Quickscribe Terms of Use

Quickscribe Online (the “Site”) provides a web-based legislation service designed to assist lawyers and other professionals research, navigate and keep tabs on pertinent British Columbia legislation. The Site is owned and operated by Quickscribe Services Ltd. (“Quickscribe”), a British Columbia company. The Site provides an online searchable database of legislation and related supplemental information. The site also includes an annotation feature that enables users and contributors to post notes adjacent to sections of legislation. To protect the users, keep the site running, and foster contributions, Quickscribe has adopted the following terms of use.

Accepting the Terms of Use

Please read these terms of use (“Agreement” or “Terms of Use”) carefully before accessing or using the Site, any services provided on the Site, or any Content (as defined below) (collectively, “Services”). Every person who accesses or uses the Site, whether as a subscriber, authorized user of a subscriber, or user registered for an online trial (hereinafter referred to as “Subscriber,” “You,” or “User,” as the context requires), consents to these Terms of Use.

The Services are used by You under the following terms and conditions:

1. Access to the Services

Subject to this Agreement, Quickscribe may offer to provide the Services that are selected by You; such Services are solely for Your own use, and not for the use or benefit of any third party.

Quickscribe may change, suspend, or discontinue the Services at any time, including the availability of any feature, database, or Content. Quickscribe may also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict Your access to parts or all of the Services without notice or liability.

Quickscribe may, from time to time, modify these Terms of Use by posting revised Terms of Use on the Site and providing notice on the Site. You shall be responsible for reviewing and becoming familiar with any such modifications. Continued use of the Site by You following such modification constitutes Your acceptance of the terms and conditions of this Agreement as modified.

You certify to Quickscribe that You are permitted under all applicable laws to use the Services and access the Site.

You agree that neither Quickscribe nor the Site will be liable in any event to You or any other party for any suspension, modification, deletion, discontinuance, or lack of availability of the Site, the Services, any Subscriber Content, or other Content.

Quickscribe retains the right to create limits on usage of the Site in its sole discretion at any time with or without notice. You shall be responsible for obtaining and maintaining any equipment or ancillary services needed to connect to or access the Site or otherwise to use the Services.

2. Privacy Policy

Please review our Privacy Policy, which governs the use of personal information on the Site and to which You agree to be bound. You understand that any information provided by You or collected by us in connection with Your use of the Site and Services will be used in the manner described herein and pursuant to the terms and conditions of our Privacy Policy, such Privacy Policy being incorporated into and made a part of this Agreement by this reference. If You do not agree to the terms of the Privacy Policy, You may not use the Site and Services. Without limiting the terms of the Privacy Policy, You understand that Quickscribe does not guarantee that Your use of the Site and Services and/or the information contained in Your account will be private or secure, and Quickscribe is not responsible or liable to You for any hacking of Your account, lack of privacy or security You may experience. You are fully responsible for taking precautions and providing security measures best suited for Your situation and intended use of the Site and Services. Please refer to the security measures we have in place.

3. Site Content

The Site and its contents are intended solely for the use of Users and may only be used in accordance with this Agreement. Materials displayed or performed on the Site may include but are not limited to text, graphics, logos, tools, photographs, images, illustrations, software, audio, video, annotations and animations (collectively, “Content”). All Content—other than Content posted by a Subscriber (“Subscriber Content”)—is the property of Quickscribe and/or third parties and is protected by Canadian and international copyright and intellectual property laws.

All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are proprietary to Quickscribe and/or third parties. You shall abide by all copyright notices, information, and restrictions contained in any Content accessed through the Services.

The Site is protected by copyright as a collective work and/or compilation, pursuant to Canadian copyright laws, international conventions, and other copyright laws. Other than with prior written permission from Quickscribe or as expressly set forth in this Agreement, You may not download, copy, store, modify, publish, transmit, upload, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce, create derivative works based on, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit, any of the Content or Services in whole or in part.

Any government documents that constitute part of the Content lie in the public domain or is subject to Crown Copyright, and Quickscribe does not assert copyright in such government documents. However, Quickscribe does claim copyright in the markup, navigation features, online formatting, and other features that add value to such government documents as are included in the Site.

You may choose to or Quickscribe may invite You to submit comments or ideas about the Site or Services, including but not limited to about how to improve the Site or Services (“Ideas”). By submitting any Idea, You agree that Your disclosure is gratuitous, unsolicited, and without restriction and will not place Quickscribe under any fiduciary or other obligation, and that Quickscribe is free to use the Idea without any additional compensation to You and/or to disclose the Idea on a non-confidential basis or otherwise to anyone.

4. No Legal Advice

Quickscribe is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. All Content is for general informational purposes only. You should seek independent professional advice from someone licensed or qualified in the applicable area instead of relying on any information, opinion, or advice on the Site.

There is no lawyer-client relationship between You and Quickscribe or between You and the Site. We do not review Content, including Subscriber Content, for accuracy or legal sufficiency, draw legal conclusions, or apply the law to the facts of Your particular situation. Content is also not regulated by any provincial or national law society or bar association. You understand that Quickscribe's provision of Services is neither legal advice nor the practice of law and does not form a lawyer-client relationship.

5. Subscriber Content

Subscriber Content means annotations and content contributed by Subscribers to the Community sections of the Site and viewable by anyone with accesses to the Site. Subscriber Content does not include annotations or content contributed to Private or Organizational sections of the Site, which are encrypted and not viewable by Quickscribe staff or other users.

You are solely responsible for all Subscriber Content that You contribute to the Site, in the form of annotations or otherwise. Please respect our community by refraining from abuse, spam, and personal attacks and by reporting such violations by emailing our team at info@quickscribe.bc.ca. In addition, please review our Posting Policy, which governs Your activities on the Site and to which You agree to be bound.

You retain Your copyright ownership of any Subscriber Content that You contribute to the Site. You agree that all Subscriber Content that You contribute to the Site is perpetually and irrevocably licensed to Quickscribe. You grant Quickscribe the perpetual and irrevocable nonexclusive right and license to use, copy, cache, publish, display, distribute, modify, edit, delete, create derivative works, and store such Subscriber Content and to allow others to do so in any medium now known or hereinafter developed (“Content License”) in order to provide the Services, even if such Subscriber Content has been contributed and subsequently removed by You. You warrant, represent, and agree that You have the right to grant Quickscribe and the Site the rights set forth above. You understand that publishing Subscriber Content on the Site is not a substitute for registering it with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office or any other rights organization.

You acknowledge that any Subscriber Content that You contribute to the Site as a Community Annotation will be visible to anyone, including Quickscribe Subscribers and the general public, and that You will be identifiable to visitors of the Site as the author of such Subscriber Content through Your portfolio information, including Your user name.

If there is a conflict or inconsistency between Quickscribe's Terms of Use and the terms and conditions of the Annotation Services Agreement, the terms and conditions of the Annotation Services Agreement shall prevail to the extent of such conflict or inconsistency.

You represent, warrant, and agree that You will not contribute any Subscriber Content that:

1. (a) infringes, violates, or otherwise interferes with any copyright, trademark or any other intellectual property right of another party,
2. (b) reveals any trade secret, unless You own the trade secret or have the owner's permission to post it,
3. (c) infringes the privacy or publicity rights of another,
4. (d) contains any information or content that You do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships,
5. (e) is defamatory, abusive, threatening, harassing, hateful, offensive, humiliating to other people (publicly or otherwise), obscene, or profane or otherwise violates any law or right of any third party,
6. (f) contains a virus, trojan horse, worm, time bomb, or other computer programming routine or engine that is intended to damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept, or expropriate any system, data, or information,
7. (g) may create a risk of harm, loss or injury of any nature,
8. (h) may create a risk of any other loss or damage to any person or property,
9. (i) seeks to harm or exploit children by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable details, or otherwise,
10. (j) may constitute or contribute to a crime or tort,
11. (k) contains any information or content that is illegal (including but not limited to disclosure of insider information under securities law), or
12. (l) remains posted after You have been notified that such Subscriber Content violates any of subparagraphs (a) through (k) of this paragraph.

Quickscribe reserves the right, but undertakes no duty, to pre-screen Subscriber Content, edit, modify or remove any Subscriber Content from the Site, re-post to the Site any Subscriber Content removed by any User or former User, suspend or terminate User's right to use the Services at any time, or pursue any other remedy or relief available to Quickscribe and/or the Site under equity or law, for any reason (including but not limited to upon receipt of claims or allegations from third parties or authorities relating to such Subscriber Content or if Quickscribe is concerned that User may have breached the immediately preceding paragraph) or for no reason at all.

Quickscribe also reserves the right to access, preserve, and disclose any information reasonably believed necessary to:

1. (a) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or lawful government request,
2. (b) enforce this Agreement,
3. (c) address fraud, security, or technical issues,
4. (d) respond to support requests from Users, or
5. (e) protect the rights, property, or safety of Users, Quickscribe, or the public.

6. Restrictions on Use

You are responsible for all of Your activity in connection with the Services and accessing the Site. Any fraudulent, abusive, or otherwise illegal activity or any use of the Services or Content in violation of this Agreement is grounds for termination of Your right to Services or to access the Site. You may not post or transmit, or cause to be posted or transmitted, any communication or solicitation designed or intended to obtain password, account, or private information from any Site or Service users.

Use of the Site or Services to violate the security of any computer network, crack passwords or security encryption codes, transfer or store illegal material, including material that is deemed threatening or obscene, or engage in any kind of illegal activity is expressly prohibited. Under no circumstances will You use the Site or the Service to:

1. (a) send unsolicited emails, bulk mail, spam, or other materials to users of the Site or any other individual,
2. (b) harass, threaten, stalk, or abuse any person or party, including other users of the Site,
3. (c) create a false identity or to impersonate another person, or
4. (d) knowingly post any false or inaccurate material.

7. Registration, Password and Security

You may be required to register with Quickscribe and select a password and profile name. In that case, You shall provide Quickscribe with accurate, complete, and updated registration information, including Your real name and email address. Failure to do so shall constitute a breach of this Agreement, which may result in immediate termination of Your account.

You may not:

1. (a) select or use as a profile name a name of another person with the intent to impersonate that person, or
2. (b) use as a profile name a name subject to any rights of a person other than Yourself without appropriate authorization.

Quickscribe reserves the right to cancel or refuse registration of a profile name in its sole discretion. You shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of Your password. You are solely responsible for any use of or action taken under Your password and profile name and You accept full responsibility for all activity conducted through Your account and agree to and hereby release the Site and Quickscribe from any and all liability concerning such activity.

You will keep Your password confidential and not share Your password with any third party or unauthorized user. You agree to notify Quickscribe immediately of any actual or suspected loss, theft, or unauthorized use of Your account or password. Quickscribe expressly disclaims any and all liability for the accessing of any such data communications by unauthorized persons or entities.

8. Disclaimer of Warranty

The Content of the Site is for private study or research purposes only. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of legislative material, including but not limited to statutes, regulations, Hansard snippets and supplemental notes; however, Quickscribe cannot guarantee its accuracy and does not accept responsibility for any loss or inconvenience suffered by You as a result of inaccuracies or errors.

Quickscribe has no special relationship with or fiduciary duty to You. You acknowledges that Quickscribe has no control over, and no duty to take any action regarding which users gain access to the Site, which Content users accesses via the Site, what effects the Content may have on You or other users, how You or other users may interpret or use the Content, or what actions You or other users may take as a result of having been exposed to the Content. Much of the Content of the Site is provided by and is the responsibility of the users or subscribers who posted the Content, including the Subscriber Content. Quickscribe takes no responsibility for Subscriber Content. You release Quickscribe from all liability for users having acquired or not acquired Content through the Site. The Site may contain, or direct users to sites containing, information that some people may find offensive or inappropriate. Quickscribe makes no representations concerning any content contained in or accessed through the Site, and Quickscribe will not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality, or decency of material contained in or accessed through the Site.

Neither Quickscribe nor the Site is responsible or liable in any way for the failure to store, preserve, or access Subscriber Content or other materials You transmit or archive on the Site. You are strongly urged to take measures to preserve copies of any data, material, content, or information You post or upload on the Site.

The Services, Content, and Site are provided on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis, without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. Quickscribe makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the Site or the Services, including any representation or warranty that the use of the Site or Services will:

1. (a) be timely, uninterrupted or error-free or operate in combination with any other hardware, software, system, or data,
2. (b) meet Your requirements or expectations,
3. (c) be free from errors or have defects corrected, or
4. (d) be free of viruses or other harmful components.

To the fullest extent allowed by law, Quickscribe disclaims any liability or responsibility for the accuracy, reliability, availability, completeness, legality, or operability of the material or Services provided on this Site. By using this Site, You acknowledge that Quickscribe is not responsible or liable for any harm resulting from:

1. (a) use of the Site,
2. (b) downloading information contained on the Site including but not limited to downloads of content posted by subscribers,
3. (c) unauthorized disclosure of images, information, or data that results from the upload, download or storage of content posted by subscribers,
4. (d) the temporary or permanent inability to access or retrieve any Content from the Site, including but not limited to harm caused by viruses, worms, trojan horses, or any similar contamination or destructive program.

9. Third-Party Websites

Subscribers may gain access from the Site to third-party sites on the internet through hypertext or other computer links on the Site. Third-party sites are not within the supervision or control of Quickscribe or the Site. Unless explicitly otherwise provided, neither Quickscribe nor the Site make any representation or warranty whatsoever about any third-party site that is linked to the Site, or endorse the products or services offered on such site. Quickscribe and the Site disclaim:

1. (a) all responsibility and liability for content on third-party websites, and
2. (b) any representations or warranties as to the security of any information (including but not limited to credit card and other personal information) that You might be requested to give any third party, and You hereby irrevocably waive any claim against the Site or Quickscribe with respect to such sites and third-party content.

10. Limitation of Liability

In no event shall Quickscribe, its directors, officers, shareholders, employees, members or agents be liable with respect to the Site or Services for:

1. (a) any direct, indirect, special, incidental, punitive, or consequential damages of any kind whatsoever,
2. (b) damages for loss of use, profits, data, images, Content, including Subscriber Content, or other intangibles,
3. (c) damages for unauthorized use, non-performance of the Site or Services, errors, or omissions, or
4. (d) damages related to downloading or posting Content, including Subscriber Content. Quickscribe's and the Site's collective liability under this Agreement shall be limited to the greater of:
   1. (i) one thousand Canadian Dollars, and
   2. (ii) the amount paid by the Subscriber for Services during any one-year period.

11. Fees and Payment

Subscriber shall pay all applicable fees for use of the Site and Services. All fees are non-refundable unless expressly stated otherwise. Subscriber represents to Quickscribe that Subscriber is the authorized account holder or an authorized user of the chosen method of payment used to pay for any Services. All fee-based Services are provided “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” with no warranties of any kind. Quickscribe may modify and/or eliminate such fee-based Services at its discretion.

Quickscribe may change its prices at any time but will provide You reasonable notice of any such changes. If Subscriber does not wish to pay the new prices, the Subscriber must cancel the Services prior to the change going into effect.

You understand that, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by Quickscribe, You have no expectation of compensation for any activity, contribution, Subscriber Content or idea that You provide to Quickscribe or the Site.

12. Termination

Either party may terminate the Services at any time by notifying the other party through the notice procedures detailed below. Quickscribe may also terminate or suspend any and all Services and access to the Site immediately, without prior notice or liability, if Subscriber breaches this Agreement. Upon termination of Subscriber's account, Subscriber's right to use the Services, access the Site, and any Content will immediately cease. All provisions of this Agreement that by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including but not limited to ownership provisions, Your license to Quickscribe, warranty disclaimers, and limitations of liability. Termination of Your access to and use of the Site and the Services shall not relieve You of any obligations arising or accruing prior to such termination or limit any liability that You otherwise may have to Quickscribe or the Site.

Subscriber shall ensure that only users that are licensed to use the Site and Services have access to Site and Services. If a User is no longer employed by Subscriber, Subscriber shall immediately notify Quickscribe so that the User's access to the Site and Services may be terminated.

13. Miscellaneous

This Agreement, as modified from time to time, constitutes the entire agreement between You, the Site, and Quickscribe with respect to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement replaces all prior or contemporaneous understandings or agreements, written or oral, regarding the subject matter hereof. The failure of either party to exercise in any respect any right provided for herein shall not be deemed a waiver of any further rights hereunder.

If any provision of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that this Agreement shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable.

This Agreement is not assignable, transferable, or sublicensable by You except with Quickscribe's prior written consent. Quickscribe may assign this Agreement in whole or in part at any time without Your consent.

No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment is created as a result of this Agreement and You do not have any authority of any kind to bind Quickscribe in any respect whatsoever.

14. Jurisdiction, Choice of Law and Arbitration

You agree that the Site and Services shall be deemed solely based in British Columbia. You expressly agree that Your rights and obligations, this Agreement, and any disputes shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Province of British Columbia, excluding its choice of law rules. Unless submitted to arbitration as set forth in the following paragraph, any claim or dispute between You and Quickscribe that arises in whole or in part from the Services or use of the Site shall be decided exclusively by a court of competent jurisdiction located in British Columbia.

For any claim (excluding claims for injunctive or other equitable relief) under this Agreement such that the total amount of the award sought is less than twenty five thousand Canadian dollars, the party requesting relief may elect to resolve the dispute through binding non-appearance-based arbitration. The party electing such arbitration shall initiate the arbitration through the the British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre or an established alternative dispute resolution provider mutually agreed upon by the parties. The dispute resolution provider and the parties must comply with the following rules:

1. (a) the arbitration shall be conducted by telephone, online, and/or be solely based on written submissions, as selected by the party initiating the arbitration,
2. (b) the arbitration shall not involve any personal appearance by the parties or witnesses unless otherwise mutually agreed by the parties, and
3. (c) any judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

15. Notice Procedures

Any notice to the Site or Quickscribe that is required or permitted by this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed effective upon receipt, when sent by confirmed email to info@quickscribe.bc.ca , or when delivered in person by nationally recognized overnight courier or mailed by first class, registered, or certified mail, postage prepaid, to Quickscribe, PO Box 48163, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8Z 7H6.

Quickscribe may provide notifications, whether such notifications are required by law or are for marketing or other business-related purposes, to You via email, written or hard copy notice, or through conspicuous posting of such notice on the Site, as determined by Quickscribe in its sole discretion.

Quickscribe reserves the right to determine the form and means of providing notifications to You. Quickscribe is not responsible for any automatic filtering You or Your network provider may apply to email notifications sent to the email address You provide. Please add the Site's email addresses, such as info@quickscribe.bc.ca to Your email address book to help ensure You receive email notifications.

Last modification: May 1, 2023.

© Quickscribe Services Ltd., 2014, Victoria, British Columbia.