Terms of Service

Welcome to The GDC Group! (a.k.a. "we" or "us" or the "Company"). We are excited to have you as a user and member of the community. The following terms and conditions (collectively, these "Terms of Service") apply to your use of www.TheGDCGroup.com, including any content, functionality and services offered on or via The GDC Group.com (the "Website"). The Terms of Service also include our Privacy Policy, which you can review here: https://thegdcgroup.com/wp/privacy/

We want to keep our relationship with you as lean and informal as possible. Still, please read the Terms of Service carefully before you start using The GDC Group because by using the Website, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these Terms of Service.

Should you disagree with some of the provisions herein, you can leave the Website (although we'll be sad to see you go!), or contact us at clientcare [at] thegdcgroup.com. The GDC Group is all about collaborating to improve communications, and we'll be happy to hear your comments and suggestions.

Changes to the Terms of Service and the Website

The GDC Group is a work in progress, meaning a lot will change shortly. We reserve the right to update the Website and these Terms of Service occasionally, at our discretion. We will announce any significant change prominently, but since "major" is a subjective concept, you can constantly monitor our Terms Of Service. Of course, this document is public on The GDC Group website. Your continued use of the Website after publishing the updated Terms of Service means you accept and agree to the changes.

Accessing the Website, Security and Privacy

We are working hard on improving The GDC Group, but we can't guarantee that the Website will be up and running 24/7. We also reserve the right to suspend or restrict user access to some features. In any case, we will not be liable if, for any reason, all or any part of the Website is unavailable at any time or for any period, nor any data loss (see also section 7 below).

To access certain features of the Website, you must register by entering your email and choosing a password as part of our security procedures. You must treat such information as confidential, not disclosing it to any third party and only using The GDC Group in person. There is a password reset procedure in case you forget your password, but please notify us of any security breaches. We highly recommend choosing a strong password (e.g. "correcthorsebatterystaple") and that you log out from your account at the end of every session.

It is a condition of using the Website that all the information you provide is correct, current and complete. You may be asked to provide specific registration details or other information in the future. As custom for internet websites, we reserve the right to disable any user account at any time in our sole discretion for any or no reason, including if, in our opinion, you have failed to comply with any provision of these Terms of Service.

We use SSL-encrypted browsing for all logged-in users, but we cannot guarantee that all use will be secure. We also do not ensure that the Website or any content provided on the Website is error-free. We manage your data according to our Privacy Policy.

Intellectual Property Rights and Use Guidelines.

The Website and its original content, features and functionality (including look!) are owned by The GDC Group. They are protected by Canadian and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws. The GDC Group is about copying, branching and modifying documents, not Website, design or code. So you agree not to copy, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, or republish any of our copyrighted material, except to the extent permitted by the Website. If you have doubts about whether and how to use material on the Website, please address your concerns to clientcare [at] thegdcgroup.com

For purposes of these Terms of Service, the term “Content” includes, without limitation, information, data, text, photographs, videos, audio clips, written posts and comments, software, scripts, graphics, and interactive features generated, provided, or otherwise made accessible on or through the Website. For these Terms of Service, “Content” includes all User Content (as defined below).

All Content added, created, uploaded, submitted, distributed, or posted to the Website by users (collectively “User Content”), whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, is the sole responsibility of the person who originated such User Content. You represent that all User Content you provide is accurate, complete, up-to-date, and compliant with all applicable laws, rules and regulations. You acknowledge that all Content, including User Content, accessed by you using the Website is at your own risk. You will be solely responsible for any damage or loss to you or any other party. We do not guarantee that any Content you access on or through the Website is or will continue to be accurate.

By submitting public User Content through the Website, you hereby do and shall grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free, fully paid, sub-licensable and transferable license to use, edit, modify, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, perform, and otherwise fully exploit the User Content in connection with the Website and our (and our successors’ and assigns’) businesses, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the Website (and derivative works thereof) in any media formats and through any media channels (including, without limitation, third party websites and feeds). You also hereby do and shall grant each user of the Website a non-exclusive, perpetual license to access your User Content through the Website and to use, edit, modify, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display and perform such User Content. For clarity, the foregoing license granted to us and our users does not affect your other ownership or license rights in your User Content, including the right to grant additional licenses to your User Content, unless otherwise agreed in writing. You represent and warrant that you have all rights to grant such licenses to us without infringement or violation of any third-party rights, including, without limitation, any privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, trademarks, contract rights, or any other intellectual property or proprietary rights.

We do not guarantee that any Content will be available on the Website. We reserve the right to but do not have any obligation to (i) remove, edit or modify any Content in our sole discretion, at any time, without notice to you and for any reason (including, but not limited to, upon receipt of claims or allegations from third parties or authorities relating to such Content or if we are concerned that you may have violated these Terms of Service), or for no reason at all and (ii) to remove or block any Content from the Website.

You are permitted to use the Website for your personal, non-commercial use, or legitimate business purposes, provided that your activities are lawful and follow these Terms of Service. Prohibited uses include violating laws and regulations, hacking the Website in any manner, or violating the Content Standards set below. No right, title or interest in or to the Website or any content on the Site is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved. Any use of the Website not expressly permitted by these Terms of Service is a breach of these Terms of Service and can lead to account termination.

We encourage your feedback, in the form of reviews, comments, and suggestions or recommendations for modifications, improvements or changes to the Services or the Site, that you may choose in your sole discretion to provide us from time to time (“Feedback”). When you provide Feedback, you grant us, under all rights, title and interest in and to the Feedback, a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, transferable, sub-licensable, irrevocable, perpetual license to use that Feedback or to incorporate it into the Website or other products or services.

The Website may contain Content expressly provided by us, copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents, trade secrets, or other proprietary rights and laws protect our partners or our users and such Content. You shall abide by and maintain all copyright notices, information, and restrictions contained in any Content accessed through the Website.

User Contributions and Content Standards. Special Disclaimer for legal content.

The GDC Group contains user-generated content and may have message boards, personal web pages, forums or other interactive features that allow you to upload, post, submit, publish, display or transmit to other Users Content on or through the Website. All User Content must be lawful, not spammy, and clear of viruses or other malware. More specifically, but without limiting the foregoing, it must comply with the following Content Standards:

  • Not contain any material which is defamatory, obscene, indecent, abusive, offensive, harassing, violent, hateful, inflammatory or otherwise objectionable.
  • Not promote sexually explicit or pornographic material, violence, or discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.
  • Not infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual property rights of any other person.
  • Do not violate the legal rights (including the rights of publicity and privacy) of others or contain any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable laws or regulations or that otherwise may conflict with these Terms of Service.
  • Not be likely to deceive any person.
  • Not promote any illegal activity, or advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act.
  • Not cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety or be likely to upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy any other person.
  • Not be used to impersonate any person or to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or organization.
  • Not involve commercial activities or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes, other sales promotions, barter, or advertising.
  • Do not give the impression that they emanate from us or any other person or entity if this is not true.
  • Not used, if public, as test empty documents with no actual content or typing exercises: please respect our community and help us minimize the clutter!

User Content is not intended to be legal advice, form an attorney-client relationship, or between the users and The GDC Group. Use of the Website should never be understood to replace the help of a qualified attorney. The GDC Group's relationship to all documents and transactions completed using the Website is that of a trusted, disinterested third party.

Law and Copyright Infringement

We do not undertake to review all material before it is posted on the Website and cannot ensure prompt removal of objectionable material after it has been posted. Accordingly, we assume no liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications or content provided by any user or third party. In the unlikely event we receive a disclosure request from an authorized party. We reserve the right to disclose user identities when the law requires, including in response to a law enforcement request supported by a valid court order. You waive and hold harmless the Company from any claims resulting from any action taken by the Company during or as a result of its investigations and from any actions taken as a consequence of investigations by either the Company or law enforcement authorities.

If you believe that any User Content violates your copyright, please follow the procedure set forth by article 512(c) of the DMCA and provide us with a written takedown notice including the following information:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
  2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if a single notification covers multiple copyrighted works at a single online site, a representative list of such works.
  3. Identification of the material claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity, which is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material.
  4. Information is sufficient for us to contact you, such as email, address, and telephone number.
  5. A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
  6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate and under penalty of perjury, you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

The notice should be addressed to clientcare [at] thegdcgroup.com, or via snail mail to DMCA Designated Agent, c/o The GDC Group Inc, 29 Patricia Drive, St. Catharines, ON  L2M 4P2.

Disclaimer of Warranties, Limitations of Liability and Indemnification.

Your use of The GDC Group is at your sole risk. The service is provided "as is" and "as available." We disclaim all warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We are not liable for damages, direct or consequential, resulting from your use of the Website, and you agree to defend, indemnify and hold us harmless from any claims, losses, liability costs and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees) arising from your violation of any third-party's rights. You acknowledge that you have only a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Website. Because the Website is not error or bug-free, you agree that you will use it carefully and avoid using it in ways which might result in any loss of your or any third party's property or information.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms of Service and any dispute or claim arising out of, or related to them, shall be governed by and construed following the internal laws of the Province of Ontario without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule.

Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of, or related to, these Terms of Service or the Website shall be instituted exclusively in the Federal courts of Canada or the Provincial Courts of Ontario.

Waiver and Severability

Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. The Terms of Service constitute the entire agreement between you and The GDC Group and govern your use of the service, superseding any prior agreements (including, but not limited to, any previous versions of the Terms of Service). Suppose a court of competent jurisdiction holds any provision of these Terms of Service to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason. In that case, such provision shall be eliminated or limited to the minimum extent such that the remaining conditions of the Terms of Service will continue in full force and effect.

Feedback

We welcome any comment, question and communication at clientcare [at] thegdcgroup.com