Terms and Conditions

Last Updated: November 1, 2023

The National Journal Group LLC (“National Journal”) owns and operates digital products including the website nationaljournal.com; newsletters and other content we deliver via email; and social media pages (collectively, the “Sites”).

Your use of the Sites and associated products and services, regardless of media, is subject to the terms, conditions, and disclaimers set forth below (the "Terms & Conditions"); to our Online Privacy Policy; and to all applicable laws and regulations. In addition, National Journal reserves the right to terminate access to the Sites for any reason, and to take any other actions that National Journal, in its sole discretion, believes to be in the interest of National Journal and some or all of its users and customers. National Journal reserves the right to modify these disclaimers, terms, and conditions of access, without advance notice.

This is a binding contract between National Journal and you. By accessing the Sites, you hereby accept this agreement. As a material condition of such use, you warrant that you are over the age of thirteen and that you have provided accurate and complete information in any communication with National Journal.

Please note that our Sites are under constant development. This Agreement may therefore be modified and updated on an ongoing basis. Please check back to this page regularly.

Access

Access to the Sites is provided free of charge (although some content may be only be available to paying subscribers or members) and does not create a professional services relationship or any other relationship with National Journal. The Sites are provided solely for your personal, non-commercial use.

You may not copy, develop or derive for commercial sale, disposition, use or other exploitation of any data in machine-readable or other form that incorporates or uses any substantial part of the Sites nor transfer to or store any data residing or exchanged over the Sites in any electronic network for use by more than one user unless you obtain prior written permission from National Journal. Specifically, unless explicitly authorized in these Terms & Conditions or by the owner of the materials, you may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, translate, sell, create derivative works, exploit, or distribute in any manner or medium any material from the Sites. For more information about requesting permission to reproduce or distribute materials from the Sites, contact service@nationaljournal.com.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, National Journal reserves the right at any time to charge fees for access to portions of the Sites or any National Journal products and services.

Account Credentials and Security

Use of some of our services, including registration for an account and/or membership for NationalJournal.com, requires the creation of an online account log-in and password (the “Credentials”). You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Credentials, and you are solely responsible for all activities that occur during use of your account. You agree to immediately change your password and notify us at privacy@nationaljournal.com if you suspect or become aware of any unauthorized use of your Credentials or any other breach of security related to the Services. We reserve the right to require you to alter your Credentials if we believe that they are no longer secure. You agree that we will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to adequately safeguard your Credentials.

Intellectual Property

The National Journal name, trademark, and brand and the Sites (including the selection, coordination, compilation, and enhancement or text, content and images on the Sites), and all other text, content and images contained on the Sites and in National Journal’s products are protected by United States and international patent, trade secret, database rights, trademark, copyright and other applicable laws and are the property of National Journal, except as otherwise identified. All copyrights and trademarks not the property of National Journal that are used or referred to in the Sites and National Journal’s products are the property of their respective owners. Nothing contained in the Sites or other products shall be construed as granting any license or other rights to any copyright, trademark, patent or other property of National Journal or any third party, whether by implication, laches, estoppel or explicit grant. Because the content is proprietary, any unauthorized use of materials on the Sites or other products may violate the law. If you are a copyright owner and believe infringing material is present on any of the Sites, please refer to the procedures outlined below in the section titled “DMCA Copyright Infringement Claim Policy.”

The Sites and National Journal’s products, including third party and licensed materials on the Sites, may not be modified, reproduced, republished, retransmitted, or displayed except for personal use. Any use for a commercial or public purpose requires specific written permission from National Journal, as described in the Access section above.

User Submission Policy

Some of the Sites may allow users to upload, create, submit, and/or post images, text, video, profile information, comments, letters to the editor, e-mails, or other data and information (collectively, “User Submissions”). By uploading, creating, submitting, or posting User Submissions to or on the Sites, or to National Journal through any other means:

• You affirm, represent and warrant that you have the right to provide and license the User Submissions as described herein and waive any rights you may have in having such User Submission altered, changed, or otherwise modified in a manner that is not aggregable to you;
• You grant to National Journal a non-exclusive, worldwide, paid-up, royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual license, including right of sublicense through multiple tiers, to use, copy, assign, display (including publicly display on the Sites), distribute, perform, reproduce in whole or in part, create derivative works of, and modify the User Submissions in any medium or any manner, in whole or part (whether now known or hereafter developed), without restriction, for National Journal’s business purposes, including operation of the Sites;
• You grant to each other user of the Sites a non-exclusive license to access the User Submissions through the Sites and to use, copy, reproduce, distribute, display and perform such User Submissions;
• You acknowledge and agree that User Submissions may be permanently maintained and stored on National Journal’s servers and provided to third parties as permitted under these Terms & Conditions (and permanently maintained or stored on their servers); and
• You acknowledge that National Journal is not responsible for, and cannot prevent, the publication, modification, or use of your User Submissions by any third parties who copied your User Submissions during the time in which User Submissions are displayed on the Sites.

For any User Submissions (including those that you upload, create, submit, and/or post that you do not own), you guarantee to National Journal that you have the legal right to upload, create, submit, and post such User Submissions and that such uploading, creation, submission, or posting will not violate any law or the rights of any person or entity. FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT, YOU WILL NOT POST USER SUBMISSIONS ON THE SITES YOU DO NOT OWN WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE OWNER OF THE RIGHTS IN SUCH USER SUBMISSIONS, INCLUDING WRITTEN, PHOTOGRAPHIC, MUSIC AND VIDEO USER SUBMISSIONS.

Acceptable Use Policy

You are solely responsible for any and all acts and omissions that occur during or relating to your use of the Sites, and you agree not to engage in unacceptable access or use of the Sites, which includes, without limitation, access or use of the Sites to:

• Harm or threaten to harm users or members of the general public in any way, or “stalk” or otherwise harass any other person or entity;
• Upload, create, submit and/or post any User Submission that is unlawful, false or misleading, grossly offensive, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, pornographic, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable;
• Disseminate or transmit “spam,” unsolicited messages, chain letters, any advertisements, solicitations, pyramid schemes, investment opportunities or other unsolicited commercial communication;
• Purchase, sell, or offer to purchase or sell any equity or security or market instrument; provide information designed to manipulate any equity or security or market; or disseminate or transmit any material, non-public information about companies without authorization to do so;
• Collect, use, or store any personally identifiable information about other users, or otherwise violate the personal privacy rights of others;
• Impersonate any person or entity (including a Site agent, user, or moderator), or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
• Post any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, or any other form of solicitation except in areas that are expressly designated by the Sites for such purpose;
• Upload, create, submit, and/or post any User Submission that infringes or violates any party’s copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent or other proprietary right; or use or distribute third-party information (whether or not protected as a trade secret) in violation of a duty of confidentiality, fiduciary duty, or similar duty;
• Violate any law (whether local, state, national, or international), including export controls and sanctions, whether or not intentionally;
• Forge headers or otherwise intentionally disguise the origin of any content or communication; interfere with or disrupt the Sites, or servers or networks connected to the Sites; or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies, or regulations of networks connected to the Sites;
• Make any User Submission related to partisan political campaigning or fundraising.
• Express or imply that any statements you make are endorsed by us;
• Modify, adapt, sub-license, translate, sell, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any portion of the Sites;
• Obtain, copy, monitor, index or data mine through the use of a robot, spider, data scraping tool, automated device, or any manual process, the Sites or the contents (except as expressly permitted by National Journal) or provided archived or cached data sets of the Sites or any content or materials contained on the Sites to any third party;
• Use the Sites or any content or materials contained on the Sites in connection with the development of any software program, including to train artificial intelligence models or systems;
• Remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices contained in the Sites or take any action to change the functionality or appearance of the Sites, including the presentation of advertising;
• ”Frame” or “mirror” any part of the Sites;
• Take any actions that would impose an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on National Journal’s network or IT infrastructure; or
• Engage in any other activity deemed by National Journal to be in conflict with the spirit or intent of this agreement or that might violate the rights of others or give rise to liability.

You understand that by using the Sites, you may be exposed to content that may offend you or challenge your beliefs. Your remedy is to avoid such content by discontinuing your access.

Content and Non-Endorsement

Opinions and other statements expressed by users and third parties are theirs alone, not opinions of National Journal. Content created by third parties is the sole responsibility of the third parties and its accuracy and completeness are not endorsed or guaranteed. The Sites and third parties may provide links to web pages, web sites, and various resources or locations on the web. National Journal has no control over the information you access via such links, does not endorse that information, and shall not be responsible for it or for the consequences of your use of that information. National Journal may, but is not obligated to, monitor content on its Sites and remove content (including User Submissions) that do not comply with these Terms & Conditions.

Use of Associated Press Materials

Some of the material available on the Sites is provided by the Associated Press. By using the Sites you agree and acknowledge that (1) you will not publish, broadcast, or rewrite for broadcast or publication, or redistribute directly or indirectly in any medium any Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio, and/or video material, and (2) no Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in its materials or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part of its materials, or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. In addition to those set forth in this paragraph, the Associated Press may impose other terms and conditions on the use of its materials.

Subscription Policies for PolicyView

PolicyView is a research report delivered via email to those who subscribe and who license access. PolicyView reports are intended only for individuals with registered emails connected to an active subscription. If you have purchased access to PolicyView, you may occasionally share reports (or excerpts from reports) with employees, contractors, trade group members, professional association members, or volunteers associated with your organization. You are prohibited from providing each report in its entirety to parties beyond the registered list of email recipients associated with your subscription.

Online Purchases

You agree to be financially responsible for all purchases and subscriptions made by you or someone acting on your behalf through the Site. You agree to use the Site and to purchase subscriptions, services, or products through the Site for legitimate, non-commercial purposes only. You agree to only purchase goods or services for yourself or for another person for whom you are legally permitted to do so. When making a purchase for a third party that requires you to submit the third party's personal information to us or to a merchant, you represent that you have obtained the express consent of such third party to provide such third party's personal information.

Subscriptions for PolicyView are billed annually. Your selected payment method will be charged automatically on a recurring [annual] basis. Your subscription will be renewed automatically, and you will be charged in advance of each billing cycle unless you cancel.

Employment Opportunities

National Journal may post employment opportunities on the Sites and/or invite users to submit resumes to it. If you choose to submit your name, contact information, resume and/or other personal information to National Journal in response to employment listings, you are authorizing National Journal and its service providers to utilize this information for all lawful and legitimate hiring and employment purposes. National Journal also reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to forward the information you submit to its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, vendors and service providers for legitimate business purposes. Nothing in these Terms & Conditions or contained in the Sites shall constitute a promise by National Journal to interview, hire or employ any individual who submits information to it, nor shall anything in this Agreement or contained in the Sites constitute a promise that National Journal will review any or all of the information submitted to it by users.

DMCA Copyright Infringement Claim Policy

National Journal respects the intellectual property of others, and requires that our users do the same. You may not upload, embed, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that infringes any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights of any person or entity. National Journal has the right to prohibit infringers from using our Sites.

If you believe your work has been copied and posted on or through the Sites in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please send National Journal’s Copyright Agent a notification of claimed infringement with all of the following information:

(a) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works;

(b) identification of the claimed infringing material and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material on the Sites (providing the URL(s) of the claimed infringing material satisfies this requirement);

(c) information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an email address;

(d) a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;

(e) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notification is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf; and

(f) your physical or electronic signature.

National Journal’s Copyright Agent for notification of claimed infringement can be reached as follows: Copyright Agent, National Journal Group LLC, 600 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20037, (202) 266-7000, DMCA@nationaljournal.com.

Upon receipt of a Notification of Copyright Infringement from a copyright owner that contains the required information described in (a) through (f) above, National Journal will notify the user, if known, of the alleged infringement and remove or disable access to the material that is alleged to be infringing if hosted on the Sites. No personal user information is shared with the copyright owner unless required by law.

If National Journal receives more than one Notice of Copyright Infringement concerning a user, the user may be deemed a “repeat copyright infringer.” National Journal reserves the right to terminate the accounts of “repeat copyright infringers.”

Procedure to File a DMCA Counter-Claim

If you have received a notice of copyright infringement and you believe that a copyright holder has accused you in error, you may file a DMCA Counter-Claim with National Journal’s designated agent.

To be effective, a Counter-Claim must be a written communication provided to National Journal’s designated agent and must include the following information:

(a) A physical or electronic signature of the user;

(b) Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled;

(c) A statement under penalty of perjury that the user has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled; and

(d) The user’s name, address and telephone number, and a statement that the subscriber consents to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if the user’s address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and that the user will accept service of process from the person who provided notification or an agent of such person.

Upon receipt of a DMCA Counter-Claim, National Journal will provide the complaining party with a copy of the DMCA Counter-Claim. When National Journal receives a Counter-Claim that meets the requirements of the DMCA, National Journal will process the Counter-Claim in accordance with the requirements of the DMCA.

Limitation of Liability

National Journal has worked to ensure the accuracy of the information it provides through its products and services, including through the Sites. This information frequently relies on data obtained from many sources, however, and National Journal cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided or any analysis based thereon.

YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT THE USE OF NATIONAL JOURNAL’S PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, INCLUDING THE SITES, IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. SUCH PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS AND NATIONAL JOURNAL MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AND DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. NATIONAL JOURNAL DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE OR ERROR FREE. NO ADVICE, OPINION OR OTHER INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITES OR FROM NATIONAL JOURNAL, ORALLY OR IN ANY MEDIA, SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY FROM NATIONAL JOURNAL NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT.

EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE STATED, NATIONAL JOURNAL MAKES NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION REGARDING CONFIDENTIALITY OF ANY COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TRANSMITTED ON THIS SITES OR ANY WEBSITE LINKED TO THE SITES. YOU AGREE THAT NEITHER NATIONAL JOURNAL, NOR ANY OTHER PROVIDERS OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES RELATED TO THE SITES, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF ANY INFORMATION, (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION CREDIT CARD INFORMATION, PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION, INCLUDING EMAIL ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, ETC.), AND NEITHER NATIONAL JOURNAL NOR ANY OTHER PROVIDERS OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES RELATED TO THE SITES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES THAT MAY ARISE FROM DISCLOSURE OF SUCH INFORMATION.

NATIONAL JOURNAL AND ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONSULTANTS, AGENTS AND OTHER REPRESENTATIVES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE OR OTHER DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS OR COSTS OR ATTORNEY’S FEES, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO BREACH OF CONTRACT, BREACH OF WARRANTY, NEGLIGENCE, OR STRICT LIABILITY, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER NATIONAL JOURNAL WAS INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

IN STATES THAT DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF DAMAGES, NATIONAL JOURNAL’S LIABILITY, AND THAT OF ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES OR PARENTS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES, BUSINESS PARTNERS, INFORMATION PROVIDERS AND LICENSORS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE HEIRS AND ASSIGNS IS LIMITED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY SUCH STATES’ LAWS.

National Journal assumes no responsibility or liability arising from the content of the Sites nor for any error, defamation, libel, slander, omission, falsehood, obscenity, pornography, profanity, danger or inaccuracy contained in any information within the Sites or accessed through the Sites. National Journal also does not warrant that the functions or informational materials contained in or accessed or downloaded through our Sites are free of computer viruses or other harmful components. In addition, although we make a good faith effort to update the content of our Sites periodically, we do not have a duty to update information contained in our Sites, and we will not be liable for any failure to update such information. You agree to comply with all applicable laws and local rules regarding the transmission of technical data, acceptable contents and online conduct.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold National Journal, its affiliates, licensors, suppliers, advertisers and sponsors, and its and their directors, officers, employees, consultants, agents and other representatives, harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, costs (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) and other expenses that arise directly or indirectly out of or from (a) your breach of this agreement, including any violation of the Terms & Conditions; (b) any allegation that any User Submissions infringe or otherwise violate the copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property or other rights of any third party; and/or (c) your activities in connection with the Sites.

Special Agreement on Fee-Shifting and Choice of Law

If you attempt to bring any legal action against National Journal based in any way on its products or services, including the Sites, you agree that, in the event you do not prevail or National Journal does prevail, you will reimburse National Journal for any costs and fees associated with their defense of the action.

The use of the Sites and any claim or dispute relating to the Sites shall be governed by the laws of the District of Columbia, without regard to its conflicts of law principles. Exclusive venue for any claim shall be in the state and federal courts located in the District of Columbia.

Binding Arbitration

You and National Journal acknowledge that any statutory or common law claims related to intellectual property may require forms of equitable relief that are best administered by courts; accordingly, you and National Journal agree that, except for (i) statutory or common law claims related to intellectual property, and (ii) any claims that may be brought in small claims court where the amount in controversy is properly within the jurisdiction of such court (collectively, “Excluded Claims”) any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to the Terms & Conditions, your relationship to National Journal as a subscriber, or your use of any of National Journal’s services or products, whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation or any other legal theory (“Covered Claims”), will be resolved by binding, individual arbitration. YOUR AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATION MEANS THAT FOR ALL COVERED CLAIMS, YOU ARE GIVING UP YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT AND THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY. INSTEAD, YOU WILL HAVE A HEARING BEFORE A NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR.

Waiver of Class Actions

YOU AND NATIONAL JOURNAL AGREE THAT EACH PARTY MAY BRING DISPUTES RELATING TO BOTH COVERED CLAIMS AND EXCLUDED CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER PARTY ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND AS NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, A FEDERAL OR STATE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OR A CLASS ARBITRATION.

Conduct of Arbitration

Arbitrations for any disputes between us relating to the Covered Claims will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) in accordance with its Consumer Arbitration Rules and Supplementary Rules for Multiple Case Filings (collectively, the “AAA Rules”). For more information about arbitration, the AAA and the arbitration process, please consult the American Arbitration Association web site at adr.org. All issues are for the arbitrator to decide, except issues relating to the scope, application, and enforceability of the arbitration provision-including whether any claims are Covered Claims or Excluded Claims within the meaning of this provision – are for the court to decide. The laws of the District of Columbia apply to any arbitration under this section, but the parties acknowledge that the Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this provision. This arbitration agreement does not preclude you from bringing issues to the attention of federal, state, or local agencies and, if the law allows, they can seek relief against us for you.

Prior to initiating arbitration for a Covered Claim, both parties agree that they will provide individualized written notice of the potential claim to the opposing party setting forth: (i) the factual and legal basis for the claim; (ii) contract information for the potential claimant and their counsel, if any; and (iii) the remedies sought, including the amount of claimed monetary damages (the “Notice”). Following receipt of the Notice by the opposing party, the parties agree to make a good faith effort for at least 30 days to resolve the claim before resorting to more formal means of resolution, including, without limitation, arbitration or any court action. To provide notice of a claim to National Journal, write to abari@nationaljournal.com or National Journal Group LLC, Attn: Afzal Bari, 600 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20037.

Unless you and National Journal agree otherwise in writing, any hearings for the arbitration will take place in a location to be determined in accordance with the AAA Rules. Judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any federal or state court of competent jurisdiction located in the District of Columbia.

All provisions related to arbitration and waiver of class actions will survive termination of the Terms & Conditions, your relationship with us, and/or your account or profile.

Severability

If any provision or portion of these Terms & Conditions is held in whole or in part to be unenforceable for any reason, the remainder of that provision and of the entire agreement will be severable and will remain in effect, to the fullest degree consistent with the intent of this document.