Terms & Conditions

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Last Updated: January 16, 2024

Government Executive Media Group (“GEMG”) owns and operates public-facing websites (including govexec.com, nextgov.com, defenseone.com, washingtontechnology.com, cityandstateny.com, cityandstatepa.com, cityandstatefl.com, nynmedia.com, newsserviceflorida.com, atarc.org, marketconnectionsinc.com, militaryperiscope.com, forecastinternational.com, the-atlas.com, and route-fifty.com); operates several related Facebook pages and groups; and delivers newsletters and other content via email.  

Your use of the Sites and associated products and services, regardless of media, is subject to the terms, conditions, and disclaimers set forth below; to our Privacy Policy; and to all applicable laws and regulations. In addition, GEMG reserves the right to terminate access to the Sites for any reason, and to take any other actions that GEMG, in its sole discretion, believes to be in the interest of the company and some or all of its users and customers. GEMG reserves the right to modify these disclaimers, terms, and conditions of access, without advance notice.

This is a binding contract between GEMG and you. By accessing the Sites, you hereby accept this agreement.  As a material condition of such use, you warrant that you are over the age of 18 and that you have provided accurate and complete information in any communication with GEMG.

Please note that our Sites are under constant development. This Agreement may therefore be modified and updated on an ongoing basis. Please check back to this page regularly.

Access

Access to some of the Sites is provided free of charge and does not create a professional services relationship or any other relationship with GEMG. These Sites are provided solely for your personal, non-commercial use. There is a cost for access to all or part of other Sites. Terms for this paid access are listed on those sites. For example, terms for access to MilitaryPersicope.com can be found here, for Forecast International here, and for News Service of Florida here. 

You may not develop or derive for commercial sale any data in machine-readable or other form that incorporates or uses any substantial part of the Sites nor transfer to or store any data residing or exchanged over the Sites in any electronic network for use by more than one user unless you obtain prior written permission from GEMG.  Specifically, unless explicitly authorized in these Terms & Conditions or by the owner of the materials, you may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, translate, sell, create derivative works, exploit, or distribute in any manner or medium any material from the Sites.  For more information about requesting permission to reproduce or distribute materials from the Sites, click here.

Intellectual Property

GEMG and the Sites, and all other text and images contained on the Sites and in GEMG’s products are protected by United States trademark and copyright law and other applicable law and are the property of GEMG, except as otherwise identified. All copyrights and trademarks not the property of GEMG that are used or referred to in the Sites and GEMG’s products are the property of their respective owners. Nothing contained in the Sites or other products shall be construed as granting any license or other rights to any copyright, trademark, patent or other property of GEMG or any third party, whether by implication, laches, estoppel or explicit grant. Because the content is proprietary, any unauthorized use of materials on the Sites or other products may violate the law.  If you are a copyright owner and believe infringing material is present on any of the Sites, please refer to the procedures outlined below in the section titled “DMCA Copyright Infringement Claim Policy.”

GEMG’s products, including third party and licensed materials on the Sites, may not be modified, reproduced, republished, retransmitted, or displayed except for personal use. Any use for a commercial or public purpose requires specific written permission from GEMG.

User Submission Policy

Some of the Sites may allow users to upload, submit, and/or post images, text, video, profile information, comments, letters to the editor, e-mails, or other data and information (“User Submissions”).  By uploading, creating, or submitting User Submissions to or on the Sites, or to GEMG through any other means:

  • You affirm, represent and warrant that you own the right to utilize, to license and to sublicense the User Submissions;
  • You grant to GEMG, and anyone authorized by GEMG, a non-exclusive, worldwide, paid-up, royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual license, including right of sublicense, to use, copy, assign, display, distribute, perform, reproduce in whole or in part, and modify the User Submissions in any medium or any manner, in whole or part (whether now known or hereafter developed), without any restrictions to you, for the sole intended purpose of the Sites and/or services provided;
  • You grant to each user of the Sites a non-exclusive license to access the User Submissions through the Sites and to use, reproduce, distribute, display and perform such User Submissions as permitted through the functionality of the Sites and under this Agreement; and
  • You acknowledge and agree that GEMG may elect, without notice, to distribute or make available the User Submissions via RSS or other automated or programmatic means.
  • You acknowledge and agree that User Submissions may be permanently maintained on GEMG’s servers.  If you no longer wish for the User Submissions to be displayed on the Sites, please submit a written request to privacy@govexec.com, and we will stop displaying the referenced User Submissions as soon as reasonably practical.
  • You acknowledge that GEMG is not responsible for, and cannot prevent, the publication or use of your User Submissions by any third parties who copied your User Submissions during the time in which it was displayed on the Sites.

For any User Submissions you post that you do not own, you guarantee to us that you have the legal right to post such User Submissions and that it will not violate any law or the rights of any person or entity. IN OTHER WORDS, AND AMONG OTHER THINGS, YOU WILL NOT POST USER SUBMISSIONS ON THE SITES YOU DO NOT OWN WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE OWNER OF THE USER SUBMISSIONS, INCLUDING WRITTEN, PHOTOGRAPHIC, MUSIC AND VIDEO USER SUBMISSIONS.

Acceptable Use Policy

You are solely responsible for any and all acts and omissions that occur during or relating to your use of the Sites, and you agree not to engage in unacceptable use of the Sites, which includes, without limitation, use of the Sites to:

  • Harm or threaten to harm users or members of the general public in any way, or “stalk” or otherwise harass any other person or entity;
  • Post or transmit any User Submission that is unlawful, false or misleading, grossly offensive, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, pornographic, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable;
  • Disseminate or transmit “spam,” unsolicited messages, chain letters, any advertisements, solicitations, pyramid schemes, investment opportunities or other unsolicited commercial communication;
  • Purchase, sell, or offer to purchase or sell any equity or security or market instrument; provide information designed to manipulate any equity or security or market; or disseminate or transmit any material, non-public information about companies without authorization to do so;
  • Collect, use, or store any personally identifiable information about other users, or otherwise violate the personal privacy rights of others;
  • Impersonate any person or entity (including a Site agent, user, or moderator), or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
  • Post any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, or any other form of solicitation except in areas that are expressly designated by the Sites for such purpose;
  • Disseminate or transmit any User Submission that infringes or violates any party’s copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent or other proprietary right; or use or distribute third-party information (whether or not protected as a trade secret) in violation of a duty of confidentiality, fiduciary duty, or similar duty;
  • Violate any law (whether local, state, national, or international), whether or not intentionally;
  • Forge headers or otherwise intentionally disguise the origin of any content or communication; interfere with or disrupt the Sites, or servers or networks connected to the Sites; or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies, or regulations of networks connected to the Sites;
  • Make any User Submission related to partisan political campaigning or fundraising.
  • Express or imply that any statements you make are endorsed by us;
  • Modify, adapt, sub-license, translate, sell, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any portion of the Sites;
  • Obtain, copy, monitor, index or data mine through the use of a robot, spider, any automated device, or any manual process, the Sites or the contents (except as expressly permitted by GEMG);
  • Remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices contained in the Sites;
  • ”Frame” or “mirror” any part of the Sites; or
  • Engage in any other activity deemed by GEMG to be in conflict with the spirit or intent of this agreement or that might violate the rights of others or give rise to liability.

You understand that by using the Sites, you may be exposed to content that may offend you or challenge your beliefs. Your remedy is to avoid such content by discontinuing your access.

Comment Areas

GEMG allows website visitors to post comments on some sites (the “Comment Areas”).  For the avoidance of doubt, the Acceptable Use Policy and User Submission Policy set forth above are applicable to the Comment Areas. Comments and discussion on The-Atlas.com are governed by that site’s own Terms of Use.

The Comment Areas are designed to permit readers to share your ideas and opinions.  Information in the Comment Areas is provided by our staff and other contributors, some of whom use anonymous screen names and are people not otherwise connected with us.  You acknowledge that a large volume of information is available in the Comment Areas and that people participating in such Comment Areas occasionally post messages or make statements, whether intentionally or unintentionally, that are inaccurate, misleading or deceptive. GEMG neither endorses nor is responsible for such messages or statements, or for any opinion, advice, information or other utterance made or displayed in the Comment Areas by third parties. The opinions expressed in the Comment Areas reflect solely the opinion(s) of the participants and may not reflect the opinion(s) of GEMG. GEMG is not responsible for any errors or omissions in postings in the Comment Areas, for hyperlinks embedded in messages or for any results obtained from the use of such information. Under no circumstances will GEMG or its affiliates, be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on such information obtained through the Comment Areas or any other part of the Sites.

GEMG does not edit, modify, select, or designate specific recipients for any messages or other data entered into the Comment Areas or any other part of the Sites, except that (i) GEMG may consolidate and edit for clarity any User Submission posted to the Comment Areas, (ii) GEMG may inform registered users or third parties of particular content, ask for their response, or ask them to host discussions, and (iii) GEMG reserves the right to monitor the Comment Areas and to remove any information that GEMG, in its sole discretion, considers to be inappropriate or unlawful.

You acknowledge and agree that GEMG has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the Comment Areas and the materials you transmit or post; to alter or remove any such materials (including, without limitation, any posting to the Comment Areas); to disclose such materials and the circumstances surrounding their transmission to any third party in order to operate the Sites properly; to protect ourselves, our visitors, and the public; and to comply with legal obligations or reasonable governmental requests.

You acknowledge and agree that unless otherwise stated, all materials and information you post in the Comment Areas will be deemed to be provided to us on a non-confidential and non-proprietary basis.

Content and Non-Endorsement

Opinions and other statements expressed by users and third parties are theirs alone, not opinions of GEMG. Content created by third parties is the sole responsibility of the third parties and its accuracy and completeness are not endorsed or guaranteed. The Sites and third parties may provide links to web pages, web sites, and various resources or locations on the web. GEMG has no control over the information you access via such links, does not endorse that information, and shall not be responsible for it or for the consequences of your use of that information.

Use of RSS Feeds

Some of the Sites may provide an RSS feed (the “Feeds”). Individuals may use the Feeds free of charge - unless otherwise specified - for their personal, non-commercial use only. When using the GEMG Feeds, we ask that you provide attribution to the specific GEMG brand, including at a minimum a linked logo, a link that returns to the original URL and that you set the canonical tag to GEMG.  GEMG reserves the right to disable, to change, or to cease distribution of Feeds at any time, and reserves the right to require individuals to cease any and all use of the Feeds at any time for any reason. To request permission to make commercial use of the Feeds, please contact us at feedback@govexec.com.  GEMG will consider such submitted requests, but is not obligated to grant any specific permission request.

Use of Syndicated Content 

Some of the material available on the Sites is provided by third party content services, such as the Associated Press. By using the Sites you agree and acknowledge that (1) you will not publish, broadcast, or rewrite for broadcast or publication, or redistribute directly or indirectly in any medium any third party text, photo, graphic, audio, and/or video material, and (2) no third party materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. Third party content providers such as the Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in its materials or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part of its materials, or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. In addition to those set forth in this paragraph, the third party content providers  may impose other terms and conditions on the use of its materials.

Employment Opportunities

GEMG may post employment opportunities on the Sites and/or invite users to submit resumes to it. If you choose to submit your name, contact information, resume and/or other personal information to GEMG in response to employment listings, you are authorizing GEMG and its service providers to utilize this information for all lawful and legitimate hiring and employment purposes. GEMG also reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to forward the information you submit to its corporate parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, vendors and service providers for legitimate business purposes. Nothing in this Agreement or contained in the Sites shall constitute a promise by GEMG to interview, hire or employ any individual who submits information to it, nor shall anything in this Agreement or contained in the Sites constitute a promise that GEMG will review any or all of the information submitted to it by users.

DMCA Copyright Infringement Claim Policy

GEMG respects the intellectual property of others, and requires that our users do the same. You may not upload, embed, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that infringes any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights of any person or entity.  GEMG has the right to prohibit infringers from using our Sites.

If you believe your work has been copied and posted on or through the Sites in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please send GEMG’s Copyright Agent a notification of claimed infringement with all of the following information:

(a) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works;

(b) identification of the claimed infringing material and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material on the Sites (providing the URL(s) of the claimed infringing material satisfies this requirement);

(c) information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an email address;

(d) a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;

(e) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notification is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf; and

(f) your physical or electronic signature.

GEMG’s Copyright Agent for notification of claimed infringement can be reached as follows: General Counsel, Government Executive Media Group, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Suite 510, Washington, DC 20037, Phone: 202-739-8501, DMCA@govexec.com.

Upon receipt of a Notification of Copyright Infringement from a copyright owner that contains the required information described in (a) through (f) above, GEMG will notify the user, if known, of the alleged infringement and remove or disable access to the material that is alleged to be infringing if hosted on the Sites.  No personal user information is shared with the copyright owner unless required by law.

If GEMG receives more than one Notice of Copyright Infringement concerning a user, the user may be deemed a “repeat copyright infringer.” GEMG reserves the right to terminate the accounts of “repeat copyright infringers.”

Procedure to File a DMCA Counter-Claim

If you have received a notice of copyright infringement and you believe that a copyright holder has accused you in error, you may file a DMCA Counter-Claim with GEMG’s designated agent.

To be effective, a Counter-Claim must be a written communication provided to GEMG’s designated agent and must include the following information:

(a) A physical or electronic signature of the user;

(b) Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled;

(c) A statement under penalty of perjury that the user has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled; and

(d) The user’s name, address and telephone number, and a statement that the user consents to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if the user’s address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and that the user will accept service of process from the person who provided notification or an agent of such person.

Upon receipt of a DMCA Counter-Claim, GEMG will provide the complaining party with a copy of the DMCA Counter-Claim. When GEMG receives a Counter-Claim that meets the requirements of the DMCA, GEMG will process the Counter-Claim in accordance with the requirements of the DMCA.

Limitation of Liability and Us

GEMG has worked to ensure the accuracy of the information it provides through its products and services, including through the Sites. This information frequently relies on data obtained from many sources, however, and GEMG cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided or any analysis based thereon.

YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT THE USE OF GEMG’S PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, INCLUDING THE SITES, IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. SUCH PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS AND GEMG MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AND DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. GEMG DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE OR ERROR FREE. NO ADVICE, OPINION OR OTHER INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITES OR FROM GEMG, ORALLY OR IN ANY MEDIA, SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY FROM GEMG NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT.

EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE STATED, GEMG MAKES NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION REGARDING OF CONFIDENTIALITY OF ANY COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TRANSMITTED ON THIS SITES OR ANY WEBSITE LINKED TO THE SITES. YOU AGREE THAT NEITHER GEMG, NOR ANY OTHER PROVIDERS OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES RELATED TO THE SITES, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF ANY INFORMATION, (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION CREDIT CARD INFORMATION, PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION, INCLUDING EMAIL ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, ETC.), AND NEITHER GEMG NOR ANY OTHER PROVIDERS OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES RELATED TO THE SITES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES THAT MAY ARISE FROM DISCLOSURE OF SUCH INFORMATION.

GEMG AND ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONSULTANTS, AGENTS AND OTHER REPRESENTATIVES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE OR OTHER DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS OR COSTS OR ATTORNEY’S FEES, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO BREACH OF CONTRACT, BREACH OF WARRANTY, NEGLIGENCE, OR STRICT LIABILITY, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER GEMG WAS INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

IN STATES THAT DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF DAMAGES, GEMG’S LIABILITY, AND THAT OF ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES OR PARENTS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES, BUSINESS PARTNERS, INFORMATION PROVIDERS AND LICENSORS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE HEIRS AND ASSIGNS IS LIMITED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY SUCH STATES’ LAWS.

GEMG assumes no responsibility or liability arising from the content of the Sites nor for any error, defamation, libel, slander, omission, falsehood, obscenity, pornography, profanity, danger or inaccuracy contained in any information within the Sites or accessed through the Sites. GEMG also does not warrant that the functions or informational materials contained in or accessed or downloaded through our Sites are free of computer viruses or other harmful components. In addition, although we make a good faith effort to update the content of our Sites periodically, we do not have a duty to update information contained in our Sites, and we will not be liable for any failure to update such information.

The Sites make no representation that information content provided on Sites is applicable or appropriate for use in locations outside the United States. You agree to comply with all applicable laws and local rules regarding the transmission of technical data, acceptable contents and online conduct.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold GEMG, its affiliates, licensors, suppliers, advertisers and sponsors, and its and their directors, officers, employees, consultants, agents and other representatives, harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, costs (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) and other expenses that arise directly or indirectly out of or from (a) your breach of this agreement, including any violation of the Terms & Conditions; (b) any allegation that any User Submissions infringe or otherwise violate the copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property or other rights of any third party; and/or (c) your activities in connection with the Sites.

Special Agreement on Fee-Shifting and Choice of Law

If you attempt to bring any legal action against GEMG based in any way on its products or services, including the Sites, you agree that, in the event you do not prevail or GEMG does prevail, you will reimburse GEMG for any costs and attorneys fees associated with their defense of the action.

The use of the Sites and any claim or dispute relating to the Sites shall be governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflicts of law principles. Exclusive venue for any claim shall be in the state and federal courts located in the State of Delaware. Use of the Sites is unauthorized in any jurisdiction that does not affect all provisions of these Terms & Conditions, including without limitation this paragraph.

Severability

If any provision or portion of these Terms & Conditions is held in whole or in part to be unenforceable for any reason, the remainder of that provision and of the entire agreement will be severable and will remain in effect, to the fullest degree consistent with the intent of this document.