Intellectual Property Policy
(The effective date of this IP Policy is October 20, 2017)
Your intellectual property rights are important to us at WaterHaus Designs (“WaterHaus”). As described in the Terms of Use for the WaterHaus website, we do not tolerate intellectual property infringement nor the unlawful, threatening or obscene use of content or inappropriate conduct by site users. This document describes the WaterHaus policies regarding intellectual property (“IP”) rights and how you can notify WaterHaus if you believe that intellectual property rights have been violated.
We reserve the right to make changes to this policy at any time in the future. If we make material changes, we will post any amendments to the policy at that time. Your continued use of the WaterHaus website following such notification will constitute your acknowledgement and agreement to these policy changes.
1. Rules for User Conduct and Goods on the Website
The Site provides, among other things, a marketplace to allow consumers, designers and site visitors in general who comply with WaterHaus policies to buy select designer furnishings, home goods and other products (“Goods”) that are available on the website.
(i) WaterHaus owns or otherwise controls or has a license to all necessary rights and/or intellectual property rights for the items on the website unless otherwise noted. Or WaterHaus has sufficient rights and/or a license to use, modify and display the products and information contained on the website;
(ii) WaterHaus content does not knowingly violate any applicable laws, regulations, or Internet policies, nor violate, infringe or misappropriate the rights of any other person (including rights of publicity, rights of privacy and intellectual property rights);
(iii) The Content does not include solicitations for personal information of other users of the Site or advertisements or promotional materials for any products or services other than the Designer’s Goods that are listed for sale on the Site in accordance with WaterHaus’s policies; and
(iv) The Content does not contain malicious or disabling computer code, including viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, corrupted files, key logging software and/or bots for the purpose of data collection.
(b) WaterHaus Goods.
When WaterHaus lists Goods for sale in the Designer’s dedicated storefront on the Site, or otherwise provides descriptions to WaterHaus of the Goods to be sold to users directly through the Site, WaterHaus represents and warrants that:
- WaterHaus owns, or otherwise controls or has a license to all necessary rights to sell the Goods;
- WaterHaus Goods descriptions, the Goods, and the conduct in listing the Goods for sale do not violate any applicable laws, regulations, or WaterHaus policies, or violate, infringe or misappropriate the rights of any other person (including rights of publicity, rights of privacy and intellectual property rights); and
- WaterHaus Goods are not illegal, counterfeit or stolen.
2. Infringement and Objectionable Material Reporting and Response
If you have a good faith belief that your intellectual property rights have been violated by any content or materials that are available on the Site, or if you come across any offensive or objectionable materials on the Site that you believe violate this or any other WaterHaus policy, or any other law, please let us know by following the instructions below.
If we believe that any user or content on the Site is infringing any intellectual property rights of others, violating any of WaterHaus’s policies, or violating any other applicable laws, we may, without limiting any other options we may have, limit, suspend or terminate our services and accused user accounts, and remove, restrict or disable access to the Site or infringing or objectionable materials on the Site, or take any other action that we deem to be appropriate, in our sole discretion. We may, in our discretion in appropriate circumstances, suspend or terminate accounts of users that may be repeat infringers of intellectual property rights of others, and we reserve the right to do so for single instances of infringement as well.
3. How to Report Infringement and Offensive Content
(a) Reporting Suspected Copyright Infringement.
If you have a good faith belief that your copyrighted work has been used in a manner that constitutes copyright infringement, you may notify us by sending us a detailed written notice. This notice must be physically or electronically signed by the copyright owner or another person that is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed, and must include the following information:
- An 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.
- An identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled. Include information regarding the location of the infringing material that is sufficient to permit WaterHaus to locate the material. Providing URLs is the best way to help us locate content quickly.
- Your contact information, which should be reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you, and should include the name of the copyright owner and, if you are not the owner, your name and title. Please provide your address, telephone number, and, if available, an e-mail address at which you may be contacted.
- A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
- A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
(b) Reporting Intellectual Property Infringement and Objectionable Content.
If you have a good faith belief that your intellectual property rights (other than copyright) are being violated, or that any content or materials available on the Site violate your rights, any WaterHaus policy or applicable law, or if you are reporting offensive or objectionable content or conduct to WaterHaus, you may send us a written notice, describing in detail:
- The nature and location on the Site of the content or materials.
- The nature of your specific concerns about the content or material (for example, it is obscene, or it infringes on your trademarks or other proprietary rights).
- If you are reporting an infringement of your intellectual property rights, identify the source of the rights that you believe are being violated (for example, a trademark registration number or a patent number).
4. Contact Information for WaterHaus Designated Agent
All written notices described above should be mailed to WaterHaus Designs, to the attention of the following:
Susan Winchester
Susan@WaterHausDesigns.com
941.376.9155
Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy describes how WaterHaus handles personal information that we may collect from you in connection with your use of our website.
We value your privacy, and we welcome you to use and explore the WaterHaus site as an e-commerce resource. You are not required to submit personal information to gain access to nor browse the site. Any personal information that you choose to provide is handled in a secure, responsible and appropriate manner. By visiting or using the website, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
Notice to California Residents — Your California Privacy Rights
Effective January 1, 2005, California Civil Code Section 1798.83 (known as the “Shine the Light” law) provides that, if an individual who is a California resident has provided his/her personal information to a business in connection with a business relationship that is primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, and if that business has within the immediately preceding calendar year disclosed such individual’s personal information to a third party and knows or should have known that such third party used the information for its own direct marketing purposes, then that business is obligated to disclose in writing to such individual upon request, what personal information was shared and with whom the information was shared. A business may comply with this law by: (i) having EITHER a published privacy policy of not sharing a customer’s personal information for third-party direct marketing use unless the customer has first affirmatively opted in to such sharing, OR a published privacy policy of not sharing a customer’s personal information for third-party direct marketing use if the customer has opted out to prevent his/her personal information from being shared for third-party direct marketing use; and (ii) notifying the customer of his/her right to opt out and providing a cost-free means for the customer to exercise that right.
WaterHaus will not knowingly share any personal information collected on the Site with any third party to utilize in direct marketing uses outside of regular WaterHaus business. Please note that, under this law, we are not required to respond to your request more than once in a calendar year, nor are we required to respond to any requests that are not sent to the above designated email address.
Do Not Track Disclosure:
Effective January 1, 2014, the California Business and Profession Code Section 22575 requires that a commercial website operator disclose its privacy policy how the operator responds to Web browser “Do Not Track” signals that provide consumers with the ability to exercise choice regarding the collection of personal information about a consumer’s online activities over time and across third-party websites, if the operator engages in that collection. The WaterHaus Sites do not currently respond to “Do Not Track” signals of Web browsers. However, should the industry establish uniform technological standards for recognizing and interpreting “Do Not Track” signals, the WaterHaus Sites would be open to following such industry standards.
1. The Information We Collect and How We Use It
(a) Personal Information That You Provide. WaterHaus may collect the personal information that you voluntarily provide, which includes your name and email address, when you send us a message, register with the Site or subscribe to our newsletter.
- Contacting WaterHaus. If you choose to contact us through the Site, we will collect the data you provide to us voluntarily on the contact submission form, which includes your name and email address. We will use this information to respond to your inquiry.
- If you choose to sign up for our newsletters, we will collect the data you provide to us voluntarily on the online forms, which includes your name and email address. We will use this information to send you our weekly email newsletter. You also automatically sign up for our newsletter when you create an account with WaterHaus.
WaterHaus reserves the right to use a third party service provider to distribute our email and/or e-newsletter, and we may share your name and email address with that service provider for this purpose. By creating an account with WaterHaus or signing up for the newsletter, you consent to the sharing of that personal information you provide with our service provider. If you no longer wish to receive the e-newsletter and/or email, you may unsubscribe at any time by following the instructions contained in the email distributing the newsletter.
- Registration with WaterHaus. We will collect your credit card account information when you make an online purchase, your contact details and other business-related information that you provide to us voluntarily with that purchase. We will use this information to process purchase payments, and we may send email updates to members that choose to “follow” on the Site and/or social channels.
(b) Cookies; Aggregated Data That Is Automatically Collected. When you visit the Site, we automatically collect certain aggregate information about how our Sites are being used. This information may include your IP address, the date, time and pages that you visit on the Sites, and other information related to your visit and use of the Sites. Your information may be combined with the information of other users and we may use it to improve the Sites, learn more about how the Sites are being used, and provide you with more relevant advertising.
Like most websites, the Sites may place a “cookie,” or small text file, in the browser of a visitor’s computer. This cookie is stored on your computer and will assign you a unique number that allows WaterHaus to save information so that the information does not need to be re-entered by you. You can generally remove these cookies by following directions provided in your Internet browser’s “help” file and you can also configure your browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, or notify you when a cookie is set. If you choose not to allow us to place a cookie on your hard drive, you may be restricted from some pages and services on the Site.
We may also work with third parties, including Google, that place cookies or “web beacons” (electronic images placed in the code of a web page that monitor online traffic patterns) on the Sites. These companies collect and provide to us certain aggregate information about your visit to the Sites, including your IP address. This aggregated information, which we do not tie to your personal information, helps us operate our Sites and provide you a better experience. For more information about Google Analytics, and Google’s privacy policy, see http://www.google.com/intl/en/analytics/privacyoverview.html.
2. Sharing Your Information with Other WaterHaus Users
(a) If you choose to purchase a product directly through the Site, the transaction is processed and completed between you and WaterHaus. We are required to abide by all applicable privacy and data security laws as well as their own published privacy policies in processing, handling, using and storing your personal information (including any debit/credit card or payment account information).
3. Disclosure Of Your Personal Information With Third Parties
WaterHaus will not share your personal information with any third party without your permission, with except in the following circumstances:
- as set forth in this policy (for example, to our service providers);
- in response to a subpoena or when we are required to do so by law (for example, in response to a court order or other legal obligation);
- in response to a law enforcement agency’s request;
- to protect the security or confidentiality of our records;
- in special cases when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact, or take necessary action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with our or our users’ rights, or
- if WaterHaus goes through a reorganization (e.g., a merger into another organization), in which case you will be notified via an announcement on the Sites or otherwise, as we deem appropriate.
We may share your personal information with certain trusted third parties to help us operate the Site and improve our business or for marketing purposes. For example, we may use third parties to host our data and the personal information of our users, provide customer service, complete purchases, distribute our newsletter, and for other services necessary to operate the Site or that may provide you a better experience on the Sites. We use a third party payment processor in connection with our featured sales program and to process designer fee payments. If you choose to enter into a featured sales transaction or sign up with WaterHaus, your payment and, in the case of featured sales transactions, your shipping information (and any other information that may be required to complete the transaction) is provided directly by you to our service provider and will be used by our service provider to complete your transaction.
Personal information provided by you to our service provider is subject to that service provider’s privacy policy, which we do not control. We do not have access to the payment information that you provide to that service provider.
We do not control the privacy or security practices of third parties with whom your personal information is shared pursuant to this Privacy Policy, whether they are WaterHaus users or not. The Site may also contain links to third party websites, which are not controlled by WaterHaus and are not covered by this Privacy Policy. You are responsible for reviewing the privacy policies of all such third parties, and we recommend that you read these policies very carefully before disclosing your personal information to any third party, whether directly or indirectly.
4. Security of Your Information
WaterHaus uses reasonable precautions to protect your personal information and to store it securely. Your personal information will be stored on a third party server located in the United States and will be password-protected. The server on which we store personal information is kept in a reasonably secure environment, however, that no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure.
5. Collection and Use of Children’s Personal Information
You must be at least eighteen (18) years old to use the Site. We do not solicit any personal information from children. If you are under the age of eighteen (18) you may not use the Site.
7. Changes In This Privacy Policy
Our privacy policy may change in the future. We encourage you to review this page periodically to understand our policy regarding data collection and use of personal information, and to contact us at Susan@WaterHausDesigns.com if you have any questions or concerns. Your continued use of the Site constitutes your consent to the noted changes.
Terms of Use
(The effective date of the Terms of Use is October 20, 2017)
Welcome to the WaterHaus Internet websites, operated by WaterHaus, Inc. (“WaterHaus”, “we”, “us”). This Terms of Use Agreement (“Terms of Use” or “Agreement”) sets forth the legally binding terms and conditions that govern your use of the websites at www.waterhausdesigns.com (the website, including all data, the contents, computer code contained on or transmitted from these websites, and WaterHaus’s web-based, password protected Content Management System (CMS), are referred to hereinafter collectively as the “Site”) and the Services (as defined below) provided by WaterHaus on the Site. Please carefully read the terms and conditions set forth below before using the Sites and Services that we provide.
BY USING THE SITE IN ANY MANNER, INCLUDING BROWSING, REGISTERING AND LOGGING INTO THE SITE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD AND AGREE TO THE TERMS OF USE AND ALL OF THE TERMS, CONDITIONS AND POLICIES REFERENCED HEREIN, AND THAT YOU WILL PERIODICALLY CHECK THE POLICIES ON THE SITE FOR ANY UPDATES TO THE TERMS OF USE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, IT IS ADVISED THAT YOU DO NOT USE OR BROWSE THE SITE.
1. Use Of The Site
(a) WaterHaus Services. WaterHaus provides services through the Site, including but not limited to: (a) providing a marketplace to allow consumers, designers and general users who comply with the WaterHaus policies to buy at fixed prices select designer furnishings, home goods and other products (“Goods”; (b) offering sales of select Goods at fixed prices directly to individual users (“Featured Sales”); (c) marketing the professional design services of WaterHaus product designers and/or other design professionals under the sub-brand name SWD Style. WaterHaus Services are reserved strictly for use by persons eighteen (18) years of age and older that are: (a) individuals that create accounts with WaterHaus may wish to purchase Goods and (b) other individuals that may browse the Site (collectively “Users”).
(b) Access. You agree that WaterHaus shall have the right to control the terms of access to and use of the Site and all Goods, Services, and Materials contained therein that are transmitted through the Site. Unless expressly stated otherwise in writing, you are responsible for all payments and taxes associated with your purchases on the Site. WaterHaus reserves the right to revise or alter the Site, the Services or our Policies, including these Terms of Use at any time, and WaterHaus will post the amended Services, Policies or Terms of Use on the Site and/or notify you by announcement on the Site’s home page, by email, or by other means deemed to be appropriate. Your continued use of our Site and our Services after such notification will constitute your acknowledgment and consent to such changes. WaterHaus reserves the right to cease offering the Sites or the Services at any time.
2. User License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and provided that you have paid all applicable fees to WaterHaus for the use of the Sites and the Services and that you have not breached any provisions of this Agreement or any other policy of WaterHaus, WaterHaus grants to you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-sub licensable and non-transferable license to use the Sites, in object code only and on a single computer at any one time, as provided for in this Agreement. You may not copy, distribute, reverse engineer, display or create derivative works from the Sites or the contents thereof.
3. Ownership, Copyright and Trademark Notices
Subject to the rights of certain Designers in their original works, you agree that the Sites and its contents are WaterHaus’s property, and that WaterHaus retains all rights and title to them, including all copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secrets and all other intellectual property rights in the same. No rights to the Sites are granted to you except the limited license specifically granted in this Agreement and you agree that you shall not acquire any ownership or intellectual property rights in or to the Sites or other property owned by WaterHaus as a result of your use of the Sites or the Services.
The Site, its contents, and all materials contained therein are protected by copyright: Copyright © 2017 WaterHaus Designs LLC. All rights reserved.
The “look and feel” of the Sites and the contents thereof, including any of its color combinations, layout, and other graphical elements are protected by applicable United States and international intellectual property laws. Unless approved by WaterHaus in writing, you may not use any of WaterHaus marks or trade dress, including the elements that constitute the “look and feel” of the Site or any similar marks. Any alteration, modification, or change of any kind to the titles, patents, trademarks, copyrights or other proprietary notices by is strictly prohibited and constitutes a violation of WaterHaus rights, in intellectual property or otherwise.
4. No Unlawful or Prohibited Use
As a condition of your use of the Site, you agree to comply with all laws and Terms associated with use of the Site and Services that may be applicable to you, your business, our Goods or User Content at large. You acknowledge that your Content is subject to WaterHaus approval and may be removed by WaterHaus at its sole discretion. You also agree to comply at all times with WaterHaus policies, including our Privacy Policy, Intellectual Property Policy, and/or other policies that may be posted on the Site or otherwise provided to you by WaterHaus. Choosing to participate in any other special promotional offer or service that may be offered on the WaterHaus Site, you agree to be bound by any additional terms and/or conditions for special offers and services that may be associated with such promotions. These policies, Terms and Conditions may be modified from time to time in accordance with those Terms and are incorporated by reference into this Agreement. Proper usage of the Sites and the Services does not include, and you agree not to do any of the following when using the Site or the WaterHaus Services:
- Use the Sites or the Services to distribute unsolicited messages, advertising or promotional materials, or to collect information regarding other Users for those or any other purposes;
- Defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten, embarrass or otherwise violate, infringe upon or misappropriate the legal rights (including intellectual property rights and rights of privacy and publicity) of others;
- Engage in any conduct that is, or post, disseminate or submit to WaterHaus for posting on or sale through the Site any User Content or Goods that are illegal, counterfeit, stolen, obscene, vulgar, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, offensive, fraudulent, false or misleading, harmful to minors, or disparaging to us or our affiliates;
- Post or submit User Content or list Goods to WaterHaus listings for Goods to be offered for sale through the Site that contain images, text, code, photographs, software or other information protected by intellectual property laws, including but not limited to, trademark, copyright, trade secret or patent laws, unless you own or have the right to post or list them;
- Upload or submit to materials that contain, or use or disseminate malicious or disabling code, including viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, corrupted files, or bots, or any automated means of access or scraping, or take any action that imposes an unreasonable load on our infrastructure; or
- Create a false identity or misrepresent your identity for the purpose of willingly and intentionally misleading others.
This list is not definitive or complete but is intended to demonstrate some of the prohibited uses.
5. Creating an Account with WaterHaus
Creating an account to browse or make purchases on the Site is free. If you create an account with WaterHaus, you will provide certain personal information (like your name and email address). You must keep this account information current and accurate at all times. You hereby consent to the collection, processing and use of your personal information and to receiving communications from WaterHaus and/or affiliates and partners in accordance with the terms of the WaterHaus Privacy Policy. You also consent to WaterHaus sharing your personal information with third parties as necessary to process transactions using the Site or the Services and as otherwise described in the Privacy Policy.
You may be asked to create a unique username and password for an account, and you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the password and your account. You may only use your account, and you may not transfer your account to another User. You are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your username, and you agree to notify WaterHaus immediately of any unauthorized use of your account. You also agree that WaterHaus will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to keep your password and/or user/account information secure.