1. General
Welcome to Expert Witness. These terms and conditions are designed to make Expert Witness a safe and workable place. They apply to all Users of the website located at www.expertwitness.co.nz (Website). There all also additional terms and conditions of use for Experts located below.
A User is a person who views and uses the Website. An Expert is a person or organisation that has an Expert Listing on the Website, consisting of information about the Expert provided by the Expert (Expert Content). An Expert is also a User of the Website. The Website also contains information prepared by Expert Witness (Expert Witness Content) solely for informational purposes to enable a better understanding of the Website by the Users.
'Services' means any one or more of the services offered by Expert Witness from time to time, including online expert witness directory listings, expert resources, newsletters and any other service that Expert Witness may offer.
The words ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ are a reference to Expert Witness. The words ‘you’ and ‘your’ are a reference to either Users or Experts.
2. Acceptance of terms and conditions
The terms and conditions are the terms on which Expert Witness offers you access to the Services and the Website. By registering as a User of Expert Witness you accept these terms and conditions. If you do not accept them, you must refrain from using the Services.
3. Amendment of terms and conditions
These terms and conditions may be amended in whole or in part by Expert Witness from time to time. Amendments will be effective immediately upon posting of the amended terms and conditions on this Website. You are responsible for ensuring you are familiar with the latest terms and conditions. Your continued use of the Services represents your agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions as amended. These terms and conditions were last updated on 2 November 2010.
4. Registration
To become a User, you are required to register with Expert Witness. There is no fee to register. When registering as a User, you warrant that you have provided complete, accurate and current personal information. Expert Witness may phone or mail you to verify these details. You must maintain and update your personal information held by Expert Witness to ensure it is kept current at all times. You must not register as a User under multiple identities or personas (whether false or not). Expert Witness reserves the right to reject any application for registration.
5. Username and password
You are responsible for keeping your login information, including your email address and password, secret and secure. Without limiting the foregoing, you agree not to permit any other person to use your user name or membership; and not to disclose, or provide to any other person, your password, email address, date of birth or any other information in connection with your membership that may allow them to gain access to your membership.
6. Termination by Expert Witness
Expert Witness may:
(a) terminate your access and registration to any part of, or all of, the Website with or without cause, with or without notice effective immediately, for any reason whatsoever (including without limitation, a failure by you to comply with any of these terms and conditions); and
(b) at any time and without notice, remove, amend and/or vary any of the content which appears on the Website or cease operating the Website in whole or in part.
7. Emails and newsletters
Expert Witness will send you email relating to your membership, transactions and other activities on the Website. Expert Witness may also send regular electronic newsletters to members. Newsletters will contain clear instructions for how you can unsubscribe from the mailing list.
8. No representation
The Website has been designed for information purposes only. The availability of information on the Website does not constitute a recommendation by Expert Witness of any Expert. This includes any Experts we locate through our Find an Expert service. The information provided has not taken into account the particular objectives, situation or needs of any individual users. If you enter into any transaction subsequent to accessing the Website, you do so entirely in reliance on your own judgment and inquiries and not in reliance on any statements, warranties or representations made to you by or on behalf of Expert Witness. This includes that we accept no responsibility for any User satisfaction with any Expert, whether relating to the Expert's qualifications, the results of any advice or evidence given by any Expert, or the failure or refusal of any Expert to respond to you.
9. No endorsements / your risk
Expert Witness does not warrant or make any representation about any information contained on the Website, including Expert Content or Expert Witness Content. You further acknowledge and agree that Expert Witness does not endorse, support, sanction, verify, encourage or agree with any Expert Content nor assume responsibility for any Expert Content posted that is threatening, defamatory, obscene, harassing or offensive material contained therein, any infringement of third party intellectual property rights arising or any crime facilitated thereby.
10. Links and Advertising
The Website may include links to other websites not owned by Expert Witness and / or advertising not related to Expert Witness. If you visit a linked website or contact an Expert, that dealing will be solely between you and that other website or Expert at your own risk. These links do not imply Expert Witness's endorsement of that other website or service being advertised or any association with their operators unless specifically stated on the Website.
11. Intellectual Property Rights:
Expert Witness (and its licensors or suppliers, as the case may be) owns all proprietary and intellectual property rights in the Website (including text, graphics, logos, icons and sound recordings) and the software and other material underlying and forming part of the Services and the Website. You may not without our prior written permission, in any form or by any means:
(a) adapt, reproduce, copy, store, distribute, print, display, perform, publish or create derivative works from any part of this Website; or
(b) commercialise, copy, or on-sell any information, or items obtained from any part of this Website.
12. Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Expert Witness excludes all responsibility and liability in relation to the Website and Expert Witness will not be responsible for errors or misstatements or be liable whether in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise for any loss or damage however caused (whether direct, indirect, consequential, special or loss of profits). Where any such liability cannot be excluded Expert Witness limits it to the smallest amount permitted by law.
13. Indemnity
You agree to release, indemnify and keep indemnified us from and against all actions, claims, costs (including legal costs and expenses), losses, proceedings, damages, liabilities, or demands suffered or incurred by us to any person arising out of or in connection with your failure to comply with these terms and conditions.
14. System Integrity
Expert Witness will use its reasonable endeavors to ensure the availability of the Website and Services, subject to any downtime required for maintenance. However, Expert Witness takes no responsibility for any system unavailability, or for any loss that is incurred as a result of Website or Services being unavailable. Further, Expert Witness assumes no responsibility for the corruption of any data or information held by Expert Witness.
15. Resolution of disputes
As Expert Witness is not a party to any sale or transaction between you and any Expert who has an Expert Listing on Expert Witness, you agree not to involve, or attempt to involve, Expert Witness in any dispute or in the resolution of disputes that arise between you and that Expert.
16. Force Majeure
Expert Witness has no liability for any lack of performance, unavailability or failure of the Services or the Website or for any failure of Expert Witness to comply with these terms and conditions where the same arises from any cause reasonably beyond the control of Expert Witness.
17. No Waiver
If we do not exercise or enforce any right available to us under these terms and conditions, it does not constitute a waiver of those rights.
18. Partial Invalidity
If any provision of these terms and conditions becomes or is held to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal for any reason, and in any respect, that provision shall be severed from the remaining terms and conditions, which shall continue in full force and effect.
19. Governing Law
These terms and conditions are governed by and will be construed in accordance with the laws of New Zealand and you submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of New Zealand.
20. Entire agreement
These terms and conditions supersede all previous conditions, understandings, commitments, agreements and representations whatsoever whether oral or written, and constitutes the entire agreement, between the parties, relating to the subject matter of these terms and conditions.
21. Privacy and Personal Information
Please refer to our privacy statement for further conditions relating to the privacy of your personal information (the Privacy Statement forms part of these terms and conditions),
22. Contact
If you have any questions or concerns in relation to the Website or these terms and conditions please contact us.
Additional Terms and Conditions of Use for Experts
These Additional Terms and Conditions of Use apply to Experts, in addition to the Terms and Conditions of Use. By registering as an Expert you agree to these Additional Terms and Conditions of Use.
23. Expert Content
You will ensure your Expert Content is true, accurate and correct at the time it is posted and for the period it is on the Website. To the extent you fail to correct the information or notify us, you will indemnify us against any loss, costs, liability or damages we may suffer because of such a failure.
24. Listing, Priority, and Limits
Expert Witness lists Experts by keyword and geographic area. We make no guarantee regarding placement ranking in either a category or search result page. Expert Witness reserves the right to revise the order in which listings appear, to limit the number of experts whose listings we carry in any topic or location, and to create listings with higher priority levels.
25. Linking
Expert Witness reserves the right to prohibit links to the Website and you agree to remove or cease any link upon Expert Witness's request. Expert Witness does not allow linking to other websites by the Expert without our express consent. If unauthorised links are discovered in your profile you will be asked to discontinue the use of these links. You will have 48 hours to comply with this request. If you fail to have these links removed within this timeframe Expert Witness has the right to deactivate your profile until such time that the issue is resolved.
26. Directory Listing Updates
Expert Witness will provide the administrative services necessary to update your listing. By requesting any changes you will be warranting that they are true, accurate and correct.
27. Term of Agreement
Unless otherwise agreed with Expert Witness, the term of any Expert Listing with Expert Witness is 12 months. Thereafter, the term automatically renews on a year-to-year basis at our then current pricing. If you have paid by credit card, unless you instruct us otherwise, we will automatically invoice the renewal to the credit card originally used to purchase your initial listing on or about the renewal date.