Effective as of: July 1, 2024
Notice: Welcome to a website (“Site”) for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, Inc. (“Union”) and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Maryland, Inc. (“Foundation”) (collectively, “ACLU of Maryland,” “we,” “our,” “us”).
The Site consists of our website at aclu-md.org, including all web pages whose domain name contains aclu-md.org and www.aclu-md.org, or which are operated by the ACLU of Maryland and link to this User Agreement.
To be clear, this is not the User Agreement for websites operated by the ACLU of Maryland that do not contain these domain names and do not link to this User Agreement. Those websites have site-specific User Agreements.
This User Agreement also does not apply to Digital Services that the ACLU of Maryland does not operate where an ACLU of Maryland entity has a presence, such as ACLU of Maryland pages on Facebook.
Finally, this is not the online User Agreement for the websites of other ACLU local/state affiliate organizations (collectively, “Affiliates”) or the national organizations: the American Civil Liberties Union, Inc., and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Inc., and the ACLU Voter Education Fund (collectively, “National”). In all of those cases, site-specific terms of use apply, and are posted accordingly. ACLU and its Affiliates may be collectively referred to as “ACLU Organizations” in this User Agreement and elsewhere on our Sites.
Introduction
By using the ACLU of Maryland Site, you agree to follow the rules set forth on these web pages. From time to time, we may revise this User Agreement, including our Privacy Statement, so be sure to check these web pages occasionally. If we do make material changes, we will post a notice on our home page that the User Agreement has been modified and provide a link to the revised User Agreement. When you continue to use the ACLU of Maryland Site after we post a change, it means you agree to the new rules.
The ACLU of Maryland and the ACLU of Maryland Foundation
The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, Inc.] (Union) and its affiliated organization, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Maryland, Inc. (Foundation), are separate organizations that are each engaged in the same mission of defending the rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, including First Amendment freedoms, equality, privacy rights, and fundamental fairness.
Privacy Statement
Please review our Privacy Statement, which is part of this User Agreement and describes how we handle personal information collected and stewarded by the ACLU of Maryland. You have several choices in relation to your personal information stewarded by the ACLU of Maryland. To learn more, see Your Choices & Rights.
Intellectual Property Rights
Licensing of ACLU of Maryland Content
Except where otherwise indicated, ACLU of Maryland owns or licenses the copyright in all the materials on the ACLU of Maryland Digital Services, including text, graphics, logos, button icons, audio clips, video clips, photographs, and software, and those rights are protected by United States and international copyright laws and other intellectual property laws ("ACLU of Maryland Content"). To the extent your use of material on our Site does not constitute "fair use" for which you do not need our permission, the following rules apply to use of the material:
Automatically Permitted Distribution
Unless the specific web page from which ACLU of Maryland text material is available indicates you may not do so, you may copy or distribute text materials that appear on the ACLU of Maryland Digital Services, in print or digital format, subject to three limitations:
- You may not use the materials for any commercial purpose, including any purpose connected with the sale of goods or services;
- You may not make editorial changes to material you attribute to us; and
- You may not excerpt, juxtapose, or present attributed material in any way that is misleading as to our original editorial intent, or as to your relationship with us.
You may also copy or distribute ACLU of Maryland Content that is not ACLU of Maryland text materials if and only to the extent that the specific launching page from which that ACLU of Maryland Content is accessible, and/or the ACLU of Maryland Content itself, explicitly indicates that the ACLU of Maryland Content may be distributed in a specified manner, subject to the same three limitations stated above.
All distributed copies, whether of text or non-text materials, must display the following copyright notice:
Copyright [2024 or other year indicated] ACLU of Maryland.
Originally posted by the ACLU of Maryland at https://www.aclu-md.org/en/user-agreement.
Distribution Requiring Advance Written Permission
You must obtain written permission in advance if you wish to reproduce ACLU of Maryland Content in any manner not listed in the previous section. You can request this permission by sending us an email at media@aclu-md.org that contains the information listed below:
- a complete description of the ACLU of Maryland Content requested, such as the URL of the web page that contains the ACLU of Maryland Content, a description of the sections or paragraphs that will be distributed, and, where applicable, the title and date of the ACLU of Maryland Content;
- a description of the intended audience;
- a description of the manner of distribution;
- to any extent applicable, the length, retail price, and approximate size of first printing or circulation that will include the ACLU of Maryland Content;
- a description of the geographic scope of the distribution and the length of time for which rights are being requested. (Please note that the ACLU of Maryland grants only nonexclusive rights);
- a reply fax number or email address and a phone number.
Licensing of User Content
To the extent you voluntarily post material to the ACLU of Maryland Site for display on the ACLU of Maryland Site itself, you automatically grant to ACLU of Maryland an irrevocable, perpetual worldwide license for the ACLU of Maryland to display such material on the ACLU of Maryland Site, except to the extent we have indicated otherwise on the portion of the ACLU of Maryland Site that permits you to post such information (e.g., if a particular blog or forum on the ACLU of Maryland Site posts any specific terms of use that applies to that particular blog or forum). Additionally, unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon in writing by you and ACLU of Maryland, by posting any material to the ACLU of Maryland Site for display on the ACLU of Maryland Site, you are representing, warranting, and covenanting to the ACLU of Maryland that those materials are original to you or you have obtained permissions, releases, rights, or licenses, if any are required (including where use of that material does not constitute "fair use"), that you assume full responsibility for the posting of such material vis-à-vis third parties, including but not limited to making any payments to third parties with respect to displaying such third party material. By posting material for display on a portion of the ACLU of Maryland Site that contains specific terms of use applicable to that portion of the ACLU of Maryland Site, you agree you have read, understand, agree to, and accept such specific terms of use.
Trademarks (Including Logos)
American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, Inc., American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Maryland, Inc., ACLU of Maryland, ACLU of Maryland logos, and any other trademarks on the ACLU of Maryland Site (collectively "ACLU of Maryland Trademarks") are trademarks of ACLU of Maryland in the United States and other countries unless it is explicitly stated on the ACLU of Maryland Site where a trademark appears that the trademark is the trademark of a third party (or it is obvious from the context that it is the trademark of a third party; e.g., where we include on the ACLU of Maryland Site the name or logo of a coalition partner) ("Third-Party Trademarks"). To the extent your use of ACLU of Maryland Trademarks does not constitute "fair use" for which you do not need our permission, the following rules apply to use of the material:
You may not use the ACLU of Maryland Trademarks for any product or service that does not belong to the ACLU of Maryland, nor in any manner that is likely to cause confusion about whether we are the source, affiliated with, sponsor of, or endorser of any product service, event or organization. Further, you will not use ACLU Trademarks in connection with any content that makes direct or indirect reference to, features or otherwise depicts any candidate for elective office. In addition, you may not use the ACLU of Maryland Trademarks in any manner that illegally disparages or discredits us.
Your ability to use a Third-Party Trademark that appears on the ACLU of Maryland Site is limited to the manner, if any, in which the ACLU of Maryland Site explicitly states on the page on which such Third-Party Trademark appears that such use in such manner is authorized by the third-party owner of that Third-Party Trademark (unless your use is permissible under the law [e.g., it is "fair use"] or the owner of such Third-Party Trademark has specifically granted you the right to such use in such manner).
Links and Frames
You may link to the ACLU Sites as long as the link does not cast us in a false or misleading light. You may not frame the content of the ACLU of Maryland Site. You may not use metatags or any other "hidden text" that incorporates ACLU of Maryland Trademarks or our name without our express written consent.
Links to Other Websites
The ACLU of Maryland Site contains links to other websites that we think may be of interest to you. We are not responsible for and have no control over these other sites or their content. Remember that when you link to another site, that other site is governed by its own user agreement and privacy statement, which you should be sure to read.
Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability
ALTHOUGH WE TAKE REASONABLE STEPS TO PREVENT THE INTRODUCTION OF VIRUSES, WORMS, "TROJAN HORSES," OR OTHER DESTRUCTIVE MATERIALS TO THE ACLU OF MARYLAND SITE, WE DO NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THAT THE ACLU OF MARYLAND SITE OR MATERIALS THAT MAY BE DOWNLOADED FROM THE ACLU OF MARYLAND SITE ARE FREE FROM SUCH DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR HARM ATTRIBUTABLE TO SUCH FEATURES.
WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, LOSS, OR INJURY BASED ON ERRORS, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS. OR OTHER INACCURACIES IN THE ACLU OF MARYLAND SITE, NOR FOR ANY CLAIM, LOSS. OR INJURY THAT RESULTS FROM YOUR USE OF THE ACLU OF MARYLAND SITE OR YOUR BREACH OF ANY PROVISION OF THIS USER AGREEMENT.
Termination
We reserve the right to terminate the ACLU of Maryland Site and this User Agreement at any time without notice for any reason, including, in the case of the User Agreement, for your violation of any of its provisions. The Limitation of Liability and Governing Law Sections of this User Agreement survive any such termination.
Governing Law
This User Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Maryland applicable to contracts made and performed there without regard to its conflicts of law principles. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in the State of Maryland and County of Baltimore City and waive any jurisdictional, venue, or inconvenient forum objections to such courts.