Terms of Use

Poptropica Website Terms of Use - Updated 8/2016

Story Arc Media, Inc. ("SAM"), a division of Sandbox International Holdings Ltd., operates an online virtual world called Poptropica located at www.poptropica.com, along with a mobile application, located at www.poptropica.com/apps/poptropica.html (together with any other Poptropica websites or mobile applications that we may develop and which link to these Terms of Use, referred to herein as the "Poptropica Sites"). Poptropica is a virtual world that entertains and informs millions of kids all around the world by engaging them in narrative quests and online games. These Website Terms of Use ("Terms of Use") govern your use of the Poptropica Sites. Please carefully read this Terms of Use, which includes our Privacy Statement. If you ("You" or "User") are under eighteen (18) years of age or the age of majority in Your jurisdiction, then please read these Terms of Use and the Privacy Statement with Your parent or legal guardian. By using or accessing the Poptropica Sites, You represent that You (or Your parent or legal guardian on Your behalf if You are a minor) have read, understood and agree to the Terms of Use in their entirety, including the Privacy Statement. If You, or in the case that You are a minor, Your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) do not agree with any part of the Terms of Use, including the Privacy Statement, then please do not use or access the Poptropica Sites.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: these Terms of Use contain certain Disclaimers and Limitations on our Liability, and a binding Arbitration Clause and Class Action Waiver, which waives Your right to sue in court or seek a jury trial for disputes relating to your use of the Poptropica Sites. Please read these terms carefully and make sure that You understand them before continuing with your use of the Poptropica Sites. If You do not agree to such terms, please do not use the Poptropica Sites.

1. Changes in Terms of Use

   SAM has the right to change or modify the Terms of Use, including the Privacy Statement, applicable to Your use of the Poptropica Sites, or any part thereof at any time. Such changes, modifications, additions or deletions shall be effective immediately upon notice thereof, which may be given by means including, but not limited to, posting on the Poptropica Sites, or by electronic or conventional mail, or by any other means by which You may obtain notice thereof. Any use of the Poptropica Sites by You subsequent to such notice shall be deemed to constitute Your, or in the case that You are a minor, Your parent's or legal guardian's, acceptance of such changes, modifications or additions.

2. User Accounts

   You do not have to create a user account to use www.poptropica.com. However, accessing certain features of www.poptropica.com requires You to create a user account comprised of choosing a user name and password ("User Account"). No personal information is required to create a User Account. Your User Account is for Your personal use only. SAM strongly recommends that You do not use personal information in a user name. You are responsible for keeping Your User Account information confidential and for protecting your User Account information. SAM is unable to restore or reset User Accounts. To download and use Poptropica mobile apps, You will need an iTunes, Google Play, Amazon or similar account. You agree not to use another User's user name and password to access the Poptropica Sites. SAM reserves the right to suspend or terminate a User Account at any time in the event that a User does not comply with any provision of this Terms of Use. SAM further reserves the right to suspend or terminate a User Account that does not have Membership or paid credit balances after 6 months of inactivity. Saved games on the Poptropica Sites that are inactive for a period of 6 months or longer will be removed.

3. Purchases Made Via the Poptropica Sites; Other Terms and Conditions

   Additional terms and conditions may apply to purchases of goods or services and to specific portions or features of the Poptropica Sites, including Poptropica Memberships, the terms of which are set forth at https://www.poptropica.com/about/membership-terms-of-use.html. Such additional terms and conditions are made a part of these Terms of Use by this reference. You agree to abide by such other terms and conditions. If there is a conflict between these Terms of Use and the terms posted for or applicable to a specific portion of the Poptropica Sites or for any good or service offered on or through the Poptropica Sites, the latter terms shall control with respect to your use of that portion or the specific service.

4. Right to Use the Poptropica Sites

   SAM grants User a personal, limited, non-exclusive, revocable license to access and use the Poptropica Sites for Your personal, non-commercial, entertainment and educational purposes, subject to this Terms of Use. Unless otherwise provided herein, SAM reserves the right to suspend or terminate operation of the Poptropica Sites at any time and to change or discontinue any aspect or feature of the Poptropica Sites, including, but not limited to, content and functionality, hours of availability, and equipment needed for access or use. In certain areas of the Poptropica Sites we provide tools that allow You to create Your own spaces using elements from the Poptropica virtual world, such as trees, rocks and other fun stuff. Subject to the limited license granted to You herein and the other provisions of this Terms of Use, You may save Your spaces to Your devices and You may share screenshots and images of Your spaces with third parties so long as those uses are not commercial. The Poptropica virtual world elements and any resulting spaces that You create using these elements are the property of SAM. You acknowledge and agree that in addition to other actions, SAM may feature Your spaces on the Poptropica Sites, share Your spaces with third parties and otherwise use Your spaces for any purpose without compensation to You.

   You agree that when registering for and using the Poptropica Sites You will provide accurate and complete information and You will not misrepresent Your identity at any time when interacting with the Poptropica Sites or other Users.

   In addition to other proprietary rights specified in this Terms of Use, Users may not: a) frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any element, including without limitation, any text, graphics, images or trademark on the Poptropica Sites (collectively, "Elements"); b) gather, obtain, use, access or otherwise copy the Poptropica Sites or any Elements thereof by using any bot, spider, crawler, spy ware, engine, device, software or any other automatic device, utility or manual process of any kind; c) use the Poptropica Sites or any features available on the Poptropica Sites in any manner with the intent to interrupt, damage, disable, overburden or impair the Poptropica Sites or such services; d) directly or indirectly attempt to circumvent, reverse engineer, decrypt, or otherwise alter or interfere with the Poptropica Sites; or e) engage in any activity that interferes with another User's access, use or enjoyment of the Poptropica Sites.

5. Disclaimer of Warranties, Limitation of Liability and Indemnification

   Disclaimer of Warranties. SAM will provide the Poptropica Sites with reasonable care and skill. SAM does not make any other promises or warranties about the Poptropica Sites and in particular does not warrant that:

   1. Your use of the Poptropica Sites will be uninterrupted or error-free. You agree that from time to time SAM may remove or limit access to the Poptropica Sites for indefinite periods of time, or discontinue the Poptropica Sites at any time for technical or operational reasons and will, to the extent practicable, notify You of this;
   2. the Poptropica Sites will be free from loss, corruption, attack, viruses, interference, hacking, or other security intrusion.

   USER EXPRESSLY AGREES THAT USE OF THE POPTROPICA SITES IS AT USER'S OWN RISK. THE POPTROPICA SITES ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS-IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE BY SAM OR ITS LICENSORS AND SAM AND ITS LICENSORS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM OF COMPUTER VIRUS WITH RESPECT TO THE POPTROPICA SITES, THE CONTENTS THEREOF, OR ANY HYPERLINKS TO OTHER INTERNET RESOURCES.

   TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NEITHER SAM, ITS AFFILIATES, NOR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, AGENTS, THIRD-PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS, WARRANT THAT THE POPTROPICA SITES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE; NOR DO THEY MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE THEREOF, OR AS TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY OR CONTENT OF ANY INFORMATION, SERVICE, OR MERCHANDISE PROVIDED THROUGH THE POPTROPICA SITES.

   IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO EVALUATE THE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF ALL INFORMATION, OPINIONS AND OTHER MATERIAL ON THE POPTROPICA SITES OR ANY SITES WITH WHICH THEY ARE LINKED AND DECIDE IF YOU WISH TO USE THE SITE. THE POPTROPICA SITES MAY LINK TO OR REFERENCE SITES AND INFORMATION LOCATED WORLDWIDE THROUGHOUT THE INTERNET. BECAUSE SAM HAS NO CONTROL OVER SUCH SITES AND INFORMATION, SAM MAKES NO GUARANTEE AS TO SUCH SITES AND INFORMATION, INCLUDING THE ACCURACY, CURRENCY, CONTENT OR QUALITY OF ANY SUCH SITES AND INFORMATION AND SAM ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY AS TO WHETHER A LINK OR REFERENCE LOCATES UNINTENDED OR OBJECTIONABLE CONTENT. FURTHERMORE, BECAUSE SOME CONTENT ON THE INTERNET CONSISTS OF MATERIAL THAT IS ADULT-ORIENTED OR OTHERWISE OBJECTIONABLE TO SOME PEOPLE, THE RESULTS OF A LINK OR REFERENCE ON THE POPTROPICA SITES MAY UNINTENTIONALLY GENERATE LINKS OR REFERENCES TO OBJECTIONABLE MATERIAL. SAM MAKES NO CLAIM THAT SUCH SURPRISES WILL NOT OCCUR.

   Limitation of Liability. To the extent permitted by law, Story Arc Media, Inc., Sandbox International Holdings Ltd., and their parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, employees and agents (the "SAM Parties") shall not be liable for damages or losses of any kind arising out of or in connection with your use of the Poptropica Sites, including but not limited to, damages caused by your reliance on the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of information provided on the Poptropica Sites or your provision of User information or other information to the Poptropica Sites, except that the foregoing shall not preclude recovery of damages for personal injury, loss or damage to personal property, or unauthorized use or disclosure of personally identifiable information caused by the SAM Parties' negligence, gross negligence, recklessness, fraud or other wilful, unconscionable or intentional misconduct. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the clearly established legal right of a consumer to recover attorneys' fees or other remedies afforded by statute or other law.

   Indemnification. To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the SAM Parties from and against all claims, demands, actions, costs, liabilities, losses and damages of any kind (including attorneys' fees) resulting from your breach of any provision of these Terms of Use, your violation of the rights of a third party and/or any negligent acts, omissions or intentional wrongdoing by you. Any such indemnification shall be conditioned on the indemnified party: (a) notifying you in writing of any such claim, demand, action, cost, liability, loss or threat thereof; (b) cooperating with you in the defense or settlement thereof; and (c) allowing you to control such defense or settlement. The indemnified party shall be entitled to participate in such defense at its own cost and expense. You will not be required to indemnify and hold the SAM Parties harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, or expenses resulting from the SAM Parties' own negligent conduct.

6. Arbitration: THE FOLLOWING TERMS TO WHICH YOU ARE CONSENTING CONSIST OF A BINDING ARBITRATION PROVISION AND A CLASS-ACTION AND JURY TRIAL WAIVER

   To the fullest extent permitted by law, by using the Poptropica Sites You agree that if a dispute arises between You and the SAM Parties relating in any way to the Poptropica Sites or your use thereof, including common law or statutory claims, BOTH YOU AND THE SAM PARTIES SHALL SUBMIT TO BINDING ARBITRATION BEFORE THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION. ANY ARBITRATION COMMENCED BETWEEN YOU AND THE SAM PARTIES MUST BE ARBITRATED IN NEW YORK COUNTY, NEW YORK. ARBITRATION MUST BE ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. THIS MEANS NEITHER YOU NOR THE SAM PARTIES MAY JOIN CLAIMS IN ARBITRATION WITH OR AGAINST OTHER USERS, OR LITIGATE IN COURT OR ARBITRATE ANY CLAIMS AS A REPRESENTATIVE OR MEMBER OF A CLASS. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT BY AGREEING TO ARBITRATION YOU ARE WAIVING CERTAIN LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT, THE RIGHT TO HAVE THE DISPUTE DECIDED BY A JUDGE OR JURY, AND THE RIGHT TO BRING, OR BE PART OF, A CLASS ACTION CASE. The foregoing shall not apply to suits to enjoin infringement or other misuse of intellectual property rights, and You or the SAM Parties may bring suit in court to enjoin infringement or other misuse of intellectual property rights.

   IF ANY COURT OR ARBITRATOR DETERMINES THAT THE CLASS ACTION WAIVER SET FORTH ABOVE IS VOID OR UNENFORCEABLE FOR ANY REASON OR THAT AN ARBITRATION CAN PROCEED ON A CLASS BASIS, THEN THE ARBITRATION PROVISION SET FORTH ABOVE SHALL BE DEEMED NULL AND VOID IN ITS ENTIRETY AND THE PARTIES SHALL BE DEEMED TO HAVE NOT AGREED TO ARBITRATE DISPUTES.

   RULES FOR THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION ARE AVAILABLE AT: https://www.adr.org.

7. Lawful Use

   User shall use the Poptropica Sites for lawful purposes only. User shall not post or transmit through the Poptropica Sites any material which: (i) violates or infringes in any way upon the rights of others; (ii) is unlawful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, vulgar, obscene, profane or otherwise objectionable; (iii) encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, gives rise to civil liability or otherwise violates any law; or (iv) contains advertising or any solicitation with respect to products or services, unless SAM has expressly approved such material in advance of its transmission. Any conduct by You that in SAM's discretion restricts or inhibits any other User from using or enjoying the Poptropica Sites is expressly prohibited.

8. Ownership of Intellectual Property

   The Poptropica Sites contain copyrighted material, trademarks and other proprietary information, including, but not limited to, text, software, photos, video, graphics, music, and sound, portions of which are owned by SAM and portions of which are owned by other parties and licensed to SAM. The entire contents of the Poptropica Sites are copyrighted as a collective work/compilation. SAM owns copyright in the selection, coordination, arrangement, and enhancement of such content, as well as in the content original to it. Except as otherwise provided in this Terms of Use or under copyright law, User may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit, any of the content, in whole or in part. Except as otherwise permitted under copyright law, no copying, redistribution, retransmission, publication or commercial exploitation of downloaded material will be permitted without the express written permission of SAM (or the copyright owner(s) if other than or in addition to SAM). In the event of any permitted copying, redistribution or publication of copyrighted material, no changes in or deletion of author attribution, trademark legend, copyright or other proprietary notice shall be made. User acknowledges that he/she does not acquire any ownership rights by downloading copyrighted material.

9. Uploading of Intellectual Property

   User agrees that User shall not upload, post or otherwise make available on the Poptropica Sites any material protected by copyright, trademark, or other proprietary right, without the express written permission of the owner of the copyright, trademark, or other proprietary right, and the burden of determining that any material is not protected by copyright rests with User. User shall be solely liable for any damage resulting from any infringement of copyrights, proprietary rights, or any other harm resulting from such a submission made by User or through User's Account. By submitting material to any public area of the Poptropica Sites, User automatically grants, or warrants that the owner of such material has expressly granted SAM the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate and distribute such material (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media or technology now known or hereafter developed for the full term of any copyright that may exist in such material. User also permits any other User to access, view, store or reproduce the material for that User's personal use. User hereby grants SAM the right to edit, copy, publish and distribute any material made available on the Poptropica Sites by User or through User's Account.

10. Trademarks

    Unless otherwise indicated, trademarks that appear on the Poptropica Sites are trademarks of SAM or its affiliates. All other trademarks not owned by SAM or its affiliates that appear on the Poptropica Sites are the property of their respective owners, who may or may not be affiliated with, connected to, or sponsored by SAM or its affiliates.

11. Poptropica Site Content

    Certain content portions of the Poptropica Sites are supplied by third parties. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including information providers, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of SAM. Neither SAM nor any third-party provider of information guarantees the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content, nor its merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. SAM neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on any SAM Poptropica Sites by anyone other than employee spokespersons of SAM while acting in their official capacities.

12. Submissions

    SAM always welcomes suggestions and comments regarding the Poptropica Sites. Any comments or suggestions submitted to SAM, either online or offline, will become SAM's property upon their submission. This policy is intended to avoid the possibility of future misunderstandings when projects developed by SAM might seem to others to be similar to their own submissions or comments.

    • CHILDREN UNDER 13
      • PLEASE GET YOUR PARENT'S OR GUARDIAN'S PERMISSION BEFORE SUBMITTING ANY CONTENT TO OUR WEBSITE.
      • DO NOT SUBMIT ANY INFORMATION TO US WITHOUT YOUR PARENT'S OR GUARDIAN'S PERMISSION
    • ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS
      • BY SUBMITTING CONTENT TO OUR WEBSITE, YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE TERMS BELOW AS WELL AS THE TERMS OF USE AND THE PRIVACY STATEMENT FOR OUR WEBSITE, AND THAT YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY EACH OF THEM (COLLECTIVELY, THE "TERMS").
      • IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ANY PART OF THE TERMS, DO NOT SUBMIT ANYTHING TO OUR WEBSITE.
      • STORYARC MEDIA, INC. ("SAM", "WE," "US," or "OUR") PROVIDES THIS WEBSITE TO YOU.
    • YOUR CONTENT
      • We do not claim any ownership rights to your content posted on our website or otherwise submitted to us ("Your Content").
      • You will continue to own Your Content and you can use and license Your Content in any way you choose.
    • NO OBLIGATION TO USE
      • Although we encourage our users to submit content, we are not obligated to post or display Your Content; whether we do so or not is at our sole discretion.
      • We are also not obligated to maintain Your Content in confidence and we reserve the rightly to publicly disclose and use Your Content including on third party social media websites and services (but we will only do so anonymously unless you give us permission otherwise).
    • LICENSE TO USE YOUR CONTENT
      • You hereby grant us a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicenseable, and transferable right and license to use, reproduce, edit, create derivative works of, distribute, publicly perform, and publicly display Your Content in all media formats or channels, whether now known or hereafter devised, including but not limited to our website, via email and on third party social media platforms and services, in each case without further consent from or notice to you.
      • You specifically authorize us to edit Your Content to meet our editorial guidelines, including for style, clarity and appropriateness, and to remove inappropriate or personal information.
      • You acknowledge that our use of Your Content will be without any compensation to you whatsoever.
      • If Your Content is lost, altered, damaged, misused, or otherwise changed or made irretrievable, you agree to, and hereby do, waive SAM from all liability.
      • You are responsible for making sure that you have all rights to Your Content, including the rights necessary for you to grant us the foregoing licenses to Your Content. You are solely responsible for Your Content.
      • We do not guarantee any confidentiality or privacy with respect to any of Your Content (but we will only use and display Your Content anonymously unless you give us permission otherwise).
      • You understand and agree that Your Content displayed may continue to appear on our website and on any channel or format that we publish it on, even after you have deactivated your account, terminated these Terms, or otherwise removed Your Content, as portions of Your Content may have been incorporated into other features, including, but not limited to, profiles, community boards, third-party social media sites, and other features.
    • Online Contests
      • We occasionally run online contests or giveaways, and in order to enter, you may be required to provide your username and/or email address.
      • If you are a child under 13:
        • You will need your parent's or guardian's permission to enter any contest or giveaway, or we may require that your parent or guardian enter the contest or giveaway on your behalf.
        • We may also require your parent's or guardian's e-mail addresses to contact the parent or guardian for the sole purpose of notifying him or her that you have won a prize, and to obtain permission to send the prize.
        • We may also require a further release to publish Your Content as a condition of receiving the prize.
        • If we publish Your Content on our website or otherwise as a contest submission we will only identify you anonymously unless you authorize us otherwise.

13. Miscellaneous

    This Terms of Use, and any operating rules for the Poptropica Sites, constitutes the entire agreement between You and SAM with respect to Your use of the Poptropica Sites, and supersedes all previous written or oral agreements between the parties with respect to such subject matter. If any part of this Terms of Use is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect. SAM's failure to enforce any right or provision in this Terms of Use will not constitute a waiver of such right or any other provision. SAM will not be responsible for failures to fulfill any obligations due to causes beyond its control.

14. Applicable Law

    By using the Poptropica Sites, You agree that the Federal Arbitration Act, applicable federal law, and the laws of the state of New York, without regard to principles of conflict of laws, will govern these Terms of Use and any dispute of any sort that might arise between You and SAM hereunder. You agree to comply with all local, state, federal, and national laws, statutes, ordinances, and regulations that apply to Your use of the Poptropica Sites.

15. Headings

    The section headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not be given any legal import whatsoever.

16. Digital Millennium Copyright Act Compliance

    If You have copyright concerns about any materials posted on the Poptropica Sites by others, please let us know. We comply with the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act applicable to Internet service providers (17 U.S.C. § 512). If You have any complaints or objections to material posted on the Poptropica Sites, please contact our Designated Agent ("Notice"):

    Designated Agent
    Family Education Network
    50 Congress Street, Suite 1025
    Boston, MA 02109

    Or, You can click here to email us about any copyright concerns about any materials posted on this Poptropica Sites by others.

    To be effective, the Notice must include the following:

    • A physical or electronic signature of the owner or a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner ("Complaining Party") of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
    • Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or if multiple copyrighted works at a single Poptropica Site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
    • Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit SAM to locate the material;
    • Information reasonably sufficient to permit SAM to contact the Complaining Party, such as an address, telephone number, and if available, an electronic mail address at which the Complaining Party may be contacted;
    • A statement that the Complaining Party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
    • A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the Complaining Party is the owner or is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

    If You have questions or concerns about this Terms of Use, please contact Customer Support at: https://www.poptropica.com/contact/contact-Poptropica.html.