The Tasting Alliance Terms of Use

The Tasting Alliance reserves the right to refuse service, cancel product or service orders, terminate accounts, or remove or edit content, in its sole discretion. If you use a The Tasting Alliance account, you agree, represent and warrant that you will provide us with true, current, complete and accurate information in connection with your use of the Site and the Services. You also represent that you are using your account for a lawful purpose – you may not use your account or the Site or Services for the purpose of committing or furthering fraudulent acts or for committing any acts that would give rise to either civil or criminal liability. You also agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to or use of your account. 

You agree not to access the Site by any means other than through a commercially available web browser. You are not permitted to upload material onto the Site that you should know or do know infringes on the intellectual property rights of others, and you may not upload material that places unnecessary load so as to affect the performance of the Site, or The Tasting Alliance systems and equipment. You may not use the Site or the Services in a manner that could block access to, impair, damage or otherwise disable The Tasting Alliance or any of our servers. You may not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site or to any other user’s accounts, computer systems, or networks through password mining, keystroke logging, hacking, or any other means. You will not upload any files that contain viruses, Trojan horses, malware, spyware, worms, corrupted files, or any other material or software that may damage the operation of another computer. Any and all materials uploaded are subject to applicable federal, state, and international laws.

Please note that the transmission of confidential, sensitive, privileged and/or financial information via email is not secure. Any confidential or personal information requested by The Tasting Alliance should be submitted securely, via a file transfer protocol (FTP) or similar secure application. If you have any concerns about the transmission of such information, please contact our office by phone or by email to hello@thetastingalliance.com for further instructions.

Unless specifically requested, The Tasting Alliance does not wish to receive any confidential, proprietary, or trade secret information from you via the Site (including via contact email or forms made available on the website). You remain fully responsible for the materials or submissions that you provide to use, including, without limitation, any information, requests, creative works, pictures, photographs, idea submissions, suggestions, business plans, concepts, methods, systems, designs, plans, techniques, or demos in any media including photographs, graphics, audiovisual media or other material submitted, posted, uploaded, sent or otherwise transmitted to us through this Site of via our social media (“Submitted Material”).  Accordingly, if you send us any Submitted Material, you grant The Tasting Alliance a royalty-free, unrestricted, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and fully transferrable, assignable, and sub-licensable right and license to use, copy, reproduce, modify, adapt, print, publish, translate, create derivative works from, create collective works from, and distribute, perform, display, license and sublicense (through multiple levels) the Submitted Material in any media now known or hereinafter invented, including for commercial purposes. If you send The Tasting Alliance any Submitted Material, you also warrant that the Submitted Material is not confidential or secret and that the Submitted Material is owned entirely by you. If you send The Tasting Alliance any Submitted Material, you warrant that you have all rights necessary (including rights of privacy and rights of publicity) to authorize The Tasting Alliance to use Submitted Material as permitted by the license in this Section.

In addition to the rights applicable to any Submitted Material, when you post comments or reviews to the Site or via mentions in social media or third-party websites, you also grant us the right to use the name, username, or profile that you submit with any review, comment, or other content, in connection with such review, comment or other content. You shall not use a false email address, pretend to be someone other than yourself, or otherwise mislead us or third parties as to the origin of any Submitted Material, including reviews, comments or other content. We may, but shall not be obligated to, remove or edit any Submitted Material (including comments or reviews) for any reason.

You agree not to provide Submitted Material that:

● Infringes on the copyright, trademark, patent or other intellectual property right of any third party;

● Is false, misleading, libelous, defamatory, obscene, abusive, hateful or sexually explicit;

● Violates a third party’s right to privacy or publicity;

● Degrades others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability or other classification;

● Contains epithets or other language or material intended to intimidate or incite violence;

● Contains a virus, worm, Trojan Horse, time bomb or any other harmful program or component;

● Contains any commercial material or solicits any funds (charitable or commercial), perpetuates chain letters or pyramid schemes, promotes commercial entities, or otherwise engages in commercial activity; or

● Violates any applicable local, state, national or international law, or advocates illegal activity.

Since The Tasting Alliance does not control the Submitted Material, we do not guarantee the truthfulness, integrity, suitability, or quality of the Submitted Material, and we do not endorse such Submitted Material. We are not obligated to use your Submitted Material and may delete, modify, reuse, move or remove any Submitted Material at any time. We do not guarantee any confidentiality with respect to any Submitted Material. Under no circumstances will The Tasting Alliance be liable in any way for Submitted Material made available through the Site or social media by you or any third party.  You agree not to access the Site by any means other than through a commercially available web browser. You are not permitted to upload material onto the Site that you should know or do know infringes on the intellectual property rights of others, and you may not upload material that places unnecessary load so as to affect the performance of the Site, or The Tasting Alliance systems and equipment. You may not use the Site or the Services in a manner that could block access to, impair, damage or otherwise disable The Tasting Alliance or any of our servers. You may not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site or to any other user’s accounts, computer systems, or networks through password mining, keystroke logging, hacking, or any other means. You will not upload any files that contain viruses, Trojan horses, malware, spyware, worms, corrupted files, or any other material or software that may damage the operation of another computer. Any and all materials uploaded are subject to applicable federal, state, and international laws.

This Site contains content that is protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade dress, patents, moral right, or other proprietary rights under the intellectual property laws of the United States and other countries (“Content”), and that these rights are valid and protected in all forms, media, and technologies existing now and hereinafter developed. Unless otherwise provided in these Terms or otherwise indicated on the Site, The Tasting Alliance or its third-party licensors own all Content on this Site including, without limitation, all videos, text, graphics, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, moving images, illustrations, files, trademarks, logos, service marks, artwork, computer code, design, structure, selection, coordination, “look and feel” and arrangement of such Content. All trademarks displayed on our Site are the trademarks of their respective owners and constitute neither an endorsement nor a recommendation of such parties. In addition, any use of trademarks or links to the websites of third parties is not intended to imply that those third parties endorse or have any affiliation with The Tasting Alliance. 

Your use of this Site shall not grant you any claim of ownership over any Content, and you agree to comply with all applicable intellectual property laws. You may print copies of the Content, provided that these copies are made only for personal, non-commercial use, and provide that you maintain any notices contained in the Content, or maintained by the licensor or author, such as all copyright notices, trademark legends, attributions, by-lines, or other proprietary rights notices. You may provide a link to the top page of the Site unless and until The Tasting Alliance gives you notice that you must discontinue linking to the Site.  You may not publish, reproduce, distribute, display, perform, modify, transmit, participate in the sale of or transfer or, or create derivative works based on any Content, including The Tasting Alliance name and logo, in whole or in part, without our prior written consent. You may not store electronically any significant portion of any Content from this Site. The use of Content from this Site on any other site, including by linking or framing, or in any networked computer environment, for any purpose, is prohibited without The Tasting Alliance prior written approval. 

For permission to use Content from this Site or from marketing material authored and distributed by The Tasting Alliance, you must request written permission in advance and provide full attribution. Permission should be requested by contacting hello@thetastingalliance.com.

The Tasting Alliance respects the intellectual property of others and requires that you do the same. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), the text of which may be found on the U.S. Copyright Office website at http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf, The Tasting Alliance will respond expeditiously to notices of alleged copyright infringement that are duly reported to its Designated Copyright Agent identified in the notice below. The Tasting Alliance will disable and/or remove access to the website for users who are repeat infringers. If you believe that your content has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, please provide The Tasting Alliance Copyright Agent the following information:

DMCA Notice of Alleged Infringement (“Notice”)

• Identify the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed, or if multiple works are covered by this Notice you may provide a representative list of the copyrighted works that you claim have been infringed.

• Identify the material or link you claim is infringing and provide a description of where the infringing work is located on the website.

• Provide your mailing address, telephone number and, if available, email address.

• Include both of the following statements in the body of the Notice:

• “I hereby state that I have a good-faith belief that the disputed use of the copyrighted material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law (e.g., fair use).”

• “I hereby state that the information in this Notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that I am the owner or authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of the copyright or of an exclusive right under the copyright that is allegedly infringed.”

• Provide your full legal name and your electronic or physical signature.

• Deliver this Notice, with all items completed, to The Tasting Alliance Designated Copyright Agent:

Copyright Agent

The Tasting Alliance

Pier 50, Shed A

San Francisco, CA 94158

While The Tasting Alliance considers all such notices seriously, you may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that content or activity is infringing. Accordingly, if you are uncertain whether material infringes your copyrights (including whether use of copyrighted material may constitute fair use) you may wish to seek the advice of an attorney.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless The Tasting Alliance, its affiliates, related entities, divisions, subsidiaries, or parent companies, its officers, directors, employees, affiliates and agents from and against any claims, losses, damages, fines, penalties or other liabilities in any way associated with: (i) your use of and access to the Site or Services; (ii) your violation of any of these Terms; and (iii) your violation of any third party right including any copyright, trademark, trade secret, or privacy right related to your User Content (as applicable) or use of the Site.

YOUR USE OF THE SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE OPERATION OF THE SITE OR THE INFORMATION, MATERIALS, GOODS OR SERVICES APPEARING OR OFFERED ON THE SITE, ALL OF WHICH ARE PROVIDED “AS IS.” WITHOUT LIMITED THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY (1) WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITENESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE; (2) WARRANTIES AGAINST INFRINGEMENT OF ANY THIRD-PARTY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR PROPRIETARY RIGHTS OR ANY RIGHT OF PRIVACY; (3) WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE TRANSMISSION OR DELIVERY OF THE SITE OR THE SERVICES; (4) WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CORRECTNESS OR CURRENCY OF ANY INFORMATION ON THIS WEBSITE OR OTHERWISE BY US; (5) WARRANTIES OTHERWISE RELATING TO PERFORMANCE, NONPERFORMANCE, OR OTHER ACTS OR OMISSIONS BY US OR ANY THIRD PARTY; AND (6) WARRANTIES OF TITLE. FURTHER, THE TASTING ALLIANCE DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE OR THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS OR THE NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS OF ANY OTHER PERSON.  WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, THAT (1) THE SITE, CONTENT, FUNCTIONS OR MATERIALS CONTAINED THEREIN WILL BE TIMELY, SECURE, ACCURATE, COMPLETE, UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED; (2) THE SITE OR ANY EMAIL WE SEND YOU, OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES THE SITE OR EMAILS AVAILABLE, IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS THAT MAY INFECT YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT OR DEVICE OR OTHER PROPERTY BECAUSE OF YOUR ACCESS TO, USE OF, OR BROWSING ON THE SITE OR YOUR DOWLOADING OF ANY MATERIALS, DATA, TEXT, IMAGES, VIDEO OR AUDIO FROM THE SITE. APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. HOWEVER, IF APPLICABLE LAW DOES NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE WARRANTIES TO APPLY TO YOU, THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS WILL APPLY TO YOU TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW: IN NO EVENT WILL THE TASTING ALLIANCE (OR ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, RELATED ENTITIES, JOINT VENTURES AND EMPLOYEESM OR ANY PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DELIVERING THE SITE) BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OR LOSSES, INCLUDING BUT NOT IMITED TO CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY OR SPECIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OF USE, THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE WEBSITE, SERVICES, OR CONTENT INCLUDING ANY LOSS OF REVENUE, PROFITS, OR DATA OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND EVEN IF THE TASTING ALLIANCE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT WILL THE TASTING ALLIANCE’S AGGREGATE LIABILITY (OR THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, RELATED ENTITIES, JOINT VENTURES AND EMPLOYEES) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OF USE, THE WEBSITE, OR THE SERVICES (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT NEGLIGENCE, WARRANTY OR OTHERWISE) EXCEED THE GREATER OF $100 OR THE FEES, IF ANY, YOU PAID TO USE OUR SITES WITHIN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ALLEGED INCIDENT. ANY CAUSE OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE WEBSITE MUST BEGIN WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES. OTHERWISE, SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION IS PERMANENTLY BARRED.  BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, THE TASTING ALLIANCE’S LIABILITY IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.  WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, THE TASTING ALLIANCE DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF YOUR INFORMATION.  IF YOU ARE DISSATISIFIED WITH THE SITE, YOUR SOLE REMEDY IS TO STOP USING THE SITE

If you have a dispute with us or one or more users of the Site or the Services, you release The Tasting Alliance (and its officers, directors, affiliates, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures and employees) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes.

You expressly acknowledge and agree that all rights under Section 1542 of the California Civil Code are expressly waived. That section provides: A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTENT TO CLAIMS THAT THE CREDITOR OR RELEASING PARTY DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE, WHICH IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER MUST HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR OR RELEASED PARTY. 

The Tasting Alliance reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to restrict, suspend, or terminate these Terms of Use and your access to all or any part of the Site or the Content or Services, at any time and for any reason without prior notice or liability. You may terminate these Terms of Use by discontinuing your use of the Services and access to the Site. The Tasting Alliance also reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cease providing the Services and this Site at any time.

If any provision of these Terms is held in whole or in part to be invalid, void, or unenforceable in any jurisdiction for any reason, the remainder of that provision and of the entire Agreement will be severable and remain in full force and effect. 

These Terms of Use will be governed by the laws of the United States and the State of California, as applicable, without resort to any conflict of laws provisions. By using the Site, you waive any claims that may arise under the laws of other countries or territories. 

With respect to any and all disputes arising out of or in connection with the Site, the Services, or these Terms (including, without limitation, the Privacy Policy), The Tasting Alliance and you agree to first negotiate in good faith and undertake reasonable efforts to cooperate with one another in order to achieve a mutually satisfactory resolution. If you and The Tasting Alliance do not resolve any dispute by informal negotiation within 60 days, then either of the parties may, by notice to the other, demand mediation under the supervision of JAMS (“JAMS”) in Los Angeles, California. If settlement is not reached within 90 days after service of a written demand for mediation (which time can be extended with the agreement of both parties in writing), any unresolved controversy or claim will be resolved by initiating binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of JAMS before a single arbitrator in Los Angeles, California. The expenses of the arbitration will be shared equally by the parties unless the arbitration determines that the expenses will be assessed in a different way, and the prevailing party may be awarded its attorneys’ fees and expenses by the arbitrator. Consistent with the expedited nature of arbitration, pre-hearing information exchange will be limited to the reasonable production of relevant, non-privileged documents, conducted expeditiously.  Both you and The Tasting Alliance understand that you are giving up the right to litigate (or participate in as a party or class member) all disputes in court before a judge or jury. Instead, all disputes will be resolved before a neutral arbitrator, whose decision will be final. Any court with jurisdiction over the parties may enforce the arbitrator’s award. 

Any proceedings to resolve or litigate any dispute in any forum will be conducted solely on an individual basis and neither you nor The Tasting Alliance will seek to have any dispute heard as a class action or in any other proceeding in which either party acts or proposes to act in a representative capacity. No arbitration or proceeding will be combined with another without the prior written consent of all parties to all affected arbitrations or proceedings. To the extent permitted by law, any claim or dispute under this agreement must be filed within one year in an arbitration proceeding, regardless of any statute or law to the contrary. The one-year period begins when the claim or notice of dispute first could be filed. If a claim or dispute is not filed within one year, it is permanently barred. If any other provision of this section is found to be illegal or unenforceable, that provision will be severed, with the remainder of this section remaining in full force and effect.

You agree that The Tasting Alliance is entitled to obtain preliminary injunctive relief to the extent allowed by law to enforce any of the terms of these Terms pending a final arbitral decision, and you and The Tasting Alliance understand that you are NOT required to arbitrate any dispute in which either party seeks equitable and other relief from the alleged unlawful use of copyrights, trademarks, trade names, logos, trade secrets, or patents.  Any disputes that are not handled by arbitration shall be filed only in the state and federal courts located in the City and County of Los Angeles, California, and you hereby irrevocably and unconditionally consent and submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts.

You may not assign any rights granted to you or delegate any of your duties hereunder and any attempt to do so is void and of no effect. The Tasting Alliance may assign its rights and delegate its duties under this Agreement in their entirety in connection with a merger, reorganization, or sale of all, or substantially all, of its assets relating to this Terms of Use. Nothing in this Agreement constitutes a partnership or joint venture between you and The Tasting Alliance. The Tasting Alliance does not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted or secure access to this Site or the Services, and operation of the Site may be interfered with by numerous factors outside of its control. The Tasting Alliance failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. These Terms of Use set forth the entire understanding and agreement between you and The Tasting Alliance with respect to the subject matter hereof. Sections 6 (Prohibited Conduct); 7 (Security); 9 (Use of Account; Risk of Loss); 10 (Submitted Materials); 11 (Intellectual Property); 13 (Indemnification); 14 (Disclaimers); 15 (Limitation of Liabilities); 16 (Release); 18 (Severability); 19 (Applicable Law; Jurisdiction); 20 (Dispute Resolution; Class Action and Jury Trial Waiver) and 21 (General) survive any termination or expiration of this Agreement. Additionally, any provision that was, by its nature, intended to survive termination of these Terms will so survive. 

We are committed to making the website’s content accessible for all. If you are having difficulty accessing, viewing, and/or navigating the content on the website, or if you notice any content, feature, or functionality that you believe is not fully accessible to people with disabilities, please call us or email us at hello@thetastingalliance.com with “Website Access” in the subject line and provide a description of the specific feature you feel is not fully accessible or a suggestion for improvement. We take your feedback seriously and will consider it as we evaluate ways to accommodate all of our customers and our overall accessibility policies.  

If you have questions about these Terms or the Services, you may contact us at hello@thetastingalliance.com. You may also contact us at: 

The Tasting Alliance

Pier 50, Shed A

San Francisco, CA 94158