TERMS OF SERVICE
The use of the EditsMadeEasy Web site, and the procurement of all professional editing, proofreading, coaching, writing, fact-checking, and instructional services from Edits Made Easy, LLC, shall be governed by the following Terms of Service. These Terms of Service, together with the Privacy Policy posted to the EditsMadeEasy Web site, constitute the agreement binding EditsMadeEasy (hereinafter referred to as “EME“) and the client (hereinafter referred to as “Client”). At the time a project is submitted for a quote, the Client is required to indicate that he or she has read the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and agrees to be bound by the provisions of these statements. The publication of these policies on the EME Web site functions in lieu of a signature to indicate EME’s acceptance of these provisions as a legally binding agreement between EME and the Client; the submission of payment for services (in whole or in part) at the beginning of a project functions in lieu of a signature to indicate the Client’s acceptance of these provisions as a legally binding agreement between the Client and EME. Should the provisions of the Terms of Service or Privacy Policy be changed at any time, the provisions governing a particular project shall be those that were in force at the time the Client’s payment (or, in the case of installments, at the time the Client’s first installment payment) was submitted. All revisions to these policies shall be published to the EME Web site and become binding upon all new projects immediately upon publication.
Confidentiality and the Protection of Clients’ Intellectual Property
1. At all times the documents submitted by the Client to EME, or created for the Client by EME and its independent contractor(s), are and remain the sole and exclusive intellectual property of the Client. Neither EME nor its independent contractor(s) shall lay claim to legal ownership of these materials, in whole or in part, whether created by the Client or by EME or its independent contractor(s) on behalf of the Client. All EME administrators, editors, proofreaders, coaches, writers, fact-checkers, and instructors have signed legally binding agreements protecting the confidentiality and ownership of the Client’s intellectual property. Furthermore, all copies of the Client’s documents will be purged the computer systems of EME’s independent contractor(s) within ninety days of the completion and return of the Client’s project. The manner in which EME protects the confidentiality and ownership of the Client’s intellectual property is spelled out in detail in the Privacy Policy published on the EME Web site.
Quality of Service and Limitations of Liability
2. In completing the Client’s project, EME will enlist the work of highly qualified editors, proofreaders, coaches, writers, fact-checkers, and/or instructors to render professional services. The qualifications of these professionals have been carefully established by EME, and EME will hold these independent contractors to the highest standards, with the aim of providing high-quality services to the Client. Nonetheless, EME cannot guarantee that documents and services will meet all of the Client’s subjective expectations, or that documents and services will be entirely error free. In part, this limitation is due to the fact that EME must rely on the Client to provide complete and accurate information about his or her specific needs; in part, this limitation is due to the subjectivity involved in assessing the quality of the documents and services; in part, this limitation is due to the need for the Client to review all materials returned to him or her by EME in order to ensure that they meet his or her needs in every way; and in part, this limitation is due to the possibility of technical or human error. Insofar as EME places the Client’s satisfaction as its highest priority, EME urges the Client to inform EME immediately of any document or service that fails to meet the Client’s needs or expectations; EME will work quickly and diligently to rectify the problem to the extent possible, rendering to the Client documents and/or services that meet his or her needs and expectations. At no time, however, is EME obligated to issue a monetary refund, nor is EME liable for damages in connection with any defect, perceived or real, in the services rendered. The Client understands that the words and opinions of EME’s independent contractors are not necessarily those of EME, and EME cannot accept responsibility for such words or opinions. In accepting these Terms of Service, the Client agrees that he or she understands these limitations and, further, agrees that he or she will not seek damages against EME or its independent contractor(s) for any perceived or real defect in the documents provided or services rendered, or for any consequences of such a defect.
3. In carrying out its services, EME involves third-party contractors for the processing of payments, for Web hosting, for analyzing Web activity, for carrying out anti-plagiarism checks, and for other purposes. The specific manner in which third-party contractors are involved in the work of EME is detailed in the Privacy Policy. EME is in no way liable for the actions of any such contractors or for the contents of their respective Web sites. The opinions expressed by such third-party contractors do not necessarily represent those of EME, nor is EME responsible for the words or actions of such contractors.
4. In creating documents for the Client, EME guarantees that its independent contractors will not plagiarize materials or infringe on copyrights at any time. In the event that the Client submits documents already containing plagiarized material or material that infringes on the copyrights held by others, EME accepts no responsibility for these infringements, nor can it guarantee that it will be able to identify all plagiarism and copyright infringements within the documents. Should plagiarism or copyright infringement come to the attention of EME or its independent contractor(s) in the course of their work, all work on the project will be suspended until the matter can be rectified by the Client. In such a case, EME will inform the Client of the problem. Once the Client has rectified the problem, the revised document—free of plagiarism and copyright infringement—may be returned by the Client to EME and work on the project will be resumed; EME will not be held responsible for the original deadline, nor will the Client be entitled to any refund. In accepting a project, EME in no way accepts responsibility for or represents its agreement with the ideas or perspectives represented in the documents, nor does it guarantee the accuracy of their content. In accepting these Terms of Service, the Client agrees to indemnify EME against any actions brought as a result of material submitted to EME which is determined to be defamatory or offensive or to have infringed on the rights of another person, company, or entity. The responsibility of EME and its independent contractor(s) is limited to carrying out with care the specific professional services it has been contracted to perform, and its liabilities with regard to this responsibility are limited as noted above.
Academic Integrity
5. EME is proud of the highly-qualified professionals who provide top-quality services to its academic clients. Through editing, formatting, coaching, fact-checking and instructional services, EME seeks to support clients in their own honest academic work. At no time will members of the EME team conduct research or writing for academic clients to submit as their own work. Whether or not the Client has contracted for plagiarism detections services, EME reserves the right to conduct a plagiarism detection review of academic materials through a third-party. If a member of the EME team encounters plagiarism in the academic documents presented by the Client, the plagiarism will be brought to the Client’s attention and EME work on the project will be suspended while the Client addresses the problem. Once the plagiarism has been removed, EME work on the project will resume. EME team members endeavor to assist academic clients in producing high-quality texts of which they can rightfully be proud because they are the client’s own academic work.
Payment and Completion of Services
6. Payment for all EME services is due at the time the project is undertaken. At the Client’s request, installment payments may be arranged, but full payment for all services must be made before services are completed. In the case of proofreading and editing projects, editors and proofreaders work in phases, usually passing through the document multiple times with different objectives for each pass. As a result, it is not possible to return partially edited documents to the Client, as no part of the edit is completed until the final pass. Upon request, however, EME will be happy to provide update reports on projects in progress. In the case of coaching projects, the payment for each coaching package entitles the Client to live coaching for up to twelve hours to be carried out over a period of up to six months; unlimited e-mail contact with the coach is included throughout the six-month period. In the event that the full twelve hours of live contact is not used up, no refund is due to the Client; in the event that the twelve hours of live contact is used up before the six-month period has expired, the Client will still be entitled to unlimited e-mail contact until the six-month period expires. Coaching projects and writing classes do not include any editing of documents, although editing projects may be combined with coaching projects and/or writing classes.
Refusal and Termination of Services
7. EME reserves the right to refuse service to any client at any time and for any reason. Such refusal may include, but is not limited to, projects involving materials that EME determines to be violent, obscene, or offensive; to advocate violent or illegal activity; to contain (or have the potential to contain) any computer viruses; or to contravene any law, statute, or ordinance. Should the Client act in a manner that EME determines to be threatening, violent, disruptive, or offensive toward a contractor, an administrator, or—in the case of online classes—another client, EME reserves the right to terminate the service then in progress prior to its completion. In such a case, EME will be under no obligation to provide a monetary refund to the Client. If it determines that a refund is warranted, EME will prorate the refund in light of the services already performed, and will deduct from it any costs that have been incurred in processing the project to the point of termination.
Use of the EME Web Site
8. EME grants to the Client limited license to use the EME Web site, but not to download or modify it. The Client is not authorized to duplicate or distribute the EME Web site or its contents, in whole or in part, nor is he or she authorized to use it for any commercial purposes. While every effort is made to keep the EME Web site accurate and current, EME assumes no liability for any inaccuracies in its Web site nor for any damages that may result from the use of information posted on its Web site. The Client agrees that he or she uses the EME Web site at his or her own risk.
Indemnification
9. The Client agrees to indemnify and hold EME and its independent contractors harmless from any claim as may arise from any third party as a result of the Client’s use of the EME Web site, the documents or services EME and its contractors have provided, any infringement of the intellectual property of any person or entity on the part of the Client, any problems arising from technical difficulties (including, but not limited to the transmission of computer viruses and the interruption of services), any fraudulent use of a credit card or other payment method used to purchase EME’s services, or any violation of these Terms of Service on the part of the Client. Specifically with regard to coaching services and online classes, the Client agrees that he or she uses these services at his or her own risk and that EME is not responsible for any problems or legal issues that may arise associated with participation in these services, the contacts made through these services, or the use of information disseminated therein. The Client further agrees that EME in no way guarantees a particular outcome (e.g., grade on a paper, successful completion of a doctoral defense, securing of a job, publication of a book, etc.) as a result of the use of its services.
Amendment of Terms
10. EME reserves the right to amend these Terms of Service from time to time as necessary and without further notice. Such amendments will be considered to be in force upon their publication to this Web site. Particular projects are always governed by the Terms of Service that were in force at the time the payment was made for that project (or, in the case of installment payments, the time that the first installment was paid).
Jurisdiction
11. The agreement represented by these Terms of Service and the EME Privacy Policy shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, without giving effect to the principles of conflict of laws thereof. Additionally, the Client and EME agree that any legal action or proceeding brought by or against them under this agreement shall be brought in the courts in and for Monroe County, Pennsylvania or the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and that the parties submit to such jurisdiction and waive any and all objections which they may have with respect to the venue of the above courts.
In the event that one or more of the provisions of these Terms of Service and Privacy Policy are, or are later, deemed to be illegal, invalid, or void, the remaining provisions of these Terms of Service and Privacy Policy shall remain in full force and effect.
Posted: 1 Mar 09
