Her Campus Media LLC Terms of Use

LAST UPDATED: May 31, 2024

Please read these Terms of Use carefully as they set forth important terms and conditions when you visit any websites owned and operated by Her Campus Media LLC  (each a “Site”, and collectively the “Sites”) and that post these Terms of Use.  

By using the Sites, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which govern Her Campus Media, LLC's relationship with you in relation to this website. The term 'Her Campus Media LLC' or 'us' or 'we' refers to the owner of the website whose registered office is 9 Lansdowne St, Suite 2, Boston, MA 02215. The term 'you' refers to the user or viewer of our Sites as well as account holders. 

The content of Sites are for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice. 

Should you object to any terms and conditions of these Terms of Use or any subsequent modifications thereto or become dissatisfied with Sites or any services made available on the Sites in any way, your only recourse is to immediately discontinue use of the Sites and/or our services.

By your access or use of the Sites and/or any services available on the Sites, you agree to these Terms of Use. These Terms of Use, as they may be amended from time to time, together with our Privacy Policy (available at: www.hercampusmedia.com/privacy-policy), constitute the entire agreement between you and Her Campus Media with respect to your access and use of the Sites and any services available on the Sites.

EXCEPT FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF DISPUTES DESCRIBED IN THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT BELOW, YOU AGREE THAT DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND HER CAMPUS MEDIA WILL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING, INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AND YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OR CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION.

PRIVACY POLICY

By accessing and using a Site or Sites, you agree to our Privacy Policy (available at: www.hercampusmedia.com/privacy-policy), which is incorporated into these Terms of Use by reference.

YOUR ACCOUNT

If you create an account on a Site or on several Sites, you are solely responsible for complying with these Terms of Use, and only you are entitled to all benefits accruing thereto. You may not allow any other person to (i) access your account; (ii) access any services available on the Sites through your account; or (iii) accept or use prizes, winnings and other items of value on your behalf. Your account is not transferable to another person or account. You must immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your password or identification or any other breach or threatened breach of our security or the security of your account on any Site.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All content posted on the Sites, including all images, are copyrighted and protected worldwide by copyright laws and treaty provisions. Unless otherwise noted, all content is copyrighted © Her Campus Media LLC.

Use of the Sites and copyrighted materials is subject to the terms and conditions set forth below. By continuing to access and use the Sites and posted content, you indicate your awareness of and consent to these terms and conditions. If you violate any of these terms and conditions, your permission to access or use the content as described herein automatically terminates, and you must immediately destroy any copies of the content you have made.

LIMITED LICENSE

The Sites contain material which is owned by or licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance, editorial content, and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice.

You are hereby provided a limited, non-exclusive, no-cost, revocable and non-transferable license to access and use the content on the Sites. The content on the Sites is for informational purposes only and may not be copied, reproduced, modified, published, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way, without our prior written permission. Individual webpages from the Sites may be printed for your personal, non-commercial use only and may not be distributed to any third party. Users may be subject to administrative disciplinary action, civil charge, or criminal penalty for the unauthorized or improper use of Site, content or this limited license.

Title to all content on the Sites remains with Her Campus Media or its licensors, as indicated. Any use of the content not expressly permitted herein is a breach of this limited license and may violate copyright, trademark, or other laws. Content and features on the Sites are subject to change or termination without notice in our sole discretion. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved to Her Campus Media or its licensors.

IMAGES

All images, including photographs, illustrations, computer drawings or renderings, video clips, etc., posted on the Sites are the property of Her Campus Media, its suppliers, partners, clients, or illustrators and photographers hired by Her Campus Media, its partners, its clients and/or suppliers, as indicated, and are licensed for use on the Sites in accordance with individual agreements. Her Campus Media does not grant any express or implied right to you to under to any image any license, patents, copyrights, trademarks or trade secret information. Use of any image on this Sites requires written permission from Her Campus Media and/or any other party, as appropriate.

USER GENERATED CONTENT

Except as provided below, any communication or material you transmit to us by email or otherwise, or post on the Sites, including any data, images, questions, comments, suggestions, or the like (collectively, “User Generated Content” or “UGC”) is, and will be treated as, non-confidential and nonproprietary. Except to the extent expressly stated in these Terms of Use, anything you transmit or post on the Sites may be used by us for any purpose, including but not limited to, reproduction, disclosure, transmission, publication, broadcast and posting. You expressly agree that we are free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how, or techniques contained in any communication you send to us without compensation and for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to, developing, manufacturing and marketing products and services using such information. Furthermore, you confirm that any media files you submit to us (e.g., pictures, videos, etc.) are your property and you have permission of anyone depicted in these files to transfer rights in such media files to Her Campus Media. You further agree that any UGC you send us will not violate any rights of any third party and that you will only send us UGC for which you own or control the rights.

Please be advised that by publishing, uploading or otherwise submitting UGC to us, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to us an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part), transmit, and distribute such UGC for any purpose on or in connection with the Sites and waive any moral rights you may have in your UGC.  You represent and warrant to us that for the duration of these Terms of Use you have (and will have) all the rights necessary for the UGC you upload or share on the services and that the use of the UGC, as contemplated in this section will not violate any applicable laws.

For images, video or audio files, you agree only to post or upload media (like photos, videos or audio) on the Sites that you have taken yourself or that you have all rights to transmit and license and which do not violate trademark, copyright, privacy or any other rights of any other person.

To protect your privacy, you agree that you will not submit any media that contains Personal Information (such as name, phone number, email address or web site URL) of you or of anyone else. Uploading media like images or video of other people without their permission is strictly prohibited.

These Terms of Use strictly prohibits the posting or uploading of content or media of any kind that contain expressions of hate, abuse, offensive images or conduct, obscenity, pornography, sexually explicit or any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable law or regulations or that otherwise may be in conflict with this Terms of Use or our Privacy Policy.  Please see the following section for our Acceptable Use Policy.

If you use or share UGC in a way that infringes others' copyrights, trademarks, other intellectual property rights or privacy rights, you are breaching these Terms of Use. Further, if your account is cancelled or terminated, we may permanently delete your Content from our servers and we have no obligation to return UGC to you.

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

You are personally responsible for your use of the Sites and must conduct yourself in a lawful and respectful manner in accordance with our rules of conduct below. We may temporarily or permanently ban users who violate these rules, or who abuse email communications, support communications, or the community purpose of any message board areas, as determined by us, in our sole discretion. We further reserve the right to disable a visitor’s ability to upload UGC or edit your username at any time.

  • Profanity, obscenities, or the use of **asterisks** or other “masking” characters to disguise such words, is not permitted.

  • You may not use or upload obscene, lewd, slanderous, pornographic, abusive, violent, insulting, indecent, threatening and harassing language of any kind, as determined by us in our sole discretion.

  • Impersonating other persons is not allowed.

  • Do not share personal information (your name, phone number, home address, and password) with other users.

  • Do not transmit or upload any copyrighted or trademarked materials in messages or postings.

  • Information disclosed in chat rooms, message boards, gameplay dialogue or via eMessages is revealed to the public, and neither we, nor our developer partners, is responsible for information you choose to disclose to others.

  • Advanced fonts, java, tables, html or other programming codes or commands are not allowed in messages.

  • You may not attempt to participate in any service available on the Sites by means of automatic, macro, programmed or similar methods.

  • You may not commit fraud with regard to any service made available on the Sites.

  • You may not attempt to impersonate or deceive another user for the purposes of illicitly obtaining cards, passwords, account information etc. (aka “scamming”).

  • You may not make any commercial use of any of the information provided on the Sites nor make any use of the Sites for the benefit of a business.

  • You will not upload any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or any Sites.

We reserve the right to review all submissions and to remove any content or media for any reason, at any time, without prior notice, at our sole discretion and without any recompense to the submitter or poster.

In addition, we reserve have the right to remove user accounts in response to any misuse of the Sites in our sole discretion, including but not limited to the posting of comments of a malicious nature.

DMCA NOTICES

We take copyright infringement very seriously, and we have registered a Copyright Agent with the United States Copyright Office, which limits our liability under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If you believe that your copyright has been infringed, please send us a message which contains at minimum:

  • Your name; 

  • The name of the party whose copyright has been infringed, if different from your name; your contact information (address, telephone number, and email address); 

  • The name and description of the work that is being infringed; 

  • The location on our website of the infringing material; 

  • A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted work described above is not authorized by the copyright owner (or by a third party who is legally entitled to do so on behalf of the copyright owner) and is not otherwise permitted by law; a statement that you swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information contained in this notification is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or have an exclusive right in law to bring infringement proceedings with respect to its use. 

  • A physical or electronic signature of the owner of the infringed copyright or of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the infringed copyright. 

You must sign this notification and send it to our Copyright Agent at:

Attn: Copyright Agent
Her Campus Media
9 Lansdowne St., Suite 2
Boston, MA 02215
United States

Please also email a copy to legal@hercampus.com

ADVERTISEMENTS AND PROMOTIONS

We may display advertisements for the goods and services of third parties or other promotional materials on the Sites. Your dealings with, or participation in, promotions of any third-party advertisers are solely between you and such third party, and your participation is subject to any terms and conditions associated with that advertisement or promotion. We do not endorse or represent such third parties, and by accessing and using the Sites, you agree that Her Campus Media is not responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as a result of any such dealings or the presence of such third parties on the Sites.

SWEEPSTAKES OR OTHER CONTESTS

We may offer from time-time for you to participate in sweepstakes or other contests (each a “Sweepstakes”).  THERE IS NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN ANY SWEEPSTAKES, AND MAKING A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE THE CHANCES OF WINNING. All Sweepstakes are open only to individuals at least eighteen (18) years of age and the age of majority in their state, providence or country of primary residence at the time of entry (each an “Entrant” or, collectively, “Entrants”). Entrants must have a valid account on one or more Sites.  

Her Campus Media (and its respective employees, shareholders, officers, directors, agents, parent companies, affiliates, divisions, subsidiaries, agents, representatives and advertising agencies are not eligible to participate in the Sweepstakes. Immediate family and household members of such individuals are also not eligible to enter or win. Sweepstakes prizes are non-transferable and cannot be substituted, sold or bartered. Void where prohibited by law. 

To participate, you will be asked to provide your full name, address, date of birth and email address in our email message inviting you to participate.  By providing this information, you represent that you are the rightful owner (or authorized users) of the email address and/or phone number.  Any deliberate attempt to manipulate the entry process may result in your disqualification. Requests generated by a macro, script or other automated means will be disqualified. Incomplete, unreadable, or unintelligible requests will be disqualified. 

Participation in any Sweepstakes constitutes your understanding of and full unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Terms of Use.

LINKS

The Sites and associated services may contain links to other websites or online services that are operated and maintained by other persons or entities and that are not under our control or otherwise affiliated with us. Such links do not constitute an endorsement by us of those other websites or online services, the content displayed therein, or the persons or businesses associated therewith. These Terms of Use do not apply to such other websites and online services.  We encourage you to review the privacy policies and terms of use of these other websites or services.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

YOUR USE OF THE SITES AND SERVICES AVAILABLE ON THE SITES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES OR INFORMATION AVAILABLE THROUGH SITES AND ASSOCIATED SERVICES MEET YOUR SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS. 

WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE SITES AND ASSOCIATED SERVICES. THE SITES AND ASSOCIATED SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS”, “WITH ALL FAULTS,” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, STATUTORY OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO (I) THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WORKMANLIKE EFFORT, TITLE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, NO LIENS AND NO ENCUMBRANCES; (II) THE WARRANTIES AGAINST INFRINGEMENT, MISAPPROPRIATION OR VIOLATION OF ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR PROPRIETARY RIGHTS OF ANY PERSON; (III) WARRANTIES ARISING THROUGH COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE IN TRADE; AND (IV) THE WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CORRECTNESS, OR COMPLETENESS OF DATA OR CONTENT MADE AVAILABLE ON THE SITES AND ASSOCIATED ASERVICES OR OTHERWISE BY US. FURTHER, THERE IS NO WARRANTY THAT THE SITES OR ASSOCIATED SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS OR THE NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS OF ANY OTHER PERSON OR THE NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH IN ANY DOCUMENTATION.

WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, STATUTORY OR IMPLIED, THAT THE SITES AND ASSOCIATED SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE CONTENT, FUNCTIONS OR MATERIALS CONTAINED THEREIN, WILL BE TIMELY, SECURE, ACCURATE, ERROR-FREE, COMPLETE, UP-TO-DATE, FREE OF VIRUSES, OR UNINTERRUPTED. WE DO NOT NECESSARILY ENDORSE, SUPPORT, SANCTION, ENCOURAGE OR AGREE WITH ANY CONTENT AND WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND LIABILITIES IN CONNECTION WITH ANY CONTENT. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION THAT THE SITES OR ASSOCIATED SERVICES ARE APPROPRIATE OR AVAILABLE FOR USE OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE BY OR ON BEHALF OF US SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY.

IF APPLICABLE LAW DOES NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTIES TO APPLY TO YOU, THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS WILL APPLY TO YOU TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY; EXCLUSIVE REMEDY

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION NEGLIGENCE, WILL WE, OUR AFFILIATES, OR ANY PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DELIVERING THE SITES OR ASSOCIATED SERVICES BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OR LOSSES INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES AND LOST PROFITS ARISING OUT OF THE TERMS OR YOUR ACCESS, USE, MISUSE, OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITES OR SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY CONTENT, OR ANY WEBSITES OR MOBILE APPLICATIONS LINKED FROM THE SITES, HOWEVER CAUSED, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMPUTER VIRUS, OR LINE OR SYSTEM FAILURE.

BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OUR LIABILITY IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

ANY CLAIM AGAINST US SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT YOU PAID, IF ANY, FOR USE OF THE SITES OR ASSOCIATED SERVICES; OTHERWISE, YOUR REMEDY WITH RESPECT TO ANY DISPUTE WITH US (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION YOUR USE OF THE SITES OR ASSOCIATED SERVICES) IS TO DISCONTINUE YOUR USE OF THE SITES AND SERVICES.

INDEMNITY

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold Her Campus Media its affiliated companies, officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, and suppliers, harmless from and against any claims, actions or demands, liabilities and settlements including without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, resulting from, or alleged to result from, your violation of these Terms of Use.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ARBITRATION AGREEMENT

We will work in good faith to resolve any issue you have with the Sites and any services we offered on the Sites.  if you bring that issue to the attention of our customer service department. However, we realize that there may be rare cases where we may not be able to resolve an issue to your complete satisfaction.

However, if we cannot resolve your issue, you and Her Campus Media agree that any dispute arising out of or relating to the subject matter of these Terms of Use shall be finally settled by binding arbitration in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The arbitration will proceed in the English language, in accordance with the Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. ("JAMS") then in effect, by one commercial arbitrator who shall be selected from the appropriate list of JAMS arbitrators in accordance with such its rules. 

Judgment upon the award rendered by such arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Notwithstanding the foregoing obligation to arbitrate disputes, each party shall have the right to pursue injunctive or other equitable relief at any time, from any court of competent jurisdiction.  The JAMS rules will govern payment of all arbitration fees.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, either you or Her Campus Media may assert claims, if they qualify, in small claims court in the Commonwealth of Commonwealth or the United States county where you live.

YOU AND HER CAMPUS MEDIA WAIVE ANY CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY RIGHTS TO GO TO COURT AND HAVE A TRIAL IN FRONT OF A JUDGE OR JURY. You and Her Campus Media are instead choosing to have claims and disputes resolved by arbitration. Arbitration procedures are typically more limited, more efficient, and less costly than rules applicable in court and are subject to very limited review by a court. In any litigation between you and Her Campus Media over whether to vacate or enforce an arbitration award, YOU AND HER CAMPUS MEDIA WAIVE ALL RIGHTS TO A JURY TRIAL and elect instead to have the dispute be resolved by a judge.

ALL CLAIMS AND DISPUTES WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT MUST BE ARBITRATED OR LITIGATED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT ON A CLASS BASIS. CLAIMS OF MORE THAN ONE CUSTOMER OR USER CANNOT BE ARBITRATED OR LITIGATED JOINTLY OR CONSOLIDATED WITH THOSE OF ANY OTHER CUSTOMER OR USER. If, however, this waiver of class or consolidated actions is deemed invalid or unenforceable, neither you nor Her Campus Media  is entitled to arbitration; instead all claims and disputes will be resolved in a court as set forth in main below.

In any circumstances where the this Arbitration Agreement permits either you or Her Campus Media to litigate any dispute arising out of or relating to the subject matter of these Terms of Use in court, then the this Arbitration Agreement will not apply to either party and both you and Her Campus Media agree that any judicial proceeding (other than small claims actions) will be brought in the state or federal courts located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

if any part of this Arbitration Agreement is deemed to be invalid, unenforceable, or illegal, or otherwise conflicts with the JAMS rules, the balance of this Arbitration Agreement 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. 

This Arbitration Agreement will survive the termination of your relationship with Her Campus Media.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS 

You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to access to the Sites or use of any services available on the Sites must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

You agree that these Terms of Use and any other documentation, agreements, notices or communications between you and Her Campus Media may be provided to you electronically, to the extent permissible by law. Please print a copy of all documentation, agreements, notices or other communications for your reference.

GOVERNING LAW AND FORUM

These Terms of Use are governed by the laws of the United States and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to any conflict of laws provisions. Venue for any dispute arising under these Terms of Use (including any dispute related to use of any services available on the Sites) shall be proper exclusively in the federal or state courts in Suffolk County, Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

MISCELLANEOUS

No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment is created as a result of these Terms of Use, and you do not have any authority of any kind to bind Her Campus Media in any respect whatsoever. You and Her Campus Media agree there are no third-party beneficiaries intended under these Terms of Use.

No waiver of any provision of these Terms of Use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or any other term, and Her Campus Media’s failure to assert any right or provision under these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

Her Campus Media has the right to assign these Terms of Use and its rights hereunder to any party from time to time.

CHILDREN

The Sites are not intended for use by children under 13 for US residents and under 16 for residents of the EEA, UK or Switzerland.

CONTACT US

For more information about these Terms of Use, if you have questions, or if you would like to make a complaint, please contact us by e-mail at info@hercampus.com or by mail using the details provided below:

Her Campus Media, Attn: Legal Department

9 Lansdowne St., Suite 2

Boston, MA 02215