The following License Agreement have been republished from help.ask.com/ics/support/KBAnswer.asp?questionID=149 and/or the program's installer.
This Search Application End User License Agreement (“Agreement”), applies to web search applications (each a “Search Application”) developed by APN, LLC (“APN”, “we” or “us”) and downloaded and installed on or after the “Revision Date” set forth at the end of this Agreement. Such Search Applications may include web search toolbars (including the Ask.com toolbar), browser or OS plug-ins, taskbars and desktop widgets, and may be branded (or co-branded) with APN, APN-affiliate, or third party brands, or bear other brands owned by or licensed to APN.
If you downloaded and installed an APN Search Application prior to the Revision Date, Click Here to find the license agreement applicable to your Search Application based on the date you installed it.
Upon the installation of a Search Application, the one or more of the following features may be added/enabled in your Internet browser (which may include both your active browser and any other compatible Internet browser(s) resident on your computer). Features may vary between different browsers or between different versions of the Search Application:
Search Application: The Search Application may install into your Internet browser or operating system and allows you to search the Internet with Ask.com (the “APN Search Service”), and may provide other features as further described herein or during the Search Application installation process. If you already have a Search Application on your computer, you may be precluded from adding a subsequent Search Application unless the functionalities and/or branding differ. In such cases, we will still set your default search and/or homepage to the APN Search Services, if you have elected to do so.
Installer: Your installation of a Search Application may be facilitated by APN’s or an APN partner’s installer technology which: (i) downloads the files necessary to install the software; and (ii) scans your computer for specific files and registry settings to ensure compatibility with your operating system and other software installed on your computer. Once the installer technology has been initiated, the installer technology may present you with additional offers from APN partners in addition to the Search Application. More information on our installer technology is available here: http://apnstatic.ask.com/static/offercast/about/privacy.html.
Updater: An updater component (“Updater”) may also automatically install alongside a Search Application in order to facilitate updates to the applicable Search Application. If such an Updater is installed, it will uninstall when the applicable Search Application is uninstalled.
Default Search, Address Bar Queries, DNS Errors: With your consent, your Internet browser default search feature will be set to the APN Search Service, and you will access such APN Search Service (i) by entering queries in your browser chrome search box; (ii) by entering queries in your browser address bar, and/or (iii) in response to misspelled, incorrectly formatted or unresolved DNS submissions in your browser address bar, in each case if and as applicable based on your browser(s) and the specific Search Application version.
Home Page, New Tab Page: During the Search Application download process, you may be given the option to reset your Internet browsers' default homepage (or similar page – e.g., a start page, start tab, etc.) to Ask.com or some other specified webpage, and/or reset your new tab page (in compatible browsers) to an APN new tab product. If you elect this option, the specified webpage will become your default home page and/or the specified new tab product will appear each time you open a new tab in your Internet browser. The homepage and new tab products are further subject to the policies/terms of service linked to in the footer of such products themselves.
Defense: The Search Application may include functionality to prevent certain accidental or surreptitious changes your homepage, new tab page and/or default search settings by third parties . Such functionality will block and notify you of such attempted changes. The defense functionality will not prevent changes made by APN, its partners or affiliates.
THE SEARCH APPLICATION AND THE FEATURES LISTED ABOVE ARE FREE. NO REGISTRATION OR PERSONAL INFORMATION IS REQUIRED FOR GENERAL USE OF THE SEARCH APPLICATION. CERTAIN SEARCH APPLICATION FEATURES MAY REQUIRE REGISTRATION AND/OR PAYMENT TO ACCESS THE FULL FUNCTIONALITY OF A FEATURE. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT SPYWARE OR ADWARE.
This Agreement is a legal contract between you and APN, LLC. If you do not understand or agree with any part of the terms outlined in this Agreement, please do not use the Search Application. If you have any questions or concerns regarding what is written here, please let us know by emailing us at
[email protected]. Do not use the Search Application until these questions and concerns have been answered to your satisfaction and you agree to abide by the Agreement.
By clicking the “Accept” button (or other similarly designated call to action) or by otherwise downloading, installing or using the Search Application, you represent and warrant that you have the right, authority and capacity to enter into this Agreement and to abide by all its terms and conditions, just as if you had physically signed it. If you are not yet 18 years of age, please ask your parent or legal guardian to install the Search Application for you. This Agreement applies to the Search Application and all features and functionalities developed by APN. If you are installing a version of the Search Application that includes third party features and functionalities or accesses third party content, such third party features, functionalities and content are subject to such third party's terms of service.
In this Agreement "Web Sites" shall refer to the web pages on the www.ask.com domain or some other domain owned or controlled by us and through which we provide the APN Search Service, and “Services” refers to the APN Search Service and other services offered in or through a Search Application.
You can easily disable or uninstall the Search Application by following the instructions available here: http://help.ask.com/link/portal/30015/30018/ArticleFolder/11/Ask-com-Browser-Toolbar.
1. License Grant
Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, we grant you a non-exclusive, revocable, non-transferable, personal, limited license, to (a) download and install the most current generally available version of the Search Application offered to you, and (b) use such Search Application solely for your personal, non-commercial purposes. Use of the APN Search Services is subject to the Ask.com Terms of Use and Privacy Policy If you are installing a version of the Search Application that includes third party features and functionalities or accesses third party content, such third party features, functionalities and content are subject to such third party's terms of service. You may find such terms of service via a link displayed within the Search Application itself, or on the website of the relevant feature, function or content provider.
2. License Conditions
You may not rent, sell, lease, sublicense, distribute, market, assign, copy, or in any way transfer the Search Application or this Agreement or use the Search Application for the benefit of any third party in any manner. You may not modify, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise reverse-engineer the source code of the Search Application, or attempt to do so for any reason. Further, you may not access, create or modify the source code of the Search Application in any way. You do not have the right to and may not create derivative works of the Search Application. All modifications or enhancements to the Search Application remain our sole property. You understand that we, in our sole discretion, may modify or discontinue or suspend your right to access any of our services or to use the Search Application at any time, and we may at any time suspend or terminate any license hereunder and disable the Search Application or any of its component features.
3. Updates
We reserve the right to add or remove features or functions to or from the Search Application. When installed on your computer, the Search Application and/or the Updater periodically communicate with our servers to request automatic updates when we release a new version of the Search Application, or when we make new features available.
You agree that APN may automatically download and install updates to the Search Application, from time to time, without prior notification. These updates are designed to improve, enhance and further develop the Search Application and may take the form of bug fixes, enhanced functions, new software modules and completely new versions. You agree to receive such updates (and permit APN to deliver these to you) as part of your use of the Search Application.
4. Ownership
You acknowledge and agree that the Search Application and any associated components (for example, the defense functionality and Updater) are licensed, not sold to you. You acknowledge that the Search Application, including all associated components, code, protocols, software and documentation provided to you by us in conjunction with the Search Application or our Services are our property or the property of our licensors, and are protected by U.S. and international copyright, trademarks, patents and other proprietary rights and laws relating to trade secrets, and any other intellectual property or proprietary rights recognized in any country or jurisdiction worldwide, including, without limitation, moral or similar rights. You may not delete, alter, or remove any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights notice we have placed on the Search Application or associated components. All rights not expressly granted hereunder are expressly reserved to us and our licensors.
You represent and warrant that you are either the owner or an authorized user of the computer where the Search Application is installed. You may use the Search Application, Web Sites or Services only for lawful purposes. The Services are subject to, and you agree that you shall at all times comply with, all local, state, national, and international laws, statutes, rules, regulations, ordinances and the like applicable to the use of our Search Application, Web Sites and Services. You agree not to use the Search Application, Web Sites or Services to conduct any business or activity or solicit the performance of any activity, which is prohibited by law or by any contractual provision by which you are bound.
5. Privacy
Install. When you install the Search Application, we assign a unique identification code to your copy of the Search Application, and such code is written to your computer's registry. Our installer technology does not transmit or share personal data from your system with any third parties. When initiated, the installer technology analyzes information about your system including country, language, internet connectivity, file types (and relative quantities), installed software and drivers, in order to ensure compatibility with your system and to better recommend additional products or services from APN or third parties which could further enhance your user experience. It also ensures that only those recommendations that make sense for you are displayed (for example so that we wouldn’t recommend a product that you already had installed). More information on our installer technology is available here: http://apnstatic.ask.com/static/offercast/about/privacy.html.
Install Failures. Sometimes, for reasons beyond our control, after you have agreed to install the Search Application, the Search Application install process fails. In such an unlikely event, we may pull certain data via an error log file (this data may include, without limitation, your machine name, computer user name, IP address, operating system information, machine/user permissions, browser type and version, Search Application partner ID and various other non-personally identifiable diagnostic information). This data will be used solely for the purpose of troubleshooting installation issues with the intent of improving the product and the user experience.
When you use the Search Application to submit a search query, the Search Application forwards such query information to our servers. We use this information to process your web search requests (ourselves or via our search service partners) and to return a search results page to you. For information on additional uses of your query information, please see the Privacy Policy available at the applicable Web Site.
Cookies; Configuration Settings. When you access the Web Site through the Search Application, the Web Site sets a "cookie" that collects information about your use of the Search Application including the unique identification code of your Search Application, the queries you submit through the Search Application, your IP address, and whether you clicked on search results or advertising links. When you start your browser, the Search Application sends a configuration request to our servers which includes your computer's IP address, browser type, and information about the specific release date and distribution source of your Search Application. This information allows us to distinguish your Search Application for purposes of compensating third parties who distribute our products and to analyze retention and usage on an aggregated basis. Such "cookies" and configuration settings are reset every 24 hours, but the information collected is stored in a query log for up to six months. For more information on the use of cookies and on how to block or remove them, please see the Ask Privacy Policy at http://www.ask.com/about/legal/privacy.
Our affiliates and partners that market and distribute Search Applications, including those who themselves provide features, functionalities or content within or via the Search Application, may receive/collect information about you, including engagement with certain Search Application functionality, the queries you submit via the applicable Search Application, or associated functionality and/or Web Site, the version of the Search Application you are using, your browser settings, as well as the search results and ads you click on and the address of the web pages you previously visited.
Other than as set forth herein or on the applicable Privacy Policy, the Search Application does not: (a) collect or report back to us (or anyone else) any information about sites you visit on the web; (b) collect or "screen-scrape" any search queries or information that you provide to any other web sites; (c) serve pop-ups when you are on other websites; or (d) collect or report back to us (or anyone else) any data unrelated to the Services.
If APN, or one or more of the Web Sites or Search Applications is ever involved in a corporate restructuring or a sale, merger or other transfer of assets, we may transfer all information provided by or collected from you in order to ensure continuity of service.
6. Access and Interference; Passwords
You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, other automatic or manual device or process to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of any of the Search Application, Web Sites or Services, except to disable or remove our Search Application from a computer of which you are an owner or authorized user. You may not violate or attempt to violate the security of our Search Application. We reserve the right to investigate occurrences which may involve such violations, and may involve and cooperate with law enforcement authorities in prosecuting users who have participated in such violations. You agree that it is your responsibility to install anti-virus software and related protections against viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots or other techniques that may have the effect of damaging, destroying, disrupting or otherwise impairing a computer's functionality or operation.
In order to access certain Search Application-related services, you may be required to enter your log-in credentials for one or more third party services, accept additional terms and conditions and/or establish an account including a unique ID and password. You are the sole and exclusive guardian of any password and ID combination issued or chosen by to you. Maintaining the confidentiality and security of your Password(s) and ID(s) is solely your responsibility. You are fully responsible for all transactions undertaken by means of any account opened, held, accessed or used via your password and ID.
7. Disclaimer of Warranty
YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SEARCH APPLICATION AND ALL FEATURES, FUNCTIONALITY AND/OR CONTENT PROVIDED THEREIN OR THERETHROUGH ARE AT YOUR SOLE RISK. WE PROVIDE THE SEARCH APPLICATION ON AN "AS IS," AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, CUSTOM, TRADE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, ACCURACY OF INFORMATIONAL CONTENT, SYSTEM INTEGRATION OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES CONCERNING THE SEARCH APPLICATION, AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM YOUR DOWNLOAD OF OR USE OF THE SEARCH APPLICATION.
WE DO NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY: (A) AS TO THE TIMELINESS, SEQUENCE, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR RELIABILITY OF THE SEARCH APPLICATION, (B) THAT THE SEARCH APPLICATION WILL BE AVAILABLE OR WILL OPERATE IN AN UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE MANNER, OR (C) THAT ERRORS OR DEFECTS RELATED TO THE SEARCH APPLICATION WILL BE CORRECTED. WE ALSO DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SEARCH APPLICATION, OR THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE THROUGH SEARCH APPLICATION, IS APPROPRIATE, ACCURATE OR AVAILABLE FOR USE IN ANY PARTICULAR JURISDICTION.
SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE DISCLAIMER OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES. IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS, THE FOREGOING DISCLAIMERS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU INSOFAR AS THEY RELATE TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES.
THIS DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY CONSTITUTES AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THIS AGREEMENT.
8. Termination
You may terminate this Agreement at any time by uninstalling and destroying all copies of the Search Application in your possession or control.
If, at any time, you are not in compliance with this Agreement, we reserve the right to terminate your access to the Web Sites and Services through the Search Application. Further, we may discontinue or alter any aspect of the Services, including, but not limited to, (i) restricting the time the Services are available, (ii) restricting the amount of use permitted, and (iii) restricting or terminating any user's right to use the Services, at our sole discretion and without prior notice or liability. We may also, in our sole discretion, terminate your use of the some or all of the Services, and disable your use of the Search Application, for any reason, including, without limitation, for lack of use or if we believe that you have violated or acted inconsistently with the letter or spirit of these license terms. Further, you agree that we shall not be liable to you or any third-party for any termination of your access to any of the Services.
9. Limitation of Liability
YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT IN NO EVENT WILL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST BUSINESS OR LOST OPPORTUNITY, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES) OR OTHER RELIEF ARISING OUT OF, OR RELATED TO, THIS AGREEMENT OR TO YOUR USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SEARCH APPLICATION.
BECAUSE SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATE OR JURISDICTIONS, OUR LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
10. Export Controls
The Search Application and the underlying information and technology may not be downloaded or otherwise exported or re-exported (a) into (or to a national or resident of) any country to which the U.S. has currently embargoed goods; or (b) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Commerce Department's Table of Deny Orders. By downloading or using the Search Application, you agree to the foregoing and you represent and warrant that you are not located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any such country or on any such list, and that you will otherwise comply with all applicable export control laws.
11. Notice to Government End Users
The Search Application and associated software, programs and documentation hereunder downloaded or otherwise installed for or on behalf of the United States of America, its agencies and/or instrumentalities (“U.S. Government”), is provided with Restricted Rights as “commercial Items,” as that terms is defined at 48 C.F.R. §2.101, consisting of "Commercial Computer Software" and "Commercial Computer Software Documentation," as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. §12.212 or 48 C.F.R. §227.7202, as applicable. Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 12.212 (48 C.F.R. §12.212), the U.S. Government shall have only those rights specified in the license contained herein. The U.S. Government shall not be entitled to (i) technical information that is not customarily provided to the public or to (ii) use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display, or disclose commercial computer software or commercial computer software documentation except as specified herein. Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013 or subparagraphs (c)(1) and (2) of the Commercial Computer Software - Restricted Rights at 48 C.F.R. 52.227-19, as applicable.
12. Applicable Law
The substantive laws of the State of New York in the United States of America, without regard to conflict of laws principles, shall govern all matters relating to or arising from this Agreement, and the use (or inability to use) the Software. You hereby irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the appropriate State and Federal courts located in Manhattan, New York, with respect to all matters arising out of or relating to this Agreement.
13. Severability
If any provision of this Agreement is found by a court or other binding authority to be invalid, you agree that every attempt shall be made to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in that provision, and the remaining provisions contained in this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect.
14. Limitation of Actions Brought Against Us; No Waiver
You agree that any claim or cause of action arising out of your use of the Search Application, software, the Website, related Services, or this Agreement, including any terms of service/use or privacy policies applicable to the Website, must be filed within one year after such claim or cause of action arose or it shall forever be barred, notwithstanding any statute of limitations or other law to the contrary. Our failure to enforce or exercise any provision of this Agreement or related right shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.
15. Customer Concerns
If you encounter any problem with the Search Application, or would like to send us your feedback, our Customer Service may be reached at
[email protected].
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