In The Red Blog Legal Notices and Terms of Use

IMPORTANT: Please read these Legal Notices and Terms of Use (these “Notices and Terms”) carefully before accessing this blog.

These Notices and Terms create a legal agreement between you (“You”) on the one hand, and Robert L. Eisenbach III (“Blogger”) and Cooley LLP (“Cooley”) on the other hand (Eisenbach and Cooley collectively, “Blog Publisher”), that governs: (1) the information of Blogger or Cooley (the “Information”) made available through this blog; (2) the nature of the relationship between You and the Blog Publisher; (3) certain other matters of professional responsibility; (4) the Blog Publisher’s use of Your information gathered by it through this blog; and (5) Your use of this blog, related systems, and the Information (collectively, the “Blog”).  By accessing any portion of the Blog, You are indicating that You have read and understood, and that You assent to be bound by, these Notices and Terms, which may be amended from time to time by the Blog Publisher pursuant to the terms herein.  If You do not agree to these Notices and Terms, You are not permitted to access the Blog.

1.   No Legal Advice

The Information is made available for general informational purposes only, and is not intended to constitute specific legal advice or to be a substitute for advice from qualified counsel.  Without limiting the foregoing, the Information may not reflect recent developments in the law, may not be complete, and may not be accurate in or applicable to Your jurisdiction.  Because the Information is general in nature and may not pertain to Your specific circumstances, You should not act or refrain from acting based on any Information without first obtaining advice from professional counsel qualified in the applicable subject matter and jurisdictions.

2.   No Attorney-Client Relationship

The Blog Publisher has a policy of entering into attorney-client relationships with clients only in accordance with certain procedures which include executing an engagement letter and addressing professional responsibility conflicts as required by the Bar Associations of the states in which Cooley maintains an office.  You agree that Your access to the Blog or receipt of the Information, or Your transmission of electronic mail to addresses on the Blog, does not create an attorney-client relationship between You and the Blog Publisher.

3.   Other Matters of Professional Responsibility

3.1    No Advertising or Solicitation.  The Blog is not intended to be an advertisement or solicitation, but may be deemed an ADVERTISEMENT in certain jurisdictions.

3.2    Sensitive Communications.  You agree that electronic mail sent by You to the Blog Publisher will not be treated as confidential or invoke an attorney-client privilege; provided, however, that if You are an existing client of Cooley and You send an electronic mail to Cooley pertaining to a matter in which Cooley then represents You, such electronic mail may be entitled to be treated as confidential or privileged.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, You acknowledge that electronic mail and the Internet are generally insecure media of communication, and the Blog Publisher cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any electronic mail sent to or received by it or any information submitted by You to the Blog Publisher through the Blog.

3.3    Authorized Jurisdictions; Certifications.  While Cooley practices law in the jurisdictions in which its offices are located as well as other jurisdictions, Eisenbach and each Cooley attorney is licensed to practice only in those jurisdictions set forth in that attorney’s biography on www.cooley.com.  Except as specifically stated, Eisenbach and each Cooley attorney is not certified (including as a specialist) by any professional or government authority.  The listing of Eisenbach or other Cooley attorneys in practice groups is not intended to indicate any professional or governmental certification.

3.4    Principal Office; Responsible Attorney.  To the extent the requirements of the Bar Association in Your jurisdiction require such designation: Cooley’s principal office is its Palo Alto office and Eisenbach’s principal office is Cooley’s San Francisco office. Eisenbach is the responsible attorney for the Blog.

3.5    No Warranty of Results.  The Information may contain descriptions of matters in which the Blog Publisher successfully represented clients.  The results of these matters were dependent on their specific circumstances, and are in no way intended to be predictive of future results, even in similar circumstances, or offer any type of guarantee or assurance of outcome.  Information pertaining to clients may not reflect the opinions such clients.

4.    Privacy

With respect to information submitted or collected on the Blog, You accept the Blog Publisher’s privacy policy as set forth in this Section 4.  This Section 4 does not pertain to, and neither Eisenbach nor Cooley is responsible for, the privacy practices of, any third party websites to which the Blog hyperlinks.

4.1    Activity Logging.  When You use the Blog, which may be hosted in part or its entirety by a third party, the Blog will collect information indirectly and automatically (through, for example, the use of “cookies” or Your “IP address”) about Your activities.  The Blog Publisher uses this activity information (the “Activity Information”) for internal purposes such as to administer the Blog, improve the Blog, and help the Blog Publisher understand how the Blog is being used including the demographics and “clickstreams” of its visitors.  “Cookies” are small pieces of information stored on Your hard drive, not on the Blog.  You are always free to decline cookies if Your browser permits, but in that case, some portions of the Blog may not operate properly.  An “IP address” is a number that is automatically assigned to Your computer when You use the Internet.

4.2    Personally Identifiable Information.  The Blog is designed so that You may generally browse it without providing any Personally Identifiable Information (defined below).  Certain areas of the Blog, however, may require or allow the voluntarily submission of Personally Identifiable Information (for example, registration to receive email or other publications).  The Blog Publisher uses Your Personally Identifiable Information for the purposes for which it was submitted by You to the Blog Publisher and for the Blog Publisher to send you publications and invitations that may be of interest to you.  Except as otherwise set forth in this Section 4, the Blog Publisher does not share Your Personally Identifiable Information with third parties.  “Personally Identifiable Information” means information that would allow someone to identify or contact You, such as Your name, physical or electronic mail address, and telephone number; provided, however, that Personally Identifiable Information does not include aggregated information that, by itself, does not permit the identification of individual persons and does not include the Activity Information.

4.3    Removal of Personally Identifiable Information.  The Blog Publisher will use reasonable efforts to remove Your Personally Identifiable Information from our then current Blog at any time upon Your written request to reisenbach@cooley.com.  Such removal of Personally Identifiable Information will not ensure the permanent removal of such Personally Identifiable Information from the Blog.  For example, such Personally Identifiable Information may remain in archival or backup copies of the Blog.

4.4    Additional Disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information.  The Blog Publisher may share Personally Identifiable Information with third parties, including affiliated firms and third parties performing services for or on behalf of the Blog Publisher.  Such services may include communications, database, event management, hosting, mailing, and marketing services.  Additionally, the Blog Publisher cannot fully ensure that Your Personally Identifiable Information will not be disclosed to third parties.  For example, the Blog Publisher may be legally obligated to disclose information to the government or third parties under certain circumstances, third parties may circumvent the Blog Publisher’s security measures to unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications, or an error may occur in the administration of the Blog.  In the unlikely event that the Blog Publisher needs to investigate or resolve possible problems or inquiries, the Blog Publisher may, and You authorize the Blog Publisher to, disclose any information about You to government officials as permitted by applicable law.

4.5    Miscellaneous Privacy Terms.  The Blog Publisher and its technical vendor has implemented and follows appropriate technical measures to protect against the risks of unauthorized access to, erroneous disclosure of, and unlawful interception of Personally Identifiable Information.  You should know, however, that the Blog Publisher cannot fully eliminate such risks.  The Blog Publisher trusts that this Section 4 clarifies the Blog Publisher’s procedures regarding its collection, use and disclosure of Your information including Personally Identifiable Information.  From time to time, the Blog Publisher may modify this Section 4.  Such modifications will be effective on the date that the Blog Publisher posts the modified statement to the Blog.  Questions or concerns regarding the privacy policy in this Section 4 may be submitted to reisenbach@cooley.com.

5.    General Terms of Use

5.1    Prohibited Uses.  You will not use the Blog in violation of any applicable law.  Without limiting the foregoing, You will not use the Blog in connection with (a) the infringement of intellectual property rights including Eisenbach or Cooley’s rights in its marks and its articles and alerts; (b) the unauthorized transmission of unsolicited commercial electronic mail; (c) the transmission of defamatory materials; or (d) fraud.  You will not violate, attempt to violate, or knowingly facilitate the violation of the security (including access control or authentication systems) or integrity of the Blog.

5.2    Copyright in Information.  The Blog including the Information is protected by United States and international copyright laws.  All rights are reserved.  Subject to the terms of these Notices and Terms, the Blog Publisher grants to You a limited, nonexclusive, personal license to access, view, download and print the Information solely for noncommercial and informational purposes.  You may not modify the Information in any way and You may not remove or obscure any copyright or permission notices provided on or in connection with the Information.  Eisenbach and Cooley do not grant to You any rights in his or its respective marks.  You are free to hyperlink to any page in the publicly available pages of the Blog; provided, however, that You agree to remove any such hyperlink upon Eisenbach or  Cooley’s written request.

5.3    Electronic Mail.  Subject to Section 5.1, You may send electronic mail to those addresses made available on the Blog for the purposes of requesting alerts or other news notification services, submitting comments, responding to or making inquiries regarding Cooley events, requesting information regarding Eisenbach, and Cooley or legal or other services offered by Eisenbach or Cooley.  You agree to cease sending electronic mail to Eisenbach or any Cooley address upon Eisenbach or Cooley’s request.

5.4    No Warranties.  THE BLOG IS PROVIDED TO YOU “AS IS.”  YOUR ACCESS AND USE OF THE BLOG IS AT YOUR OWN RISK.  TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY THE LAW AND RULES OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE APPLICABLE JURISDICTION, EISENBACH AND COOLEY DISCLAIM ALL CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, ACCURACY OF INFORMATIONAL CONTENT, SYSTEM INTEGRATION, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE OPERATION.

5.5    Disclaimer of Liability.  TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY THE LAW AND RULES OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE APPLICABLE JURISDICTION, EISENBACH AND COOLEY DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INCOME, LOST BUSINESS, OR LOST DATA, OR FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE BLOG.

5.6    Third Party Information.  The Blog may hyperlink to or otherwise make third party information available on the Blog.  This is done solely for the purposes of convenience.  The Blog Publisher does not endorse or approve of any such third party information or such third parties.

5.7    Miscellaneous.  You agree that any dispute arising out of or in connection with the Blog or these Notices and Terms will be governed by the laws of the State of California without reference to conflict of laws principles that would require the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction, and You submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in San Francisco County, California.  In the event that You gain access to information not intended to be accessed by You, You agree that You will immediately notify the Blog Publisher and lawfully destroy all copies of such information in Your possession.  The Blog Publisher may be contacted at reisenbach@cooley.com.