Terms and conditions

If you submit an idea or otherwise actively participate in Project Red Stripe, The Economist Group shall have the right to use this information in current or future products or services, without monetary reward or compensation. However, if we use your contribution then in exchange we will give you credit by acknowledging you as a contributor on ProjectRedStripe.com and we will also offer you a free six-month subscription to Economist.com. We will also further involve those who have made significant contributions.

Full details on our general terms of use for the site and additional terms that apply if you submit an idea to us are below.

General terms of access and use of this Site

Access to and use of this site (“ProjectRedStripe.com”, or the “Site”) is provided by The Economist Newspaper Limited (“The Economist Group”) subject to the following terms:

1. By using the Site you agree to be legally bound by these terms, which shall take effect immediately on your first use of the Site. If you do not agree to be legally bound by all the following terms please do not access and/or use the Site.

2. You may not copy, reproduce, republish, download, post, broadcast, transmit, make available to the public, or otherwise use any content on the Site in any way except for your own personal, non-commercial use. You also agree not to adapt, alter or create a derivative work from any Site content except for your own personal, non-commercial use. Any other use of Site content requires the prior written permission of The Economist Group.

3. You agree to use the Site only for lawful purposes, and in a way that does not infringe the rights of, restrict or inhibit anyone else’s use and enjoyment of the Site.

4. All information or advice provided as part of this Site is intended to be general in nature and you should not rely on it in connection with the making of any decision. The Economist Group tries to ensure that all information provided as part of this Site is correct at the time of its inclusion but does not guarantee its accuracy. The Economist Group is not liable for any action you may take as a result of relying on such information or advice or for any loss or damage suffered by you as a result of you taking this action.

5. This Site contains material including text and other images and sound which are protected by copyright and/or other intellectual property rights. All copyright and other intellectual property rights in this material are either owned by The Economist Group or have been licensed to it by the owner(s) of those rights for use as part of this Site.

6. The Site may include bulletin boards, discussion groups and other public areas that allow feedback to The Economist and interaction between users and The Economist representatives (”Forums”). While The Economist does not control the information/materials posted to Forums by users (the “Messages”), it reserves the right (which it may exercise at its sole discretion without notice) to delete, move or edit the Messages and to terminate your access to and use of the Forums.

You are solely responsible for the content of your Messages. You must comply with any rules posted by The Economist on a Forum. You may not:

• post, link to or otherwise publish any Messages containing any form of advertising or promotion for goods and services or any chain Messages or “spam”;
• post, link to or otherwise publish any Messages with recommendations to buy or refrain from buying a particular security or which contain confidential information of another party or which otherwise have the purpose of affecting the price or value of any security:
• post, link to or otherwise publish any Messages that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libellous, indecent, infringe copyright or other rights of third parties or which contain any other form of illegal content;
• post or otherwise publish any Messages that contain a virus or other harmful component;
  disguise the origin of any Messages;
• impersonate any person or entity (including The Economist employees or Forum guests or hosts) or misrepresent any affiliation with any person or entity;
• post or otherwise publish any Messages unrelated to the Forum or the Forum’s topics;
• post or transmit any Messages that contain software viruses, files or code designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of the Site or any computer software or equipment;
• collect or store other users’ personal data;
• restrict or inhibit any other user from using the Forums.

By submitting Messages to any Forum you agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Economist from all claims, costs and expenses (including legal expenses) arising out of any Messages posted or published by you that are in breach of this section 8.

The Forums contain Messages submitted by users over whom The Economist has no control. The Economist cannot guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of any Messages. Some users may breach these terms and post Messages that are misleading, untrue or offensive. You must bear all risk associated with your use of the Forum and should not rely on Messages in making (or refraining from making) any specific investment or other decisions.

By submitting Message to a Forum you are granting The Economist perpetual royalty free non-exclusive licence to reproduce, modify, translate, make available, distribute and sub-license the Message in whole or in part and in any form. This may include personal information such as your user name and alias and your expressions of opinion. The Economist reserves the right to contact you by e-mail with regard to your use of the Forums. You waive any moral rights that you may have in regard to the Messages you submit.

It is not possible for The Economist to fully and effectively monitor Messages that are submitted for infringement of third party rights. If you believe that a message infringes your legal rights, you should notify The Economist immediately by means of the Customer Services contact form.

7. The Economist Group may change these terms from time to time. By browsing this Site you are accepting that you are bound by the current terms and conditions and so you should check these each time you revisit the Site.

8. These terms (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the terms headed “If you submit anything to us” below) constitute the entire understanding between you and The Economist Group and if there is any inconsistency between these terms and any other statements or representations made by The Economist Group then these terms shall prevail.

9. The Economist Group may change the format and content of this Site at any time. The Economist Group may suspend the operation of this web site for support or maintenance work, in order to update the content or for any other reason. The Economist Group reserves the right to terminate access to this Site at any time and without notice.

10. These terms are governed by and to be interpreted in accordance with English law and in the event of any dispute arising in relation to these terms and conditions or any dispute arising in relation to the website whether in contract or tort or otherwise the English courts will have non-exclusive jurisdiction over such dispute.

11. Personal information including that for the submission of ideas may not be provided by anyone under 13 years of age.  Further no one under 13 years old may participate in The Forums or any other areas where public discussions may take place.

Additional terms that apply if you submit anything to us:

In addition to the terms and conditions above, by submitting any ideas, expression or record of ideas or other content or materials (collectively “Submission”) in any form or medium you agree to the following terms:

1. You grant to The Economist Group and its designees a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive fully-paid up and royalty free licence to use such Submission without restrictions of any kind and without any obligation of payment or other consideration of any kind, or permission or notification, to you or any third party.

2. The licence shall include, without limitation, the irrevocable right in the name of The Economist Group or its designees throughout the universe in perpetuity in any and all media now or hereafter known (i) to reproduce, prepare derivative works, combine with other works, alter, translate, distribute copies, display, publish, perform, license the Submission, and all rights therein; (ii) to apply for and obtain a patent in respect of any inventions disclosed in the Submission; (iii) to file an application to register any designs and/or any sign capable of being registered as a trade mark; (iv) to register any name capable of being registered as a domain name.

3. In addition, you agree that you will (at the request and expense of The Economist Group) enter into such documents as may be required to perfect or secure such rights or to assign such rights to The Economist Group absolutely if so requested.

4. In exchange, if we use your Submission then we will give you credit by acknowledging you as a contributor on our website at ProjectRedStripe.com and if we launch a product or service thanks to Submission, we will also offer you a free six-month subscription to Economist.com. Where The Economist Group applies for a patent in respect of an invention of which you are the inventor The Economist Group will name you as the (or if appropriate an) inventor in such patent application.

5. You warrant that your Submission and its contents: (i) are original to you; (ii) to the best of your knowledge, are true and accurate; (iii) have not been published or disclosed to a third party; (iv) have not been created in pursuance of your duties as an employee or under any contract with a third party under which rights in the Submission are conferred on such third party; and (v) do not violate and will not violate any law or other person’s right, including any right of publicity, right of privacy or any other proprietary right.

6. You irrevocably and unconditionally waive all moral rights to which you may be entitled under the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988 as amended from time to time and under all similar legislation from time to time in force throughout the world.

7. Title to any physical items on or in which the Submission is recorded or embodied will pass to The Economist Group on delivery. It is your responsibility to retain a copy of the Submission. The Economist Group can accept no liability for loss of or damage to the Submission occurring at any time or for any reason including (without limitation) loss through technical fault, incomplete, illegible or other damaged entries. Proof of the making of the Submission is not automatically proof of receipt.

8. The Economist Group is entitled at its discretion to decide how, if at all, it wishes to handle, publish or exploit the Submission. The Economist Group shall have no obligation to make use of any Submission or to file for protection of any aspect of the Submission (including, without limitation, any patentable invention, design or trade mark) in any registry, and excludes all liability for any loss or damage arising from anything done or omitted to be done in relation to the Submission including (without limitation) loss of opportunity, loss of business, loss of goodwill, loss of patent, or for the consequences of publication of the Submission or any part thereof or any failure or delay in filing any application of any kind. The decision of The Economist Group in relation to the Submission is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

9. The licence you have granted under these terms may only be terminated if, having served written notice on The Economist Group at our address, The Economist Group notifies you in writing that it has no interest in the Submission and wishes to make no use of it.