Terms and Conditions of Use 

(updated ~ 3/19/08)

User Obligations

In exchange for your use of the Site, you agree not to use the Site for any illegal purpose or in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the operation of the Site.  You agree not to use the Site for any commercial or other unauthorized use of the interactive features.  You agree not to use the Site to exchange information, services, materials, or software in return for payment of any sort without the prior written approval of SIGMA.  Your use of the Site is governed by all applicable local, state, national, and international laws and regulations.  Any breach of any law or regulation is a breach of these Terms and Conditions of Use. 

Your use of the Site is subject to the terms of our Privacy Policy.  Third-party web sites linked to the Site do not fall under the terms of our Privacy Policy.  You should refer to those sites’ privacy policies to learn how they collect and use your personal information. 

Antitrust Policy

Your use of the Site is subject to the terms of our Antitrust Statement SIGMA is not responsible for any violation of federal antitrust laws that may arise from your use of bulletin boards or other interactive services accessible through the Site.  You may not use bulletin boards or other interactive services accessible through the site to discuss: 

• Current or future prices or competitive terms.

• What constitutes a “fair” or acceptable profit level.

• What a “fair” bid would be or whether an entity is planning to submit a bid.

• Possible increases or decreases in prices or other changes to competitive terms.

• Standardization or stabilization of prices, output, or costs.

• Pricing procedures or negotiation of competitive terms.

• Cash discounts.

• Credit terms.

• Control of sales.

• Allocation of markets or geographical division of markets.

• Refusal to deal with any particular firm or corporation.

• Whether or not the pricing or other competitive practices of any industry member are unethical or constitute an unfair trade practice.

Prohibited Communications

SIGMA does not edit, censor, or otherwise control your participation on or use of the Site.  SIGMA, however, reserves the right to monitor content on this Site, including but not limited to chat rooms, bulletin boards or other user discussions, and to remove content that SIGMA, in its sole discretion, determines to be unlawful, harmful, offensive, fraudulent, or otherwise in violation of these Terms and Conditions of Use.   

To maintain an informative and valuable service for users of this Site, you may only submit to the Site content that is:  (a) owned by you, (b) submitted with the express permission of the owner, or (c) in the public domain.  You are prohibited from posting or transmitting to or from the Site any unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, libelous, defamatory, obscene, deceptive, fraudulent, obscene, pornographic, or other materials that would violate any law or the rights of others.  SIGMA assumes no responsibility for liability or damage that might result from use of any information exchanged on the Site. 

Site Modifications

SIGMA reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Site at any time, with or without notice to you.  SIGMA also reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to impose limits on certain features and services and to restrict access to any part or to all of the Site without notice to you.   

Intellectual Property Rights

You acknowledge and agree that copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents, trade secrets, and other proprietary rights and laws protect all content and materials available on the Site.  Except as expressly authorized by SIGMA, you agree not to use the Site in any manner that would infringe, violate, dilute, or misappropriate any such rights, with respect to any material that you access or receive through the Site.  Except as indicated elsewhere on the Site, you may view, download and print the documents and information available on the Site, subject to the following conditions:  (a) the documents and information may not be modified or altered in any way, (b) the documents and information may be used solely for personal, informational, internal, non-commercial purposes, and (c) the rights granted to you constitute a license and not a transfer of title. SIGMA, SIGMA AND DESIGN, SOCIETY OF INDEPENDENT MARKETERS OF AMERICA,IGM, INDEPENDENT GASOLINE MARKETING (STYLIZED), and SIGMA MASTERS are trademarks or registered trademarks of SIGMA in the United States and/or other foreign countries. SIGMA’s trademarks may not be used for any reason whatsoever, including without limitation, in connection with any product or service without the prior permission of SIGMA. All authorized uses of SIGMA’s trademarks must comply with SIGMA’s usage guidelines. All other brands, names, and trademarks are property of their respective owners. SIGMA will enforce its intellectual property rights to the maximum extent possible.

License for User Submissions

For information or comments that you submit to the Site for any purpose, you grant SIGMA an unrestricted, worldwide, irrevocable license to use, reproduce, display, modify, transmit, and distribute such information or comments.  SIGMA will not release your name or otherwise publicize the fact that you submitted such information or comments to SIGMA unless:  (a) you grant SIGMA permission to do so, (b) SIGMA first notifies you that the information or comments you submit to a particular part of the site will be published or otherwise used with your name on it, or (c) SIGMA is required to do so by law.

 

General Disclaimer

Although SIGMA uses its best efforts to maintain the accuracy and reliability of the Site, it does not warrant or represent that the Site will always function or be error-free. SIGMA assumes no liability or responsibility for errors or omissions in the Site or for problems with its functioning. Your access and use of the Site are at your own risk. SIGMA SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO, USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE SITE OR ANY TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO WITH INFORMATION OR SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THE SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you.  No information, whether oral or written, obtained by you from the Site, SIGMA or its agents or employees shall create any warranty not expressly made in these Terms and Conditions of Use. Neither SIGMA nor any other party involved in creating, producing, maintaining or delivering the Site shall be liable for any damages to or viruses that may infect your computer equipment or other property on account of your access to or use of the Site or your downloading of any material or information from the Site. 

Registration Obligations

To access certain portions of the Site, you must be a registered member of SIGMA.  You agree to provide truthful and accurate information during the registration process or when prompted through a form or email request.  You agree to maintain the accuracy of any submitted data.   You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your membership account access information and/or password.  You are responsible for all uses of your account, whether or not actually or expressly authorized by you. 

Access to Third-Party Linked Sites

The Site may contain links to third-party web sites that are not under the control of SIGMA.  SIGMA makes no representations whatsoever about any other Web site to which you may have access through the Site.  SIGMA provides these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by SIGMA of the site.  Access to any linked site is at your own risk.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold SIGMA, its parents, subsidiaries and affiliates, and their respective officers, employees and agents harmless from and against any third party claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of your use of the Site, your violation of these Terms and Conditions of Use or your infringement (or the infringement by another user who accesses the Site using your computer equipment) of any intellectual property or other right of any person. 

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms and Conditions of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. In the event of a dispute, both you and SIGMA agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the county of Fairfax.

Waiver/Severability

SIGMA’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms and Conditions of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by SIGMA in writing.  If any provision of these Terms and Conditions of Use is found to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, such provision shall be severed from the remainder of these Terms and Conditions of Use, which will otherwise remain in full force and effect.