Terms of Service

The gist:

At Format Prints, a service operated by Ideaform Inc. (“Format Prints”, “we”, “our” or “us”), we are passionately committed to the privacy of our customers. We (the folks at Format Prints) run a blog and website hosting platform called Format Prints and would love for you to use it.  Our services (“Services”) are designed to give you as much control and ownership over what goes on your website as possible and encourage you to express yourself freely. However, be responsible in what you publish. In particular, make sure that none of the prohibited items (like spam, viruses, or serious threats of violence) appear on your website. If you find a Format Prints website that you believe violates these Terms of Service, please email us at prints@format.com.

Terms of Service:

The following terms and conditions govern all use of the Format Prints website and all content, services, and products available at or through the website. Our Services are offered subject to your acceptance without modification of all of the terms and conditions contained herein and all other operating rules, policies (including, without limitation, Format Prints’ Privacy Policy) and procedures that may be published from time to time by Format Prints (collectively, the “Agreement”). For clarity, your agreement to these terms and conditions is also your consent to our use of your personal information in accordance with  Format Prints’ Privacy Policy.  You agree that we may automatically upgrade our Services, and these terms will apply to any upgrades. Please read this Agreement carefully before accessing or using our Services. By accessing or using any part of our Services, you agree to become bound by the terms and conditions of the Agreement. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions of the Agreement, then you may not access or use any of our Services. If these terms and conditions are considered an offer by Format Prints, acceptance is expressly limited to these terms. The Services may be used only by individuals who are at least 16 years old. Use of our Services requires a Format Prints account. You agree to provide us with complete and accurate information when you register for an account. You will be solely responsible and liable for any activity that occurs under your username. You are responsible for keeping your password secure.

1. Format Prints.

  • Your Format Prints Account and Website. If you create a blog or website on Format Prints, you are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and blog, and you are fully responsible for all activities that occur under the account and any other actions taken in connection with the blog. You must immediately notify Format Prints of any unauthorized uses of your blog, your account, or any other breaches of security. Format Prints will not be liable for any acts or omissions by you, including any damages of any kind incurred as a result of such acts or omissions.
  • Responsibility of Contributors. If you operate a blog, comment on a blog, post material to Format Prints, post links on Format Prints, or otherwise make (or allow any third party to make) material available (any such material, “Content”), you are entirely responsible for the content of, and any harm resulting from, that Content or your conduct. That is the case regardless of what form the Content takes, which includes, but is not limited to text, photo, video, audio, or code. By using Format Prints, you represent and warrant that your Content and conduct do not violate these terms or the User Guidelines. By submitting Content to Format Prints for inclusion on your website, you grant Format Prints a world-wide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt and publish the Content solely for the purpose of displaying, distributing, and promoting your blog. This license allows Format Prints to make publicly-posted content available to third parties selected by Format Prints (through the Format Marketplace, for example) so that these third parties can analyze and distribute (but not publicly display) your content through their services. You also give other Format Prints users permission to share your Content on other Format Prints websites and add their own Content to it (aka to reblog your Content), so long as they use only a portion of your post and they give you credit as the original author by linking back to your website. If you delete Content, Format Prints will use reasonable efforts to remove it from Format Prints, but you acknowledge that caching or references to the Content may not be made immediately unavailable. Without limiting any of those representations or warranties, Format Prints has the right (though not the obligation) to, in Format Prints’ sole discretion, (i) reclaim your username or website’s URL due to prolonged inactivity, (ii) refuse or remove any content that, in Format Prints’ reasonable opinion, violates any Format Prints policy or is in any way harmful or objectionable, or (iii) terminate or deny access to and use of Format Prints to any individual or entity for any reason. Format Prints will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid.
  • Web Traffic. We use a third party, comScore, Inc. (“comScore”), to measure Format Prints’ audience and usage. By hosting your site on Format Prints, you agree to assign the traffic relating to your website to Format Prints and authorize us to sign a Traffic Assignment Letter on your behalf for comScore audience measurement reports. Your website’s traffic will be included under Format Prints. You understand that your website will not receive credit for traffic in these reports, and you must not assign your website’s traffic to any other party. If we or comScore require additional documentation to verify ownership of your website or domain name, you agree to make reasonable efforts to accommodate such requests.
  • HTTPS. We offer free HTTPS on all Format Prints sites by default.
  • Payment. If you choose a direct payment gateway to complete your purchase, Format Prints will send your credit card data to Stripe.com. Stripe is the industry-leading credit card processor used by thousands of websites. It is encrypted through the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS). Your purchase transaction data is stored at Stripe, and not Format Prints, only as long as is necessary to complete your purchase transaction. After that is complete, your purchase transaction information is deleted. All direct payment gateways adhere to the standards set by PCI-DSS as managed by the PCI Security Standards Council, which is a joint effort of brands like Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. PCI-DSS requirements help ensure the secure handling of credit card information by our store and its service providers. For more insight, you may also want to read Stripe’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy here.
  • Third Party Services. In general, the third-party providers used by us will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to allow them to perform the services they provide to us. However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies in respect to the information we are required to provide to them for your purchase-related transactions. For these providers, we recommend that you read their privacy policies so you can understand the manner in which your personal information will be handled by these providers. In particular, remember that certain providers may be located in or have facilities that are located in a different jurisdiction than either you or us. So if you elect to proceed with a transaction that involves the services of a third-party service provider, then your information may become subject to the laws of the jurisdiction(s) in which that service provider or its facilities are located. As an example, if you are located in Canada and your transaction is processed by a payment gateway located in the United States, then your personal information used in completing that transaction may be subject to disclosure under United States legislation, including the Patriot Act. Once you leave our store’s website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or our website’s Terms of Service.
  • Cookies. We use cookies to make it easy for you to log in and out of our website, making purchases, and for marketing purposes.
  • Advertisements. Format Prints reserves the right to display advertisements on your blog unless you have purchased an Ad-free Upgrade.
  • Attribution. Format Prints reserves the right to display attribution text or links in your site footer or toolbar, attributing Format Prints or the theme author, for example. The toolbar may not be altered or removed. Attribution text or links may only be hidden if you are subscribed to Format Prints Professional or Agency plans.
  • Payment and Renewal.
    • General Terms. Optional paid services such as extra storage or domain purchases are available (any such services, an “Upgrade”). By selecting an Upgrade you agree to pay Format Prints the monthly or annual subscription fees indicated for that service. Payments will be charged on a pre-pay basis on the day you sign up for an Upgrade and will cover the use of that service for a monthly or annual subscription period as indicated. You can read about our Refund Policy here.
    • Automatic Renewal. Unless you notify Format Prints before the end of the applicable subscription period that you want to cancel an Upgrade, your Upgrade subscription will automatically renew and you authorize us to collect the then-applicable annual or monthly subscription fee for such Upgrade (as well as any taxes) using any credit card or other payment mechanism we have on record for you. Upgrades can be canceled at any time in the Upgrades section of your website’s dashboard.

2. Responsibility of Visitors.

Format Prints has not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, posted to our Services, and cannot therefore be responsible for that material’s content, use or effects. By operating our Services, Format Prints does not represent or imply that it endorses the material there posted, or that it believes such material to be accurate, useful, or non-harmful. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. Our Services may contain content that is offensive, indecent, or otherwise objectionable, as well as content containing technical inaccuracies, typographical mistakes, and other errors. Our Services may also contain material that violates the privacy or publicity rights, or infringes the intellectual property and other proprietary rights, of third parties, or the downloading, copying or use of which is subject to additional terms and conditions, stated or unstated. Format Prints disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from the use by visitors of our Services, or from any downloading by those visitors of content there posted.

3. Content Posted on Other Websites.

We have not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, made available through the websites and webpages to which Format Prints links, and that link to Format Prints. Format Prints does not have any control over those non-Format Prints websites, and is not responsible for their contents or their use. By linking to a non-Format Prints website, Format Prints does not represent or imply that it endorses such website. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. Format Prints disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from your use of non-Format Prints websites and webpages. Format Prints reserve the right to terminate accounts or access of those in the event of a breach of this condition. Sharing factually inaccurate or malicious information regarding Format Prints or Format Prints users is prohibited. Format Prints reserves the right to terminate accounts or access of those in the event of a breach of this condition.

4. Copyright Infringement.

As Format Prints asks others to respect its intellectual property rights, it respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that material located on or linked to by the Services violates your copyright, you are encouraged to notify Format Prints at the contact information below. Format Prints will terminate a visitor’s access to and use of the Services if, under appropriate circumstances, the visitor is determined to be an infringer of the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of Format Prints or others. In the case of such termination, Format Prints will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid to Format Prints.

5. Intellectual Property.

This Agreement does not transfer from Format Prints to you any Format Prints or third party intellectual property, and all right, title, and interest in and to such property will remain (as between the parties) solely with Format Prints. Format Prints, Format Prints, the Format Prints logo, and all other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with Format Prints or our Services, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Format Prints or Format Prints’ licensors. Other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with our Services may be the trademarks of other third parties. Your use of our Services grants you no right or license to reproduce or otherwise use any Format Prints or third-party trademarks.

6. Domain Names.

We act as a registrar and also work with third party registrars in order to provide our users with domain name services. When you register a domain name on Format Prints, or when you renew or transfer an existing domain name on Format Prints, you become bound by the relevant registrar’s terms and conditions, in addition to these Terms. Which registrar terms apply depends on the TLD you choose, and in some cases, the date you register your domain. These registrar terms are incorporated by reference into these Terms.

Further, your use of the domain name is also subject to the policies of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”). A summary of your rights and responsibilities as a domain name registrant under ICANN’s 2009 Registrar Accreditation Agreement can be found here. You can learn more about domain name registration generally here.

7. Changes.

We are constantly updating our Services, and that means sometimes we have to change the legal terms under which our Services are offered.  If we modify or replace the Agreement, we will give you notice by email to the email address you provided to us in your account information or we will post a notice that will be conspicuously visible (for example, a banner notice at the top of the applicable page) to our users the next time after the change that they use  Format Prints. Your continued use of or access to the Services following such notice or such a posting of a notice constitutes acceptance of those changes. If you disagree with or do not accept any such changes, your sole option is to terminate your use of the Services. If you do so, we will cancel your account. Any refund eligibility will be subject to our Refund Policy, located here. 

8. Termination.

Format Prints may terminate your access to all or any part of our Services at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. If you wish to terminate this Agreement or your Format Prints account (if you have one), you may simply discontinue using our Services. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

9. Disclaimer of Warranties.

Our Services are provided “as is.” Format Prints and its suppliers and licensors hereby disclaim all warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. Neither Format Prints nor its suppliers and licensors, makes any warranty that our Services will be error free or that access thereto will be continuous or uninterrupted. You understand that you download from, or otherwise obtain content or services through, our Services at your own discretion and risk.

10. Limitation of Liability.

In no event will Format Prints, or its suppliers or licensors, be liable with respect to any subject matter of this Agreement under any contract, negligence, strict liability or other legal or equitable theory for: (i) any special, incidental or consequential damages; (ii) the cost of procurement for substitute products or services; (iii) for interruption of use or loss or corruption of data; or (iv) for any amounts that exceed the lesser of CAD$20 and the amount of fees paid by you to Format Prints under this Agreement during the twelve (12) month period prior to the cause of action. Format Prints shall have no liability for any failure or delay due to matters beyond their reasonable control. The foregoing shall not apply to the extent prohibited by applicable law.

11. General Representation and Warranty.

You represent and warrant that (i) your use of our Services will be in strict accordance with the Format Prints Privacy Policy, with this Agreement, and with all applicable laws and regulations (including without limitation any local laws or regulations in your country, state, city, or other governmental area, regarding online conduct and acceptable content, and including all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside) and (ii) your use of our Services will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party.

12. Indemnification.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Format Prints, its contractors, and its licensors, and their respective directors, officers, employees, and agents from and against any and all claims and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of your use of our Services, including but not limited to your violation of this Agreement.

13. Translation.

These Terms of Service were originally written in English (US). We may translate these terms into other languages. In the event of a conflict between a translated version of these Terms of Service and the English version, the English version will control.

14. Miscellaneous.

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between Format Prints and you concerning the subject matter hereof, and they may only be modified by a written amendment signed by an authorized executive of Format Prints, or as described in this Agreement. Except to the extent applicable law, if any, provides otherwise, the Agreement, any access to or use of the Application will be governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada, and subject to the arbitration provisions of this Section the proper venue for any disputes arising out of or relating to any of the same will be the courts located in the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  Except for claims for injunctive or equitable relief or claims regarding intellectual property rights (which may be brought in any competent court without the posting of a bond), any dispute arising under this Agreement shall be finally settled in accordance with the commercial arbitration laws and rules in effect on the date of the notice in the Province of Ontario by one arbitrator appointed in accordance with such laws and rules and the arbitration shall take place in the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the English language and the arbitral decision may be enforced in any court having jurisdiction and located in the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The prevailing party in any action or proceeding to enforce this Agreement shall be entitled to costs and attorneys’ fees. If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that part will be construed to reflect the parties’ original intent, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect. A waiver by either party of any term or condition of this Agreement or any breach thereof, in any one instance, will not waive such term or condition or any subsequent breach thereof. You may assign your rights under this Agreement to any party that consents to, and agrees to be bound by, its terms and conditions; Format Prints may assign its rights under this Agreement without condition. This Agreement will be binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.