proper authorization; (i) interfere or attempt to interfere with the use of the Website or Services by any other user, host or network, including, without limitation by means of submitting a virus, overloading, "flooding," "spamming," "mail bombing," or "crashing"; (j) use the Website or Services to send unsolicited e-mail, including without limitation promotions or advertisements for products or services; (k) forge any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any e-mail or in any uploading or posting to, or transmission, display, performance or distribution by means of, the Website or Services; or (l) attempt to modify, reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise reduce or attempt to reduce to a human-perceivable form any of the source code used by the Watchdog Parties in providing the Website or Services. Any violation of this section may subject You to civil and/or criminal liability.
You represent and warrant that, when using the Website and Services, You will obey the law and respect the intellectual property rights of others. Your use of the Website and Services is at all times governed by and subject to laws regarding copyright ownership and use of intellectual property generally. You agree not to upload, post, transmit, display, perform or distribute any content, information or other materials in violation of any third-party's copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property or proprietary rights. YOU SHALL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY VIOLATIONS OF ANY LAWS AND FOR ANY INFRINGEMENTS OF THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS CAUSED BY YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE AND SERVICES. YOU BARE THE SOLE BURDEN OF PROVING THAT CONTENT, INFORMATION OR OTHER MATERIALS DO NOT VIOLATE ANY LAWS OR THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS.
INVESTORWATCHDOG.COM, and other website graphics, logos, page headers, button icons, scripts, and service names are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade dress of Watchdog or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. Watchdog’s trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service that is not owned by Watchdog, or in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among users, or in any manner that disparages or discredits Watchdog. All other trademarks, not owned by Watchdog or its affiliates that appear on this site are the property of their respective owners, who may or may not be affiliated with, connected to, or sponsored by Watchdog or its affiliates.
All content included on this site, such as text, graphics, logos, button icons, images, audio clips, digital downloads, data compilations, and software, is the property of Watchdog or its content suppliers and protected by United States and international copyright laws. The compilation of all content on this site is the exclusive property of Watchdog and protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. All software used on this site is the property of Watchdog or its software suppliers and protected by United States and international copyright laws. You are responsible for ensuring that any material you provide on the Watchdog website or post on a bulletin board or forum or elsewhere including but not limited to text, photographs and sound, does not violate the copyright, trademark, trade secrets or any other personal or proprietary rights of any third party, or is posted with the permission of the owner(s) of such rights. Copyright © 2009 to the present, Investor Watchdog, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Watchdog reserves the right, but undertakes no duty, to review, edit, move, or delete any material provided for display or placed on the Watchdog website or its bulletin boards, forum, chat rooms, in its sole discretion, without advance notice.
As Watchdog asks others to respect Watchdog's intellectual property rights, Watchdog respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you have evidence, know, or have a good faith belief that your rights or the rights of a third party have been violated and you want Watchdog to delete, edit, or disable the material in question, you must provide Watchdog with all of the following information: (a) a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; (b) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works; (c) identification of the material that is claimed to be infringed or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit Paladin to locate the material; (d) information reasonably sufficient to permit Paladin to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and if available, an electronic mail address at which you may be contacted; (e) a statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (f) a statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. For this notification to be effective, you must provide it to Paladin's designated agent at: copyrightagent@investorwatchdog.com
WATCHDOG, ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND ITS LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS, HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES. THE WEBSITE AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WATCHDOG, ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND ITS LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS, EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE WEBSITE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING OR ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS AGREEMENT, NEITHER WATCHDOG NOR ITS LICENSORS OR SUPPLIERS WARRANTS: (I) THAT THE WEBSITE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; (II) THAT THE OPERATION OF THE WEBSITE OR SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE; (III) THAT INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE ON, THROUGH, BY MEANS OF, OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE WEBSITE OR SERVICES IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR TIMELY; AND (IV) ADVISORS, THIRD-PARTY SERVICES, OR THIRD-PARTY CONTENT WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS OR REQUIREMENTS.
YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE AND SERVICES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. YOU WILL NOT HOLD WATCHDOG OR ITS LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS, AS APPLICABLE, RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE THAT RESULTS FROM YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE WEBSITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY FINANCIAL LOSS OR DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTERS OR DATA. THE WEBSITE AND SERVICES MAY CONTAIN BUGS, ERRORS, PROBLEMS OR OTHER LIMITATIONS.
THE LIABILITY OF WATCHDOG AND ITS LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS IS LIMITED. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL WATCHDOG OR ITS LICENSORS OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA OR CONFIDENTIAL OR OTHER INFORMATION, LOSS OF PRIVACY, COSTS OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, FAILURE TO MEET ANY DUTY INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION OF GOOD FAITH OR OF REASONABLE CARE, NEGLIGENCE, OR OTHERWISE, REGARDLESS OF THE FORESEEABILITY OF THOSE DAMAGES OR OF ANY ADVICE OR NOTICE GIVEN TO WATCHDOG OR ITS LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR SERVICES. THIS LIMITATION SHALL APPLY REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE DAMAGES ARISE OUT OF BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY OR FORM OF ACTION. ADDITIONALLY, THE MAXIMUM LIABILITY OF WATCHDOG AND ITS LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS TO YOU UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES WILL BE EQUAL TO THE AGGREGATE PRICE YOU PAID TO WATCHDOG DURING THE SIX MONTHS PRECEDING THE INCIDENT OR INCIDENTS GIVING RISE TO SUCH LIABILITY, OR $50.00, WHICHEVER IS GREATER. YOU AGREE THAT THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY REPRESENTS A REASONABLE ALLOCATION OF RISK AND IS A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN WATCHDOG AND YOU. THE WEBSITE AND ITS TOOLS, SERVICES, AND INFORMATION WOULD NOT BE PROVIDED WITHOUT SUCH LIMITATIONS.
THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS, WAIVERS AND LIMITATIONS DO NOT IN ANY WAY LIMIT ANY OTHER DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES OR ANY OTHER LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IN THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OTHER AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND WATCHDOG OR BETWEEN YOU AND ANY OF WATCHDOG'S LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS. SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS, WAIVERS AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. UNLESS LIMITED OR MODIFIED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE FOREGOING DISCLAIMERS, WAIVERS AND LIMITATIONS SHALL APPLY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED, EVEN IF ANY REMEDY FAILS ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. WATCHDOG'S LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS ARE INTENDED THIRD-PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF THESE DISCLAIMERS, WAIVERS AND LIMITATIONS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR OTHERWISE SHALL ALTER ANY OF THE DISCLAIMERS OR LIMITATIONS STATED IN THIS SECTION.
Without limiting any other provision of this Agreement, You represent and warrant that Your use of the Website and Services will be in accordance with this Agreement and any other Watchdog policies, and with any applicable laws or regulations.
If You are an Advisor, without limiting any other provision of this Agreement, You specifically represent and warrant that: (i) Your products, services, opinions, advice, or claims will not fall below the standard of care reasonably expected of a fellow member of Your industry or profession; (ii) You will not provide Watchdog and/or any Investor any incomplete, inaccurate, misleading, exaggerated, or false information; (iii) You will not omit any information that Investors should reasonably expect from You, and (iv) You will provide Watchdog and/or any Investor with a full disclosure of information, credentials, education, experience, work history, compliance background, criminal convictions, conflicts of interest, litigation history, and other relevant information.
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Watchdog and its owners, officers, directors, employees, agents, affiliates, representatives, sub-licensees, successors, assigns, and Industry Professionals (collectively, the "Indemnified Parties") from and against any and all claims, actions, demands, causes of action and other proceedings (collectively, "Claims"), including but not limited to legal costs and fees, arising out of or relating to: (i) Your breach of this Agreement, including without limitation any representation or warranty contained in this Agreement; (ii) Your access to or use of the Website or Services; (iii) Your provision to Watchdog or any of the Indemnified Parties of information or other data; or (iv) Your violation or alleged violation of any foreign or domestic, federal, state or local law or regulation.
The Indemnified Parties will have the right, but not the obligation, to participate through counsel of their choice in any defense by You of any Claim as to which You are required to defend, indemnify or hold harmless the Indemnified Parties. You may not settle any Claim without the prior written consent of the concerned Indemnified Parties.
When you visit Watchdog or e-mail us, you are communicating with us electronically. You consent to receive communications from us electronically. We will communicate with you by e-mail or by posting notices on this site. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement for written communications.
Watchdog reserves the right to post, from time to time, additional rules of usage that apply to specific parts of the Watchdog Website. Such additional rules will be posted on the relevant parts of the Watchdog website. Your continued use of the website constitutes your agreement to comply with these additional rules.
We reserve the right to make changes to Watchdog’s site, policies, and these Terms of Service at any time. If any of these conditions shall be deemed invalid, void, or for any reason unenforceable, that condition shall be deemed severable and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining conditions.
The Website, Services, and this Agreement, including without limitation this Agreement's interpretation, shall be treated as though this Agreement were executed and performed in Sacramento, California and shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of law principles.
ANY CAUSE OF ACTION BY YOU ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE WEBSITE, SERVICES, OR THIS AGREEMENT MUST BE INSTITUTED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION AROSE OR BE FOREVER WAIVED AND BARRED. ALL ACTIONS SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE LIMITATIONS SET FORTH ABOVE.
The language in this Agreement shall be interpreted in accordance with its fair meaning and not strictly for or against either party.
Any dispute relating in any way to your visit to the Watchdog website or to products or services you purchase or learn about on the Watchdog Website, or materials posted by others, including defamatory, offensive, or illicit material that violates these Terms of Service shall be submitted to confidential arbitration in Sacramento, California, except that, to the extent you have in any manner violated or threatened to violate Watchdog’s intellectual property rights, Watchdog may seek injunctive or other appropriate relief in any state or federal court in the state of California, and you consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in such courts. Arbitration under this agreement shall be conducted under the rules then prevailing of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator’s award shall be binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, no arbitration under these Terms of Use shall be joined to an arbitration involving any other party subject to these Terms of Use, whether through class arbitration proceedings or otherwise.
You agree that any dispute, of any nature whatsoever, between You and Watchdog arising out of or relating to the Website, Services, or this Agreement, shall be decided by neutral, binding arbitration before a representative of JAMS in Sacramento, California (unless You and Watchdog mutually agree to a different arbitrator) who shall render an award in accordance with JAMS' Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures and the substantive laws of California. A final judgment or award by the arbitrator may then be duly entered and recorded by the prevailing party in the appropriate court as final judgment. The arbitrator shall award costs (including, without limitation, the JAMS' fee and reasonable attorney's fees) to the prevailing party.
This agreement to arbitrate will not preclude You or Watchdog from seeking provisional remedies in aid of arbitration, including without limitation orders to stay a court action, compel arbitration or confirm an arbitral award, from a court of competent jurisdiction. Furthermore, this agreement to arbitrate will not preclude You or Watchdog from applying to a court of competent jurisdiction for a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, or other interim or conservatory relief, as necessary. THE PROPER VENUE FOR ANY ACTION PERMITTED UNDER THIS SUBSECTION REGARDING EQUITABLE RELIEF WILL BE THE FEDERAL AND STATE COURTS LOCATED IN SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA; THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE ANY OBJECTION TO THE VENUE AND PERSONAL JURISDICTION OF SUCH COURTS.
WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS AGREEMENT, WATCHDOG RESERVES THE RIGHT TO, IN WATCHDOG'S SOLE DISCRETION AND WITHOUT NOTICE OR LIABILITY, DENY USE OF THE WEBSITE AND/OR SERVICES TO ANY PERSON FOR ANY REASON OR FOR NO REASON AT ALL, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION FOR ANY BREACH OR SUSPECTED BREACH OF ANY REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY OR COVENANT CONTAINED IN THIS AGREEMENT, OR OF ANY APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION.
This Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event that You breach any of this Agreement's representations, warranties or covenants. Such termination shall be automatic, and shall not require any action by Watchdog.
You may terminate this Agreement and Your rights hereunder at any time, for any or no reason at all, by providing to Watchdog notice of Your intention to do so, in the manner required by this Agreement.
Any termination of this Agreement automatically terminates all rights and licenses granted to You under this Agreement, including all rights to use the Website and Services. Upon termination, Watchdog may, but has no obligation to, in Watchdog's sole discretion, rescind any services, and/or delete from Watchdog's systems all Your Personal Information and any other files or information that You made available to Watchdog or that otherwise relate to Your use of the Website or Services. Subsequent to termination, Watchdog reserves the right to exercise whatever means it deems necessary to prevent Your unauthorized use of the Website and Services, including without limitation technological barriers such as IP mapping and direct contact with Your Internet Service Provider.
If Watchdog, in Watchdog's sole discretion, takes legal action against You in connection with any actual or suspected breach of this Agreement, Watchdog will be entitled to recover from You as part of such legal action, and You agree to pay, Watchdog's reasonable costs and attorneys' fees incurred as a result of such legal action. The Watchdog Parties will have no legal obligation or other liability to You or to any third party arising out of or relating to any termination of this Agreement.
All notices required or permitted to be given under this Agreement must be in writing. Watchdog shall give any notice by email sent to the most recent email address, if any, provided by the intended recipient to Watchdog. You agree that any notice received from Watchdog electronically satisfies any legal requirement that such notice be in writing.
YOU BEAR THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF ENSURING THAT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS ON FILE WITH WATCHDOG IS ACCURATE AND CURRENT, AND NOTICE TO YOU SHALL BE DEEMED EFFECTIVE UPON THE SENDING BY WATCHDOG OF AN EMAIL TO THAT ADDRESS.
You shall give any notice to Investor Watchdog by means of fax to: 916-404-5566; or U.S. mail, postage paid, to 395 S. Highway 65, A-275, Lincoln, CA 95648.
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between Watchdog and You concerning Your use of the Website’s tools, services, and information. This Agreement may only be modified by a written amendment signed by an authorized executive of Watchdog or of Watchdog’s parent company or by the unilateral amendment of this Agreement by Watchdog and by the posting by Watchdog of such amended version. If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that part will be construed to reflect the parties' original intent, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect. A waiver by either party of any term or condition of this Agreement or any breach thereof, in any one instance, will not waive such term or condition or any subsequent breach thereof. This Agreement and all of Your rights and obligations hereunder will not be assignable or transferable by You without the prior written consent of Watchdog. This Agreement will be binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns. You and Watchdog are independent contractors, and no agency, partnership, joint venture or employee-employer relationship is intended or created by this Agreement. There are no third-party beneficiaries to this Agreement. You acknowledge and agree that any actual or threatened breach of this Agreement or infringement of proprietary or other third party rights by You would cause irreparable injury to Watchdog and Watchdog's licensors and suppliers, and would therefore entitle Watchdog or Watchdog's licensors or suppliers, as the case may be, to injunctive relief. The headings in this Agreement are for the purpose of convenience only and shall not limit, enlarge, or affect any of the covenants, terms, conditions or provisions of this Agreement. The phrases and terms "background check", "validation", and "certification", “due diligence”, “advisor scorecard”, “benchmarks” are used on this website and in this agreement for convenience only and shall not limit, expand, modify or aid in the interpretation of this agreement.