Website Terms of Use

Terms of Use

Sun Gro Horticulture (“Sun Gro”, “we”, “us”, “our”) owns and operates this website (growersgold.net) and related social media accounts (“Website”) as part of its “Ask a Gardener” program. These terms of use (“ASK Terms”) govern your access to and use of the Website and the materials (“Materials”) and services (“Services”) accessible through it and your participation in the Ask a Gardener program. These ASK Terms are supplemented by our general website terms (“General Terms”) and our privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) which are available at growersgold.net/privacy-policy and which also apply to your use of the Website. The Ask Terms, General Terms and Privacy Policy are collectively referred to as the “Terms” below.

Binding Agreement

Please read the Terms carefully. Together, they form a binding and enforceable agreement between you and Sun Gro (“Agreement”). BY ACCESSING, USING, VIEWING, TRANSMITTING, CACHING OR STORING THE WEBSITE OR ANY OF THE SERVICES, FUNCTIONS OR MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND TO THE TERMS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, DO NOT USE THE WEBSITE.

If you use the Website or any of the Materials or Services available through the Website on behalf of a third party, you represent and warrant to Sun Gro that you have the power and authority to bind that third party to this Agreement and all references to “you” or “your” and words of similar meaning will include that third party.

Modification of Terms

Sun Gro reserves the right to change the Terms at any time, without notice and in its sole discretion. You are responsible for regularly reviewing the Terms. Changes will be effective 30-days after they are posted on the Website. If you do not agree to any change in the Terms you must cease use of the Website and its Materials and Services. Your continued access to and use of the Website or any Materials or Services signifies your acceptance of this Agreement and the Terms, including as modified.

Ask a Gardener Program

The Ask a Gardener program is designed as a resource for information about Sun Gro products and services and a forum for users interested in horticulture to share knowledge with others and ask questions about growing plants with Sun Gro products. (For more information about Ask a Gardener, see growersgold.net/ask-a-garden-expert/. The Website includes blog posts on topics of interest, user stories and testimonials, tips and tricks for growing healthier plants, photos and other Materials. Some of the Materials on the Website are prepared by Sun Gro, some are prepared by Sun Gro partners, and some are contributed by users like you. While we have the right to review all content submitted, we have no obligation to do so and generally do not. As a result, we do not take any responsibility for the content presented by others and you need to exercise care when deciding whether to rely on or use information you find posted to the Website.

User Participation

As above, the Website and the Ask a Gardener program are intended as a forum where people interested in horticulture can share and obtain information. We encourage you to ask questions, share your experiences and contribute to the program and the Website. However, there are some rules you must follow as a condition to your use of the Website and participation in the Ask a Gardener program.

Using/Accessing the Website: As a condition to accessing or using the Website, Materials, or any Services, you may not and may not permit any other person to: (a) access or attempt to access the Website, Materials, or Services, except as expressly provided in the Terms; (b) access the Website, Materials, or any Services in any unlawful manner or in any other manner that could damage the Website; (c) use automated scripts to interact with the Website; (d) distribute, perform, display, sell, resell, lend, loan, lease, license, sublicense, transfer, or in any way exploit or make available any of the Materials or the Website, except as permitted in accordance with these Terms; (e) interfere with any security-related features of the Website, Materials, or Services; (f) reverse engineer, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive the method of operation of the Website, Materials, or Services; (g) submit content or post comments to the Website in violation of the Terms.

Setting up an Account: You do not have to set up an account (“Account”) to access or use most of the features, Materials and Services available through the Website. For example, you can read blog posts and product reviews, view Q & A, and download most Materials without having an Account. However, if you want to submit Materials, ask a question, or participate in chat, you will need to create an Account. You can do this by following the instructions at “Create an Account” [growersgold.net/ask-a-garden-expert/garden-questions-answered/]. When you create an Account, you will have an opportunity to indicate what information from your user profile is visible to other users of the Website, and other preferences. Information we collect from you when you create and use an Account (your name, email address, zip code, city, user name, password, interests, etc.) is subject to our Privacy Policy [growersgold.net/privacy-policy].

Asking and/or Responding to Questions: The Website contains a feature that permits you to ask us questions about our products and services. You can also ask questions about other horticultural topics, view questions and responses posted by others, and answer questions and post comments as part of the Q&A process. When doing so, you must comply with the Terms (including the terms applicable to Submitting Content and you should keep in mind that your questions/comments/responses will be visible by other users of the Website. This includes your user name and any part of your user profile you allow others to see via your Account settings. As a result, please review your Account settings carefully and take care not to include information in your post(s) or user submissions that you do not want others to see. Also, please do not include email addresses, web links, links to other products or services, or other commercial content in your post. By submitting a question or content, commenting on content submitted by us or others, or responding to a question, you authorize us to contact you in response to your post and give us the right to use your post as provided in “Submitting Content” below.

Commenting on Blogs: The Website includes blogs on various horticultural topics. Some of these are provided by us. Others are provided are provided by third parties. These blogs are intended only for personal, non-commercial use and may be subject to additional terms of use which you should review before commenting on them. You may not reproduce, forward or link to the blogs, except as expressly permitted in these Terms or the specific blog terms (if any). You may, however, post comments to the blogs as long as you follow the Terms and do not use your comments to promote your business/products/services or those of a third party. Please keep your comments on topic, relevant to the blog and, if your post includes any reference to any other product or service, you must indicate your relationship to the supplier and whether you receive any compensation from them. Keep in mind that your posts will be visible to other Website users. So, as above, do not include any information in your post you do not want others to see.

Submitting Content: In addition to comments and questions, you can submit photos, short videos, articles, and other materials to the “User Forum” portion of the Website. All submissions must comply with the Terms and submitting content does not guarantee that it will be posted. Specifically, and without limiting any other provisions of the Terms, the content you submit must not:

violate any requirements under applicable Laws, rules, and regulations;
contain libelous, defamatory, obscene, threatening, content or constitute an invasion of privacy;
infringe, misappropriate, or violate the intellectual property or other rights of any third party; or
be spam, part of a pyramid scheme, or part of a disruptive commercial message.

By submitting content, you represent and warrant that: (i) you have all rights necessary to do so; (ii) you grant us the rights to use the content as set forth in the Terms; and (iii) neither your submission nor our use of the content violates the rights of any third party. You further agree that we have the right to remove and/or refuse to post any content you provide that is posted to the Website without notice. You are exclusively responsible for all content you submit and/or generate through your access to and use of the Website and/or for your own use of any Materials or Services or other content available through the Website. Further, by submitting content to the Website you assume all risks and liability resulting from its use on the Website and/or its use by other users and agree to indemnify, defend and hold Sun Gro harmless from all claims that may arise from the content you submit, including any that arise from your violation of any applicable Laws or your breach of any representation, warranty or other provision of the Terms.

Participating in Chat and Newsgroups: The Website contains a feature that permits you to view and to communicate with other users of the Website in chat, newsgroups, and similar forums. This includes social media platforms, including Facebook. Your use of these Services is limited to sending and receiving messages and uploading content appropriate to the particular Service and is subject to the Terms and any additional terms applicable to those Services. We do not endorse, warrant the accuracy or reliability of, or assume any liability in connection with any content or messages accessed or transmitted using these Services or for any content submitted to the Website by users, including any that may be submitted through these forums.

Participating in Promotions: We may post banners, advertisements, promotions, and similar content throughout Website. If we offer promotions, they will be subject to additional terms and conditions to which you must agree before entering (“Promotions Rules”). The Promotions Rules are considered part of these Terms and therefore part of the binding legal Agreement between you and us. Please read any Promotions Rules carefully before entering.

License to Sun Gro: By submitting any content to the Website (including questions or answers as part of Q&A, comments on blog posts, content to the User Forum, chat or content submitted through any Sun Gro social features, or as part of a promotion) you give us the non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free, fully paid, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicenseable, and transferrable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, perform, transmit, and otherwise use the content you submit in any manner we deem beneficial to our business. You agree this includes the right for Sun Gro to make the content available to other users for their use in conformance with these Terms and to freely distribute it in electronic form and edit it to meet Sun Gro’s standards.

Attribution: When we display, reproduce or distribute copies of any content you submit to the Website, we will use reasonable efforts to credit your contribution. In doing so, we will use the name and city associated with your Account and, by submitting content, you agree that we may do so. You also represent that the information you have provided to us is true and correct. You acknowledge that if it is not we may, in our sole discretion, delete the content you have submitted and cancel your Account and your use of and access to the Website and any of its Materials.

Linking to the Website: The Website and its contents are protected by copyright and trademark, which means that you may not download, copy or reproduce any of the Materials on the Website or use any of our trademarks without our approval. However, you may establish a link to the Website, provided you comply with the following: (a) your link (and the linked page) does not state or imply any sponsorship or endorsement of your Website by Sun Gro or any group or individual affiliated with Sun Gro; (b) the linked site/page does not contain content that is libelous, defamatory, obscene, threatening, or an invasion of privacy; (c) you do not use any Sun Gro Materials or trademarks in establishing the link; (d) you do not link to the Website or any Materials for a commercial purpose; and (d) you do not frame or otherwise incorporate into another website the Materials on the Website without our prior written consent. In addition, if your linked page refers to pages on the Website that are provided by a third-party website, please link to the pages from which individual files are linked, rather than to the individual files themselves (including but not limited to PDFs, Power Points, word processed documents, images, or graphics). Such files should never be directly linked to or copied from the Website for use on another website, including a linked website.

Sun Gro Materials

The Website includes information about our products and services. It may also include Materials (such as presentations, publications, Q&A responses, and blog posts) on topics of interest prepared by employees and others who work for Sun Gro. All of this content is owned by Sun Gro and is protected by copyright. It is provided for informational purposes only and the opinions expressed in the Materials are those of the author and not of Sun Gro. This information, like the other content on the Website, is provided “AS IS”, without warranty of any kind and, as above, it may not be suitable to your specific use. If you have specific questions about our products, please consult the instructions accompanying the products or contact our help line at: 800-732-8667

Third Party Content and Linked Websites

The Website also includes advertisements and information about products and services from third parties and the Website, Materials, or Service may contain links to third-party websites (collectively, “Third Party Providers and Sites”). We do not warrant the accuracy of this content and its presence on the Website does not imply any endorsement or sponsorship of the person or company posting the information or the referenced products or services. We specifically disclaim all responsibility and liability for any content, services, or products available on or offered through Third Party Providers and Sites. In addition to the Terms, your access to and use of any Third Party Provider and Sites content, products or services available through the Website is subject to the applicable Third Party Provider terms, which may include payment of fees. Except as set forth in these Terms, the Third Party Providers and Sites’ terms will control your access to and use of content on the third party websites. Any interactions, correspondence, and business dealings that you have with any Third Party Providers and Sites are solely between you and the third party (including, without limitation, issues related to the content of third party advertisements, payments, delivery of goods, warranties, and the like). We do not control or endorse these websites, and if you access any Third Party Providers and Sites, you do so at your own risk.

Ownership of Materials

Our Materials: Unless otherwise noted, Sun Gro owns the copyright for all Materials available on the Website and through the Service, whether in print or electronic forms. Sun Gro also owns the copyright in the Website itself and all Sun Gro trademarks appearing on the Website. You may not use, reproduce, distribute, transmit, modify, or create derivative works of any Materials (either text, image, or audio) except as permitted by the Terms or otherwise as Sun Gro may agree in writing. Any use of the Materials or trademarks without Sun Gro’s permission violates the Terms, constitutes an infringement of Sun Gro’s rights, and is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Third Party Materials: As above, some Materials on the Website are provided to Sun Gro by third parties under license. These parties retain their copyright and have authorized Sun Gro to use the Materials on the Website. These Materials are subject to the same limitations on use as the Sun Gro Materials.

License: Provided you comply with all the Terms, Sun Gro grants you a limited, non-transferrable, non-sublicenseable, non-exclusive license to download the Materials for your own personal use. You may not make any commercial use of the Materials whatsoever or modify, distribute or create derivative works of them without Sun Gro’s express written consent. In addition, you may not remove, obscure or alter any notice of patent, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary right from any Materials available on the Website without our prior written authorization.

Assumption of Risk; Release

Informational Use: The Materials on the Website are for informational use. They are not intended to substitute for the sound professional judgment of a professional horticulturist or the instructions for use accompanying our products. Further, whether any information provided on the Website is appropriate to your use depends on a variety of factors specific to your intended use (plant genetics, temperature, moisture supply, radiant energy, soil aeration and structure, atmospheric conditions, biotic factors, supply of mineral nutrients, presence of growth-restricting substances, pests, plant diseases, etc.) You are solely responsible for evaluating the accuracy, completeness, and usefulness of the Materials to your intended use. Before using any of the information from the Website you may want to consult a professional familiar with your needs and conditions.

Assumption of Risk; Release: You agree that Sun Gro will not be liable, under any conditions and in any way, for any errors or omissions, losses or damages of any kind incurred as a result of use of any Materials or Services available through the Website. You hereby release Sun Gro from all claims you may have as the result of your use of any of the Materials or Services available through the Website and assume all risks associated with your access to and use of the Website and such Materials and/or Services, including any claims arising from downloading any Materials to your computer, termination of your Account, inability to access or use the Website, loss or damage to the content you submit or the information in your Account, and your reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any Materials or Services available through the Website.

Trademarks

All trademarks, logos, and service marks displayed on the Website are the sole and exclusive property of Sun Gro or their owners or affiliates. You are not permitted to use trademarks, logos, and service marks of Sun Gro without Sun Gro’s prior written consent. You must maintain in place all copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary rights notices contained on or in any copies of any Materials.

Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability

THE WEBSITE, MATERIALS, AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” SUN GRO DOES NOT CERTIFY OR GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR ADEQUACY OF THE WEBSITE OR ANY MATERIALS OR SERVICES AND DOES NOT RECOMMEND OR ENDORSE THE MATERIALS (INCLUDING DESCRIPTIONS OF TESTS, PRODUCTS, PROCEDURES, OPINIONS, PROFESSIONALS, OR OTHER INFORMATION) THAT MAY BE PROVIDED THROUGH THE WEBSITE. SUN GRO EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS OF ANY KIND WITH REGARD TO THE WEBSITE, MATERIALS, SERVICES AND OTHER SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS AGREEMENT, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

SUN GRO WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, HOWEVER CAUSED, UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OFFENSE (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE), ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH OR OUT OF THE USE OF THE WEBSITE, MATERIALS, OR SERVICES. IN JURISDICTIONS WHERE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES IS NOT PERMITTED, SUN GRO’S LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

Equitable Relief

You agree that Sun Gro has expended significant monetary resources to develop, maintain and host the Website, Materials, and Services, and that monetary damages would be inadequate to compensate Sun Gro for any violation of these Terms. Accordingly, you agree and acknowledge that any such violation or threatened violation will cause irreparable injury to Sun Gro and that, in addition to any other remedies that may be available, at law, in equity, or otherwise, Sun Gro will be entitled to obtain injunctive relief against the actual or threatened violation of these Terms without the necessity of posting a bond or proving actual damages to Sun Gro.

Termination and Suspension

Sun Gro may suspend or permanently terminate in its sole discretion your access to or use of the Website, the Services or any Materials, with or without notice to you, for any reason or no reason. Upon termination of your access: (a) all rights and licenses granted to you under these Terms will terminate; (b) you will immediately cease all use of and access to the Website and all Materials and Services (including, without limitation, all Materials you obtained prior to termination); and (c) Sun Gro may, in its sole discretion, delete any of your Materials which are held by Sun Gro. You are not permitted to return to the Website under another name or guise after termination and Sun Gro will be entitled to obtain injunctive relief if you violate termination or suspension by Sun Gro. If we suspend or terminate your Account or these Terms, you understand and agree that you shall receive no compensation for any content or data associated with your Account, or for anything else.

Privacy Policy

You expressly consent to the use and disclosure of your personal information and other data and information as described in the Sun Gro Privacy Policy [growersgold.net/privacy-policy]. Notwithstanding anything in the Privacy Policy, Sun Gro will have the right to collect, extract, compile, synthesize, and analyze non-personal information (information that does not identify a natural person) resulting from your access to and use of the Website, Materials, and Services. To the extent any such non-personal information is collected or generated by Sun Gro it will be solely owned by Sun Gro and may be used by Sun Gro for any lawful business purpose without a duty of accounting.

Enforcement

You agree that we may, without any limitation whatsoever: (a) investigate any suspected breaches of the Website security or our information technology or other systems or networks; (b) investigate any suspected breaches of the Terms; (c) involve and cooperate with law enforcement authorities in investigating any such matters; (d) prosecute violators of the Terms to the full extent of the Law; (e) delete or modify any Materials on the Website site, including any materials you may submit; and (f) discontinue this Website or terminate your access to it at any time, without notice, for any reason and without any obligation to you whatsoever.

Copyright

Sun Gro respects other’s intellectual property and requires its users do the same. If you believe that your work has been copied and is accessible on the Website or through a Service in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or that your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, you may request removal of the relevant material(s) (or access thereto) from the Website or the Service by contacting Sun Gro (contact information below) and providing the following:

Identification and description of the copyrighted work that you, the user, believe to be infringed, with a valid Website URL or an authorized version of the work that will allow Sun Gro to locate the material.
Your, the user’s, valid name, address, telephone number, and email address.
A statement that you, the user, have a good faith belief that the complained of use of the Materials is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the Law.
A statement that the information that you, the user, have supplied is accurate, and indicating that “under penalty of perjury” you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.
A signature or the electronic equivalent from the copyright holder or authorized representative.

Please email Sun Gro at info@sungro.com for copyright issues relating to this Website, any Materials, or any Service, or contact Sun Gro at:

Sun Gro Horticulture

770 Silver Street, Agawam, MA, 01001

United States of America

1-800-732-8667

www.sungro.com

Disputes

The Terms and any and all disputes, issues, controversies or matters arising herefrom, related hereto, or otherwise arising from or related to the Website, shall be governed by and construed exclusively in accordance with the laws and decisions of the State of Washington, without giving effect to its choice of law or conflict of law provisions. You agree that the state and federal courts sitting in Seattle, Washington shall be the exclusive forum and situs for the resolution of any and all disputes, issues, controversies or matters arising herefrom, related hereto, or otherwise arising from or related to the Website, and that any such disputes, issues, controversies or matters shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action. You hereby consent to personal jurisdiction and venue in Seattle, Washington and service of process by certified mail. If any part of this Paragraph is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the Terms and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.

General

These Terms are the complete and exclusive understanding and agreement between Sun Gro and you (“The Parties”), and supersedes any oral or written proposal, agreement or other communication between you and Sun Gro regarding your access to and use of the Website, Materials, and Services. Except as set forth herein, these Terms may only be amended or modified by a written agreement signed by you and Sun Gro. The waiver or breach of any provision of these Terms will not operate or be interpreted as a waiver of any other terms or subsequent breach. If any provision of these Terms is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unenforceable, such provision will be changed and interpreted to accomplish the objectives of such provision to the greatest extent possible under applicable law and the remaining provisions of these Terms will continue in full force and effect. You agree that nothing in these Terms will be construed as creating an employer-employee relationship, a partnership, or a joint venture between you and Sun Gro. You may not assign or delegate, whether by operation of law or otherwise, these Terms or any of your rights or obligations under these Terms to any third party without the prior written consent of Sun Gro. Any assignment in violation of the foregoing will be null and void and will be considered a breach of these Terms.

^® Fafard, Sunshine Advanced, Sunshine, Our Expertise is Growing, All the Riches of the Earth, RESiLIENCE and Sun Gro are registered trademarks of Sun Gro Horticulture Canada Ltd.

^® Black Gold is a registered trademark of ODIN Enterprises II, LLC. Used under license.