SparkChess Multiplayer Terms of Service

Acceptance of these Terms of Service is required for all players using the SparkChess®™ Multiplayer feature (the Service). These Terms of Service are a supplement to the SparkChess (the Software) End User License Agreement and to the SparkChess.com (the Website) Terms of Use. By accessing SparkChess®™ Multiplayer you agree to comply with all these terms. If you do not agree with these terms, do not access the SparkChess®™ Multiplayer. SparkChess®™ Multiplayer is an internet service that allows you to play SparkChess®™ with other human players. The SparkChess.com website, SparkChess®™ game and SparkChess®™ Multiplayer service are created by Armand Niculescu, who asserts all intellectual rights arising from the game. “SparkChess” is registered trademark of Armand Niculescu. The SparkChess®™ game is distributed by Media Division srl.

Age Requirement

SparkChess®™ Multiplayer is a game intended for players of all ages. If you are under 16 years old, you must obtain permission to play from your parent or legal guardian. You must answer correctly when asked if you are under 16. Players under 16 enjoy additional protection – we do not ask for their email addresses and they are not shown chat and opponents’ avatars.

Access

You must have access to the Internet in order to use the Service. It is your responsibility to select, obtain and pay for any equipment or services necessary for access.

Registration

If you accept the terms, we will process your registration form and establish a user account. You must select a username to identify you to other users of the the Service. You may not select as your username a name deemed obscene, or a name for the purpose of fraud or disparagement, or a name that violates any third party’s trademark right, copyright, or other proprietary right; we reserve the right to delete any such username. You must also select a password for your account. We recommend that you choose a password with letters and numbers, and do not use your username as your password. If you declared yourself to be over 16 years old, you’ll also be asked for your email address. The email address is needed in case you forget your account password and can be associated with a Gravatar account to show a photo avatar. Gravatar is a trademark of Automattic, Inc.

If you do not wish to register, you can access the Service anonymously using the Guest Login feature.

License

Subject to all of the Terms, we hereby grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Service only for your personal entertainment purposes. We may revoke this license at any time and for any reason. Specifically, if you breach the Terms of Service we will ban your account.

Privacy

Please refer to the Privacy Policy, which is a separate document, for your convenience.

Restrictions

You agree not to do any of the following prohibited actions:

  • reproduce, distribute, publicly display or perform, translate, modify, adapt, create derivative works from, deconstruct, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble in any manner the Service or any portion thereof, including but not limited to any character, graphic, associated software or proprietary communications protocol used by the software or any utilities, applications, emulators or tools derived therefrom;
  • post, link to, advertise or otherwise transmit through the Servie any material that
    • is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
    • you do not have a right to transmit under any law or contractual or fiduciary relationship (e.g., inside information, proprietary information from an employer or confidential information subject to a nondisclosure agreement);
    • infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other party’s proprietary rights;
    • is unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional material, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation;
    • contains computer code designed to interrupt, destroy, limit the functionality of or extract private information from any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
  • harm other members in any way;
  • impersonate another user or administrator;
  • interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers connected to the Service;
  • “stalk” or otherwise harass another;
  • collect, store or reveal personal data about another member without the express permission of such member;
  • modify any files or use any game hacking/altering/cheating software or tools, including scripting software, or attempt to disassemble the game client and/or decipher the data transmissions between the Service client and server.
  • engage in any disruptive behavior that negatively impacts other players.

Third Party Content

You acknowledge and agree that the Website, Service and Software contain materials owned by Armand Niculescu and his suppliers, and you agree not to interfere the copyrights, trademarks and other proprietary rights of such parties. You agree that these rights are valid and protected in all media existing now or later developed, and that except as is explicitly provided otherwise, your use of such materials shall be governed by the copyright laws of the Romania.

Content Monitoring

As a matter of policy, we do not screen or monitor the content that you or other members may post to the Service.  We reserve the right to monitor all such content, and reserves the right to remove without notice any and all content that we, in our sole discretion, finds offensive or otherwise objectionable.

Mature Content

While the Service is intended to be a game for all ages, it does allow for user generated content such as avatars and chat messages. As a result parts of the Website, Service and/or Software may contain adult or mature content that some users may consider offensive, indecent or objectionable.

Content Transmission

You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the Service, including your Participatory Content and Public Content, may involve (i) transmissions over various networks; and (ii) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices.

Game recordings

The games played on the Service are recorded automatically and are considered public. They do not contain personally-identifiable information, except possibly usernames, which may be real names or made-up ones. If you are concerned about your games being recorded, you can use the anonymous Guest login when playing.

Links

The Website, Service and Software may provide links to other sites for your convenience only. We do not control, are not responsible for, do not endorse and make no representation about the materials contained at any linked site

Your Account is Your Responsibility

You are solely responsible and entirely liable for all activities conducted through your accoun, even if your account has been compromised through no fault of your own. We encourage you to maintain the confidentiality of your password, and remind you that you do not have a license to let others use your account.

International Use

Recognizing the global nature of the Internet, you agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable content.

Ownership

Armand Niculescu and his suppliers shall at all times retain all right, title and interest in and to the Website, Service and Software, except to the extent of the licenses granted to you.

Disclaimer of Warranty

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ARMAND NICULESCU, MEDIA DIVISION SRL, ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE WEBSITE, SERVICE AND  SOFTWARE ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND ON AN “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF PERFORMANCE OR QUALITY OR THAT THE WEBSITE, SERVICE OR SOFTWARE WILL BE ERROR-FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED.

Limitation of Liability

NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY, ARMAND NICULESCU’S, MEDIA DIVISION SRL’S AND ITS AFFILIATES’, LICENSORS’ AND SUBCONTRACTORS’ TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU ARISING FROM OR IN RELATION TO THIS AGREEMENT, THE WEBSITE, SERVICE OR SOFTWARE SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE TOTAL PAYMENTS MADE BY YOU TO MEDIA DIVISION SRL  UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WITHIN THE THIRTY (30) DAYS PRIOR TO THE OCCURRENCE OF THE INCIDENT WHICH GAVE RISE TO SUCH LIABILITY.

Consequential Damages

IN NO EVENT SHALL ARMAND NICULESCU, MEDIA DIVISION SRL, ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS OR SUBCONTRACTORS BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY LOSS OF USE OR COSTS OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, HOWEVER CAUSED, WHETHER FOR BREACH OF REPUDIATION OF CONTRACT, TORT, BREACH OF WARRANTY, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER OR NOT ARMAND NICULESCU, MEDIA DIVISION SRL, ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS OR SUBCONTRACTORS WERE ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS OR DAMAGES AND NOTWITHSTANDING THE FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY STATED HEREIN.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Armand Niculescu, Media Division srl, its affiliates, licensors and subcontractors from all liabilities, claims and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising from or related to your breach of this Agreement or portion hereof, you Participatory Content or Public Content or any act or omission by you relating the Website, Service or Software.

Termination

Either you or us may terminate your account and this agreement upon notice at any time without further obligation to the other. Further, we reserve the right to terminate the Website, Service and/or Software, or any part thereof, at any time without notice and without further obligation to you. IN NO EVENT SHALL YOU BE ENTITLED TO A REFUND OF ANY FEES OR PRORATION THEREOF. UPON TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOUR ACCESS PRIVILEGES TO THE WEBSITE AND SERVICE WILL TERMINATE.

Amendment

We may amend the Terms in its sole discretion at any time by posting revised Terms on the Website, and you agree to regularly review the Terms. If any such revision is unacceptable to you, you may terminate your account and this agreement. Your continued access and use of the Website, Service and/or Software shall constitute your acceptance of the same

General Provisions

You may not sublicense, rent, sell, assign or otherwise transfer the rights or obligations granted to you in this agreement, and any such attempted transfer shall be void. If any provision of this agreement is held to be unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable, and such decision shall not affect the enforceability of: (i) such provision under other circumstances, or (ii) the remaining provisions hereof under all circumstances. Our failure to enforce at any time any provision of this agreement shall in no way be construed to be a present or future waiver of such provision, nor in any way affect the right of any party to enforce each and every such provision thereafter. This agreement is governed by and construed under Romanian law.