Chirpstory Terms of Use

Chirpstory is a product of Togetter Inc. In order to use the services (the "Services") provided via Chirpstory ("this Site"), you must agree to the Chirpstory terms of use (the "Terms of Use").

Article 1. Acceptance of the Terms of Use and Changes

1. Persons using the Services ("Users") provided by Togetter Inc. ("Togetter") via this Site must agree to the Terms of Use as a condition of using the Services. Use of the Services constitutes acceptance of all of the provisions of the Terms of Use by a User.
2. Togetter may change the Terms of Use without prior notice or warning to the Users. When the Terms of Use are changed, the new Terms of Use become effective when a User uses the Services following the change. Use of the Services following a change in the Terms of Use constitutes acceptance of the new Terms of Use by a User.

Article 2. Important Considerations Concerning Use of the Services

1. Users are solely responsible for registering, changing, and managing the information registered by them at the Site in connection with using the Services, including Twitter account information.
2. Use of the Services via a Twitter account that the User has registered with Twitter is considered use of the Services by the User that owns that Twitter account. Any consequences, liability, or damages arising from such use are the responsibility of the User who owns that Twitter account.
3. If Togetter or another party suffers damages arising from the unauthorized use of a User's Twitter account, the User must compensate Togetter or the third party for such damages.
4. Togetter will not be liable for any damages or harm suffered by a User due to false or inaccurate Twitter account registration information.
5. If Togetter determines that any of the information posted or curated by the User ("user content") through the Service violates the Terms of Use, Togetter may hide or delete all or some of such user content, without prior notice or warning to the User.
6. When deemed necessary in order to protect Togetter or User rights, property, or services, or to protect another party's life, physical person, or property, Togetter may disclose or provide user content to a court of law, criminal investigator, or other public institution to the extent deemed necessary to afford such protection.
7. The use of the Services is free of charge to Users, except for certain services and content. However, Users are responsible for any telecommunications charges arising from the use of the Services.

Article 3. Personal Information

Togetter handles User personal information appropriately in accordance with “Togetter Privacy Policy” specified separately.

Except as provided below, Togetter will not provide personal information to a third party without the consent of the User:

1. When permitted by the Act on the Protection of Personal Information or other relevant laws or regulations;
2. When it is necessary to protect a person's life, physical person or property, but it is difficult to obtain the consent of the individual who is the subject of the personal information;
3. When outsourcing work related to the Services to a third party, in whole or in part;
4. When disclosing information to a party that has a confidentiality obligation to Togetter;
5. When it is especially necessary in order to improve public health or to promote child welfare, but it is difficult to obtain the consent of the individual who is the subject of the personal information;
6. When there is a request for personal information from a court of law, public prosecutor's office, police agency, tax office, bar association, or other institution with equivalent authority;
7. When disclosing information to a party that is taking over the operation of the Services in conjunction with a change in the operator of the Services due to a merger, business transfer or some other reason; and
8. When otherwise deemed necessary in the exercise of Togetter's rights.

Article 4. Copyright Policy

1. Togetter has obtained a license from Twitter for the copyrights to the Twitter posts curated by the Users of the Services. Users are only permitted to curate Twitter posts as an adjunct of Togetter. Users do not have the copyrights to the Twitter posts that they have curated using the Services, except for material posted on Twitter by the User him/herself. If a social media curation of Twitter posts that a User has curated using the Services is copyrighted, the User grants a worldwide license to use the social media curation to Togetter (including the right to grant licenses) free of charge, and will not invoke moral rights with respect to Togetter's use of such copyrights (including use by those who have been sublicensed).
2. Users retain copyrights to the material they have posted as their own comments in using the Services (copyrighted material). However, material posted by Users using the Services (copyrighted material) may be used on this Site or on sites affiliated with Togetter, or other media or services. Users will not invoke moral rights with respect to Togetter's use of copyrighted material pursuant to this paragraph.
3. Except for copyrights associated with material posted by Users of the Services, the copyrights and intellectual property rights for the Services and information related to the Services belong to Togetter, the rights holders who have licensed use thereof to Togetter, and the rights holders who have licensed use thereof to those rights holders. Users may not copy, transfer, rent, translate, modify, reproduce, publicly transmit (or make transmittable), convey, distribute, publish, or use such material for commercial or other purposes without permission.

Article 5. Restrictions on Use of Services

Togetter may restrict functionality for a User when it has determined that any of following have occurred in connection with the User's use of the Services:

1. When a person who has violated the Terms of Use in the past is using the Services;
2. When it is determined that the Services are being used to impersonate Togetter or a third party;
3. When the Services are being used to post or curate material that contains expressions that are offensive to others or that violate standards of decency;
4. When a User commits any of the prohibited acts listed in Article 6; or
5. When Togetter determines that the Services have been used inappropriately for reasons other than those listed above.

Article 6. Prohibited Acts

In using the Services, Users are strictly forbidden from curating or compiling posts, posting comments, or committing any other acts that correspond to any of the acts listed below (including curating or compiling Twitter posts that correspond to any of the acts listed below). Irrespective of whether there is any intentional act or negligence on the part of the User, if Togetter determines that any of the following acts have been committed, Togetter may delete or hide, without prior notice or warning to the User, such social media curations, compilations, or comments, or take other necessary measures such as suspending use of the Services or restricting access to its features. Togetter will not respond to any inquiries regarding such measures or the measures taken against a User for violating the provisions of this section.

1. Acts that violate, or may violate, laws and regulations, standards of decency, or social norms
2. Criminal acts or antisocial acts, or acts that aid, encourage, promote, or contribute to such acts
3. Acts that infringe, or may infringe, the copyrights, patents, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights belonging to Togetter or a third party or other intellectual property rights including trade secrets.
4. Acts that unfairly discriminate against or slander or defame Togetter or a third party; acts that harm the credit or reputation of Togetter or a third party; and acts that infringe, or may infringe, on the privacy rights, publicity rights, likeness rights, or any other rights belonging to Togetter or a third party
5. Acts that violate the laws and regulations of the region in which Togetter provides the Services
6. Acts that could cause damage or harm to Togetter or a third party
7. Acts that an ordinary user would perceive as discriminatory based on nationality, ethnicity, race, social status, gender, ideology, religion or age
8. Acts involving photographs, images, videos or other representations of brutality, violence or atrocities including murder or mutilation; or involving photographs, images, videos or other representations that could be upsetting to an ordinary user
9. Acts that recommend, promote, induce, or encourage murder, robbery, or other violent acts, or suicide, self-injury, the use of controlled substances or other criminal or self-destructive behavior
10. Acts involving any representation of child pornography, child abuse, or obscene images of sexual activity or genitalia; or involving representations of sexual activity or any activity equivalent to sexual activity (prohibited irrespective of whether the image has been pixilated or has artistic merits)
11. Posting links to sites for downloading (including streaming) video images (irrespective of whether such images have been altered) that involve obscenity, child prostitution, or child pornography
12. Posting links that direct to adult sites or to sites that sell adult merchandise
13. Seeking encounters with unacquainted persons of the opposite sex or acts intended to lure people into such encounters
14. Engaging in illegal betting or gambling, or recommending, inducing, inviting, or encouraging participation in such activity
15. Other acts that are injurious to the welfare of minors
16. Commercial promotion, advertising or soliciting without Togetter's approval
17. Social media curations or comments that include affiliate links
18. Social media curations or comments soliciting others for multi-level marketing programs, pyramid schemes, chain mail, or paid to read email schemes
19. Social media curations or comments containing personally identifiable information such as a person's address, name, email address, telephone number or financial institution account number
20. Social media curations or comments with the aim of spreading malicious content, such as computer viruses, one-click fraud sites, or phishing sites
21. Acts aimed obtaining personally identifiable information, such as another person's address, name, email address, or telephone number
22. Social media curations or comments containing information that is false or is intended to mislead another person
23. Using the Services in a manner that puts an unreasonable burden on servers beyond the scope contemplated for normal usage, or that contributes to this; or that otherwise interferes, or may interfere, with the operation of the Site, the ability to provide the Services, or the ability of other Users to use the Services
24. Using the Services, in whole or in part, for commercial purposes without the approval of Togetter
25. Impersonating another person
26. Conducting religious or political activities not allowed by Togetter
27. Acts that violate Twitter's Terms of Service
28. Other acts determined to be inappropriate by Togetter

Article 7. Disclaimers

1. Togetter reserves the right to change, suspend, or terminate the Services without notifying Users in advance. Togetter will not be liable to Users for any interruptions in the use of the Services arising from such a change, suspension, or termination of the Services or from a change, suspension, or termination of the Services arising from an incident or accident.
2. Togetter does not replicate the data stored on the Services' servers, including Users' curated and compiled Twitter posts, as a precaution against loss or damage. Togetter will not restore data that is stored on the servers that is lost or damaged for any reason.
3. Togetter will not be liable for any damages arising in connection with a User's use of the Services.

Article 8. User Responsibilities

1. If a conflict arises between a User and other users or third parties through the Services, it is the User's responsibility to resolve such conflict, and if Togetter, other Users, or other third parties incur damages as a result, the User will provide restitution.
2. If a User violates the Terms of Use or infringes on a third party's rights in using the Services, the User will be financially and otherwise responsible for resolving such claims and will compensate Togetter for any damages that arise.
3. Users will compensate Togetter for any other damages resulting from the User's user of the Services.

Article 9. Operation of the Services

1. Users are responsible for managing the user content that they have created, and they will respond promptly and in good faith to any requests from other users to delete or hide material.
2. Users are also responsible for managing the comments posted by other users on the user content that they have created, and accept that such posts are to be treated in the same manner as the social media curation and comments that they themselves have posted and curated.
3. If it becomes difficult for the creator of user content to continue managing such user content for any reason, the user content may be deleted or hidden after a certain period of time.
4. If a User violates the Terms of Use either intentionally or through negligence, Togetter may delete the user content.

Article 10. Controlling Law and Jurisdiction

1. The Terms of Use will be construed and applied in accordance with the laws of Japan.
2. When there is a request for mediation concerning a dispute between Togetter and a User, the supervising court will be the Tokyo Summary Court or the Tokyo District Court.
3. The Tokyo Summary Court or the Tokyo District Court is the exclusive court with jurisdiction when bringing a legal action in connection with a dispute between Togetter and a User.

Effective January 17, 2011

Last modified April 1, 2012