Hosting Terms

Recently, we had the opportunity to work with EchoUs Media in the production of a new Web site. Their professional and friendly manner, knowledge, creativity, prompt timelines and competitive pricing are only a few factors that contribute to EchoUs ... more >

You must accept the terms of this Agreement prior to ordering or using the services.

Introduction This Terms of Service is an agreement between Customer and EchoUs Media ("Agreement") and applies to Customer's account(s) with EchoUs Media. PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY and retain it for future reference. Please note that the information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Customer agrees to periodically consult this Web site for changes or amendments to this Agreement. EchoUs Media reserves the right to add, delete, or modify any provision of this Policy at any time without notice. EchoUs Media may, but is under no obligation to, provide notices of any amendment, modification or update of this Agreement via e-mail to Customers. General Provisions While using Services provided by EchoUs Media, you agree to the following terms and conditions:

Entire Agreement

This Agreement, including any and all documents, Web sites, rules, terms and policies referenced herein, constitutes the entire agreement between EchoUs Media and you with respect to the matters referred to in this Agreement and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous agreements and understandings, whether electronic, oral or written, between EchoUs Media and you with respect to such matters.

No Waiver

The failure of EchoUs Media to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision of this Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. Neither the course of conduct between you and EchoUs Media nor trade practice shall act to modify any provision of this Agreement.

Illegal Usage

EchoUs Media servers may be used for lawful purposes only. Transmission, storage, or distribution of any information, data or material in violation of any applicable law or regulation is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to: copyrighted material, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property right used without proper authorization, and material that is obscene, defamatory, constitutes an illegal threat, or violates export control laws. Examples of non-acceptable content or links: Pirated software, Hackers programs or archives, Warez sites, MP3, and IRC bots. The subscriber to EchoUs Media service agrees to indemnify and hold harmless EchoUs Media from any claims resulting from the use of the service that damages the subscriber or any other party. EchoUs Media will be the sole arbiter as to what constitutes a violation of this provision.

Adult Content

Due to special system and network requirements of adult oriented sites, pornography and sex-related merchandising are prohibited. This includes sites that may infer sexual content, or links to adult content elsewhere. This is also true for sites that promote any illegal activity or content that may be damaging to our servers or any other server on the Internet. Links to such materials are also prohibited.

False Information

False Information. Client agrees not to post false or inaccurate information to news groups in violation of the news groups' rules and regulations. If any news groups or service providers contact EchoUs Media concerning unethical, false or unlawful activities by you, EchoUs Media reserves the right to terminate your service without notice.

Security

Violations of system or network security are prohibited, and may result in criminal and civil liability. Examples include, but are not limited to the following: Unauthorized access, use, probe, or scan of a systems security or authentication measures, data or traffic. Interference with service to any user, host or network including, without limitation, mail bombing, flooding, deliberate attempts to overload a system and broadcast attacks. Forging of any TCP-IP packet header or any part of the header information in an e-mail or a newsgroup posting.

No "Spam"

UCE/UBE or "Spam" originating from an EchoUs Media account, or associated with an EchoUs Media account, is not tolerated. This includes any e-mail that promotes Web sites hosted on an EchoUs Media account but is sent from an e-mail address not associated with that EchoUs Media account. Client shall not use their EchoUs Media services for chain letters, junk mail, bulk-e-mail, or any use of distribution lists to any person who has not given specific permission to be included in such a process. EchoUs Media reserves the right to deactivate or terminate any account(s) upon any indication of such activity without notice. There will be a $150 clean up fee if an account was suspended for policy violation. There is a 1000 E-mail limit that can be sent out within a 24 hour period. Services Provided by EchoUs Media EchoUs Media will rent Internet server space ("Services") to its customers for the purpose of allowing customers to provide http internet content to the general public. The Services allow EchoUs Media customers to maintain internet Web sites, receive and maintain e-mail accounts, and access Web space via FTP to upload files for their Web sites. EchoUs Media customers will use the provided Services in a manner consistent with all applicable State and Federal laws. EchoUs Media will make no effort to edit, control, monitor or restrict the content of data other than as necessary to provide Services. If any of the activities referenced below are committed, EchoUs Media may immediately terminate Customer's account(s) without notice. EchoUs Media will be the sole and final arbiter as to what constitutes a violation of the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

Failure to follow any term or condition will be grounds for immediate account deactivation without notice. EchoUs Media will be the sole arbiter as to what constitutes a violation of any of these provisions.

Activity which results in the suspension or deactivation of an account will result in a forfeiture of all fees paid. Complaints made regarding abuses of an account will be investigated and if found guilty will be grounds for immediate suspension.

To report suspected abuses or any violations of these policies, please contact abuse@echous.com Server Resource Any Web site that uses a high amount of server resources (such as, but not limited to, CPU time, memory usage, and network resources) will be given an option of either paying extra (which depends on the resource needed) or reducing the resource used to an acceptable level. EchoUs Media shall be the sole arbiter of what is considered to be a high server usage level.

CGI/PHP/ASP Scripts

Any CGI-scripts deemed to be adversely affecting the server performance or the network integrity will be shut down without prior notice.

Background Running Programs and Cron Jobs: EchoUs Media does not allow background Daemons such as IRC bots; eggdrop; BitchX; XiRCON; and any other program that interferes with normal server operation. Actions Taken by EchoUs Media The failure by a customer to meet or follow any of the policies/terms is grounds for account deactivation. EchoUs Media will be the sole arbiter as to what constitutes a violation of the AUP. EchoUs Media reserves the right to remove any account without prior notice.

When EchoUs Media becomes aware of an alleged violation of its AUP, EchoUs Media will initiate an investigation. During the investigation, EchoUs Media may restrict a customer's access in order to prevent further potentially unauthorized activity. Depending on the severity of the violation, EchoUs Media may, at its sole discretion, restrict, suspend, or terminate a customer's Web hosting account and/or pursue other civil remedies. If such violation is a criminal offense, EchoUs Media will notify the appropriate law enforcement authorities of such violation.

EchoUs Media reserves the right and has absolute discretion to restrict or remove from its servers any content that violates this Agreement, or related policies, or is otherwise objectionable or potentially infringing on any third party's rights or in potentially violation of any laws. In the event of becoming aware of any possible violation by you of this Agreement, any related policies or, third party rights or laws, EchoUs Media may immediately take corrective action, including, but not limited to, (a) issuing warnings, (b) suspending or terminating the Service, (c) restricting or prohibiting any and all uses of content hosted on EchoUs Media' systems, and/or (d) disabling or removing any hypertext links to third-party Web sites, any of your content distributed or made available for distribution via the Services, or other content not supplied by EchoUs Media which, in EchoUs Media' sole discretion, may violate or infringe any law or third-party rights or which otherwise exposes or potentially exposes EchoUs Media to civil or criminal liability or public ridicule. It is EchoUs’ policy to terminate service to infringers.

EchoUs Media does not issue credits for outages incurred through service disablement resulting from AUP violations. 99% Uptime EchoUs Media has a 99% average uptime across our entire network at large, which includes Web servers, mail servers, and more - as a whole. If a single server is temporarily offline, the rest of the EchoUs Media servers remain unaffected and uninterrupted, thus contributing to our overall uptime. Client's use of the Services: Payment Obligations, Renewals, and Cancellations.

Currency

All monetary amounts expressed in this Agreement are in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise expressly stated.

Payment Obligations

Full payment is required in advance, before hosting service is established. You grant EchoUs Media the right to debit the credit card or account you provided on the Order Form for services you signed up for. You warrant and represent that the information you supply in the Order Form (or other information that EchoUs Media may require) is accurate and truthful. All payment-due notices will be sent by electronic mail. No bills or invoices will be sent by postal mail or fax. If payment was not received by the renewal date, your account will be terminated. Once your account is terminated, you will need to pay the monthly fees to reopen the account. There is a $15 fee for bounced cheques and a $25 processing fee for chargebacks.

Charges

You agree to pay all fees and charges (and applicable taxes) incurred which relate to your use of the Services, in accordance with the rates, terms and conditions established from time to time by EchoUs Media that are applicable to the Services which you have selected. Such rates, terms and conditions will be posted on the Site or otherwise made available to you by EchoUs Media. EchoUs Media shall begin charging you on the date that you subscribe for the EchoUs Media Internet services, unless otherwise specified by EchoUs Media.

Credit Card Payment

If you use a credit card and EchoUs Media does not receive payment from the card issuer, you agree to pay all amounts due, upon demand by EchoUs Media.

Failure to Pay

If you fail to pay any fees and taxes within ten (10) days from applicable due date for credit card or invoice payments, late charges of the lesser of one and one-half per cent (1.5%) per month (i.e. 18% per annum) or the maximum allowable under applicable law shall also become payable by you to EchoUs Media. In addition, your failure to fully pay any fees and taxes within ten (10) days after the applicable due date will be deemed a material breach of this Agreement, justifying EchoUs Media' immediate suspension of its performance of the Services and/or termination of this Agreement. You are responsible for any fees associated with reinstated of services. Any such termination would not relieve you from paying past due fees plus interest. In the event of collection enforcement, you will be liable for any costs associated with such collection, including, without limitation, legal fees, court costs and collection agency fees.

Responsibility for Use

You are responsible for use of the Services and the maintenance of all passwords related to the Services. You are solely responsible and liable for any and all activities that occur in respect of your use of the Services, including without limitation all activities of any users authorized by you or using your passwords. You are also responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of all passwords related to your use of the Services. You agree to immediately notify EchoUs Media of any unauthorized use of the Services or your passwords or of any other breach of security and to provide assistance to EchoUs Media, as requested, to stop and/or remedy any breach of security.

Material and Product Requirements

You must ensure that all material and data placed on EchoUs Media' equipment is in a condition that is "server-ready," which is in a form requiring no additional manipulation by EchoUs Media. EchoUs Media will make no effort to validate any of this information for content, correctness or usability. In the event that your material is not "server-ready", EchoUs Media has the option at any time to reject this material. EchoUs Media will notify you of its refusal of the material and afford you the opportunity to amend or modify the material to satisfy the needs and/or requirements of EchoUs Media. Use of the Services requires a certain level of knowledge in the use of Internet languages, protocols and software. This level of knowledge varies depending on the anticipated use and desired content of your Web site. You must have the necessary knowledge to create and maintain a Web site. It is not EchoUs Media' responsibility to provide this knowledge or customer support.

Bandwidth, Storage, and E-mail Usage

You agree that use of the Services hereunder will not exceed the bandwidth, storage and E-mail usage limits set out in the Site for the Services ordered by you. If you use any bandwidth or storage space in excess of the agreed upon number of megabytes per month or if you exceed E-Mail storage and attachment size limitations, EchoUs Media may, in its sole discretion, assess you with additional charges according to EchoUs Media' then current pricing policy, suspend the performance of the Service, or terminate this Agreement. In the event that EchoUs Media elects to take any corrective action, you will not be entitled to a refund of any unused pre-paid fees. Warning messages will be e-mailed to you as you exceed 80% and 90% of your package's respective bandwidth and disk space limits. If payment for extra usage is not received within two weeks of the invoice date, the expiry date of the account will be adjusted according to the amount outstanding.

Domain Names

As part of the Services, you will provide EchoUs Media with a registered domain name or names or EchoUs Media will register such domain name(s) selected by you, provided that such domain name is available for registration. The inability to use a domain name shall not entitle you to a refund by EchoUs Media of any fees paid with respect to the registration of such unusable domain name. However, in the event a domain that was registered is transferred to another service provider, and requires manual intervention by our support staff to complete the transfer, there will be an administrative transfer cost charged for each domain plus applicable taxes. Domain Parking does NOT include any hosting services. You are not provided with the option to submit your own DNS entries as EchoUs Media is NOT a Registrar and therefore assume that you wish to obtain your hosting services directly through EchoUs Media. Domain name payments are non-refundable. Once a domain name is registered, the WHOIS database stores the information and is kept there for a period of one year, until the date of renewal. Payment will NOT be credited back. In the event there is a misspelling of a domain name, while being registered online, you as the customer must register the correct spelling of that name. There are NO refunds issued for misspelled domain names.

Domain names can be used or transferred to another registrar only if customers account is paid for with no balance. If customer has a balance, it must be settled before domain name is released.

Miscellaneous Components

You acknowledge that the Services do not include content design, development, FTP master maintenance, uploading and publishing, Common Gateway Interface scripts and other such executables and that all of the foregoing are your responsibilities.

Intellectual Property Rights

EchoUs Media Property You hereby acknowledge and agree that all programs (in object code and source code form), data, services, processes, designs, technologies, materials and all other things comprising the Services are owned by and shall remain the sole property of EchoUs Media, its licensors or its suppliers and are protected by applicable copyrights, trade-marks, patents, trade secrets and/or other proprietary rights and laws. EchoUs Media shall also maintain and control ownership of all Internet protocol ("IP") numbers and e-mail addresses that may be assigned to you by EchoUs Media. EchoUs Media reserves, in its sole discretion, the right to change or remove any and all such IP numbers and e-mail addresses at any time.

Your Content EchoUs Media does not claim ownership of information, materials, software or other content (collectively, the "content") that you post, upload, input, provide, submit or otherwise transmit to EchoUs Media or any third party, using the Services. However, you agree that by posting, uploading, inputting, providing, submitting or otherwise transmitting the content to EchoUs Media or any third party, using the Services, you have thereby granted EchoUs Media a royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, copy, distribute, transmit, display, edit, delete, publish and translate such content to the extent reasonably required by EchoUs Media for the purposes of rendering and operating the Services to you under this Agreement or to ensure adherence to or enforce the terms of this Agreement. You expressly (a) grant to EchoUs Media a license to cache the content, and (b) agree that such caching is not an infringement of any of your intellectual property rights or any third party's intellectual property rights.

Enforcement Investigation of Violations

EchoUs Media may investigate any reported violation of this Agreement, its policies or any complaints and take any action that it deems appropriate and reasonable under the circumstance to protect its systems, facilities, customers and/or third parties. EchoUs Media will not access or review the contents of any e-mail or similar stored electronic communications except as required or permitted by applicable law or legal process. Interruption of Service You hereby acknowledge and agree that EchoUs Media and its suppliers will not be liable for any temporary delay, outages or interruptions of the Services. Further, EchoUs Media shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform its obligations under this Agreement, where such delay or failure results from any act of God or other cause beyond its reasonable control (including, without limitation, any mechanical, electronic, communications or third-party supplier failure).

EchoUs Media customers agree to indemnify and hold harmless EchoUs Media from any claims resulting from the use of our services that damages them or any other party. The EchoUs Media service is provided on an as is, as available basis without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement. EchoUs Media expressly disclaims any representation or warranty that the EchoUs Media service will be error-free, secure or uninterrupted. No oral advice or written information given by EchoUs Media, its employees, licensors or the like, will create a warranty; nor may you rely on any such information or advice. EchoUs Media and its partners and suppliers will not be liable for any cost or damage arising either directly or indirectly from any transaction or use of the service. Unlimited 30-day Money Back Guarantee If you are not completely satisfied with our services within the first 30 days from the opening of the account, you will be given a full refund on your hosting fee. If paid by credit card, refunds will be issued to the original credit card provided at the time of purchase. If your account has been cancelled by us due to a breach of the terms and conditions on your part, you will not be eligible for a refund. Disclaimer of Warranty You agree to use the Services and any information obtained through or from EchoUs Media at your own risk. You acknowledge and agree that EchoUs Media exercises no control over, and accepts no responsibility for, the content of information passing through EchoUs Media's host computers, network hubs, points of presence or the internet.

Limitation of Liability

You agree that EchoUs Media will not be responsible for any losses that may incur where Services are accessed by third-parties through illegal or otherwise unauthorized means, including but not limited to situations where data is accessed through the exploitation of security gaps, weaknesses or flaws (whether known or unknown to EchoUs Media at the time) which may exist in the Services or in EchoUs Media's equipment used to provide the Services. Under no circumstances will EchoUs Media be liable for any consequential, indirect, incidental, special or punitive damages, or loss of profits, revenue, data or use by Customer, any of its customers, or of any other third party, whether in an action in contract or tort or strict liability or other legal theory. EchoUs Media will not be liable to Customer, any of its customers, or any other third party, for any loss or damages that result or are alleged to have resulted from the use of or inability to use the Services, or that results from mistakes, omissions, interruptions, deletion of files, loss of data, errors, viruses, defects, delays in operations, or transmission or any failure of performance, whether or not limited to acts of God, communications failure, theft, destruction or unauthorized access to EchoUs Media's records, programs, equipment or services.

Indemnity to EchoUs Media

You hereby release and hold harmless, and agree to indemnify, the EchoUs Media Entities, its officers, directors, employees, shareholders and agents, against any and all claims, actions, proceedings, suits, liabilities, damages, settlements, penalties, fines, costs or expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees and other litigation expenses) incurred by the EchoUs Media Entities, arising out of or relating to (a) your violation or breach of any term, condition, representation or warranty of this Agreement, or any applicable policy; (b) your improper or illegal use the Services; or (c) your violation, alleged violation, or misappropriation of any intellectual property right (including, without limitation, trademark, copyright, patent, trade secrets) or non-proprietary right of a third party (including, without limitation, defamation, libel, violation of privacy or publicity). Liability and Obligations on Termination: Should the Agreement expire or be terminated for any reason, EchoUs Media will not be liable to you because of such expiration or termination for compensation, reimbursement or damages on account of the loss of prospective profits, anticipated sales, goodwill or on account of expenditures, investments, leases or commitments in connection with your business, or for any other reason whatsoever flowing from such termination or expiration. Any termination of this Agreement shall not relieve you of any obligations to pay fees and costs accrued prior to the termination date. EchoUs Media shall have no responsibility to notify any third party of the termination of your account nor provide any termination assistance. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, EchoUs Media shall have no obligation to forward any e-mail messages, data, information or other content related to your use of the Services, and you acknowledge that all such e-mail messages, data, information and content may be immediately deleted by EchoUs Media. Force Majeure EchoUs Media will not be liable for failure or delay in performing it obligations if such failure or delay is due to circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of any governmental body, war, insurrection, sabotage, embargo, fire, flood, strike or other labor disturbance, interruption of or delay in transportation, unavailability of, interruption or delay in telecommunications or third party services (including DNS propagation), failure of third party software or hardware or inability to obtain raw materials, supplies or power used in or equipment needed for provision of the services. Disclosure of Customer Information and Legal Process Although EchoUs Media maintains strict confidentiality on Customer's information, there are certain exceptions in which EchoUs Media may disclose information in its possession, including but not limited to information about the Customer's internet transmissions and Web site activity in order to comply with court order, subpoena, discovery request, warrant, statute, regulation or official governmental requests. EchoUs Media has no obligation to notify Customer about whom the information is sought or that EchoUs Media has provided the information. Customer acknowledges the above exceptions and agrees to them without reservation. Agreement Entire Agreement; Severability: This Agreement represents the entire agreement between the parties, and supersedes all previous representations, understandings or agreements. If any provision of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, unenforceable, or void, the remainder of this Agreement will remain in full force and effect.

Warranties and Disclaimers

Your Warranties and Representations to EchoUs Media. You warrant, represent, and covenant to EchoUs Media that (a) you are at least eighteen (18) years of age; (b) you possess the legal right and ability to enter into this Agreement; (c) you will use the Services only for lawful purposes and in accordance with this Agreement and all applicable policies and guidelines; (d) you will be financially responsible for use of the Services; (e) you have acquired or will acquire all authorization(s) necessary for hypertext links to third-party Web sites; (f) you have verified or will verify the accuracy of materials distributed or made available for distribution via the Services, including, without limitation, your Content, descriptive claims, warranties, guarantees, nature of business, and address where business is conducted, and (g) your Content does not and will not infringe or violate any right of any third party (including any intellectual property rights) or violate any applicable law, regulation or ordinance.

Independent Contractors

You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment or agency relationship exists between EchoUs Media and you as a result of this Agreement or use of the Services.

Right to Refuse Service

At its sole discretion, EchoUs Media has the right to refuse any and all service or Services to any applicant, customer, client whether it be an individual or legal entity. We reserve the right to refuse, cancel, or suspend service at our sole discretion without notice. EchoUs Media may deny Client access to all or part of the service at our sole discretion without notice. Any files hosted on the server when service has been cancelled, will be provided to the user upon request. The exception to the delivery of files is, in the event that said files, having been produced by EchoUs Media, have not been paid for in full.

Abusive Behavior

EchoUs Media is a professional company and we believe in professional communication, no matter what the issue is. We will not tolerate any abusive behavior, abusive language or threats against any EchoUs Media employees, officers, agents, and directors. By violating this policy, we reserve the right to permanently suspend or terminate Customer's account without prior notice and without any refund. EchoUs Media reserves the right to require changes or disable as necessary, any website, account, database, content, or other component that does not comply with this policy, at its sole discretion and without notice.

Choice of Laws

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada. You hereby irrevocably consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Province of Ontario and the federal courts situated in the Province of Ontario in connection with any matter arising under this Agreement. Use of the Services in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to all provisions of this Agreement, including without limitation this paragraph, is prohibited.