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BBM Channel Terms

Welcome to BBM Channels, a social networking feature within BBM that extends Your network beyond Your family and friendship circle and enables You to connect with people, communities and brands that interest You. If You are using BBM on the BlackBerry platform, BBM and BBM Channels are part of Your BlackBerry Solution, as defined in and subject to the terms and conditions of the BlackBerry Solution License Agreement ("BBSLA") that govern Your use of the software and services that make up Your BlackBerry Solution and to which You are already a party. If You are using BBM on a non-BlackBerry platform, BBM and BBM Channels are part of Your BBM Solution, as defined in and subject to the terms and conditions of the BBM Terms of Service ("BBM ToS") that govern Your use of the BBM Solution and to which You are already a party. For the purpose of this Addendum, the term "BBM Agreement" refers to the BBSLA or BBM ToS that governs Your use of Your BlackBerry Solution or BBM Solution, as applicable. If You are registering to use BBM Channels through the BBM Channels web portal, the term "BBM Agreement" refers to the BBM ToS. If You do not have a copy of the applicable BBM Agreement for Your jurisdiction, it can be found at www.blackberry.com/legal.

While the BBM Agreement applies to BBM Channels in that it forms a part of Your BlackBerry Solution or BBM Solution, as applicable, this Addendum sets forth additional terms and conditions that apply to Your use of the BBM Channels service. The BBM Agreement, as supplemented and amended by this Addendum is referred to as the "BBM Channels Terms". In the event of a conflict between the BBM Agreement and this BBM Channels Addendum, the BBM Channels Addendum will prevail to the extent of such conflict.

THE BBM CHANNELS TERMS BECOME A BINDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU: individually if you are agreeing to it in your own capacity; or if you are authorised to USE BBM channelS on behalf of your company or another entity, between the entity for whose benefit you act (in either case, "YOU", with REFERENCES TO "YOU" OR "YOUR" BEING CONSTRUED ACCORDINGLY), AND THE BLACKBERRY LEGAL ENTITY WITH WHOM YOU ENTERED INTO THE BBM AGREEMENT ("US" or "WE") WHEN YOU AGREE TO THIS BBM CHANNELS ADDENDUM BY CLICKING ‘I AGREE’ BELOW. IF YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO AGREE TO THE BBM CHANNELS TERMS, YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO USE THE BBM CHANNELS SERVICE. Any capitalized terms in this BBM Channels Addendum that are not defined in this BBM Channels Addendum have the meaning set out in the BBM Agreement.

  1. CREATING A BBM CHANNEL.
  2. SUBSCRIBING TO AND POSTING COMMENTS TO A CHANNEL.
  3. ADDITIONAL RULES OF USE

1. CREATING A BBM CHANNEL

1.1 Subject to the BBM Channels Terms, You may use BBM Channels to create and administer a unique BBM Channel ("Channel") that features a brand, organization, event or individual for whom You are an authorized representative. BY CREATING A BBM CHANNEL, YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT TO US THAT YOU HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO CREATE AND ADMINISTER THE CHANNEL ON BEHALF OF SUCH BRAND, ORGANIZATION, EVENT OR INDIVIDUAL.

1.2 You may also create a Channel to express support for, or interest in, a brand, organization, event or individual, provided You do so only in a manner that: (i) does not suggest that Your Channel is a Channel created by such brand, organization, event or individual; (ii) does not suggest Your Channel is endorsed by or authorized by such brand, organization, event or individual if Your Channel does not have such endorsement or authorization; (iii) is not intended to otherwise mislead, confuse or deceive others; and (iv) does not otherwise infringe upon or violate any rights of such brand, organization, event or individual, including trademark, copyright or publicity.

1.3 Your name and contact information, the name of Your Channel, and any other profile information or description You provide when registering for a Channel, or otherwise include with Your Channel, must be true, not be misleading, and must accurately reflect its subject matter. The name of Your Channel must be distinctive and may not be generic (e.g. food, cars).

1.4 You may not create or use Channels for disruptive or abusive purposes. Without limiting the foregoing, You may not create one or more Channels for the purpose of preventing others from using such Channels, selling Channels or Channel names, or otherwise engaging in Channel ‘squatting’. We reserve the right to remove or suspend Channels that violate the terms of the BBM Channels Terms, any policies that We publish regarding the use of BBM Channels, or any Channels that are inactive. We also reserve the right to transfer unauthorized Channels, Channel names, Channel IDs, and/or administrative capabilities to the brand, organization, event or individual, or their authorized representative that We reasonably consider is rightfully entitled to the Channel name or to create or administer the Channel for such brand, organization, event or individual.

1.5 Once Your registration for a Channel has been accepted, You may post and display Content (as defined in the BBM Agreement) that is relevant to the brand, organization, event or individual featured in the Channel. Posting and displaying Content in a Channel does not transfer any ownership of the Content to Us, but in doing so You grant Us and our affiliates a license to such Content as set forth in the BBM Agreement so that We and our affiliates can make the Content available as part of the BBM Channels service. You also grant Us and our affiliates a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license, for so long as the applicable Channel exists, to reproduce and publicly perform and display Your Content, including without limitation Channel name, screenshots, logos, icons and trademarks ("Marks") in all media whether now known or later developed, in connection with the promotion of BBM Channels, subject to Your prior consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. We acknowledge and agree that We have no right, title or interest in or to Your Marks (except the right to use the same in accordance with terms and conditions of the BBM Channels Terms), and further agree that any right, title or interest You have in such Marks shall remain with You. Without limiting the foregoing, in connection with the use of Your Marks to promote BBM Channels We will not: (i) modify the Marks or any of them, except as expressly approved by You in advance and in accordance with the process set forth above; (ii) combine the Marks, or any of them, with any other marks or create any composite marks; or (iii) do anything that would compromise Your rights in and to the Marks.

1.6 You acknowledge and agree that Your Channel will be discoverable by any user of BBM Channels (unless You elect to make Your Channel a private Channel during Channel setup), and that the content of Your Channel will be public and viewable by everyone who subscribes to Your Channel ("Subscribers"), or who can otherwise view Your Channel and its contents.

1.7 While We provide You with the ability to create a Channel, You are solely responsible for the administration and use of Your Channel, including Your Content and interactions with Subscribers.

1.8 If You procure or make offers or solicitations ("Offer") available to Subscribers through Your Channel, including by way of a link or URL to a separate web site that contains the Offer details, without limiting anything in the BBM Channels Terms, the following applies:

  1. You may only offer products or services for which You are the merchant, authorized reseller or the manufacturer;
  2. You must ensure that Your Offer complies with all applicable laws, regulations and rules;
  3. You must clearly set out the terms and conditions governing Your Offer, including any restrictions and expiration dates;
  4. You may not state or imply that We are affiliated in any way with Your Offer; provided that directing a user to site or service operated by or on behalf of Us, such as BlackBerry World, will not be a violation of this provision;
  5. You are solely responsible for the fulfillment of the Offer and You agree, if requested by Us, to defend Us from any claims or proceedings related to Your Offer, and to indemnify Us for any losses, liabilities, and costs (including any reasonable legal fees) suffered or incurred by Us in relation to Your Offer; and
  6. We are not responsible for any improper redemption, fraud or other issues that arise from Your Offer.

1.9 If You are provided access with or collect personally identifiable information directly about Your Subscribers, You must comply with applicable privacy and data protection laws, including without limitation making publicly available to Subscribers Your privacy policy, clearly advising Subscribers what information You are collecting and the purpose(s) for such collection, and obtaining any consents required by applicable laws and regulations.

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2. SUBSCRIBING TO AND POSTING COMMENTS TO A CHANNEL.

2.1 By becoming a Subscriber to a Channel, You acknowledge and agree that:

  1. the Channel owner may send You Content, Offers, information about promotions, or other communications within BBM. Please review the applicable settings and options for the Channel for available controls regarding receiving such communications from the Channel owner, and how to unsubscribe from the Channel if You no longer wish to receive these communications;
  2. certain information about You, such as Your display name and display picture will be accessible by the Channel owner, and any personal information that is provided to the Channel owner will be subject to the applicable privacy policy of the Channel owner;
  3. if enabled by the Channel administrator, You may post comments to, and indicate Your approval of a post or comment on a Channel ("Comments") and/or chat with the Channel administrator. Your Comments and chats should be restricted to the subject matter of the Channel and must adhere to the BlackBerry Online Community Standards, which can be viewed at www.blackberry.com/legal/communitystandards;
  4. Your Comments, and any selections You make within the BBM Channels service to indicate Your approval of a post or comment, will be publically displayed and viewable by other Subscribers to the Channel, as well as others who can otherwise view the Channel and its contents (e.g. Channel administers), may be shared by other Subscribers with their BBM contacts, and may be removed by the Channel administrator. For this reason, We strongly recommend that You do not include any personally identifiable information in Your Comments or in Your chats with Channel owners; and
  5. Your BBM display name and display picture will be displayed along with any Comments You post or submit to the Channel. In addition, Channels that You have subscribed to will be viewable by those who can view Your BBM profile, including Your BBM Contacts and those You invite to become BBM Contacts. We may also develop recommendations of Channels that may interest You based on the Channels that You and Your BBM Contacts have subscribed to and other information associated to Your BBM profile and BlackBerry ID, and may indicate in invitations-to-subscribe to a Channel that are sent to Your BBM Contacts that You have subscribed to that Channel. You may unsubscribe from a Channel if You do not wish that Channel to be listed in Your BBM profile.

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3. ADDITIONAL RULES OF USE.

In addition to and without limiting anything in the BBM Agreement to which You are already a party, You agree as follows:

3.1 You are entirely responsible for the Content and Comments that You post or submit to a Channel. We do not control the Content or Comments and We do not guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of, and have no liability for such Content or Comments. Any use or reliance on any Content or Comments by You is at Your risk;

3.2 You are responsible for complying with all applicable laws and regulations (and industry guidelines where applicable) in relation to Your use of BBM Channels, including the posting and submitting of Content or Comments to a Channel, and, if applicable, You are responsible for having a policy for removing infringing content from Your Channel, that complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Without limiting the foregoing, Content You post to a Channel must comply with the BBM Channels Content Guidelines which can be found at www.blackberry.com/legal/bbmcontentguidelines;

3.3 You may not "spam" users or Channels, including posting duplicate postings, or multiple similar postings, or posting Comments that are not relevant to the Channel post under which Your Comments appear;

3.4 You agree that We may impose limitations upon Your eligibility to access certain Channels or Content, including without limitation based on Your age and location that We collect from You, and use that information to provide content that is appropriate to Your profile or jurisdiction or may otherwise be of interest to You;

3.5 We and our designates have the right (but not the obligation) in our and their sole discretion to pre-screen, refuse, or remove any Content or Comments for any reason;

3.6 This BBM Channels Addendum incorporates by reference and supplements our Privacy Policy, which can be found at www.blackberry.com/legal/privacy.shtml. In the event of a conflict between the Privacy Policy and this BBM Channels Addendum, the BBM Channels Addendum prevails to the extent of such conflict. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, You agree that:

  1. if You enable location functionality for BBM Channels, Your device’s location will be sampled periodically (as frequently as every fifteen minutes, including in some cases even if BBM is not open on Your device) and stored on Your device, using GPS (where available), wireless tower, and Wi-Fi/WLAN hotspot information. In some cases, as Your device moves locations throughout Your day, such information will be sent to BlackBerry servers so that We may associate the information to Your BBM or BlackBerry ID profile in order to provide You with more relevant promotional or Channels content, including localized or time-sensitive Offers that utilize geo-fencing functionality based on Your device’s current location. Please review the BBM menu settings for available controls regarding how to disable such location functionality.
  2. We may use information collected about Your use of BBM Channels, including Your Channel subscriptions and activities, information associated to Your BBM profile and BlackBerry ID, and Your location, to understand and predict Your preferences and interests in order to develop, communicate, or provide You with Channels, content or services that may interest You from Us or other sources such as Channel owners. We may also combine such data with information about Your use of other BlackBerry Solution products and services (for example, information collected through BlackBerry World and browsing activity or searches) to customize Your experience, suggest other products and services to You, and provide You with more relevant promotional content in BBM based on Your profile. This may include sending You invitations-to-subscribe, messages and posts within BBM on behalf of Channel owners who request Us to send messages to BBM Channels users or target audience segments that match Your demographic profile and interests. However, We will not provide personally identifiable information to Channel owners unless You give Us permission to do so (for example, pursuant to section 2.1(b) of this Addendum if You subscribe to a Channel). Please review the BBM menu settings for available controls regarding how to block receiving future unsolicited invites or messages from a particular Channel, and how to unsubscribe from a Channel.