TheDigitizeCenter.com Terms of Use and Service (“Agreement”)

General

The Digitize Center (“The Digitize Center,” “we,” “us,” “TDC,” or “our”) oversees the website, TheDigitizeCenter.com (“Site”) and related services (collectively, our “Services,” further explained the next paragraph).  By placing an order to purchase our Services (an “Order”), you (“Buyer,” “you,” or “your”) agree to these Service Order Terms and Conditions (“Service Order Terms”).

The Digitize Center agrees, on a non-exclusive basis, to provide Services to Buyer, and Buyer shall, on a non-exclusive basis, purchase the Services from us.  For purposes of clarity, Buyer understands that The Digitize Center receives from Buyer various personal items, including but not necessarily limited to personal (home-made) movies, film reels, photos, tapes, and audio recordings (“Materials”).  The Digitize Center takes the Materials, organizes, enhances, and digitizes them (“Digitized Materials”) and saves the Digitized Materials onto a USB flash drive, a DVD, or a server in the cloud.  The Digitize Center offers customer service and various communications with each Buyer during the entire process.  Additionally, The Digitize Center provides tracking information to the Buyers.  All of the foregoing services provided by The Digitize Center are understood variously and collectively as the “Services.”

When a Buyer makes an Order, The Digitize Center will send the Buyer a Confirmation e-mail with an order number (“Order Confirmation”), detailing the Materials provided and Services to be performed.  For purposes of clarity, the Buyer agrees and acknowledges that these Service Order Terms prevail over any terms or conditions contained in any Order Confirmation, or other documentation, and these Service Order Terms expressly exclude any terms or variations issued by Buyer whether orally or in writing before, during, and after the provision of Services. 

By making an Order, Buyer is making an offer to purchase the Services and the Digitized Materials.  The Digitize Center has the right, in its sole discretion, to accept or reject any Order. TDC may, in its sole discretion without any liability to Buyer, cancel any individual Order or transaction request if:  (1)Buyer violates its obligations under the Service Order Terms or the Website Agreement; (2) Buyer fails to perform its payment obligations; (3) Buyer falsely accuses The Digitize Center of misplacement, destruction, loss, or damage; or (4) for any other reason for which The Digitize Center determines, in its sole discretion, that it will not fulfill the Order.

Unlawful Order Submissions and/or Materials

By submitting an Order, you represent and warrant the following to The Digitize Center: (a) no Materials submitted to The Digitize Center are submitted in violation of any copyright laws; (b) any Materials submitted were either created by you, you have the right to permit The Digitize Center to perform duplication and/or digitization services, or you have the permission of the copyright owner to duplicate or digitize the submitted Materials; and (c) no Materials submitted are libelous, obscene, offensive, threatening, defamatory, abusive, hateful, or otherwise violate state or federal law or the rights of a third party.

Furthermore, you agree and acknowledge that due to the volume of its operation, The Digitize Center cannot fully inspect all the information within the Materials submitted to it.  However, there are instances in which The Digitize Center may discover that the transmission of information to TDC, the content of such information, and/or your specific request for services with regard to such information within the Materials violates state and/or federal law.  In the event of such discovery, TDC will take any and all steps necessary to comply with its own obligations under applicable law, including, but not limited to, reporting to and complying with relevant authorities.

Risk of loss: Shipping

The Digitize Center does not provide any services related to shipment of the Materials or Digitized Materials to or from its offices.  For this reason, any Services purchased from The Digitize Center are made pursuant to a shipment contract.  This means that the risk of loss for your Materials passes to The Digitize Center only when the Materials arrive at our offices, and the risk of loss passes back to you when we deliver your Materials and/or Digitized Materials to the shipping carrier (FedEx, USPS, or other common carrier).  BY SHIPPING ANY MEDIA TO THE DIGITIZE CENTER, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE DIGITIZE CENTER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LATE, LOST, DAMAGED OR MISDIRECTED MAIL.

Return policy

The Digitize Center accepts returns within thirty (30) days of completion of an Order. An Order is completed (and the thirty (30) days starts) from the date TDC hands a product to the shipping carrier for shipment to you. Though we are not obligated to do so, we sometimes take returns past the thirty (30) day window at our sole discretion. If you believe you are entitled to a return even though the thirty (30) days has run, please contact us to let us know.

Occasionally, Materials may arrive at our offices in an unplayable or defective condition.  If that happens, we will provide a review of the Materials, a re-transfer of the Materials, or pay the shipping to return the Materials to you (as conditions allow).  We do not charge any additional fees for review, return shipment, or re-transfers.

If all Materials are not transferrable due to age, fragility, format, damage, or any other condition we are not responsible for, a refund of the transfer price will be provided to you, and, if possible, your original Materials will be returned.  In that case, though, TDC does not cover the cost of shipping a return order back to our facilities.

Risk of Loss: Missing, Damaged, Misplaced, or Mismatched Materials

The Digitize Center understands and appreciates the sentimental value of your Materials.  Helping our Buyers preserve their previous memories and enjoy their Materials through our digitization Services is of paramount importance to us.  It is possible a Buyer might allege that TDC has misplaced an item the Buyer purportedly included in the Buyer’s Materials, that TDC has damaged or destroyed Buyer’s Materials, or that TDC has placed someone else’s Materials within Buyer’s Materials or Digitized Materials.  Every once in a while, we become aware that a Buyer thinks he or she has sent more Materials to TDC that it actually did send, only to realize the allegedly missing Materials are still at home with the Buyer. 

We take care to handle all Materials that we receive with due care in a commercially reasonable manner.  That said, no system is perfect, and you acknowledge that we might misplace or mismatch your Materials.  It is also possible that your Materials might become damaged during the digitization process.  This can happen through no fault, or negligence, of our own, particularly when the Materials you have sent to us are old media files that have already begun decaying before we have received them.

YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS INHERENT RISK IN SUBMITTING YOUR MATERIALS TO THE DIGITIZE CENTER, AND YOU RECOGNIZE THAT YOU MAY NOT RECEIVE YOUR MATERIALS BACK, AND/OR YOU MAY NOT RECEIVE YOUR MATERIALS BACK IN THE SAME CONDITION THAT THEY WERE SENT TO US.  BY PLACING AN ORDER WITH THE DIGITIZE CENTER, YOU ACCEPT THIS RISK.

If you send us a notification letting us know that you believe we have misplaced, damaged, or mismatched your Materials, after they were received by us and in our possession, we will review your notification carefully (a “Notification of Loss”).  Failure to provide TDC with a Notification of Loss within thirty (30) days of your receipt of your Materials and Digitized Materials as returned to You shall be deemed a waiver of your right to file a Notification of Loss and shall conclusively demonstrate your acceptance of the Materials and Digitized Materials as returned to You.

You agree to be bound by our review and determination.  As further outlined below, The Digitize Center makes no warranty and disclaims all potential liability, with regard to all aspects of our Services in the handling of your Materials.

We may determine that we never received your Materials; that we did not cause damage to your Materials; or that the damage to your Materials during the digitization process was through no fault of TDC.  We may also determine that we have an obligation to you.  Once we have made our determination, we will provide a response to your Notification of Loss.  Depending on the situation, we may also choose to replace your Material(s) by offering you an equivalent type of blank media, or the cost of such blank media.  We may choose to issue a refund for your Order; we may choose to compensate you for loss or damage; or we may decline, entirely, to issue a refund or provide any compensatory monies. 

In the event that we have provided you with mismatched Materials, you agree to return the mismatched Materials to us within fifteen (15) days of your receipt of the return shipping instructions. The costs of shipping will be paid by TDC. 

IN ANY CASE, YOU AGREE TO ACCEPT THE RISK OF SENDING YOUR MATERIALS TO US, AND FURTHER, YOU HEREBY AGREE TO BE BOUND TO OUR DETERMINATION AND ASSESSMENT OF YOUR NOTIFICATION OF LOSS.  You agree that you will not disparage, libel, or defame The Digitize Center, and you agree that you will not take any steps to cause reputational damage to our business in contravention of any state or federal laws preventing tortious interference with a business.

Access to Your Digitized Materials Online

In certain circumstances, we may choose to make your Digitized Materials available to you by providing you with a link to your Digitized Materials, which may be hosted in a cloud environment online, in which case we might use a third-party provider to facilitate this Cloud Digital Delivery (including by way of example, Dropbox, Google or Amazon) (collectively, the foregoing service is understood as “Cloud Digital Delivery”).

In the event that we make your Digitized Materials available through Cloud Digital Delivery, you acknowledge and agree that TDC does not control the online hosting environment, its security, its authenticity, or its integrity.  You further acknowledge and agree that TDC has no responsibility or control over the Cloud Digital Delivery service, and TDC shall bear no liability for anything that might happen to your Digitized Materials therein.  You agree to hold harmless TDC for any actions related to your Digital Materials in any way, whatsoever, with respect to the Cloud Digital Delivery, including but not limited to, any loss, destruction, corruption to the Digitized Materials, as well as any unavailability, lack of access, or irretrievability that you might experience if your Digitized Materials are offered through Cloud Digital Delivery.

Our Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICES, MATERIALS, AND DIGITIZED MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. 

THE DIGITIZE CENTER, TOGETHER WITH ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AGENTS, AND REPRESENTATIVES, HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTIES’ RIGHTS, AND THE WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES WHETHER ARISING OUT OF LAW, STATUTE, COURSE OF DEALING, TRADE USAGE, OR ANY OTHER RELATIONSHIP.  WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND REGARDING THE SERVICES, THE MATERIALS, THE DIGITIZED MATERIALS, AND/OR ANY OTHER SERVICES OR PRODUCTS THAT WE PROVIDE.  WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, COMPLETENESS, QUALITY, FUNCTIONALITY, TIMELINESS, SPEED, OR ACCESSIBILITY OF ANY SERVICES, MATERIALS, DIGITIZED MATERIALS, OR OTHER PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE.  WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES, MATERIALS, DIGITIZED MATERIALS, OR OTHER PRODUCTS AND SERVICES WILL BE COMPLETE, WITHOUT DEFECT, ACCURATE, INTACT, UNDAMAGED, ERROR-FREE, OR VIRUS-FREE. TO THE EXTENT ANY JURISDICTION DOES NOT PERMIT US TO DISCLAIM WARRANTIES IN THESE WAYS, WE DISCLAIM WARRANTIES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

Limitation of Liability

TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU HEREBY RELEASE THE DIGITIZE CENTER, TOGETHER WITH ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AGENTS, AND REPRESENTATIVES, FROM ALL LIABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES AND YOUR RECEIPT OF THE MATERIALS AND DIGITIZED MATERIALS.

You acknowledge that you are responsible for any actions you take in placing an Order with us.   You recognize that placing an Order with us and sending us your Materials are taken solely at your own risk.

IN NO EVENT WILL THE DIGITIZE CENTER, OUR DIRECTORS, OUR OFFICERS, OUR EMPLOYEES, OUR CONTRACTORS, OUR AGENTS, OR OUR REPRESENTATIVES BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY OR UNDER ANY EQUITABLE THEORY ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR ORDER, THE SERVICES, THE MATERIALS, THE DIGITIZED MATERIALS, AND ANY OTHER SERVICES OR PRODUCTS PROVIDED BY THE DIGITIZE CENTER, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, CLINICAL OUTCOMES, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE. THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY LIABILITY WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.  NO CAUSE OF ACTION, REGARDLESS OF FORM, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE OR THE SERVICES MAY BE BROUGHT BY YOU MORE THAN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER SUCH ACTION HAS ACCRUED. 

Indemnification

You will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless The Digitize Center, our licensors and affiliates, and our and their respective directors, officers, employees, contractors, agents, and representatives, from and against any and all claims, causes of action, demands, liabilities, losses, costs, or expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses) arising out of, in connection with, caused by or resulting from:

1. your placement of an Order, your submission of Materials, and your communications with The Digitize Center;
2. your violation of any of the provisions of these Service Order Terms;
3. any activity related to your accessing the Services, including, without limitation, negligent or wrongful conduct; or
4. your violation of any third-party right, including, without limitation, any intellectual property right, publicity, confidentiality, property, or privacy right.

For purposes of clarity, these indemnification obligations apply to you and your Order for our Services.  We reserve the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will cooperate with us in asserting any available defenses.

Force majeure

If any loss, damage, delay, or non-performance is a result of acts of God, or natural disaster or catastrophe; pandemic, virus, plague, disease, or quarantine; war, invasion, other hostilities (including acts of terrorism), rebellion, or any other materially disruptive military or political event; embargo or labor dispute; power failures or other disruptions to services and utilities on which TDC relies (including but not limited to, any outage in hosting services provided by a third-party host for TDC online services); or any other unforeseen and external occurrence for which TDC is not responsible and could not predict which is required for the performance of its obligations, then TDC will not be not be liable for any such loss, damage, delay, or non-performance of services to the full extent excused under applicable law.

Non-assignable

Your rights and obligations under these Terms of Use are not assignable to any third party—neither voluntarily or by operation of law—without the prior written consent of The Digitize Center. Any assignment or purported delegation by you without TDC’s written consent will be null and void and of no force or legal effect.

Choice of law

This contract is to be governed at all times by the laws of the State of Illinois applicable to agreements made and to be wholly performed within that state, without regard to its conflict of laws provisions or the conflict of laws provisions of any jurisdiction that would cause the application of any law other than those of the State of Illinois.

Arbitration & choice of forum

Any dispute or claim relating in any way to your use of TDC’s services, or your visit to the Site, will be resolved by binding arbitration rather than in court. You agree that the arbitration will occur before a single arbitrator. You also agree that both parties will be responsible for their own costs and attorney’s fees, unless the claim is frivolous, in which case the arbitrator shall award attorney’s fees.

There is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is limited. An arbitrator can, however, award the same damages and relief as a court on an individual basis, and an arbitrator will follow and apply these Terms of Use as a court would.

To begin an arbitration proceeding, you must send a letter requesting arbitration and describing your claim to our registered agent at The Digitize Center, Attn: ARBITRATION, 503 Sagebrush Ct., Lake Villa, Illinois, 60046. The arbitration will be conducted by ta to be determined agency.

You agree that, if possible under all relevant rules, the arbitration will occur in the State of Illinois, near the city of Lake Villa.

Disputes as Individuals; Class Action Waiver

You and The Digitize Center both agree that any dispute resolution proceedings, whether judicial or arbitrated, will be conducted only on an individual basis, and not in a class nor any other consolidated or representative action.  YOU AND WE BOTH HEREBY EXPRESSLY WAIVE EACH OF OUR OWN RIGHT(S) TO BRING CLAIM(S) AGAINST THE OTHER AS A CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION, WHETHER A CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT, CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION, OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY-GENERAL ACTION(S), OR ANY SIMILAR PROCEEDING IN WHICH SOMEONE IS ACTING IN A REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY OVER MULTIPLE PARTIES.

Merger

This Terms of Use, together with the Privacy Policy, CCPA Policy (when applicable), Service Order Terms, and DMCA Policy (when applicable) represents the full agreement between you and The Digitize Center.  No other representations (besides the individual price quote you are given for TDC’s services), whether oral or written, form any part of your agreement with TDC. Additionally, this Terms of Use cannot be orally modified, even by TDC personnel, and no provisions of it can be waived by either party except in writing.

Severability

If any court or other body of competent jurisdiction declares any part of this Agreement to be unenforceable, then that part will be deemed severed, and the enforceability of the remaining parts will not be affected. The unenforceable part will simply not be considered to be part of this Agreement.