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Terms of Service and End User License Agreement
Last Updated: February 16, 2023
These Terms of Service and End User License Agreement (“Terms”) are between you and NCSOFT Corporation, a company registered in the Republic of Korea, with the registered address 12, Daewangpangyo-ro 644, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea (“NCSOFT,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). These Terms govern your access to and use of our PlayNC platform (the “Platform”), games available through the Platform (the “Games”), streaming service available through the Platform (“Streaming Service”), websites for the Platform, Games, and Streaming Service (the “Websites”) and related PC and Mobile applications (the “Apps”), and any online location operated by us that links to these Terms (collectively, the “Services”).
If you do not agree to these Terms, you are not permitted to use the Services.
ARBITRATION NOTICE: SECTION 11 (“DISPUTE RESOLUTION”) CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER. UNLESS YOU ARE A USER SITUATED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, EUROPEAN UNION, OR YOU OPT OUT OF ARBITRATION WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE DATE YOU FIRST AGREE TO THESE TERMS BY FOLLOWING THE OPT-OUT PROCEDURE SPECIFIED IN SECTION 11 , AND EXCEPT FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF DISPUTES DESCRIBED IN SECTION 11, YOU AGREE THAT DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND NCSOFT WILL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING, INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AND YOU ARE WAIVING YOUR RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.
1. Basic Terms
Eligibility
You may use the Services only if you can form a binding contract with us and are not barred from receiving the Services under your local law. If you are accepting these Terms and using the Services on behalf of a company, organization, government, or other legal entity (collectively, “Business”), you represent and warrant that you are authorized to do so and bind such Business to these Terms. You may use the Services only in compliance with these Terms and all applicable local, state, national, and international laws, rules, and regulations. You shall not use the Services if you are under age 18 (or the legal age of adulthood in your country) without parental consent or have previously been banned from using the Services. If you are under age 18 (or the legal age of adulthood in your country), ask your parent or guardian’s permission to use the Services, to read and explain these Terms to you and agree to these Terms on your behalf. If you are a parent or legal guardian of a user under age 18 (or the legal age of adulthood in your country), you are subject to these Terms and you are responsible for your child’s activities on the Services, whether or not such uses were authorized by you. You are legally and financially responsible for all actions using or accessing the Services, including the actions of anyone you allow to access the Services or your account.
If you are a resident in Japan or Taiwan, you shall not use the Services if you are under age 20 without parental consent. If you reside in Japan and are under 18, you represent that you have your parent or guardian’s permission to use the Services.
It is your responsibility to ensure your equipment (computer, laptop, netbook, tablet or other mobile device) meets all the necessary technical specifications to enable you to access and use the Services. We don’t guarantee that we will support the version of the system or device for which you licensed, obtained, or purchased any part of the Services.
Agreement to Terms
By accepting these Terms, you agree to be bound by these Terms (including its dispute resolution terms), as well as our Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”). The Services that NCSOFT provides are always evolving and the form and nature of the Services may change from time to time. As a result, we may need to amend these Terms from time to time. That being said, we will provide you with notice of such changes to the Terms through the Services, or through any other appropriate measures as determined by us in our sole discretion. If you indicate your acceptance to such changes to the Terms after being notified of them, you agree to be bound by such revised Terms. If you do not accept the changes, you are not permitted to use the Services.
NCSOFT may from time to time need to modify or stop (permanently or temporarily) providing the Services (or any features within the Services) to you or to Users (defined below) generally; although NCSOFT will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide notice to you, NCSOFT may not be able to provide you with prior notice in every situation. We will provide you with notice of any material modifications to the Services, including any that require changes to these Terms according to the notification process above. We also reserve the right to create limits on use and storage at our sole discretion at any time without prior notice to you.
Registration
If you want to use certain features of the Services, you need to create an account and become a registered user (“User”). You agree to provide us with accurate, complete, and up-to-date information for your account and you agree to update such information, as needed, to keep it accurate, complete, and up to date. If you do not, we may have to suspend or terminate your account. We reserve the right to deny the creation of any username for any reason, or to terminate any account or disable any log-on ID, at any time, including if in our opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these Terms or if any details you provide for the purposes of registering as a User prove to be false.
You are responsible for safeguarding the password or credentials that you use to access the Services and for any activities or actions under your account. We encourage you to use “strong” passwords (passwords that use a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols) with your account. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with the above requirements. You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account, whether or not you know about them. If your account is hacked or any third parties use your account, then you shall immediately notify us and follow our instructions. We may restrict usage of such account in our sole discretion.
If you are domiciled in a European Union member country, you may have the right to withdraw from any purchase on the Service without giving any reason. For any digital content purchased online, you have agreed upon checkout that the withdrawal period will expire 14 days after you purchase such digital content or when you start downloading the content for the first time, whichever is sooner. To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us of your decision to withdraw from the purchase by an unequivocal statement (e.g. by a letter sent to us). Pursuant to European Law, the statutory right of withdrawal is not applicable as regards the following: (i) service contracts after the service has been fully performed if the performance has begun with the consumer’s prior express consent, and with the acknowledgement that s/he will lose his right of withdrawal once the contract has been fully performed by the trader; (ii) the supply of goods made to the consumer’s specifications or clearly personalized; (iii) the supply of goods which are, after delivery, according to their nature, inseparably mixed with other items; (iv) the supply of sealed audio or sealed video recordings or sealed computer software which were unsealed after delivery; and (v) the supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium if the performance has begun with the consumer’s prior express consent and his acknowledgment that he thereby loses his right of withdrawal.
Our use of your information is explained in our Privacy Policy.
Advertisements
The Services may include advertisements, which may be targeted to the content or information on the Services, queries made through the Services, or other information as explained in our Privacy Policy. The types and extent of advertising on the Services are subject to change. In consideration for NCSOFT granting you access to and use of the Services, you agree that NCSOFT and its subsidiary, third party providers, and partners may place such advertising on the Services or in connection with the display of content or information from the Services whether submitted by you or others, unless otherwise provided.
2. Updates
We may provide patches, updates, or upgrades to the Services that must be installed for you to continue to use the Services, including automatic and in the background without notice to you. Such updates are subject to these Terms unless other terms are presented with the updates, in which case, those other terms apply. We may modify, suspend, discontinue, substitute, replace, or limit your access to any aspect of the Services at any time. You acknowledge that your use of the Services does not confer on you any interest, monetary or otherwise, in any aspect or feature of the Services, including but not limited to (where applicable) any rewards or Content (defined below), other than your own User Content. You also acknowledge that any data, customization, or other data related to your use of the Services may cease to be available to you at any time without notice, including without limitation after a patch, update, or upgrade is applied. We do not have any maintenance or support obligations with respect to the Services and we are not liable for any disruption or loss you may suffer from any occasional disruptions and outages in availability of the Services.
3. App Currency and Content
We may offer you the ability to acquire licenses to in-app currency (“App Currency”) or Content, such as by: (a) purchasing a limited license to use App Currency for a fee (“Purchased App Currency”), (b) earning a limited license to use App Currency by performing or accomplishing specific tasks in the Services, or (c) purchasing for a fee, exchanging App Currency for, or earning a limited license to use Content.
When you earn or pay the fee to obtain such App Currency or Content, you are obtaining or purchasing from NCSOFT a license to access and use such App Currency or Content. Regardless of any references NCSOFT may make outside this Agreement to purchasing or selling App Currency or Content, both App Currency and Content are licensed, not sold, to you under the license. Use of an NCSOFT account balance to purchase App Currency or Content is subject to these Terms.
Neither App Currency nor Content are redeemable for money or monetary value from NCSOFT or any other person, except as otherwise required by applicable law. App Currency and Content do not have an equivalent value in real currency and do not act as a substitute for real currency. Neither NCSOFT nor any other person or entity has any obligation to exchange App Currency or Content for anything of value, including, but not limited to, real currency. You agree that NCSOFT may engage in actions that may impact the perceived value or purchase price, if applicable, of App Currency and Content at any time, except as prohibited by applicable law.
If you are domiciled in the United Kingdom or European Union, your right of cancellation is waived if: (i) you grant express consent and acknowledge that (ii) such right to cancel will be lost.
You expressly consent that the supply of Purchased App Currency and Content will begin immediately upon your purchase and you acknowledge that that your right to cancel the purchase contract will be lost. All purchases of Purchased App Currency and Content are final and are not refundable, transferable, or exchangeable under any circumstances, except as otherwise required by applicable law. NCSOFT, in its sole discretion, may impose limits on the amount of App Currency or Content that may be purchased, earned, accumulated, redeemed, or otherwise used.
Except as otherwise prohibited by applicable law, NCSOFT, in its sole discretion, has the absolute right to manage, modify, re-price, substitute, replace, suspend, cancel or eliminate App Currency or Content, including your ability to access or use App Currency or Content, at any time without notice or liability to you. You may not transfer, sell, gift, exchange, trade, lease, sublicense, or rent App Currency or Content except within the Services and as expressly permitted by NCSOFT.
Except as otherwise prohibited by applicable law or these Terms, NCSOFT reserves and retains all rights, title, and interest, property or otherwise, in and to the App Currency and Content. The license to App Currency and Content under the license will terminate upon termination of these Terms and as otherwise provided herein.
When you provide payment information to NCSOFT or its authorized processor, you represent that you are an authorized user of the payment card, PIN, key, account or other payment method we identify as acceptable and used by you, and you authorize NCSOFT to charge such payment method for the full amount of the transaction. If you are a minor, you must obtain a parent or legal guardian’s permission prior to entering or using any payment methods.
You are responsible for all bank fees related to any transactions or failed transactions (e.g., chargebacks from your bank or credit card provider) initiated by you, including domestic and international transaction fees. You are solely responsible for paying any sales taxes or other charges added at the time you complete a transaction.
The Services may connect to the internet or a wireless network. Using the Services operates as your consent to the transmission of standard device information (including but not limited to technical information about your device, system, software, and peripherals) for internet-based or wireless services. You are solely responsible for the maintenance and reliability of your internet connection at your own cost.
4. Content on the Services
The Services contain: (i) materials and other items relating to NCSOFT and its products and services, and similar items from our licensors and other third parties, including all layout, information, databases, articles, posts, text, data, files, images, scripts, designs, graphics, instructions, illustrations, photographs, sounds, pictures, videos, advertising copy, URLs, technology, software, interactive features, the “look and feel” of the Services, and the compilation, assembly, and arrangement of the materials of the Services and any and all copyrightable material; (ii) trademarks, logos, trade names, trade dress, service marks, and trade identities of various parties, including those of NCSOFT; and (iii) other forms of intellectual property (collectively, “Content”). All right, title, and interest in and to the Services and the Content are the property of NCSOFT or our licensors or certain other third parties, and is protected by applicable copyright, trademark, trade dress, patent, and/or other intellectual property and unfair competition rights and laws to the fullest extent possible.
“User Content” means: any Content that is created, uploaded, shared, or provided by you or on your behalf or any other User and made available through the Services.
Ownership and License
NCSOFT and its licensors own all title, ownership rights, and intellectual property rights in and to the Services, NCSOFT, the Content, and their respective intellectual property rights.
All rights granted to you under these Terms are granted by express license only and not by sale. No license or other rights shall be created hereunder by implication, estoppel, or otherwise. The Services are protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable laws. NCSOFT reserves all rights not specifically granted in these Terms.
NCSOFT does not claim any ownership rights in any User Content, and you are solely responsible for your User Content. Subject to the license you grant to NCSOFT according to these Terms, you retain your rights to any User Content you submit, post, or display on or through the Services.
To make the Services available to you and other Users, NCSOFT needs a license from you. By submitting, posting, or displaying User Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, sub-licensable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable license to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, translate, transmit, create derivative works from, display, publicly perform, exploit, and distribute such User Content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed) for any purpose whatsoever without compensation, notice, or credit to you.
Subject to your compliance with these Terms, NCSOFT grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and view the User Content posted by others via the Services solely in connection with your permitted use of the Services and solely for your personal and non-commercial purposes.
Rights to Services Granted by NCSOFT
Subject to your compliance with these Terms, NCSOFT grants you a limited non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to use the Services for your own personal, non-commercial purposes on your devices for use by only one person at a time. You may not copy any software provided with the Services (including the Content), except for making a reasonable number of copies for backup or archival purposes. Except as specifically described in these Terms, you cannot:
• copy, modify or create derivative works based on the Services;
• distribute, transfer, sublicense, lease, lend, or rent the Services to any third party;
• reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Services; or
• make the functionality of the Services available to multiple users through any means.
NCSOFT reserves all rights in and to the Services.
Responsibility for User Content
All User Content, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, is the sole responsibility of the User who originated the Content. We may (but are not required to) monitor or control User Content posted via the Services however we cannot take responsibility for such User Content. Any use or reliance on any User Content made available via the Services or obtained by you through the Services is at your own risk.
We do not endorse, support, represent, or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any User Content or communications posted via the Services. We also do not endorse any opinions expressed via the Services. You understand that by using the Services, you may be exposed to User Content that might be offensive, harmful, inaccurate, or otherwise inappropriate, or in some cases, postings that have been mislabeled or are otherwise deceptive. Under no circumstances will NCSOFT be liable in any way for any User Content, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any User Content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any User Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via the Services or broadcast elsewhere.
You are responsible for your User Content, so please do not make objectionable content available on or through the Services. You should only provide User Content that you are comfortable sharing with others under these Terms. 'Objectionable content' includes any content that is defamatory or in breach of any contractual duty or any obligation of confidence, is infringing of any privacy or intellectual property rights, is obscene, sexually explicit, threatening, abusive, harassing, inciteful of violence, terrorism or hatred, blasphemous, discriminatory (on any ground), liable to cause anxiety, alarm or embarrassment, knowingly false or misleading, or that does not comply with all applicable laws and regulations or is otherwise objectionable.
NCSOFT may at any time screen, remove, delete, block, or refuse to publish User Content that violates these Terms or is otherwise objectionable as determined in NCSOFT’s sole discretion and without prior notice or any liability to you or any third party. If you provide User Content, you may only use the tools that NCSOFT provides through the normal functionality of the Service to remove or modify that specific type of User Content. Complaints about any User Content must be submitted to https://help.plaync.com and must contain details of the specific User Content giving rise to the complaint.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, you waive and agree to waive all rights of authorship, paternity, attribution, integrity, disclosure, withdrawal, and any other rights that are known or referred to as “moral rights”, “artist’s rights”, “droit moral”, or other similar rights, recognized under any legal or equitable theory of any country or under any treaty, regardless of whether that right is referred to as a “moral right” (collectively “Moral Rights”) in and to your User Content. You further knowingly and irrevocably agree to not exercise any Moral Rights in and to your User Content that you have not waived in any manner that interferes with any use of your User Content as licensed hereunder. You waive and agree not to assert your Moral Rights even if your User Content is altered or changed in a manner not agreeable to you.
NCSOFT does not allow intellectual-property infringement activities through the Services. You may not and agree not to create, generate, or make available through the Services any User Content to which you do not have the right to grant NCSOFT such license in all of the elements (including any licensed music) of the User Content.
If you do choose to create, generate, or make available your User Content through the Services, you are solely responsible for your User Content and represent and warrant that:
a) you have all the rights, power, and authority necessary to grant the rights granted in these Terms to any User Content that you submit;
b) your User Content, and NCSOFT’s use of the User Content as contemplated under these Terms, will not:
i. infringe, misappropriate, or violate a third party’s intellectual property rights, or any other applicable rights (including but not limited to portrait rights);
ii. contain, transmit, distribute, link to or otherwise make available, or advertise or promote any content that infringes any intellectual property rights or data protection, privacy or other rights of any other person, or is 'objectionable content' as set out above;
iii. impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent your relationship with any person or entity in a manner that does or is intended to mislead, confuse, or deceive others;
iv. contain, transmit or distribute any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, marketing or promotional material or other form of solicitation (spam); or
v. transmit or distribute any virus and/or other code that has contaminating or destructive elements.
c) NCSOFT does not need to obtain any further licenses, provide attribution, or pay royalties or other compensation to any third parties; NCSOFT’s use of your User Content will not violate any third-party contract or cause NCSOFT to violate any applicable laws or regulations.
Feedback
You acknowledge and agree that any feedback, comments, or suggestions you may provide regarding NCSOFT, or the Services is entirely voluntary and we will be free to use such feedback, comments, or suggestions as we see fit and without any obligation or payment to you.
5. Additional Terms for App Store Apps and Digital Storefronts
5.1 If you accessed or downloaded the App from any app store or distribution platform (like the such as Apple App Store or Google Play) (each, an “App Provider”), then you acknowledge and agree that:
• These Terms are between you and NCSOFT, and not with the App Provider; between NCSOFT and the App Provider, NCSOFT is solely responsible for the App.
• It is not the App Provider’s responsibility to provide any maintenance or support services for the App.
• If the App fails to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify the App Provider and the App Provider may refund the purchase price for the App to you (if applicable) and, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the App Provider will have no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the App. Any other claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, or expenses attributable to any failure of an App to conform to any warranty will be the sole responsibility of NCSOFT.
• The App Provider is not responsible for addressing any of your claims or any third party’s claims relating to the App or your possession and use of the App, including, but not limited to: (i) product liability claims; (ii) any claim that the App fails to conform to any legal or regulatory requirement; and (iii) claims arising under consumer protection or similar legislation.
• If there is a third-party claim that the App or your possession and use of the App infringes that third party’s intellectual property rights, NCSOFT will be solely responsible for the investigation, defense, settlement, and discharge of any such intellectual property infringement claim to the extent required by these Terms.
• The App Provider and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms as they relate to your license of the App. Upon your acceptance of these Terms, the App Provider will have the right (and will be viewed to have accepted the right) to enforce these Terms as related to your license of the App against you as a third party beneficiary of these Terms.
• You must also comply with all applicable third-party terms of service when using the App.
• You agree to comply with all U.S. and foreign export laws and regulations to ensure that the App, any technical data related the App, and/or any direct product from your use of the App is exported or re-exported directly or indirectly in a way that does not violate those laws and regulations. By using the App you represent and warrant that: (i) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a “terrorist supporting” country; and (ii) you are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
If you accessed or downloaded the App from the Apple App Store, then you also agree to use the App only: (i) on an Apple-branded product or device that runs iOS (Apple’s proprietary operating system software); and (ii) as permitted by the “Usage Rules” stated in the Apple Store Terms of Service.
5.2 The Services may be made available through a platform, participating third-party online store, application store, or other store authorized by us (“Digital Storefront(s)”) other than the App Providers. This Agreement and the availability of the Services through any Digital Storefront is subject to the additional terms and conditions set forth on or required by the applicable Digital Storefront and all such applicable terms and conditions are incorporated herein by this reference. We are not a party to any transactions through the Digital Storefronts as those are administered by the Digital Storefronts. We have no liability to you for your transactions with the Digital Storefronts. You acknowledge that the Digital Storefront has no obligation to provide any maintenance or support services to you in connection with the Services. Except for the foregoing, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Digital Storefront will have no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the Services. Any claim in connection with the Services related to product liability, a failure to conform to applicable legal or regulatory requirements, claims under consumer protection or similar legislation or intellectual property infringement are governed by this Agreement, and the Digital Storefront is not responsible for such claims. You must comply with the Digital Storefront terms of service and any other Digital Storefront applicable rules or policies. The Digital Storefront is a third-party beneficiary to this Agreement, and may enforce this Agreement against you.
6. Restrictions On And Use Of The Services
We reserve the right (but will not have the obligation) to access, read, preserve, and disclose any information as we reasonably believe necessary to (i) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request, (ii) enforce the Terms, including investigation of potential violations of the Terms, (iii) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues, (iv) respond to User support requests, or (v) protect the rights, property or safety of NCSOFT, its Users and the public. NCSOFT does not disclose personally identifying information to third parties except in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
You may not do any of the following while accessing or using the Services:
• access, tamper with, or use non-public areas of the Services, NCSOFT’s computer systems, or the systems of NCSOFT providers;
• probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any system or network or breach or circumvent any security or authentication measures;
• access or search or attempt to access or search the Services by any means (automated or otherwise) other than through our currently available, published interfaces that are provided by NCSOFT (and only pursuant to those terms and conditions), unless you have been specifically allowed to do so in a separate agreement with NCSOFT (e.g., scraping the Services without the prior consent of NCSOFT is prohibited);
• forge any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any email or posting, or in any way use the Services to send altered, deceptive, or false source-identifying information;
• interfere with, or disrupt, (or attempt to do so), the access of any User, host or network, including, without limitation, sending a virus, overloading, flooding, spamming, mail-bombing the Services, or by scripting the creation of content in such a manner as to interfere with or create an undue burden on the Services;
• use, display, mirror, or frame the Services or any individual element within the Services, NCSOFT’s name, any NCSOFT trademark, logo, or other proprietary information (including, without limitation, the Content), or the layout and design of any page or form contained on a page, without NCSOFT’s express written consent;
• avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, impair, descramble, or otherwise circumvent any technological measure implemented by NCSOFT or any of NCSOFT’s providers or any other third party (including another User) to protect the Services or Content;
• attempt to access or search the Services or Content or download Content from the Services through the use of any engine, software, tool, agent, device, or mechanism (including spiders, robots, crawlers, data mining tools or the like) other than the software and/or search agents provided by NCSOFT or other generally available third-party web browsers;
• send any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, email, junk mail, spam, chain letters, or other form of solicitation;
• use any meta tags or other hidden text or metadata utilizing a NCSOFT trademark, logo URL or product name without NCSOFT’s express written consent;
• use the Services or Content, or any portion of the Services or Content, for any commercial purpose or for the benefit of any third party or in any manner not permitted by these Terms;
• attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any of the software used to provide the Services or Content;
• collect or store any personally identifiable information from the Services from other Users of the Services without their express and informed consent;
• violate any applicable law or regulation; or
• encourage or enable any other individual to do any of the foregoing.
7. Copyright Policy
NCSOFT respects copyright law and expects you and its Users to do the same. It is NCSOFT’s policy to terminate in appropriate circumstances Users who repeatedly infringe or are believed to be repeatedly infringing the rights of copyright holders. We may in our sole discretion limit access to the Services and/or update, transfer, suspend, or terminate the accounts of any Users who infringe the intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement.
If you believe your intellectual property has been used on the Services in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please submit a notice of alleged infringement to the designated agent via physical mail or email as shown here.
Please include the following in your notice:
• Identify the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed. If your notice covers multiple works, you may provide a representative list of such works.
• Identify the material that you claim is infringing, including a description of where the material is located. Your description must be reasonably sufficient to enable us to locate the material. If possible, please include the URL of the webpage where the material is located.
• Provide your full legal name, mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address.
• Include the following statement in the body of the notice:
“I have a good-faith belief that the use of the material is not authorized by the intellectual property rights owner, its agent, or the law. I represent that the information in this notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that I am the owner of the intellectual property rights or authorized to act on the intellectual property rights owner’s behalf.”
• Provide your electronic or physical signature.
Please note that, under the laws of your jurisdiction, if you knowingly misrepresent that material or activity is infringing, you may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, incurred by us or Users. If you are unsure whether the material or activity you are reporting is infringing, you may wish to contact an attorney before filing a notice with us.
8. Termination
The Terms will continue to apply until terminated by either you or NCSOFT as follows:
a) You may terminate these Terms with NCSOFT at any time for any reason by deactivating your account and discontinuing your use of the Services. Where you are a paid subscription User, please note that if you terminate these Terms before the end of your Subscription Period you will not be entitled to a refund of your fees.
b) We may suspend or terminate your account (including these Terms) or cease providing you with all or part of the Services at any time for any reason, unless prohibited by applicable law, including, but not limited to, if we reasonably believe: (i) you have violated these Terms, (ii) you create risk or possible legal exposure for us; or (iii) our provision of the Services to you is no longer commercially viable. If we terminate your account and you have paid fees, we will refund to you any fees you have prepaid for the remaining Subscription Period.
If we or you terminate these Terms, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you by the email address associated with your account or through the Services the next time you attempt to access your account. Upon termination (whether by you or by us), all rights and obligations under these Terms shall end. The following Sections shall continue to apply: 1, 3, 4 (excluding your license to use the Services will shall terminate with these Terms), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
Nothing in this Section 8 shall affect NCSOFT’s rights to change, limit or stop the provision of the Services without prior notice in accordance with this Section 8.
9. Indemnity
You will indemnify and hold harmless NCSOFT and its affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, and each of their officers, directors, employee and agents, from and against any claims, disputes, demands, liabilities, damages, losses, and costs and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal, attorney, and accounting fees arising out of or in any way connected with (i) any unauthorized access to or use of the Services or Content by you or through your account, (ii) your User Content, or (iii) your violation of these Terms.
10. Disclaimers and Limitations of Liability
Please read this Section 10 carefully since it limits the liability of NCSOFT and its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, related companies, officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, partners, and licensors (all together, the “NCSOFT Entities”). Each of the subsections below only applies up to the maximum extent permitted under applicable law. Some jurisdictions (including the United Kingdom and European Union) do not allow the disclaimer of implied warranties or the limitation of liability in contracts, and as a result the contents of this Section 10 may not apply to you. Nothing in this Section 10 is intended to limit any rights you may have which may not be lawfully limited or limit NCSOFTs liability for (i) death or personal injury caused by negligence or (ii) fraudulent misrepresentation.
The Services are Available “AS-IS”
Your access to and use of the Services or any Content is at your own risk. You understand and agree that the Services are provided to you on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis. Without limiting the foregoing, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT POSSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAWS, NCSOFT ENTITIES DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.
NCSOFT Entities make no warranty and to the maximum extent possible under applicable laws disclaim all responsibility and liability for: (i) the merchantability, quality, fitness for purpose, completeness, accuracy, availability, timeliness, security, or reliability of the Services or any Content; (ii) any harm to your computer system, loss of data, or other harm that results from your access to or use of the Services, or any Content (including without limitation any unlawful use of the Services); (iii) the deletion of, or the failure to store or to transmit, any Content and other communications maintained by the Services; and (iv) whether the Services will meet your requirements or be available on an uninterrupted, secure, or error-free basis. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained from NCSOFT Entities or through the Services, will create any warranty not expressly made in these Terms.
Links
The Services may contain links to third-party websites or resources. You acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible or liable for: (i) the availability or accuracy of such websites or resources; or (ii) the information, content, products, or services on or available from such websites or resources. Links to such websites or resources do not imply any endorsement by NCSOFT Entities of such websites or resources or the information, content, products, or services available from such websites or resources. The applicable terms of these Terms and any applicable usage terms associated with such websites or resources will govern your use of such websites or resources. You acknowledge sole responsibility for and assume all risk arising from your use of any such websites or resources.
No Assignment
You may not, without the prior written consent of NCSOFT, assign, transfer, charge, or sub-contract all or any of your rights or obligations under these Terms, and any attempt without that consent will be null and void. If restrictions on transfer of the Services under these Terms are not enforceable under the law of your country, then this Agreement will be binding on any recipient of the Services. NCSOFT may at any time assign, transfer, charge, or sub-contract all or any of its rights or obligations under this Agreement. Subject to the foregoing, these Terms will bind and inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.
Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE NCSOFT ENTITIES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY BUSINESS LOSSES, LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUES, WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, USE, GOOD-WILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, RESULTING FROM (i) YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICES; (ii) ANY CONDUCT OR CONTENT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE, OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF OTHER USERS OR THIRD PARTIES; (iii) ANY CONTENT OBTAINED FROM THE SERVICES; OR (iv) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, USE OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR CONTENT.
SAVE FOR IN RELATION TO NCSOFT’S LIABILITY FOR (I) DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE OR (II) FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF THE NCSOFT ENTITIES EXCEED THE GREATER OF ONE THOUSAND U.S. DOLLARS (U.S. $1000.00) OR THE AMOUNT YOU PAID NCSOFT, IF ANY, IN THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS FOR THE SERVICES GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAWS, THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS SUBSECTION SHALL APPLY TO ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, STATUTE, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE, AND WHETHER OR NOT THE NCSOFT ENTITIES HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY SUCH DAMAGE, AND EVEN IF A REMEDY STATED IN THESE TERMS IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.
11. Dispute Resolution
Please read this section carefully – it may significantly affect your legal rights, including your right to file a lawsuit in court and to have a jury hear your claims.
Governing Law
If you are located in the United States, these Terms and any action (except Disputes, defined below) related thereto will be governed by the laws of the State of New York without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. If you are located outside the United States, these Terms and any action related thereto will be governed by the laws of the Republic of Korea without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in these Terms shall deprive you of any mandatory protections available to you under your local law.
Agreement to Arbitrate
Unless you are a User located in the United Kingdom or European Union:
You and NCSOFT agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms, or the use of the Services or Content (all together, “Disputes”) will be settled by binding arbitration, except that each party retains the right: (i) to bring an individual action in small claims court (a “Small Claims Action”) (ii) to bring a claim or seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction related to the enforcement or validity of, or to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of, a party’s copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents or other intellectual property rights, including related to any circumvention of technological measures or other methods that may interfere with the Services (an “IP Protection Action”), and (iii) the enforceability of this agreement to arbitration (“. In any such action, the court rather than an arbitrator must decide whether such a claim is arbitrable and must decide whether the party is entitled to the requested relief. You agree you may bring arbitration claims only on your own behalf and not on behalf of any other person or entity.
No Class Actions
THE ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES UNDER THESE TERMS WILL BE CONDUCTED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS ONLY. Unless you timely provide NCSOFT with an Arbitration Opt-out Notice (as defined below in the subsection titled “Your Choices”), you acknowledge and agree that you and NCSOFT are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class action or representative proceeding for any Disputes. Further, unless both you and NCSOFT otherwise agree in writing, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of any class or representative proceeding.
Arbitration Rules
If you live in the United States, the arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (the “AAA Rules”) in the United States then in effect, except as modified by this Section 11. (The AAA Rules are available at https://www.adr.org/mediation or by calling the AAA at 1–800–778–7879.) The Federal Arbitration Act will govern the interpretation and enforcement of this Section 11.
If you are domiciled outside of the United States, except where this arbitration section is not applicable, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (“ICDR”) rules shall apply.
Arbitration Process
A party who desires to initiate arbitration must provide the other party with a written Demand for Arbitration as specified in the applicable rules.
In the United States, claims for arbitration must be started within two (2) years of the events giving rise to the Dispute. Failure to provide timely notice will permanently bar all claims. The arbitrator will be either a retired judge or an attorney licensed to practice law and will be selected by the parties from the AAA’s roster of arbitrators. If the parties are unable to agree upon an arbitrator within seven (7) days of delivery of the Demand for Arbitration, then the AAA will appoint the arbitrator in accordance with the AAA Rules.
Arbitration Location and Procedure
In the United States, unless you and NCSOFT otherwise agree, the arbitration will be conducted in the state where you reside, with the option for you to participate telephonically to the extent the AAA Rules allow. If your claim does not exceed $10,000, then the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of the documents that you and NCSOFT submit to the arbitrator under the AAA Rules, unless you request a hearing or the arbitrator determines that a hearing is necessary. If your claim exceeds $10,000, your right to a hearing will be determined by the AAA Rules. Subject to the AAA Rules, the arbitrator will have the discretion to direct a reasonable exchange of information by the parties, consistent with the expedited nature of the arbitration, provided that all information and any documents exchanged or filed will be kept strictly confidential.
Arbitrator’s Decision
In the United States, the arbitrator will render an award within the time frame specified in the AAA Rules. The arbitrator’s decision will include the essential findings and conclusions which the arbitrator based its award on and such decision will be final and binding on the parties. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction over the arbitration award. The arbitrator’s award of damages must be consistent with the terms of the “Limitation of Liability” subsection of Section 10 above as to the types and amounts of damages for which a party may be held liable. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the claimant and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the claimant’s individual claim. If you prevail in arbitration you will be entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses, to the extent provided under applicable law. NCSOFT will not seek, and hereby waives all rights it may have under applicable law to recover, attorneys’ fees and expenses if it prevails in arbitration, unless such arbitration is found by the arbitrator to be frivolous under the standards of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 11(b) and in that case NCSOFT shall be entitled to recover attorneys’ fees in addition to any damages awarded to it.
Fees
Each party will bear its own arbitration costs. If the arbitrator finds that your payment of the administrative and arbitrator fees (excluding any attorney’s fees) under this subsection is a burden on you, we agree to pay those fees for you (but not any attorney’s fees).
Changes
By accepting any changes to these Terms in accordance with Section 1, unless you are a User situated in the United Kingdom, you are agreeing that you will arbitrate any Dispute between you and NCSOFT in accordance with the provisions of this Section 11 as of the date you first accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms). Although NCSOFT may revise these Terms, the Privacy Policy, or other agreements or policies at its discretion, NCSOFT does not have the right to alter this agreement to arbitrate or the rules specified herein with respect to any Dispute once that Dispute has accrued.
Your Choices
Unless you are located in the United Kingdom, European Union, or other jurisdiction where this provision is not enforceable, if you don’t want to settle Disputes by arbitration as described above, you will notify NCSOFT by submitting a written notice to https://help.plaync.com telling us that you don’t want to use arbitration, within thirty (30) days of the date on which you agreed to these Terms (such notice, an “Arbitration Opt-out Notice”). For Users who submit an Arbitration Opt-out Notice or for Users situated in the United Kingdom, European Union, or other jurisdiction where this provision is not enforceable, you agree that all Disputes will be resolved exclusively by a court of competent jurisdiction located in in your jurisdiction of residence. Unless you are situated in the United Kingdom, European Union, or other jurisdiction where this provision is not enforceable, if you don’t provide NCSOFT with an Arbitration Opt-out Notice within the 30 day period, you will be deemed to have knowingly and intentionally waived your right to litigate any dispute except for a Small Claims Action, an IP Protection Action, or the enforceability of this agreement to arbitrate as stated above.
Severability
If any clause within this Dispute Resolution section is found to be invalid, unenforceable, or illegal, that clause will be severed and the remainder of this Dispute Resolution section will be given full force and effect. The only exception to this is the “No Class Actions” paragraph. If the “No Class Actions” paragraph is found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in its entirety, this entire Dispute Resolution section will be void and unenforceable, and the Dispute will proceed in court. Under no circumstances shall arbitration be conducted on a class basis without NCSOFT’s express consent.
In the United States, if a claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration, the dispute shall be exclusively brought in state or federal court in New York County, New York, and suits brought in state court may be removed to federal court by either party if permissible by law.
12. General Terms
Failure by NCSOFT to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be deemed a waiver of such right or provision. In the event that any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction, then that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in full force and effect. NCSOFT’s failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of such right or provision. The waiver of any such right or provision will be effective only if in writing and signed by a duly authorized representative of NCSOFT. Except as specifically stated in these Terms, the exercise by either party of any of its remedies under these Terms will be without prejudice to its other remedies under these Terms or otherwise.
Any notices or other communications provided by NCSOFT under these Terms, including those regarding modifications to these Terms, will be given: (i) via email; and (ii) by posting to the Services. For notices made by e-mail, the date of receipt will be deemed the date on which such notice is transmitted. These Terms and our Privacy Policy are the entire and exclusive agreement between NCSOFT and you regarding the Services (excluding any services for which you have a separate agreement with NCSOFT that is explicitly in addition or in place of these Terms), and these Terms supersede and replace any prior agreements between NCSOFT and you regarding the Services and Content.
These Terms are made in English, and any translation hereof is provided for reference only. In the case of any discrepancy between the English version and any translation, the English version shall prevail.
These Services are operated and provided by NCSOFT. If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at https://help.plaync.com.
Last Updated: February 16, 2023
These Terms of Service and End User License Agreement (“Terms”) are between you and NCSOFT Corporation, a company registered in the Republic of Korea, with the registered address 12, Daewangpangyo-ro 644, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea (“NCSOFT,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). These Terms govern your access to and use of our PlayNC platform (the “Platform”), games available through the Platform (the “Games”), streaming service available through the Platform (“Streaming Service”), websites for the Platform, Games, and Streaming Service (the “Websites”) and related PC and Mobile applications (the “Apps”), and any online location operated by us that links to these Terms (collectively, the “Services”).
If you do not agree to these Terms, you are not permitted to use the Services.
ARBITRATION NOTICE: SECTION 11 (“DISPUTE RESOLUTION”) CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER. UNLESS YOU ARE A USER SITUATED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, EUROPEAN UNION, OR YOU OPT OUT OF ARBITRATION WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE DATE YOU FIRST AGREE TO THESE TERMS BY FOLLOWING THE OPT-OUT PROCEDURE SPECIFIED IN SECTION 11 , AND EXCEPT FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF DISPUTES DESCRIBED IN SECTION 11, YOU AGREE THAT DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND NCSOFT WILL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING, INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AND YOU ARE WAIVING YOUR RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.
1. Basic Terms
Eligibility
You may use the Services only if you can form a binding contract with us and are not barred from receiving the Services under your local law. If you are accepting these Terms and using the Services on behalf of a company, organization, government, or other legal entity (collectively, “Business”), you represent and warrant that you are authorized to do so and bind such Business to these Terms. You may use the Services only in compliance with these Terms and all applicable local, state, national, and international laws, rules, and regulations. You shall not use the Services if you are under age 18 (or the legal age of adulthood in your country) without parental consent or have previously been banned from using the Services. If you are under age 18 (or the legal age of adulthood in your country), ask your parent or guardian’s permission to use the Services, to read and explain these Terms to you and agree to these Terms on your behalf. If you are a parent or legal guardian of a user under age 18 (or the legal age of adulthood in your country), you are subject to these Terms and you are responsible for your child’s activities on the Services, whether or not such uses were authorized by you. You are legally and financially responsible for all actions using or accessing the Services, including the actions of anyone you allow to access the Services or your account.
If you are a resident in Japan or Taiwan, you shall not use the Services if you are under age 20 without parental consent. If you reside in Japan and are under 18, you represent that you have your parent or guardian’s permission to use the Services.
It is your responsibility to ensure your equipment (computer, laptop, netbook, tablet or other mobile device) meets all the necessary technical specifications to enable you to access and use the Services. We don’t guarantee that we will support the version of the system or device for which you licensed, obtained, or purchased any part of the Services.
Agreement to Terms
By accepting these Terms, you agree to be bound by these Terms (including its dispute resolution terms), as well as our Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”). The Services that NCSOFT provides are always evolving and the form and nature of the Services may change from time to time. As a result, we may need to amend these Terms from time to time. That being said, we will provide you with notice of such changes to the Terms through the Services, or through any other appropriate measures as determined by us in our sole discretion. If you indicate your acceptance to such changes to the Terms after being notified of them, you agree to be bound by such revised Terms. If you do not accept the changes, you are not permitted to use the Services.
NCSOFT may from time to time need to modify or stop (permanently or temporarily) providing the Services (or any features within the Services) to you or to Users (defined below) generally; although NCSOFT will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide notice to you, NCSOFT may not be able to provide you with prior notice in every situation. We will provide you with notice of any material modifications to the Services, including any that require changes to these Terms according to the notification process above. We also reserve the right to create limits on use and storage at our sole discretion at any time without prior notice to you.
Registration
If you want to use certain features of the Services, you need to create an account and become a registered user (“User”). You agree to provide us with accurate, complete, and up-to-date information for your account and you agree to update such information, as needed, to keep it accurate, complete, and up to date. If you do not, we may have to suspend or terminate your account. We reserve the right to deny the creation of any username for any reason, or to terminate any account or disable any log-on ID, at any time, including if in our opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these Terms or if any details you provide for the purposes of registering as a User prove to be false.
You are responsible for safeguarding the password or credentials that you use to access the Services and for any activities or actions under your account. We encourage you to use “strong” passwords (passwords that use a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols) with your account. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with the above requirements. You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account, whether or not you know about them. If your account is hacked or any third parties use your account, then you shall immediately notify us and follow our instructions. We may restrict usage of such account in our sole discretion.
If you are domiciled in a European Union member country, you may have the right to withdraw from any purchase on the Service without giving any reason. For any digital content purchased online, you have agreed upon checkout that the withdrawal period will expire 14 days after you purchase such digital content or when you start downloading the content for the first time, whichever is sooner. To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us of your decision to withdraw from the purchase by an unequivocal statement (e.g. by a letter sent to us). Pursuant to European Law, the statutory right of withdrawal is not applicable as regards the following: (i) service contracts after the service has been fully performed if the performance has begun with the consumer’s prior express consent, and with the acknowledgement that s/he will lose his right of withdrawal once the contract has been fully performed by the trader; (ii) the supply of goods made to the consumer’s specifications or clearly personalized; (iii) the supply of goods which are, after delivery, according to their nature, inseparably mixed with other items; (iv) the supply of sealed audio or sealed video recordings or sealed computer software which were unsealed after delivery; and (v) the supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium if the performance has begun with the consumer’s prior express consent and his acknowledgment that he thereby loses his right of withdrawal.
Our use of your information is explained in our Privacy Policy.
Advertisements
The Services may include advertisements, which may be targeted to the content or information on the Services, queries made through the Services, or other information as explained in our Privacy Policy. The types and extent of advertising on the Services are subject to change. In consideration for NCSOFT granting you access to and use of the Services, you agree that NCSOFT and its subsidiary, third party providers, and partners may place such advertising on the Services or in connection with the display of content or information from the Services whether submitted by you or others, unless otherwise provided.
2. Updates
We may provide patches, updates, or upgrades to the Services that must be installed for you to continue to use the Services, including automatic and in the background without notice to you. Such updates are subject to these Terms unless other terms are presented with the updates, in which case, those other terms apply. We may modify, suspend, discontinue, substitute, replace, or limit your access to any aspect of the Services at any time. You acknowledge that your use of the Services does not confer on you any interest, monetary or otherwise, in any aspect or feature of the Services, including but not limited to (where applicable) any rewards or Content (defined below), other than your own User Content. You also acknowledge that any data, customization, or other data related to your use of the Services may cease to be available to you at any time without notice, including without limitation after a patch, update, or upgrade is applied. We do not have any maintenance or support obligations with respect to the Services and we are not liable for any disruption or loss you may suffer from any occasional disruptions and outages in availability of the Services.
3. App Currency and Content
We may offer you the ability to acquire licenses to in-app currency (“App Currency”) or Content, such as by: (a) purchasing a limited license to use App Currency for a fee (“Purchased App Currency”), (b) earning a limited license to use App Currency by performing or accomplishing specific tasks in the Services, or (c) purchasing for a fee, exchanging App Currency for, or earning a limited license to use Content.
When you earn or pay the fee to obtain such App Currency or Content, you are obtaining or purchasing from NCSOFT a license to access and use such App Currency or Content. Regardless of any references NCSOFT may make outside this Agreement to purchasing or selling App Currency or Content, both App Currency and Content are licensed, not sold, to you under the license. Use of an NCSOFT account balance to purchase App Currency or Content is subject to these Terms.
Neither App Currency nor Content are redeemable for money or monetary value from NCSOFT or any other person, except as otherwise required by applicable law. App Currency and Content do not have an equivalent value in real currency and do not act as a substitute for real currency. Neither NCSOFT nor any other person or entity has any obligation to exchange App Currency or Content for anything of value, including, but not limited to, real currency. You agree that NCSOFT may engage in actions that may impact the perceived value or purchase price, if applicable, of App Currency and Content at any time, except as prohibited by applicable law.
If you are domiciled in the United Kingdom or European Union, your right of cancellation is waived if: (i) you grant express consent and acknowledge that (ii) such right to cancel will be lost.
You expressly consent that the supply of Purchased App Currency and Content will begin immediately upon your purchase and you acknowledge that that your right to cancel the purchase contract will be lost. All purchases of Purchased App Currency and Content are final and are not refundable, transferable, or exchangeable under any circumstances, except as otherwise required by applicable law. NCSOFT, in its sole discretion, may impose limits on the amount of App Currency or Content that may be purchased, earned, accumulated, redeemed, or otherwise used.
Except as otherwise prohibited by applicable law, NCSOFT, in its sole discretion, has the absolute right to manage, modify, re-price, substitute, replace, suspend, cancel or eliminate App Currency or Content, including your ability to access or use App Currency or Content, at any time without notice or liability to you. You may not transfer, sell, gift, exchange, trade, lease, sublicense, or rent App Currency or Content except within the Services and as expressly permitted by NCSOFT.
Except as otherwise prohibited by applicable law or these Terms, NCSOFT reserves and retains all rights, title, and interest, property or otherwise, in and to the App Currency and Content. The license to App Currency and Content under the license will terminate upon termination of these Terms and as otherwise provided herein.
When you provide payment information to NCSOFT or its authorized processor, you represent that you are an authorized user of the payment card, PIN, key, account or other payment method we identify as acceptable and used by you, and you authorize NCSOFT to charge such payment method for the full amount of the transaction. If you are a minor, you must obtain a parent or legal guardian’s permission prior to entering or using any payment methods.
You are responsible for all bank fees related to any transactions or failed transactions (e.g., chargebacks from your bank or credit card provider) initiated by you, including domestic and international transaction fees. You are solely responsible for paying any sales taxes or other charges added at the time you complete a transaction.
The Services may connect to the internet or a wireless network. Using the Services operates as your consent to the transmission of standard device information (including but not limited to technical information about your device, system, software, and peripherals) for internet-based or wireless services. You are solely responsible for the maintenance and reliability of your internet connection at your own cost.
4. Content on the Services
The Services contain: (i) materials and other items relating to NCSOFT and its products and services, and similar items from our licensors and other third parties, including all layout, information, databases, articles, posts, text, data, files, images, scripts, designs, graphics, instructions, illustrations, photographs, sounds, pictures, videos, advertising copy, URLs, technology, software, interactive features, the “look and feel” of the Services, and the compilation, assembly, and arrangement of the materials of the Services and any and all copyrightable material; (ii) trademarks, logos, trade names, trade dress, service marks, and trade identities of various parties, including those of NCSOFT; and (iii) other forms of intellectual property (collectively, “Content”). All right, title, and interest in and to the Services and the Content are the property of NCSOFT or our licensors or certain other third parties, and is protected by applicable copyright, trademark, trade dress, patent, and/or other intellectual property and unfair competition rights and laws to the fullest extent possible.
“User Content” means: any Content that is created, uploaded, shared, or provided by you or on your behalf or any other User and made available through the Services.
Ownership and License
NCSOFT and its licensors own all title, ownership rights, and intellectual property rights in and to the Services, NCSOFT, the Content, and their respective intellectual property rights.
All rights granted to you under these Terms are granted by express license only and not by sale. No license or other rights shall be created hereunder by implication, estoppel, or otherwise. The Services are protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable laws. NCSOFT reserves all rights not specifically granted in these Terms.
NCSOFT does not claim any ownership rights in any User Content, and you are solely responsible for your User Content. Subject to the license you grant to NCSOFT according to these Terms, you retain your rights to any User Content you submit, post, or display on or through the Services.
To make the Services available to you and other Users, NCSOFT needs a license from you. By submitting, posting, or displaying User Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, sub-licensable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable license to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, translate, transmit, create derivative works from, display, publicly perform, exploit, and distribute such User Content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed) for any purpose whatsoever without compensation, notice, or credit to you.
Subject to your compliance with these Terms, NCSOFT grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and view the User Content posted by others via the Services solely in connection with your permitted use of the Services and solely for your personal and non-commercial purposes.
Rights to Services Granted by NCSOFT
Subject to your compliance with these Terms, NCSOFT grants you a limited non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to use the Services for your own personal, non-commercial purposes on your devices for use by only one person at a time. You may not copy any software provided with the Services (including the Content), except for making a reasonable number of copies for backup or archival purposes. Except as specifically described in these Terms, you cannot:
• copy, modify or create derivative works based on the Services;
• distribute, transfer, sublicense, lease, lend, or rent the Services to any third party;
• reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Services; or
• make the functionality of the Services available to multiple users through any means.
NCSOFT reserves all rights in and to the Services.
Responsibility for User Content
All User Content, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, is the sole responsibility of the User who originated the Content. We may (but are not required to) monitor or control User Content posted via the Services however we cannot take responsibility for such User Content. Any use or reliance on any User Content made available via the Services or obtained by you through the Services is at your own risk.
We do not endorse, support, represent, or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any User Content or communications posted via the Services. We also do not endorse any opinions expressed via the Services. You understand that by using the Services, you may be exposed to User Content that might be offensive, harmful, inaccurate, or otherwise inappropriate, or in some cases, postings that have been mislabeled or are otherwise deceptive. Under no circumstances will NCSOFT be liable in any way for any User Content, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any User Content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any User Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via the Services or broadcast elsewhere.
You are responsible for your User Content, so please do not make objectionable content available on or through the Services. You should only provide User Content that you are comfortable sharing with others under these Terms. 'Objectionable content' includes any content that is defamatory or in breach of any contractual duty or any obligation of confidence, is infringing of any privacy or intellectual property rights, is obscene, sexually explicit, threatening, abusive, harassing, inciteful of violence, terrorism or hatred, blasphemous, discriminatory (on any ground), liable to cause anxiety, alarm or embarrassment, knowingly false or misleading, or that does not comply with all applicable laws and regulations or is otherwise objectionable.
NCSOFT may at any time screen, remove, delete, block, or refuse to publish User Content that violates these Terms or is otherwise objectionable as determined in NCSOFT’s sole discretion and without prior notice or any liability to you or any third party. If you provide User Content, you may only use the tools that NCSOFT provides through the normal functionality of the Service to remove or modify that specific type of User Content. Complaints about any User Content must be submitted to https://help.plaync.com and must contain details of the specific User Content giving rise to the complaint.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, you waive and agree to waive all rights of authorship, paternity, attribution, integrity, disclosure, withdrawal, and any other rights that are known or referred to as “moral rights”, “artist’s rights”, “droit moral”, or other similar rights, recognized under any legal or equitable theory of any country or under any treaty, regardless of whether that right is referred to as a “moral right” (collectively “Moral Rights”) in and to your User Content. You further knowingly and irrevocably agree to not exercise any Moral Rights in and to your User Content that you have not waived in any manner that interferes with any use of your User Content as licensed hereunder. You waive and agree not to assert your Moral Rights even if your User Content is altered or changed in a manner not agreeable to you.
NCSOFT does not allow intellectual-property infringement activities through the Services. You may not and agree not to create, generate, or make available through the Services any User Content to which you do not have the right to grant NCSOFT such license in all of the elements (including any licensed music) of the User Content.
If you do choose to create, generate, or make available your User Content through the Services, you are solely responsible for your User Content and represent and warrant that:
a) you have all the rights, power, and authority necessary to grant the rights granted in these Terms to any User Content that you submit;
b) your User Content, and NCSOFT’s use of the User Content as contemplated under these Terms, will not:
i. infringe, misappropriate, or violate a third party’s intellectual property rights, or any other applicable rights (including but not limited to portrait rights);
ii. contain, transmit, distribute, link to or otherwise make available, or advertise or promote any content that infringes any intellectual property rights or data protection, privacy or other rights of any other person, or is 'objectionable content' as set out above;
iii. impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent your relationship with any person or entity in a manner that does or is intended to mislead, confuse, or deceive others;
iv. contain, transmit or distribute any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, marketing or promotional material or other form of solicitation (spam); or
v. transmit or distribute any virus and/or other code that has contaminating or destructive elements.
c) NCSOFT does not need to obtain any further licenses, provide attribution, or pay royalties or other compensation to any third parties; NCSOFT’s use of your User Content will not violate any third-party contract or cause NCSOFT to violate any applicable laws or regulations.
Feedback
You acknowledge and agree that any feedback, comments, or suggestions you may provide regarding NCSOFT, or the Services is entirely voluntary and we will be free to use such feedback, comments, or suggestions as we see fit and without any obligation or payment to you.
5. Additional Terms for App Store Apps and Digital Storefronts
5.1 If you accessed or downloaded the App from any app store or distribution platform (like the such as Apple App Store or Google Play) (each, an “App Provider”), then you acknowledge and agree that:
• These Terms are between you and NCSOFT, and not with the App Provider; between NCSOFT and the App Provider, NCSOFT is solely responsible for the App.
• It is not the App Provider’s responsibility to provide any maintenance or support services for the App.
• If the App fails to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify the App Provider and the App Provider may refund the purchase price for the App to you (if applicable) and, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the App Provider will have no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the App. Any other claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, or expenses attributable to any failure of an App to conform to any warranty will be the sole responsibility of NCSOFT.
• The App Provider is not responsible for addressing any of your claims or any third party’s claims relating to the App or your possession and use of the App, including, but not limited to: (i) product liability claims; (ii) any claim that the App fails to conform to any legal or regulatory requirement; and (iii) claims arising under consumer protection or similar legislation.
• If there is a third-party claim that the App or your possession and use of the App infringes that third party’s intellectual property rights, NCSOFT will be solely responsible for the investigation, defense, settlement, and discharge of any such intellectual property infringement claim to the extent required by these Terms.
• The App Provider and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms as they relate to your license of the App. Upon your acceptance of these Terms, the App Provider will have the right (and will be viewed to have accepted the right) to enforce these Terms as related to your license of the App against you as a third party beneficiary of these Terms.
• You must also comply with all applicable third-party terms of service when using the App.
• You agree to comply with all U.S. and foreign export laws and regulations to ensure that the App, any technical data related the App, and/or any direct product from your use of the App is exported or re-exported directly or indirectly in a way that does not violate those laws and regulations. By using the App you represent and warrant that: (i) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a “terrorist supporting” country; and (ii) you are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
If you accessed or downloaded the App from the Apple App Store, then you also agree to use the App only: (i) on an Apple-branded product or device that runs iOS (Apple’s proprietary operating system software); and (ii) as permitted by the “Usage Rules” stated in the Apple Store Terms of Service.
5.2 The Services may be made available through a platform, participating third-party online store, application store, or other store authorized by us (“Digital Storefront(s)”) other than the App Providers. This Agreement and the availability of the Services through any Digital Storefront is subject to the additional terms and conditions set forth on or required by the applicable Digital Storefront and all such applicable terms and conditions are incorporated herein by this reference. We are not a party to any transactions through the Digital Storefronts as those are administered by the Digital Storefronts. We have no liability to you for your transactions with the Digital Storefronts. You acknowledge that the Digital Storefront has no obligation to provide any maintenance or support services to you in connection with the Services. Except for the foregoing, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Digital Storefront will have no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the Services. Any claim in connection with the Services related to product liability, a failure to conform to applicable legal or regulatory requirements, claims under consumer protection or similar legislation or intellectual property infringement are governed by this Agreement, and the Digital Storefront is not responsible for such claims. You must comply with the Digital Storefront terms of service and any other Digital Storefront applicable rules or policies. The Digital Storefront is a third-party beneficiary to this Agreement, and may enforce this Agreement against you.
6. Restrictions On And Use Of The Services
We reserve the right (but will not have the obligation) to access, read, preserve, and disclose any information as we reasonably believe necessary to (i) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request, (ii) enforce the Terms, including investigation of potential violations of the Terms, (iii) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues, (iv) respond to User support requests, or (v) protect the rights, property or safety of NCSOFT, its Users and the public. NCSOFT does not disclose personally identifying information to third parties except in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
You may not do any of the following while accessing or using the Services:
• access, tamper with, or use non-public areas of the Services, NCSOFT’s computer systems, or the systems of NCSOFT providers;
• probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any system or network or breach or circumvent any security or authentication measures;
• access or search or attempt to access or search the Services by any means (automated or otherwise) other than through our currently available, published interfaces that are provided by NCSOFT (and only pursuant to those terms and conditions), unless you have been specifically allowed to do so in a separate agreement with NCSOFT (e.g., scraping the Services without the prior consent of NCSOFT is prohibited);
• forge any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any email or posting, or in any way use the Services to send altered, deceptive, or false source-identifying information;
• interfere with, or disrupt, (or attempt to do so), the access of any User, host or network, including, without limitation, sending a virus, overloading, flooding, spamming, mail-bombing the Services, or by scripting the creation of content in such a manner as to interfere with or create an undue burden on the Services;
• use, display, mirror, or frame the Services or any individual element within the Services, NCSOFT’s name, any NCSOFT trademark, logo, or other proprietary information (including, without limitation, the Content), or the layout and design of any page or form contained on a page, without NCSOFT’s express written consent;
• avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, impair, descramble, or otherwise circumvent any technological measure implemented by NCSOFT or any of NCSOFT’s providers or any other third party (including another User) to protect the Services or Content;
• attempt to access or search the Services or Content or download Content from the Services through the use of any engine, software, tool, agent, device, or mechanism (including spiders, robots, crawlers, data mining tools or the like) other than the software and/or search agents provided by NCSOFT or other generally available third-party web browsers;
• send any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, email, junk mail, spam, chain letters, or other form of solicitation;
• use any meta tags or other hidden text or metadata utilizing a NCSOFT trademark, logo URL or product name without NCSOFT’s express written consent;
• use the Services or Content, or any portion of the Services or Content, for any commercial purpose or for the benefit of any third party or in any manner not permitted by these Terms;
• attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any of the software used to provide the Services or Content;
• collect or store any personally identifiable information from the Services from other Users of the Services without their express and informed consent;
• violate any applicable law or regulation; or
• encourage or enable any other individual to do any of the foregoing.
7. Copyright Policy
NCSOFT respects copyright law and expects you and its Users to do the same. It is NCSOFT’s policy to terminate in appropriate circumstances Users who repeatedly infringe or are believed to be repeatedly infringing the rights of copyright holders. We may in our sole discretion limit access to the Services and/or update, transfer, suspend, or terminate the accounts of any Users who infringe the intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement.
If you believe your intellectual property has been used on the Services in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please submit a notice of alleged infringement to the designated agent via physical mail or email as shown here.
Please include the following in your notice:
• Identify the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed. If your notice covers multiple works, you may provide a representative list of such works.
• Identify the material that you claim is infringing, including a description of where the material is located. Your description must be reasonably sufficient to enable us to locate the material. If possible, please include the URL of the webpage where the material is located.
• Provide your full legal name, mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address.
• Include the following statement in the body of the notice:
“I have a good-faith belief that the use of the material is not authorized by the intellectual property rights owner, its agent, or the law. I represent that the information in this notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that I am the owner of the intellectual property rights or authorized to act on the intellectual property rights owner’s behalf.”
• Provide your electronic or physical signature.
Please note that, under the laws of your jurisdiction, if you knowingly misrepresent that material or activity is infringing, you may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, incurred by us or Users. If you are unsure whether the material or activity you are reporting is infringing, you may wish to contact an attorney before filing a notice with us.
8. Termination
The Terms will continue to apply until terminated by either you or NCSOFT as follows:
a) You may terminate these Terms with NCSOFT at any time for any reason by deactivating your account and discontinuing your use of the Services. Where you are a paid subscription User, please note that if you terminate these Terms before the end of your Subscription Period you will not be entitled to a refund of your fees.
b) We may suspend or terminate your account (including these Terms) or cease providing you with all or part of the Services at any time for any reason, unless prohibited by applicable law, including, but not limited to, if we reasonably believe: (i) you have violated these Terms, (ii) you create risk or possible legal exposure for us; or (iii) our provision of the Services to you is no longer commercially viable. If we terminate your account and you have paid fees, we will refund to you any fees you have prepaid for the remaining Subscription Period.
If we or you terminate these Terms, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you by the email address associated with your account or through the Services the next time you attempt to access your account. Upon termination (whether by you or by us), all rights and obligations under these Terms shall end. The following Sections shall continue to apply: 1, 3, 4 (excluding your license to use the Services will shall terminate with these Terms), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
Nothing in this Section 8 shall affect NCSOFT’s rights to change, limit or stop the provision of the Services without prior notice in accordance with this Section 8.
9. Indemnity
You will indemnify and hold harmless NCSOFT and its affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, and each of their officers, directors, employee and agents, from and against any claims, disputes, demands, liabilities, damages, losses, and costs and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal, attorney, and accounting fees arising out of or in any way connected with (i) any unauthorized access to or use of the Services or Content by you or through your account, (ii) your User Content, or (iii) your violation of these Terms.
10. Disclaimers and Limitations of Liability
Please read this Section 10 carefully since it limits the liability of NCSOFT and its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, related companies, officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, partners, and licensors (all together, the “NCSOFT Entities”). Each of the subsections below only applies up to the maximum extent permitted under applicable law. Some jurisdictions (including the United Kingdom and European Union) do not allow the disclaimer of implied warranties or the limitation of liability in contracts, and as a result the contents of this Section 10 may not apply to you. Nothing in this Section 10 is intended to limit any rights you may have which may not be lawfully limited or limit NCSOFTs liability for (i) death or personal injury caused by negligence or (ii) fraudulent misrepresentation.
The Services are Available “AS-IS”
Your access to and use of the Services or any Content is at your own risk. You understand and agree that the Services are provided to you on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis. Without limiting the foregoing, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT POSSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAWS, NCSOFT ENTITIES DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.
NCSOFT Entities make no warranty and to the maximum extent possible under applicable laws disclaim all responsibility and liability for: (i) the merchantability, quality, fitness for purpose, completeness, accuracy, availability, timeliness, security, or reliability of the Services or any Content; (ii) any harm to your computer system, loss of data, or other harm that results from your access to or use of the Services, or any Content (including without limitation any unlawful use of the Services); (iii) the deletion of, or the failure to store or to transmit, any Content and other communications maintained by the Services; and (iv) whether the Services will meet your requirements or be available on an uninterrupted, secure, or error-free basis. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained from NCSOFT Entities or through the Services, will create any warranty not expressly made in these Terms.
Links
The Services may contain links to third-party websites or resources. You acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible or liable for: (i) the availability or accuracy of such websites or resources; or (ii) the information, content, products, or services on or available from such websites or resources. Links to such websites or resources do not imply any endorsement by NCSOFT Entities of such websites or resources or the information, content, products, or services available from such websites or resources. The applicable terms of these Terms and any applicable usage terms associated with such websites or resources will govern your use of such websites or resources. You acknowledge sole responsibility for and assume all risk arising from your use of any such websites or resources.
No Assignment
You may not, without the prior written consent of NCSOFT, assign, transfer, charge, or sub-contract all or any of your rights or obligations under these Terms, and any attempt without that consent will be null and void. If restrictions on transfer of the Services under these Terms are not enforceable under the law of your country, then this Agreement will be binding on any recipient of the Services. NCSOFT may at any time assign, transfer, charge, or sub-contract all or any of its rights or obligations under this Agreement. Subject to the foregoing, these Terms will bind and inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.
Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE NCSOFT ENTITIES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY BUSINESS LOSSES, LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUES, WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, USE, GOOD-WILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, RESULTING FROM (i) YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICES; (ii) ANY CONDUCT OR CONTENT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE, OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF OTHER USERS OR THIRD PARTIES; (iii) ANY CONTENT OBTAINED FROM THE SERVICES; OR (iv) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, USE OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR CONTENT.
SAVE FOR IN RELATION TO NCSOFT’S LIABILITY FOR (I) DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE OR (II) FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF THE NCSOFT ENTITIES EXCEED THE GREATER OF ONE THOUSAND U.S. DOLLARS (U.S. $1000.00) OR THE AMOUNT YOU PAID NCSOFT, IF ANY, IN THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS FOR THE SERVICES GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAWS, THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS SUBSECTION SHALL APPLY TO ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, STATUTE, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE, AND WHETHER OR NOT THE NCSOFT ENTITIES HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY SUCH DAMAGE, AND EVEN IF A REMEDY STATED IN THESE TERMS IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.
11. Dispute Resolution
Please read this section carefully – it may significantly affect your legal rights, including your right to file a lawsuit in court and to have a jury hear your claims.
Governing Law
If you are located in the United States, these Terms and any action (except Disputes, defined below) related thereto will be governed by the laws of the State of New York without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. If you are located outside the United States, these Terms and any action related thereto will be governed by the laws of the Republic of Korea without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in these Terms shall deprive you of any mandatory protections available to you under your local law.
Agreement to Arbitrate
Unless you are a User located in the United Kingdom or European Union:
You and NCSOFT agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms, or the use of the Services or Content (all together, “Disputes”) will be settled by binding arbitration, except that each party retains the right: (i) to bring an individual action in small claims court (a “Small Claims Action”) (ii) to bring a claim or seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction related to the enforcement or validity of, or to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of, a party’s copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents or other intellectual property rights, including related to any circumvention of technological measures or other methods that may interfere with the Services (an “IP Protection Action”), and (iii) the enforceability of this agreement to arbitration (“. In any such action, the court rather than an arbitrator must decide whether such a claim is arbitrable and must decide whether the party is entitled to the requested relief. You agree you may bring arbitration claims only on your own behalf and not on behalf of any other person or entity.
No Class Actions
THE ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES UNDER THESE TERMS WILL BE CONDUCTED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS ONLY. Unless you timely provide NCSOFT with an Arbitration Opt-out Notice (as defined below in the subsection titled “Your Choices”), you acknowledge and agree that you and NCSOFT are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class action or representative proceeding for any Disputes. Further, unless both you and NCSOFT otherwise agree in writing, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of any class or representative proceeding.
Arbitration Rules
If you live in the United States, the arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (the “AAA Rules”) in the United States then in effect, except as modified by this Section 11. (The AAA Rules are available at https://www.adr.org/mediation or by calling the AAA at 1–800–778–7879.) The Federal Arbitration Act will govern the interpretation and enforcement of this Section 11.
If you are domiciled outside of the United States, except where this arbitration section is not applicable, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (“ICDR”) rules shall apply.
Arbitration Process
A party who desires to initiate arbitration must provide the other party with a written Demand for Arbitration as specified in the applicable rules.
In the United States, claims for arbitration must be started within two (2) years of the events giving rise to the Dispute. Failure to provide timely notice will permanently bar all claims. The arbitrator will be either a retired judge or an attorney licensed to practice law and will be selected by the parties from the AAA’s roster of arbitrators. If the parties are unable to agree upon an arbitrator within seven (7) days of delivery of the Demand for Arbitration, then the AAA will appoint the arbitrator in accordance with the AAA Rules.
Arbitration Location and Procedure
In the United States, unless you and NCSOFT otherwise agree, the arbitration will be conducted in the state where you reside, with the option for you to participate telephonically to the extent the AAA Rules allow. If your claim does not exceed $10,000, then the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of the documents that you and NCSOFT submit to the arbitrator under the AAA Rules, unless you request a hearing or the arbitrator determines that a hearing is necessary. If your claim exceeds $10,000, your right to a hearing will be determined by the AAA Rules. Subject to the AAA Rules, the arbitrator will have the discretion to direct a reasonable exchange of information by the parties, consistent with the expedited nature of the arbitration, provided that all information and any documents exchanged or filed will be kept strictly confidential.
Arbitrator’s Decision
In the United States, the arbitrator will render an award within the time frame specified in the AAA Rules. The arbitrator’s decision will include the essential findings and conclusions which the arbitrator based its award on and such decision will be final and binding on the parties. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction over the arbitration award. The arbitrator’s award of damages must be consistent with the terms of the “Limitation of Liability” subsection of Section 10 above as to the types and amounts of damages for which a party may be held liable. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the claimant and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the claimant’s individual claim. If you prevail in arbitration you will be entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses, to the extent provided under applicable law. NCSOFT will not seek, and hereby waives all rights it may have under applicable law to recover, attorneys’ fees and expenses if it prevails in arbitration, unless such arbitration is found by the arbitrator to be frivolous under the standards of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 11(b) and in that case NCSOFT shall be entitled to recover attorneys’ fees in addition to any damages awarded to it.
Fees
Each party will bear its own arbitration costs. If the arbitrator finds that your payment of the administrative and arbitrator fees (excluding any attorney’s fees) under this subsection is a burden on you, we agree to pay those fees for you (but not any attorney’s fees).
Changes
By accepting any changes to these Terms in accordance with Section 1, unless you are a User situated in the United Kingdom, you are agreeing that you will arbitrate any Dispute between you and NCSOFT in accordance with the provisions of this Section 11 as of the date you first accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms). Although NCSOFT may revise these Terms, the Privacy Policy, or other agreements or policies at its discretion, NCSOFT does not have the right to alter this agreement to arbitrate or the rules specified herein with respect to any Dispute once that Dispute has accrued.
Your Choices
Unless you are located in the United Kingdom, European Union, or other jurisdiction where this provision is not enforceable, if you don’t want to settle Disputes by arbitration as described above, you will notify NCSOFT by submitting a written notice to https://help.plaync.com telling us that you don’t want to use arbitration, within thirty (30) days of the date on which you agreed to these Terms (such notice, an “Arbitration Opt-out Notice”). For Users who submit an Arbitration Opt-out Notice or for Users situated in the United Kingdom, European Union, or other jurisdiction where this provision is not enforceable, you agree that all Disputes will be resolved exclusively by a court of competent jurisdiction located in in your jurisdiction of residence. Unless you are situated in the United Kingdom, European Union, or other jurisdiction where this provision is not enforceable, if you don’t provide NCSOFT with an Arbitration Opt-out Notice within the 30 day period, you will be deemed to have knowingly and intentionally waived your right to litigate any dispute except for a Small Claims Action, an IP Protection Action, or the enforceability of this agreement to arbitrate as stated above.
Severability
If any clause within this Dispute Resolution section is found to be invalid, unenforceable, or illegal, that clause will be severed and the remainder of this Dispute Resolution section will be given full force and effect. The only exception to this is the “No Class Actions” paragraph. If the “No Class Actions” paragraph is found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in its entirety, this entire Dispute Resolution section will be void and unenforceable, and the Dispute will proceed in court. Under no circumstances shall arbitration be conducted on a class basis without NCSOFT’s express consent.
In the United States, if a claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration, the dispute shall be exclusively brought in state or federal court in New York County, New York, and suits brought in state court may be removed to federal court by either party if permissible by law.
12. General Terms
Failure by NCSOFT to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be deemed a waiver of such right or provision. In the event that any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction, then that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in full force and effect. NCSOFT’s failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of such right or provision. The waiver of any such right or provision will be effective only if in writing and signed by a duly authorized representative of NCSOFT. Except as specifically stated in these Terms, the exercise by either party of any of its remedies under these Terms will be without prejudice to its other remedies under these Terms or otherwise.
Any notices or other communications provided by NCSOFT under these Terms, including those regarding modifications to these Terms, will be given: (i) via email; and (ii) by posting to the Services. For notices made by e-mail, the date of receipt will be deemed the date on which such notice is transmitted. These Terms and our Privacy Policy are the entire and exclusive agreement between NCSOFT and you regarding the Services (excluding any services for which you have a separate agreement with NCSOFT that is explicitly in addition or in place of these Terms), and these Terms supersede and replace any prior agreements between NCSOFT and you regarding the Services and Content.
These Terms are made in English, and any translation hereof is provided for reference only. In the case of any discrepancy between the English version and any translation, the English version shall prevail.
These Services are operated and provided by NCSOFT. If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at https://help.plaync.com.