Disclosure Agreements
Updated April 5, 2024
Notice of Privacy Practices under HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act)
Your Health Information is protected under Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and your records are protected by federal regulation governing the confidentiality of such records (42 C.F.R. Part 2), and cannot be disclosed without your written consent unless permitted by such laws. Your Health Information may contain information concerning your mental health diagnosis and treatment, substance use disorder diagnosis and treatment, and other health related or personal information.
Confidentiality and Technology: Methods of communication are also protected under HIPAA. This law ensures the confidentiality of all electronic transmission of information about you. Whenever your therapist transmits information about you electronically (for example, sending bills or scheduling information), it will be done with special safeguards to ensure confidentiality. If you elect to communicate with your therapist by email at some point in your work together, please be aware that email is not completely confidential. All emails are retained in the logs of your or your therapist’s internet service provider. While under normal circumstances no one looks at these logs, they are, in theory, available to be read by the system administrator(s) of the internet service provider. If you elect to text messages, please be aware that texting is not completely confidential. Text messaging is only appropriate for scheduling. If you email, call, or text, you are consenting for your therapist to respond to you via that communication method unless otherwise stated.
Release of Information: You have the right to provide a release to share your information and you may direct your therapist to share information you have chosen to share. You also can revoke the release at any time. Please note that your health information may be subject to re-disclosure by any individual or entity receiving the health information and may no longer be protected by law. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time by contacting Defining Self, PLLC except to the extent that action has been taken in reliance on it. Unless you revoke your therapist’s consent earlier, this will expire when Defining Self, PLLC no longer needs to use, disclose, or receive your Health Information for a treatment, payment, or health care operations purpose.
Confidentiality and Third Party Insurer: If you are using a third party, such as an insurance company to pay for part of services, Defining Self, PLLC is required to provide a diagnosis and may share or disclose additional health information to your health insurer for the purpose of claims payment, quality review, and clinical care coordination and may be prone to providing information in cases of audit requests for care for quality from insurance companies. This is often required through insurance companies to confirm necessity for services and ensure coverage of services. Additionally, information may be provided to a company in which Defining Self, PLLC has a BAA with (e.g., electronic health records or language translation services) for purpose of service delivery.
Consultation: Defining Self, PLLC may disclose general information with your name and other identifying information omitted to other clinical providers for purpose of consultation with other qualified professionals. These consultations are for professional, education, and training purposes.
Confidentiality in Social Setting: If you and your therapist see each other outside of the therapy office unintentionally, your therapist will not acknowledge you first. Your right to privacy and confidentiality is the utmost importance to your therapist. If you acknowledge them first, they can to speak briefly with you but will not disclose the nature of the therapeutic relationship or anything you have discussed in therapy.
The following are legal exceptions to your right to confidentiality and your therapist would do their best to inform you when they think they will need to put these into effect:
If they have good reason to believe that you are in imminent danger of harm to yourself, in these cases, they may be required to contact your emergency contact, county crisis, 911, or another personal contact or service provider to ensure your safety. They would first explore all other options with you before taking this step, but if there was a point of lost capacity or unwillingness to take steps towards safety planning, then they would be required to contact at least one of the outside sources listed above.
If they have good reason to believe you will harm another person, they must attempt to inform that person and warn them of your intentions. They also must contact the police and ask them to protect the intended victim.
If they have good reason to believe a child or vulnerable adult is being abused or neglected. They are required to inform Child Protective Services or Adult Protective Services immediately. Additionally, if you are between the ages of 16 and 18 and you disclose that you are having sexual relations with someone more than 5 years older than you, or with a teacher of coach, they will need to report this to Child Protective Services.
If there is a medical emergency and the disclosure is to a medical personnel for your safety and health care (e.g., call 911 or disclose health history to EMT in case of medical emergency).
If you tell them of the behavior of another named health or mental health care provider that has either engaged in sexual contact with a patient, including yourself, or impaired from practice in some manner by cognitive, emotional, behavioral, or health problems, then the law requires me to report this to their licensing board at the NC Department of Health. If you are my client and a health care provider, however, your confidentiality remains protected under the law from this kind of reporting.
If they are ordered to testify or provide documentation to the court system by a judge and are required to follow through. Your therapist cannot provide any information without your (or your legal representative's) written authorization, or a court order, or if they receive a subpoena of which you have been properly notified but have not informed them that you oppose the subpoena. If you are involved in or contemplating litigation, you should consult with an attorney to determine whether a court would be likely to order your therapist to disclose information.
If a client files a complaint or lawsuit against them, they may need to disclose relevant information regarding that client to provide their testimony.
In the event of your death, your death would need to be reported to a public health authority.
In the event of your therapist’s incapacitation or death, they would grant a qualified mental health professional the ability to inform you of their inability to maintain services with you.
If a client files a worker's compensation claim, and they are providing necessary treatment related to that claim, they must, upon appropriate request, submit treatment reports to the appropriate parties, including the patient's employer, the insurance carrier or an authorized qualified rehabilitation provider.
Website Data Privacy Policy
Defining Self, PLLC is committed to protecting your privacy. Generally, you can browse through this website without giving us any information about yourself. When it is needed collect your PII (defined below) to provide you with the service, or when you choose to provide your PII, this Privacy Policy describes how you PII is collected, used and disclosed (except for personal health information submitted by you in the course of services). Any conflict between this Privacy Policy and the HIPAA Policy with respect to such submitted personal health information shall be resolved in favor of the HIPAA Policy. Also, please note that, unless a term is defined in this Privacy Policy, all capitalized terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in the Terms of Service. Therefore, please make sure that you have read and understand our Terms of Service.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
Any information that is collected via the Website, App or the Service is covered by the Privacy Policy or the HIPAA Policy in effect at the time such information is collected. The Privacy Policy may be amended from time to time, and you will be notified of any substantial changes in the way you PII is used by posting on the website or by sending you an email or other notification. This will include updating the ”Updated Date” above to indicate when those changes will become effective.
Information Collection
Personally identifiable Information (“PII“) means any information that may be used to identify an individual, including, but not limited to, a first and last name, email address, a home, postal or other physical address, and phone number.
Account Information. Defining Self, PLLC will collect your PII when you register for services or when you submit your PII to us through the service for any other reason. If you create an account through the portal website or website contact page, we may also collect your title, birth date, gender, occupation, industry, personal interests, and other information that is not considered PII because it cannot be used by itself to identify you.
Cookies and Tracking Technology. A “cookie” is a small data file that certain websites write to your hard drive when you visit them. A cookie file can contain information such as a user ID that the website uses to track the pages you’ve visited, but the only PII a cookie can contain is information you supply yourself. A cookie can’t read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other websites. Some parts of the Service use cookies to understand user traffic patterns and to tell us how and when you interact with our Website and Service. This is done in order to determine the usefulness of the website and service information to users, to see how effective navigational structure is in helping users reach that information and to customize and improve the website and service. Unlike persistent cookies, session cookies are deleted when you log off from the website, app and service and close your browser.
If you prefer not to receive cookies while browsing the website and service, you can set your browser to warn you before accepting cookies and refuse the cookie when your browser alerts you to its presence. You can also refuse all cookies by turning them off in your browser. You do not need to have cookies turned on to use/navigate through many parts of our Website and Service, although if you do so, you may not be able to access all portions or features of the Website and Service. Some third-party services providers that we engage (including third-party advertisers) may also place their own cookies on your hard drive. Note that this Privacy Policy covers only Defining Self, PLLC’s use of cookies and does not include use of cookies by such third parties.
“Web Beacons” (also known as Web bugs, pixel tags or clear GIFs) are tiny graphics with a unique identifier that may be included on our Website, App and Service for several purposes, including to deliver or communicate with cookies, to track and measure the performance of our Website and Service, to monitor how many visitors view the website and service, and to monitor the effectiveness of advertising. Unlike cookies, which are stored on the user’s hard drive, Web Beacons are typically embedded invisibly on web pages (or in an e-mail).
Information Related to Your Use of the Service. If you have not created an account, or when you use service and website anonymously. Defining Self, PLLC does automatically log your IP address (the Internet address of your computer) and other information such as your browser type, operating system, the web page that you were visiting before accessing our Website and Service, the pages or features of our Website and Service to which you browsed to give an idea of which part of our Website and Service you visit and how long you spend there (we refer to this information as “Log Data“). But your IP address is not linked to any PII unless you have logged in via your account. Log Data is used to administer the website and service and analyze (and may engage third parties to analyze) Log Data to improve, customize and enhance the Website and Service by expanding their features and functionality and tailoring them to our users’ needs and preferences.
Information Sent by Your Mobile Device. Certain information will be collected that your mobile device sends when you use the website and service, like a device identifier, user settings and the operating system of your device, as well as information about your use of website and service. You understand that, by logging in on your mobile device, some information pertaining to your medical treatment may be stored to your mobile device. Defining Self, PLLC is not responsible for any unauthorized access by any third party to such information on your mobile device.
Location Information. When you use the website, information may be collected and stored about your location by converting your IP address into a rough geo-location or by accessing your mobile device’s GPS coordinates or course location if you enable location services on your device. Defining Self, PLLC may use location information to improve and personalize our Website for you. If you do not want location information collected, you may disable that feature on your mobile device.
Your Choices
Opt-Out. Defining Self, PLLC may periodically send you free newsletters and e-mails that directly promote services. When you receive such promotional communications, you will have the opportunity to “opt-out” (either through your account or by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in the e-mail you receive).
Information Sharing and Disclosure
Your PII is not shared outside of the Companies without your permission, except as described below.
Information Shared with Our Services Providers. We may engage third-party services providers to work with us to administer and provide the Service. These third-party services providers have access to your PII only for the purpose of performing services on our behalf and are expressly obligated not to disclose or use your PII for any other purpose.
Information Shared with Third Parties. We may share your aggregated information and non-identifying information with third parties to conduct on-going quality improvement activities, or for industry research and analysis, demographic profiling and other similar purposes.
Information Disclosed in Connection with Business Transactions. Information that we collect from our users, including PII, is considered to be a business asset. Thus, if Defining Self, PLLC is acquired by a third party as a result of a transaction such as a merger, acquisition or asset sale or if assets are acquired by a third party in the event Defining Self, PLLC goes out of business or enters bankruptcy, some or all of assets, including your PII, may be disclosed or transferred to a third party acquirer in connection with the transaction.
Information Disclosed for Defining Self, PLLC Protection and the Protection of Others. Defining Self, PLLC cooperates with government and law enforcement officials or private parties to enforce and comply with the law and may disclose any information about you to government or law enforcement officials or private parties as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate: (i) to enforce Terms of Service, (ii) to respond to claims, legal process (including subpoenas); (iii) to protect property, rights and safety and the property, rights and safety of a third party, users, or the public in general; (iv) to stop any activity that us considered illegal, unethical or legally actionable activity; and (v) as required in accordance with HIPAA or related applicable local, state or federal laws (please refer to the HIPAA Policy).
Your Ability to Review Your Account and Information
If you are a registered user with a portal account, you can review your PII by going to ttps://www.therapyportal.com/p/definingself/.
Data Security
Your account information is password-protected for your privacy and security. The Companies safeguard the security of the information you provide to us with physical, electronic, and managerial procedures. In certain areas of our Website, we use industry-standard SSL-encryption to enhance the security of data transmissions. While we strive to protect your PII, we cannot ensure the security of the information you transmit to us, and so we urge you to take every precaution to protect your PII when you are on the Internet. Change your passwords often, use a combination of letters and numbers, and make sure you use a secure browser.
Responding to Do Not Track Signals
This Website does not have the capability to respond to “Do Not Track” signals received from various web browsers.
Children and Privacy
This website does not target and are not intended to attract children under the age of 18 and does not knowingly solicit PII from children under the age of 18 or send them requests for PII. If we learn that we have collected PII of a child under 18, then steps will be taken to delete such information from the files as soon as possible. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Defining Self, PLLC may collect PII about children under 18 that parents or guardians provide when establishing an account for their children’s records.
Third Party Sites
The Website and Service contain links to other sites that are owned or operated by third parties. Defining Self PLLC is not responsible for the content, privacy or security practices of any third parties. To protect your information, it is encouraged you learn about the privacy policies of those third parties.
International Transfer
Your information is stored on controlled servers with Defining Self, PLLC with limited access and may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country where Defining Self, PLLC is located. If you’re located outside the United States and choose to provide your PII, then your PIIC may transfer II to the United States and be processed there. Those who choose to access and use the Service from outside the U.S. do so on their own initiative, at their own risk, and are responsible for compliance with applicable laws.
TERMS OF USE: AGREEMENT TO TERMS
These Terms of Use constitute a legally binding agreement made between you, whether personally or on behalf of an entity (“you”) and Defining Self, PLLC (“we,” “us” or “our”), concerning your access to and use of the https://www.definingself.org website as well as any other media form, media channel, mobile website or mobile application related, linked, or otherwise connected thereto (collectively, the “Site”). You agree that by accessing the Site, you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by all of these Terms of Use. If you do not agree with all of these terms of use, then you are expressly prohibited from using the site and you must discontinue use immediately.
Supplemental terms and conditions or documents that may be posted on the Site from time to time are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to make changes or modifications to these Terms of Use at any time and for any reason. We will alert you about any changes by updating the “Last updated” date of these Terms of Use, and you waive any right to receive specific notice of each such change. It is your responsibility to periodically review these Terms of Use to stay informed of updates. You will be subject to, and will be deemed to have been made aware of and to have accepted, the changes in any revised Terms of Use by your continued use of the Site after the date such revised Terms of Use are posted.
The information provided on the Site is not intended for distribution to or use by any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would subject us to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or country. Accordingly, those persons who choose to access the Site from other locations do so on their own initiative and are solely responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable.
The Site is intended for users who are at least 18 years old. Persons under the age of 18 are not permitted to use or register for the Site.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Unless otherwise indicated, the Site is our proprietary property and all source code, databases, functionality, software, website designs, audio, video, text, photographs, and graphics on the Site (collectively, the “Content”) and the trademarks, service marks, and logos contained therein (the “Marks”) are owned or controlled by us or licensed to us, and are protected by copyright and trademark laws and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws of the United States, foreign jurisdictions, and international conventions. The Content and the Marks are provided on the Site “AS IS” for your information and personal use only. Except as expressly provided in these Terms of Use, no part of the Site and no Content or Marks may be copied, reproduced, aggregated, republished, uploaded, posted, publicly displayed, encoded, translated, transmitted, distributed, sold, licensed, or otherwise exploited for any commercial purpose whatsoever, without our express prior written permission.
Provided that you are eligible to use the Site, you are granted a limited license to access and use the Site and to download or print a copy of any portion of the Content to which you have properly gained access solely for your personal, non-commercial use. We reserve all rights not expressly granted to you in and to the Site, the Content and the Marks.
USER REPRESENTATIONS
By using the Site, you represent and warrant that: (1) all registration information you submit will be true, accurate, current, and complete; (2) you will maintain the accuracy of such information and promptly update such registration information as necessary; (3) you have the legal capacity and you agree to comply with these Terms of Use; (4) you are not a minor in the jurisdiction in which you reside; (5) you will not access the Site through automated or non-human means, whether through a bot, script or otherwise; (6) you will not use the Site for any illegal or unauthorized purpose; and (7) your use of the Site will not violate any applicable law or regulation.
If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, we have the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Site (or any portion thereof).
PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES
You may not access or use the Site for any purpose other than that for which we make the Site available. The Site may not be used in connection with any commercial endeavors except those that are specifically endorsed or approved by us.
As a user of the Site, you agree not to:
1. Systematically retrieve data or other content from the Site to create or compile, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, database, or directory without written permission from us.
2. Make any unauthorized use of the Site, including collecting usernames and/or email addresses of users by electronic or other means for the purpose of sending unsolicited email, or creating user accounts by automated means or under false pretenses.
3. Use a buying agent or purchasing agent to make purchases on the Site.
4. Use the Site to advertise or offer to sell goods and services.
5. Circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the Site, including features that prevent or restrict the use or copying of any Content or enforce limitations on the use of the Site and/or the Content contained therein.
6. Engage in unauthorized framing of or linking to the Site.
7. Trick, defraud, or mislead us and other users, especially in any attempt to learn sensitive account information such as user passwords.
8. Make improper use of our support services or submit false reports of abuse or misconduct.
9. Engage in any automated use of the system, such as using scripts to send comments or messages, or using any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools.
10. Interfere with, disrupt, or create an undue burden on the Site or the networks or services connected to the Site.
11. Attempt to impersonate another user or person or use the username of another user.
12. Sell or otherwise transfer your profile.
13. Use any information obtained from the Site in order to harass, abuse, or harm another person.
14. Use the Site as part of any effort to compete with us or otherwise use the Site and/or the Content for any revenue-generating endeavor or commercial enterprise.
15. Decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any of the software comprising or in any way making up a part of the Site.
16. Attempt to bypass any measures of the Site designed to prevent or restrict access to the Site, or any portion of the Site.
17. Harass, annoy, intimidate, or threaten any of our employees or agents engaged in providing any portion of the Site to you.
18. Delete the copyright or other proprietary rights notice from any Content.
19. Copy or adapt the Site’s software, including but not limited to Flash, PHP, HTML, JavaScript, or other code.
20. Upload or transmit (or attempt to upload or to transmit) viruses, Trojan horses, or other material, including excessive use of capital letters and spamming (continuous posting of repetitive text), that interferes with any party’s uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the Site or modifies, impairs, disrupts, alters, or interferes with the use, features, functions, operation, or maintenance of the Site.
21. Upload or transmit (or attempt to upload or to transmit) any material that acts as a passive or active information collection or transmission mechanism, including without limitation, clear graphics interchange formats (“gifs”), 1×1 pixels, web bugs, cookies, or other similar devices (sometimes referred to as “spyware” or “passive collection mechanisms” or “pcms”).
22. Except as may be the result of standard search engine or Internet browser usage, use, launch, develop, or distribute any automated system, including without limitation, any spider, robot, cheat utility, scraper, or offline reader that accesses the Site, or using or launching any unauthorized script or other software.
23. Disparage, tarnish, or otherwise harm, in our opinion, us and/or the Site.
24. Use the Site in a manner inconsistent with any applicable laws or regulations.
USER GENERATED CONTRIBUTIONS
The Site may invite you to chat, contribute to, or participate in blogs, message boards, online forums, and other functionality, and may provide you with the opportunity to create, submit, post, display, transmit, perform, publish, distribute, or broadcast content and materials to us or on the Site, including but not limited to text, writings, video, audio, photographs, graphics, comments, suggestions, or personal information or other material (collectively, “Contributions”). Contributions may be viewable by other users of the Site and through third-party websites. As such, any Contributions you transmit may be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary. When you create or make available any Contributions, you thereby represent and warrant that:
The creation, distribution, transmission, public display, or performance, and the accessing, downloading, or copying of your Contributions do not and will not infringe the proprietary rights, including but not limited to the copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, or moral rights of any third party.
1. You are the creator and owner of or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, releases, and permissions to use and to authorize us, the Site, and other users of the Site to use your Contributions in any manner contemplated by the Site and these Terms of Use.
2. You have the written consent, release, and/or permission of each and every identifiable individual person in your Contributions to use the name or likeness of each and every such identifiable individual person to enable inclusion and use of your Contributions in any manner contemplated by the Site and these Terms of Use.
3. Your Contributions are not false, inaccurate, or misleading.
4. Your Contributions are not unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, pyramid schemes, chain letters, spam, mass mailings, or other forms of solicitation.
5. Your Contributions are not obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, violent, harassing, libelous, slanderous, or otherwise objectionable (as determined by us).
6. Your Contributions do not ridicule, mock, disparage, intimidate, or abuse anyone.
7. Your Contributions do not advocate the violent overthrow of any government or incite, encourage, or threaten physical harm against another.
8. Your Contributions do not violate any applicable law, regulation, or rule.
9. Your Contributions do not violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party.
10. Your Contributions do not contain any material that solicits personal information from anyone under the age of 18 or exploits people under the age of 18 in a sexual or violent manner.
11. Your Contributions do not violate any federal or state law concerning child pornography, or otherwise intended to protect the health or well-being of minors;
12. Your Contributions do not include any offensive comments that are connected to race, national origin, gender, sexual preference, or physical handicap.
13. Your Contributions do not otherwise violate, or link to material that violates, any provision of these Terms of Use, or any applicable law or regulation.
Any use of the Site in violation of the foregoing violates these Terms of Use and may result in, among other things, termination or suspension of your rights to use the Site.
CONTRIBUTION LICENSE
By posting your Contributions to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to us an unrestricted, unlimited, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free, fully-paid, worldwide right, and license to host, use, copy, reproduce, disclose, sell, resell, publish, broadcast, retitle, archive, store, cache, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, transmit, excerpt (in whole or in part), and distribute such Contributions (including, without limitation, your image and voice) for any purpose, commercial, advertising, or otherwise, and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such Contributions, and grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. The use and distribution may occur in any media formats and through any media channels.
This license will apply to any form, media, or technology now known or hereafter developed, and includes our use of your name, company name, and franchise name, as applicable, and any of the trademarks, service marks, trade names, logos, and personal and commercial images you provide. You waive all moral rights in your Contributions, and you warrant that moral rights have not otherwise been asserted in your Contributions.
We do not assert any ownership over your Contributions. You retain full ownership of all of your Contributions and any intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights associated with your Contributions. We are not liable for any statements or representations in your Contributions provided by you in any area on the Site. You are solely responsible for your Contributions to the Site and you expressly agree to exonerate us from any and all responsibility and to refrain from any legal action against us regarding your Contributions.
We have the right, in our sole and absolute discretion, (1) to edit, redact, or otherwise change any Contributions; (2) to re-categorize any Contributions to place them in more appropriate locations on the Site; and (3) to pre-screen or delete any Contributions at any time and for any reason, without notice. We have no obligation to monitor your Contributions.
SUBMISSIONS
You acknowledge and agree that any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, feedback, or other information regarding the Site (“Submissions”) provided by you to us are non-confidential and shall become our sole property. We shall own exclusive rights, including all intellectual property rights, and shall be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of these Submissions for any lawful purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment or compensation to you. You hereby waive all moral rights to any such Submissions, and you hereby warrant that any such Submissions are original with you or that you have the right to submit such Submissions. You agree there shall be no recourse against us for any alleged or actual infringement or misappropriation of any proprietary right in your Submissions.
THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES AND CONTENT
The Site may contain (or you may be sent via the Site) links to other websites (“Third-Party Websites”) as well as articles, photographs, text, graphics, pictures, designs, music, sound, video, information, applications, software, and other content or items belonging to or originating from third parties (“Third-Party Content”). Such Third-Party Websites and Third-Party Content are not investigated, monitored, or checked for accuracy, appropriateness, or completeness by us, and we are not responsible for any Third-Party Websites accessed through the Site or any Third-Party Content posted on, available through, or installed from the Site, including the content, accuracy, offensiveness, opinions, reliability, privacy practices, or other policies of or contained in the Third-Party Websites or the Third-Party Content. Inclusion of, linking to, or permitting the use or installation of any Third-Party Websites or any Third-Party Content does not imply approval or endorsement thereof by us. If you decide to leave the Site and access the Third-Party Websites or to use or install any Third-Party Content, you do so at your own risk, and you should be aware these Terms of Use no longer govern. You should review the applicable terms and policies, including privacy and data gathering practices, of any website to which you navigate from the Site or relating to any applications you use or install from the Site. Any purchases you make through Third-Party Websites will be through other websites and from other companies, and we take no responsibility whatsoever in relation to such purchases which are exclusively between you and the applicable third party. You agree and acknowledge that we do not endorse the products or services offered on Third-Party Websites and you shall hold us harmless from any harm caused by your purchase of such products or services. Additionally, you shall hold us harmless from any losses sustained by you or harm caused to you relating to or resulting in any way from any Third-Party Content or any contact with Third-Party Websites.
SITE MANAGEMENT
We reserve the right, but not the obligation, to: (1) monitor the Site for violations of these Terms of Use; (2) take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in our sole discretion, violates the law or these Terms of Use, including without limitation, reporting such user to law enforcement authorities; (3) in our sole discretion and without limitation, refuse, restrict access to, limit the availability of, or disable (to the extent technologically feasible) any of your Contributions or any portion thereof; (4) in our sole discretion and without limitation, notice, or liability, to remove from the Site or otherwise disable all files and content that are excessive in size or are in any way burdensome to our systems; and (5) otherwise manage the Site in a manner designed to protect our rights and property and to facilitate the proper functioning of the Site.
PRIVACY POLICY
We care about data privacy and security. Please review our Privacy Policy: https://www.definingself.org. By using the Site, you agree to be bound by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms of Use. Please be advised the Site is hosted in the United States. If you access the Site from the European Union, Asia, or any other region of the world with laws or other requirements governing personal data collection, use, or disclosure that differ from applicable laws in the United States, then through your continued use of the Site, you are transferring your data to the United States, and you expressly consent to have your data transferred to and processed in the United States. Further, we do not knowingly accept, request, or solicit information from children or knowingly market to children. Therefore, in accordance with the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, if we receive actual knowledge that anyone under the age of 13 has provided personal information to us without the requisite and verifiable parental consent, we will delete that information from the Site as quickly as is reasonably practical.
DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT (DMCA) NOTICE AND POLICY
Notifications
We respect the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that any material available on or through the Site infringes upon any copyright you own or control, please immediately notify our Designated Copyright Agent using the contact information provided below (a “Notification”). A copy of your Notification will be sent to the person who posted or stored the material addressed in the Notification. Please be advised that pursuant to federal law you may be held liable for damages if you make material misrepresentations in a Notification. Thus, if you are not sure that material located on or linked to by the Site infringes your copyright, you should consider first contacting an attorney.
All Notifications should meet the requirements of DMCA 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3) and include the following information: (1) A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; (2) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works on the Site are covered by the Notification, a representative list of such works on the Site; (3) identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing 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 us to locate the material; (4) information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an email address at which the complaining party may be contacted; (5) a statement that the complaining party has 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 (6) a statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed upon.
Counter Notification
If you believe your own copyrighted material has been removed from the Site as a result of a mistake or misidentification, you may submit a written counter notification to [us/our Designated Copyright Agent] using the contact information provided below (a “Counter Notification”). To be an effective Counter Notification under the DMCA, your Counter Notification must include substantially the following: (1) identification of the material that has been removed or disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or disabled; (2) a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court in which your address is located, or if your address is outside the United States, for any judicial district in which we are located; (3) a statement that you will accept service of process from the party that filed the Notification or the party’s agent; (4) your name, address, and telephone number; (5) a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material in question was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled; and (6) your physical or electronic signature.
If you send us a valid, written Counter Notification meeting the requirements described above, we will restore your removed or disabled material, unless we first receive notice from the party filing the Notification informing us that such party has filed a court action to restrain you from engaging in infringing activity related to the material in question. Please note that if you materially misrepresent that the disabled or removed content was removed by mistake or misidentification, you may be liable for damages, including costs and attorney’s fees. Filing a false Counter Notification constitutes perjury.
Designated Copyright Agent
Defining Self, PLLC
Phone: 704-293-2100
Email: info@definingself.org
TERM AND TERMINATION
These Terms of Use shall remain in full force and effect while you use the Site. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THESE TERMS OF USE, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO, IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION AND WITHOUT NOTICE OR LIABILITY, DENY ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE (INCLUDING BLOCKING CERTAIN IP ADDRESSES), TO ANY PERSON FOR ANY REASON OR FOR NO REASON, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION FOR BREACH OF ANY REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR COVENANT CONTAINED IN THESE TERMS OF USE OR OF ANY APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION. WE MAY TERMINATE YOUR USE OR PARTICIPATION IN THE SITE OR DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT AND ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION THAT YOU POSTED AT ANY TIME, WITHOUT WARNING, IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION.
If we terminate or suspend your account for any reason, you are prohibited from registering and creating a new account under your name, a fake or borrowed name, or the name of any third party, even if you may be acting on behalf of the third party. In addition to terminating or suspending your account, we reserve the right to take appropriate legal action, including without limitation pursuing civil, criminal, and injunctive redress.
MODIFICATIONS AND INTERRUPTIONS
We reserve the right to change, modify, or remove the contents of the Site at any time or for any reason at our sole discretion without notice. However, we have no obligation to update any information on our Site. We also reserve the right to modify or discontinue all or part of the Site without notice at any time. We will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, price change, suspension, or discontinuance of the Site.
We cannot guarantee the Site will be available at all times. We may experience hardware, software, or other problems or need to perform maintenance related to the Site, resulting in interruptions, delays, or errors. We reserve the right to change, revise, update, suspend, discontinue, or otherwise modify the Site at any time or for any reason without notice to you. You agree that we have no liability whatsoever for any loss, damage, or inconvenience caused by your inability to access or use the Site during any downtime or discontinuance of the Site. Nothing in these Terms of Use will be construed to obligate us to maintain and support the Site or to supply any corrections, updates, or releases in connection therewith.
GOVERNING LAW
These Terms of Use and your use of the Site are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois applicable to agreements made and to be entirely performed within the State of Illinois, without regard to its conflict of law principles.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Informal Negotiations
To expedite resolution and control the cost of any dispute, controversy, or claim related to these Terms of Use (each a “Dispute” and collectively, the “Disputes”) brought by either you or us (individually, a “Party” and collectively, the “Parties”), the Parties agree to first attempt to negotiate any Dispute (except those Disputes expressly provided below) informally for at least thirty (30) days before initiating arbitration. Such informal negotiations commence upon written notice from one Party to the other Party.
Binding Arbitration
If the Parties are unable to resolve a Dispute through informal negotiations, the Dispute (except those Disputes expressly excluded below) will be finally and exclusively resolved by binding arbitration. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT WITHOUT THIS PROVISION, YOU WOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT AND HAVE A JURY TRIAL. The arbitration shall be commenced and conducted under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) and, where appropriate, the AAA’s Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (“AAA Consumer Rules”), both of which are available at the AAA website www.adr.org. Your arbitration fees and your share of arbitrator compensation shall be governed by the AAA Consumer Rules and, where appropriate, limited by the AAA Consumer Rules. If such costs are determined to by the arbitrator to be excessive, we will pay all arbitration fees and expenses. The arbitration may be conducted in person, through the submission of documents, by phone, or online. The arbitrator will make a decision in writing, but need not provide a statement of reasons unless requested by either Party. The arbitrator must follow applicable law, and any award may be challenged if the arbitrator fails to do so. Except where otherwise required by the applicable AAA rules or applicable law, the arbitration will take place in Kent County, DE. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Parties may litigate in court to compel arbitration, stay proceedings pending arbitration, or to confirm, modify, vacate, or enter judgment on the award entered by the arbitrator.
If for any reason, a Dispute proceeds in court rather than arbitration, the Dispute shall be commenced or prosecuted in the state and federal courts located in Kent County County, DE, and the Parties hereby consent to, and waive all defenses of lack of personal jurisdiction, and forum non conveniens with respect to venue and jurisdiction in such state and federal courts. Application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the the Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act (UCITA) are excluded from these Terms of Use.
In no event shall any Dispute brought by either Party related in any way to the Site be commenced more than one (1) years after the cause of action arose. If this provision is found to be illegal or unenforceable, then neither Party will elect to arbitrate any Dispute falling within that portion of this provision found to be illegal or unenforceable and such Dispute shall be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction within the courts listed for jurisdiction above, and the Parties agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of that court.
Restrictions
The Parties agree that any arbitration shall be limited to the Dispute between the Parties individually. To the full extent permitted by law, (a) no arbitration shall be joined with any other proceeding; (b) there is no right or authority for any Dispute to be arbitrated on a class-action basis or to utilize class action procedures; and (c) there is no right or authority for any Dispute to be brought in a purported representative capacity on behalf of the general public or any other persons.
Exceptions to Informal Negotiations and Arbitration
The Parties agree that the following Disputes are not subject to the above provisions concerning informal negotiations and binding arbitration: (a) any Disputes seeking to enforce or protect, or concerning the validity of, any of the intellectual property rights of a Party; (b) any Dispute related to, or arising from, allegations of theft, piracy, invasion of privacy, or unauthorized use; and (c) any claim for injunctive relief. If this provision is found to be illegal or unenforceable, then neither Party will elect to arbitrate any Dispute falling within that portion of this provision found to be illegal or unenforceable and such Dispute shall be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction within the courts listed for jurisdiction above, and the Parties agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of that court.
CORRECTIONS
There may be information on the Site that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies, or omissions, including descriptions, pricing, availability, and various other information. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions and to change or update the information on the Site at any time, without prior notice.
DISCLAIMER
THE SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN AS-IS AND AS-AVAILABLE BASIS. YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND OUR SERVICES WILL BE AT YOUR SOLE RISK. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE AND YOUR USE THEREOF, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE SITE’S CONTENT OR THE CONTENT OF ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO THE SITE AND WE WILL ASSUME NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY (1) ERRORS, MISTAKES, OR INACCURACIES OF CONTENT AND MATERIALS, (2) PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER, RESULTING FROM YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE, (3) ANY UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF OUR SECURE SERVERS AND/OR ANY AND ALL PERSONAL INFORMATION AND/OR FINANCIAL INFORMATION STORED THEREIN, (4) ANY INTERRUPTION OR CESSATION OF TRANSMISSION TO OR FROM THE SITE, (5) ANY BUGS, VIRUSES, TROJAN HORSES, OR THE LIKE WHICH MAY BE TRANSMITTED TO OR THROUGH THE SITE BY ANY THIRD PARTY, AND/OR (6) ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY CONTENT AND MATERIALS OR FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF ANY CONTENT POSTED, TRANSMITTED, OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE VIA THE SITE. WE DO NOT WARRANT, ENDORSE, GUARANTEE, OR ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE ADVERTISED OR OFFERED BY A THIRD PARTY THROUGH THE SITE, ANY HYPERLINKED WEBSITE, OR ANY WEBSITE OR MOBILE APPLICATION FEATURED IN ANY BANNER OR OTHER ADVERTISING, AND WE WILL NOT BE A PARTY TO OR IN ANY WAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MONITORING ANY TRANSACTION BETWEEN YOU AND ANY THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. AS WITH THE PURCHASE OF A PRODUCT OR SERVICE THROUGH ANY MEDIUM OR IN ANY ENVIRONMENT, YOU SHOULD USE YOUR BEST JUDGMENT AND EXERCISE CAUTION WHERE APPROPRIATE.
LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY
IN NO EVENT WILL WE OR OUR DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFIT, LOST REVENUE, LOSS OF DATA, OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SITE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, OUR LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION, WILL AT ALL TIMES BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID, IF ANY, BY YOU TO US DURING THE SIX (6) MONTH PERIOD PRIOR TO ANY CAUSE OF ACTION ARISING. CERTAIN STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.
INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold us harmless, including our subsidiaries, affiliates, and all of our respective officers, agents, partners, and employees, from and against any loss, damage, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, made by any third party due to or arising out of: (1) your Contributions; (2) use of the Site; (3) breach of these Terms of Use; (4) any breach of your representations and warranties set forth in these Terms of Use; (5) your violation of the rights of a third party, including but not limited to intellectual property rights; or (6) any overt harmful act toward any other user of the Site with whom you connected via the Site. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we reserve the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate, at your expense, with our defense of such claims. We will use reasonable efforts to notify you of any such claim, action, or proceeding which is subject to this indemnification upon becoming aware of it.
USER DATA
We will maintain certain data that you transmit to the Site for the purpose of managing the performance of the Site, as well as data relating to your use of the Site. Although we perform regular routine backups of data, you are solely responsible for all data that you transmit or that relates to any activity you have undertaken using the Site. You agree that we shall have no liability to you for any loss or corruption of any such data, and you hereby waive any right of action against us arising from any such loss or corruption of such data.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS, TRANSACTIONS, AND SIGNATURES
Visiting the Site, sending us emails, and completing online forms constitute electronic communications. You consent to receive electronic communications, and you agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications we provide to you electronically, via email and on the Site, satisfy any legal requirement that such communication be in writing. YOU HEREBY AGREE TO THE USE OF ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES, CONTRACTS, ORDERS, AND OTHER RECORDS, AND TO ELECTRONIC DELIVERY OF NOTICES, POLICIES, AND RECORDS OF TRANSACTIONS INITIATED OR COMPLETED BY US OR VIA THE SITE. You hereby waive any rights or requirements under any statutes, regulations, rules, ordinances, or other laws in any jurisdiction which require an original signature or delivery or retention of non-electronic records, or to payments or the granting of credits by any means other than electronic means.
NORTH CAROLINA USERS AND RESIDENTS
If any complaint with us is not satisfactorily resolved, you can contact the Division of Consumer Services of the North Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs online: https://ncdoj.gov/file-a-complaint/consumer-complaint/#:~:text=Feel%20free%20to%20call%20our,need%20help%20completing%20the%20form or call 919-716-6000.
MISCELLANEOUS
These Terms of Use and any policies or operating rules posted by us on the Site or in respect to the Site constitute the entire agreement and understanding between you and us. Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Use shall not operate as a waiver of such right or provision. These Terms of Use operate to the fullest extent permissible by law. We may assign any or all of our rights and obligations to others at any time. We shall not be responsible or liable for any loss, damage, delay, or failure to act caused by any cause beyond our reasonable control. If any provision or part of a provision of these Terms of Use is determined to be unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision or part of the provision is deemed severable from these Terms of Use and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. There is no joint venture, partnership, employment or agency relationship created between you and us as a result of these Terms of Use or use of the Site. You agree that these Terms of Use will not be construed against us by virtue of having drafted them. You hereby waive any and all defenses you may have based on the electronic form of these Terms of Use and the lack of signing by the parties hereto to execute these Terms of Use
Contact:
In order to resolve a complaint regarding the Site or to receive further information regarding use of the Site, please contact:
Defining Self, PLLC
Phone: 704-293-2100
Email: info@definingself.org