Below is the updated Terms of Use applicable to individual users that will take effect on June 3, 2022. By using our services on or after that date, you’ll be agreeing to these revisions.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns about our handling of your personal information, you may contact our privacy officer at privacy@sparkhire.com.
Individual Terms of Use
Spark Hire, Inc. ("Spark Hire") provides online services through which individuals can efficiently and effectively interact and/or interview with businesses, employers, and staffing companies seeking to communicate with and/or hire individual employees and independent contractors. Spark Hire provides these services and its suite of features and products through its Apps and Website (collectively, "Spark Hire Services") to individual users subject to these terms of use ("Terms of Use") and the agreements incorporated herein.
Your privacy is very important to us. We designed our accompanying Privacy and Security Policy to provide important disclosures about how your information will be used by Spark Hire in providing you Spark Hire Services. These Terms of Use expressly incorporate our Privacy and Security Policy.
Please read these Terms of Use and our Privacy and Security Policy carefully before using any of the diverse Spark Hire Services. By visiting the Website, installing any of the Apps, and/or using any of the Spark Hire Services, you shall have affirmed your agreement to these Terms of Use.
- 1. Definitions
- 2. Modifications – Will Spark Hire ever modify these Terms of Use?
- 3. Spark Hire Services - What are the Spark Hire Services?
- 3.4 Video Content and Services – How and when do you record videos?
- 4. Pricing, Payments, and Billing – How and when will I be billed for Spark Hire Services?
- 5. Customer Conduct
- 6. Objectionable Content – What if I find content to be objectionable?
- 7. Intellectual Property
- 8. DMCA Policy
- 9. Data Breach
- 10. Resale of Services
- 11. Indemnification
- 12. Disclaimer of Warranties
- 13. Third Party Links and Products
- 14. Limitations of Liability
- 15. Exclusions and Limitations
- 17. General Terms
1. Definitions
"Account" means "Spark Hire Account."
"Apps" means any applications developed by Spark Hire.
"App Services" means any content and services provided by Spark Hire through its Apps.
"Consumer" means any individual or entity that uses any of the Spark Hire Services. Where applicable, the term "Consumer" shall encompass all Spark Hire Customers.
"Content" means all material, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, available on or through any of the Spark Hire Services including, but not limited to, Customer Content and Spark Hire Content.
"Customer" means, for purposes of this Terms of Use, You, an Individual Customer.
"Customer Content" means any Content uploaded to and/or created through the Spark Hire Services by a Spark Hire Customer including, but not limited to, content submitted to an Employer Customer or Staffing Customer.
"Employer Customer" means an entity using Spark Hire Services that is seeking to hire an individual as an employee and/or independent contractor to be employed by it directly.
"GDPR" means the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.
"Individual Customer" means an individual using Spark Hire Services for themselves (as opposed to an entity) and includes, but is not limited to, a job seeker using the Spark Hire services to connect with an Employer Customer or Staffing Customer, an individual person submitting content to an Employer Customer or Staffing Customer through the Spark Hire Services, or an individual person participating in a video interview as a guest party.
"Profile Video" means a promotional video created by an Individual Customer to promote themselves as a candidate employee and/or independent contractor. It is not an interview. The Individual Customer completes this independently and on their own.
"Software" means any necessary software used in connection with the Spark Hire Services.
"Spark Hire Account" means an account associated with a Spark Hire Customer who uses or has used Spark Hire Services.
"Spark Hire Content" means any Content excluding Customer Content and Video Content in which Spark Hire does not participate.
"Spark Hire Customer" means any person who uses or has used Spark Hire Services including, but not limited to, Employer Customers, Individual Customers, and Staffing Customers.
"Spark Hire Services" means the suite of features, products and services offered through Spark Hire, its Apps, its App Services, the Website, and the Website Services.
"Spark Hire Trademarks" means any trademarks, tradenames, logos, and other commercial designs of Spark Hire or licensed to Spark Hire, whether or not formal registration exists including, but not limited to, "Spark Hire."
"Staffing Clients" means third-party employer clients of Staffing Customers.
"Staffing Customer" means a staffing company using Spark Hire Services that provides staffing services to their own Staffing Clients.
"Strategic Partners" means those trusted partners that Spark Hire employs, engages, or retains to perform functions and/or provide services on its behalf.
"Sub Accounts" means subsidiary accounts created for or by an Employer Customer or Staffing Customer ("such as a consultant group or employer") under its primary account.
"Username" means the valid email address provided by each Spark Hire Customer to be used as their username or login identification.
"Video Content" means any video content created by or associated with any Spark Hire Customer accessible on and through Spark Hire Services including, but not limited to, Profile Videos, Video Questions, Video Interviews, and Welcome Videos.
"Video Interview" means an interview completed through Spark Hire Services using a video or "web" camera that an Employer Customer or Staffing Customer requests an Individual Customer complete. A Video Interview may involve an Individual Customer alone or with other participants from an Employer Customer or Staffing Customer. A Video Interview may be pre-recorded by an individual in response to questions or occur live at which time it would be recorded.
"Video Question" means a question recorded in video and audio that can be sent to potential employee and independent contractor candidates by an Employer Customer or Staffing Customer.
"Website" means all of the content, information and services (in any format whatsoever) accessible through the World Wide Web at the domain name sparkhire.com.
"Website Services" means the services provided by Spark Hire through the website at the domain name sparkhire.com, hire.li, and any of our other websites that may be used from time to time
2. Modifications to Terms of Use.
2.1 Because the Internet remains a dynamic communications forum and the law on Internet and online commerce remains just as dynamic, You understand that Spark Hire may alter, amend, change, waive, terminate or modify any term contained within its Terms of Use at any time.
2.2 Should Spark Hire alter, amend, change, waive, terminate or modify any term contained within these Terms of Use, it shall provide notice by:
(A) Posting the new Terms of Use to the Website, particularly sparkhire.com/terms;
(B) Sending you electronic mail to the email address you provided when creating your account (where available and applicable) or other means pursuant to these Terms of Use; and/or
(C) As otherwise required by law.
2.3 If we inform you that the Terms of Use have been modified, you may elect to terminate use of any of the Spark Hire Services subject to these Terms of Use (particularly, there are no refunds).
2.4 If you continue to use any of the Spark Hire Services after receiving notice that these Terms of Use have been modified, any continued use shall constitute acceptance of the modified Terms of Use and be subject to them.
2.5 We may ask that you acknowledge your agreement to any modified Terms of Use. However, even if we do not do so, your continued use of Spark Hire Services will be subject to the modified terms.
2.6 You agree to review these Terms of Use and the incorporated documents periodically to be updated of any such changes.
2.7 The act of placing a web page (URL) into a temporary file on your browser so that you may return to that page at a future date directly without passing through certain preceding pages ("bookmarking") may under certain circumstances cause you to bypass links to these Terms of Use. Should you use such bookmarks and skip links to modified Terms of Use, your continued use still constitutes acceptance of these Terms of Use.
3. Spark Hire Services.
3.1 Spark Hire provides Internet based services through which individuals can efficiently and effectively communicate and/or interview with businesses, employers, and staffing companies seeking to hire employees and independent contractors.
3.2 Spark Hire provides Spark Hire Services through its Apps and Website, and all other suite of features, products and services offered through Spark Hire from time to time.
3.3 Spark Hire will not sell any customer or consumer content or information to any third party.
3.4 Video Content and Services.
Spark Hire provides its Spark Hire Customers a variety of video options and tools to use in association with the Spark Hire Services.
If you choose to use your webcam and microphone through Spark Hire Services for audio and video communications, you authorize Spark Hire to allow others to see and hear you through the audio and video obtained through these devices. You also authorize Spark Hire to record and store such information on its servers in your Account.
Spark Hire will not use your recorded content for any purpose unrelated to your Account. Of course, any individuals to whom you display such content will be able to hear and see such content.
Apart from those to whom you authorize access. Spark Hire will not share or provide access to your content to any third party absent a subpoena or court order. And, should Spark Hire ever be subpoenaed for content associated with your Account, Spark Hire shall provide you notice and an opportunity to file a motion objecting to any disclosure.
Given you will be using Spark Hire Services for employment related purposes, you agree not to use any content or information obtained in violation of any applicable laws. Spark Hire cannot advise you or provide you guidance on these laws.
Individuals are expressly prohibited from creating their own recordings of Video Interviews. Spark Hire employs reasonable measures to prevent any unauthorized recording of Video Interviews.
Spark Hire may add additional types of video content from time to time.
By submitting your Customer Content to an Employer Customer, Staffing Customer, or any other Spark Hire Customer, by these Terms of Use, you provide them with your consent to view and use the submitted content for purposes related to the Spark Hire Services.
3.5 No Guarantees of Employment
Spark Hire is not an employment agency. Spark Hire does not make any representations as to the qualifications of any individual, entity or employer.
Additionally, where an individual, entity, group or employer successfully secures employment, Spark Hire makes no guarantees or representations as to the satisfaction of such employment.
Additionally, Spark Hire does not guarantee that any individual or entity will find employment or an employee through Spark Hire Services.
3.6 Deletion of Content. Except as provided elsewhere in these Terms of Use, all Customer Content and Video Content will no longer be accessible to you upon deletion or termination of your Account.
Where an individual requests that any video interviews and/or related information be deleted pursuant to these Terms, our Privacy and Security Policy, and/or pursuant to governing law (eg the GDPR), Spark Hire, as the processor of data for employers and/or staffing companies (the data controllers), will send the employers and/or staffing companies the request to approve or deny. We do this for a number of reasons. To begin with, the employer and/or staffing company controls the data Spark Hire processes on its behalf. Although you may provide information through our Spark Hire Services, you do so at the invitation of an employer and/or staffing company. Moreover, the employer and/or staffing company may be subject to laws that require retention of certain information. Finally, for purposes here, the primary relationship governing the content and data exists between you and the respective employer and/or staffing company. If the employer and/or staffing company approves the request, we shall comply with the request. If the data controller denies the request, we shall inform the individual and provide information on how to proceed further with the employer and/or staffing company.
Where an employer or staffing customer deletes its account, your content and/or data accessible to and/or stored with the account for such employer or staffing customer may be deleted. The employer and/or staffing customer retains the right to delete such content and data without notice to you.
3.7 Intentionally Omitted.
3.8 Changes to Service. Spark Hire reserves the right at any time to modify or discontinue, whether temporarily or permanently, any aspect of the Spark Hire Services, in whole or in part. Any modifications to any of the Spark Hire Services, including the releases of new features, tools or resources, shall be subject to these Terms of Use and incorporated policies. Sometimes, updates to Spark Hire’s Software and/or code may require your computer to install additional third party software. Spark Hire will provide you with notice of any major changes or modifications in the same manner as described in Section 2. Absence of any notice beyond changes in the Spark Hire Services shall not affect the enforceability of these Terms of Use.
4. Pricing, Payments, and Billing.
At present, Spark Hire provides Spark Hire Services to Individual Customers on a complimentary basis at no charge (Spark Hire does bill its Employer Customers and Staffing Customers). Spark Hire foresees continuing this policy for the foreseeable future. However, Spark Hire reserves the right to change its policy and pricing for any of the Spark Hire Services at any time. Should Spark Hire change any pricing, Spark Hire shall provide its existing Spark Hire Customers with at least thirty (30) days notice consistent with Section 17.17.
5. Conduct
5.1 Lawful Purposes. Spark Hire Services shall be used for lawful purposes only.
5.2 Accurate Information. You agree to provide Spark Hire with true, accurate and current information as requested when registering for Spark Hire Services and/or purchasing products from Spark Hire.
5.3 At time of registration, you must provide certain information that identifies you to other Spark Hire Customers. In doing so, you may not violate a third party's intellectual property rights or use names that happen to be offensive or inappropriate.
5.5 You shall be solely and entirely responsible for any and all use of the Spark Hire Services through your Account. Consequently, we recommend and require that:
(A) You not permit any other person to use your Spark Hire Account;
(B) You do not assign or transfer your Account or its login information to any other person or entity; and,
(C) You promptly inform Spark Hire of any apparent breach of security, such as loss, theft, or unauthorized disclosure or use of a Spark Hire Account or its login information.
5.6 Reserved for Future Use.
5.7 You agree that you shall not use Spark Hire Services for any of the following:
5.7.1 Intentionally or unintentionally violating any applicable local, state, national, or international law, or any rules or regulations thereunder;
5.7.2 Intentionally violating any intellectual property rights of a third party;
5.7.3 Disseminating or posting harmful content including, without limitation, viruses, Trojan horses, worms, spyware, or any other computer programming routines that may damage, interfere with, secretly intercept, or seize any system, program, data, or personal information;
5.7.4 Disseminating materials that are lewd, offensive, inflammatory, harassing, threatening, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable as determined by Spark Hire in its sole discretion;
5.7.5 Posting or transmitting, or causing to be posted or transmitted, via the Spark Hire Services any nudity;
5.7.6 Posting or transmitting, or causing to be posted or transmitted, via the Spark Hire Services any spam; Spark Hire maintains a strict policy forbidding any spam or misuse of email services within its Spark Hire Services.
5.7.7 Posting or transmitting, or causing to be posted or transmitted, via Spark Hire Services any materials advertising any business other than Spark Hire; Additional and/or different rules may apply in the event Spark Hire dedicates a special forum in the future to the promotion and/or offering of services by Spark Hire Customers.
5.7.8 Seeking to obtain private financial information from any Consumer;
5.7.9 To impersonate any other person;
5.7.10 To provide any false information;
5.7.11 Registering or attempting to register an account with Spark Hire without its express authorization after having been terminated or suspended by Spark Hire for any reason; and/or
5.7.12 Interfering with Spark Hire's security measures.
5.7.13 Circumventing and/or violating any person’s privacy rights.
5.7.14 Attempting to engage in any prohibited conduct.
5.8 Should you believe that a Spark Hire Customer or person has violated any of the foregoing prohibited uses in
5.7, you should immediately notify Spark Hire via legal@sparkhire.com.
5.9 Upon learning of any error, omission or violation of these Terms of Use by any other third party, you shall immediately notify Spark Hire via legal@sparkhire.com.
5.10 You assume all liability for anything purchased using Spark Hire Services through your Account, whether intended for you or for a third party.
5.11 Cancellation of Account.
You may cancel your Account at any time. Before doing so, Spark Hire recommends you review these Terms of Use carefully so you understand what will occur upon cancellation particularly in relation to payments for Spark Hire Services.
To effectively cancel your Account, please contact us at support@sparkhire.com for assistance. Upon doing so, the cancellation of your Account will take place promptly. Upon cancellation, all of your Content may be deleted permanently. Spark Hire shall not be responsible for the loss of any Content due to the cancellation (or termination) of a Spark Hire Account. The foregoing being said, some or all of your Content may remain accessible to employers and/or staffing companies with whom you have interacted. Spark Hire is not responsible should an Account remain active if the cancellation procedure described above is not followed.
5.12 Termination of Account.
Spark Hire reserves the right to refuse its Spark Hire Services to anyone should it believe that the Spark Hire Services have been abused. For a non-exclusive list of what Spark Hire considers abuse, you should refer to Section 5.7 above. Though specific prohibited items have been listed, Spark Hire reserves the right to consider any action or conduct inconsistent with the intended use of Spark Hire Services to constitute abuse.
Should Spark Hire believe that the Spark Hire Services have been, will be, or are being used for any unlawful purpose and/or used in violation of any of these Terms of Use or any other Spark Hire agreement or policy, Spark Hire may (a) terminate an account immediately; (b) refuse its Spark Hire Services to anyone; and/or (c) take any further action as permitted by law.
Additionally, Spark Hire may terminate a Spark Hire Account immediately in the event that Spark Hire believes, in its sole discretion, that a Spark Hire Customer is "flooding" the Spark Hire Services.
Spark Hire also reserves the right to suspend or terminate a Spark Hire Account should Spark Hire become involved in pending litigation or other similar dispute with a Spark Hire Customer in relation to the Spark Hire Account, or for any other reason. Should a Spark Hire Customer become involved in litigation or other similar dispute in relation to a Spark Hire Account, Spark Hire also may suspend or terminate the Spark Hire Account immediately and without notice. Where Spark Hire merely becomes involved in a dispute as the third party escrow for information at issue between you and a job candidate, the account will not be cancelled or suspended.
Should Spark Hire become aware of litigation relating to a Spark Hire Account, Spark Hire reserves the right to preserve Content associated with the Spark Hire Account.
5.13 Consequences of Termination.
Should your Account become terminated, Spark Hire may, in our sole discretion and without liability to You, remove and discard any information associated with your Account including, but not limited to, any Content or Customer Content.
Should your Account become terminated, you will remain solely responsible for all liabilities that may have arisen or arise from your Account and/or its termination.
Spark Hire shall not be liable to you or any third-party for any termination of your Account or your use of the Spark Hire Services.
Any Spark Hire Customer whose account has been terminated by Spark Hire may not access the Spark Hire Services without the prior express written permission of Spark Hire.
There shall be no refunds for any use of Spark Hire Services terminated as a result of a breach of these Terms of Use.
Spark Hire may also refuse registration, terminate an account, and/or refuse Spark Hire Services to any person who registers or attempts to register an account with Spark Hire without authorization after having had an account previously suspended or terminated by Spark Hire. In particular, should Spark Hire identify this person by any means (including, but not limited to IP addresses), it reserves the right to refuse or terminate registration.
5.14 Should the Spark Hire Services become terminated globally for any reason, all Spark Hire accounts shall be terminated immediately, without any prior notifications by Spark Hire.
6. Objectionable Content.
Spark Hire does not endorse any Customer Content made available via Spark Hire Services. Spark Hire reserves the right, but not the obligation, to delete posts and/or Content that it believes, in its sole discretion, violate these Terms of Use. However, the failure of Spark Hire to delete any post and/or Content does not constitute an endorsement of it.
Spark Hire is not responsible for any false, defamatory, libelous, or slanderous Content posted by its Spark Hire Customers. If you believe any Content violates your rights or those of a third party in any way, you may contact Spark Hire via legal@sparkhire.com.
7. Intellectual Property Rights
7.1 Software.
Spark Hire Services and any necessary software used in connection with the Spark Hire Services ("Software") contain proprietary and confidential information protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws. Spark Hire or its licensor holds all rights, title and interest in all Software and all intellectual property, including other rights related to intangible property, unless otherwise indicated. No title or interest in such intellectual property rights is being transferred to you and you agree to make no claim of interest in any such Software. Except as expressly authorized by Spark Hire or our advertisers, you agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on the Software, in whole or in part.
7.2 Copyright.
Spark Hire shall possess and retain all copyrights to content created by Spark Hire ("Spark Hire Content"). Spark Hire may use content obtained from third party sources. All rights to such third party content remains with the owners of such third party content.
You shall possess and retain all interest in your Profile Videos. You do not have any interest in any Video Interviews in which you participate. Moreover, as stated elsewhere, any Video Content associated with an Account may be destroyed upon cancellation or termination of an account. All copyrights in Customer Content shall remain with the applicable owners of such copyrights.
By using Spark Hire Services, you provide Spark Hire a license to use your Customer Content and Video Content for purposes of providing Spark Hire Services in relation to your Account. You may link to our Website from your own websites and other third party websites, so long as you do so in accordance with these Terms of Use. However, you may not frame any elements of Spark Hire Services within any other website.
Your use of any third party software or content obtained through the Spark Hire Services does not transfer to you any rights, title or interest in or to the third party software or content. Further, you agree that you shall not use any third party software or content made available to you through the Spark Hire Services except as expressly authorized under the applicable third party provider's terms of use or license, which are incorporated by reference herein for the benefit of such third party providers. If you do not agree to the third party providers' terms of use or license agreement, do not download or use the third party software or content.
7.3 Trademarks.
You agree to not use Spark Hire Trademarks or any mark that is confusingly similar to such trademarks. Nothing on or through the Spark Hire Services should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel or otherwise, any license or right to use any of Spark Hire Trademarks. Spark Hire reserves the right to restrict the use of its name, system, logo, and trademarks. You agree to comply with any and all such restrictions.
For purposes of displaying your Account and content associated with it, you permit Spark Hire to use your name and trademark, if applicable. You also allow Spark Hire to use your name and trademark in a manner consistent with fair use. Upon receiving written request consistent with Notices provided herein, Spark Hire will remove your name and/or trademark except as necessary to continue providing you with Spark Hire Services.
All other companies' names, brand names and product names are trademarks or trade names of their respective owners who may or may not endorse, be affiliated with or connected to Spark Hire. You further acknowledge and agree that content contained in sponsor advertisements or information presented to you through the Spark Hire Services or advertisers is protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents or other proprietary rights and laws
7.4 Destruction of Materials. Should you violate these terms regarding intellectual property, you must delete any materials obtained in violation of these Terms of Use immediately upon notice or upon realizing possession of such materials violate these Terms of Use, whichever is earlier.
7.5 Limited License. All Spark Hire Content is the proprietary property of Spark Hire and/or its licensors, with all rights reserved. No Spark Hire Content may be modified, copied, distributed, framed, reproduced, republished, downloaded, scraped, displayed, posted, transmitted, or sold in any form or by any means, in whole or in part, without Spark Hire's prior written permission. Provided that you are eligible for use of Spark Hire Services and retain all copyright or other proprietary notices intact, you are granted a limited license to access and use the Spark Hire Services and the Spark Hire Content, including a limited license to download or print a copy of any portion of the Spark Hire Content to which you have properly gained access solely for your use in relation to the Spark Hire Services. You may not upload or republish Spark Hire Content on any Internet, Intranet or Extranet site or incorporate the information in any other database or compilation. This limited license is subject to these Terms of Use and does not permit use of any data mining, robots, scraping or similar data gathering or extraction methods. Any use of the Spark Hire Services or Spark Hire Content without the prior written permission of Spark Hire, other than as specifically authorized herein, is strictly prohibited and shall immediately terminate the license granted herein. Such unauthorized use may also violate applicable laws including copyright and trademark laws and applicable communications regulations and statutes. Unless explicitly stated herein, nothing in these Terms of Use shall be construed as conferring any license to intellectual property rights, whether by estoppel, implication or otherwise. This license is revocable at any time without notice and with or without cause.
7.6 Unauthorized Access or Circumvention. As stated above, Spark Hire takes the privacy of its Spark Hire Customers very seriously. In this context, it also takes seriously any effort to circumvent the technology it has implemented to protect the privacy and the security of information on its servers. Should any person attempt to obtain or obtain unauthorized access to Spark Hire servers and/or should any Spark Hire Customer attempt to exceed or exceed his/her/its authorized access to Spark Hire servers, Spark Hire shall consider such conduct to violate the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030, which provides for civil and criminal penalties. Additionally, depending on the circumstances, such conduct could also violate the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2510, et eq. and the Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2701, et seq., both of which also provide for civil and criminal penalties. Spark Hire considers the unauthorized access to and/or download of any Video Content fall within the scope of this prohibited conduct. Moreover, Spark Hire shall consider any approval or knowledge of a third party’s efforts to engage in the foregoing prohibited conduct as wilful cooperation in such conduct.
7.7 Individual Content and Information.
Spark Hire does not own any content or information provided by individuals. The ownership of this content and information can vary depending on circumstances. Indeed, the laws related to privacy of consumer information often intersect and overlap with those relating to the privacy and ownership of employee information. In particular, the GDPR provides EU consumers with certain rights related to their personal information. At the same time, employers possess rights and obligations to retain certain employee and job candidate information. Should Spark Hire receive any request relating to individual content and information from that individual, Spark Hire will forward the request to the employer or staffing company to process. Absent a court order or clear indication of applicable law, Spark Hire will thereafter defer to and comply with the employer or staffing company direction. In so doing, however, Spark Hire reserves the right to fully inform any individual of their respective rights and how to address such a dispute.
8. DMCA Policy
8.1 Spark Hire respects the intellectual property rights of others and prohibits anyone from uploading, posting or otherwise transmitting through Spark Hire Services any materials that violate another party's intellectual property rights. When Spark Hire receives proper Notification of Alleged Copyright Infringement as described herein, it promptly removes or disables access to the allegedly infringing material and terminates the accounts associated therewith as described herein in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA").
8.2 If you believe that any material on or through the Spark Hire Services infringes upon any copyright which you own or control, you may send a written Notification of Alleged Copyright Infringement to our designated DMCA Agent identified below.
8.3 If you believe that your own copyrighted work is accessible on or through the Spark Hire Services in violation of your intellectual property rights, you may provide our designated DMCA Agent with a Notification of Alleged Copyright Infringement as set forth in the DMCA that contains substantially the following information:
(A). Identify in sufficient detail the copyrighted work or intellectual property that You claim has been infringed so that Spark Hire can locate the material;
(B). Identify the URL or other specific location on the Website or Spark Hire Services that contains the material that You claim infringes your copyright described in Item 5.3(A) above;
(C). Provide the electronic or physical signature of the owner of the copyright or a person authorized to act on the owner's behalf;
(D). Include 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). Include a statement by You that the information contained in your notice is accurate and that You attest under the penalty of perjury that You are the copyright owner or that You are authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf; and,
(F). Include your name, mailing address, telephone number and email address.
8.4 You may send your Notification of Alleged Copyright Infringement to our designated DMCA Agent by mail or E-Mail as set forth below:
Spark Hire, Inc.
1500 Skokie Blvd., Suite 102A Northbrook, Illinois 60062
Attention: NOTICES
eMail: notices@sparkhire.com
8.5 Spark Hire has adopted a policy of terminating, in appropriate circumstances and at its sole discretion, members who are deemed to be repeat infringers. Spark Hire may also in its sole discretion limit access to the Spark Hire Services and/or terminate the use thereof by anyone who infringes any intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement.
9. DATA BREACH
As stated elsewhere, Spark Hire respects the privacy of those who use its Services and provide information to Spark Hire in doing so. It complies with applicable laws and implements measures to protect the security of the information entrusted to it.
The foregoing being said, should a breach of any Spark Hire system or Services occur where an unauthorized individual accesses personal data, Spark Hire will inform its business customers (employers and/or staffing companies who serve as data controllers, owners, or licensees) promptly after discovering such breach. Of these business customers, the entity with whom you interview or by whom you have been invited to join Spark Hire – as the data controller associated with such data under applicable law - shall be responsible for informing you and the relevant authorities of any data breach.
This process and protocol has been established to comply with applicable laws and ensure every party understands their responsibilities. For our part, Spark Hire shall report any breach of your data to its business customers with the expectation that they will report it to the authorities and to the data subjects - you.
The foregoing being said, should a law outside the European Union require Spark Hire to inform data subjects directly, it shall do so. As to the European Union, Spark Hire’s disclosure to the data controller serves such purpose.
Where you interview or interact with more than one business customer on Spark Hire, you should receive a notice from each of these entities. Should you fail to receive a notice from any entity, we encourage you to report this to us.
Further, should a Spark Hire business customer fail to comply with its obligations under this Section or the terms generally, Spark Hire reserves the right to (a) comply with all applicable reporting laws on behalf of the business customer (including providing disclosure directly to data subjects) and/or (b) terminate the business customer’s use of the Services.
10. RESALE OF SERVICE
Unless otherwise agreed to in writing by Spark Hire, you agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell, outsource, reverse engineer or exploit any portion of, the use of, or access to Spark Hire Services.
11. INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to indemnify and hold Spark Hire (as defined in 14.1.3) harmless against and from any claim, demand, expenses, or losses, including reasonable legal fees (including but not limited to attorney's fees, paralegal fees, costs and expenses), made by any third party against Spark Hire due to or arising out of:
(A) your use of and/or connection to the Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services;
(B) your sharing of any content obtained through use of the Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services to any third party;
(C) the use of any content downloaded from the Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services to your computer and/or servers;
(D) your violation of these Terms of Use;
(E) information you sent, submitted, electronically received, viewed, printed, downloaded, or transmitted through the Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services;
(F) any misuse, intended or unintended, of any Video Content (and/or information conveyed therein) by you, your agents, your employees, your customers, and any other parties to whom information is provided; or
(G) your violation of any rights of any other individual or entity, whether you are a registered user or not.
You are responsible for your actions when using the Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services, including, but not limited to, costs incurred for Internet access. In all cases, Spark Hire shall have the right to choose its own counsel.
12. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
12.1 THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS IS", "WITH ALL FAULTS", "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT POSSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.
12.2 SPARK HIRE SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING:
ANY WARRANTIES CONCERNING THE AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, COMPLETENESS, CAPABILITIES, SECURITY, TIMELINESS, USEFULNESS AND/OR CONTENT OF THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES:
THE ABILITY OF THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES TO INTEROPERATE OR INTEGRATE WITH ANY THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS SUCH AS SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE;
ANY WARRANTIES RESULTING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE;
ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE;
ANY WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT; AND
ANY WARRANTIES REGARDING THE RIGHTS AND TITLE OF SPARK HIRE IN THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES, OR ANY WARRANTY THAT THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES DO NOT INFRINGE THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OF A THIRD PARTY.
12.3 SPARK HIRE IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INFORMATION, SOFTWARE OR OTHER PRODUCTS THAT ARE DOWNLOADED FROM THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES BY YOU OR INSTALLED ON YOUR COMPUTER. AS SUCH, SPARK HIRE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.
12.4 NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED THROUGH OR FROM THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE TERMS.
12.5 SPARK HIRE MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE APPS, WEBSITE, SPARK HIRE SERVICES, AND/OR CONTENT THEREON WILL BE ERROR-FREE, AVAILABLE WITHOUT INTERRUPTION, TIMELY, OR MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS.
12.6 WE WILL MAKE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES. HOWEVER, WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE; LOSS OF DATA, CUSTOMER INFORMATION OR VENDOR DATA; LOSS OF REVENUE; OR, OTHER HARM TO BUSINESS ARISING OUT OF DELAYS, MISDELIVERY OR NONDELIVERY OF INFORMATION, RESTRICTION OR LOSS OF ACCESS, BUGS OR OTHER ERRORS, UNAUTHORIZED USE DUE TO YOUR SHARING OF ACCESS TO THE SPARK HIRE SERVICES, OR OTHER INTERACTION WITH THE SPARK HIRE SERVICES. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING AND BACKING-UP YOUR DATA AND INFORMATION THAT MAY RESIDE ON THE SPARK HIRE SERVICES. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT (i) THE SPARK HIRE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS, (ii) THE SPARK HIRE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SPARK HIRE SERVICES WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, (iv) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE SPARK HIRE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS, AND (V) ANY ERRORS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED.
12.7 THESE DISCLAIMERS APPLY TO ALL CONTENT SENT TO AND/OR FROM THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES.
13. THIRD PARTY LINKS AND PRODUCTS
13.1 IN CONNECTION WITH THE SPARK HIRE SERVICES, SPARK HIRE MAY PROVIDE YOU WITH LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES AND OFFERS FOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OF THIRD PARTIES.
13.2 SPARK HIRE NEITHER MONITERS NOR HAS ANY CONTROL OVER SUCH THIRD PARTY WEBSITES, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES.
13.3 SPARK HIRE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR AND DOES NOT ENDORSE (A) THE AVAILABILITY OR CONTENT OF SUCH THIRD PARTY WEBSITES; (B) THE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OFFERED BY SUCH THIRD PARTIES; (C) THE USE OF OR RELIANCE UPON SUCH CONTENT, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES; (D) ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE ARISING FROM ANY COMMUNICATIONS AND/OR TRANSACTIONS BETWEEN YOU AND THIRD PARTIES; AND/OR (E) THE PRIVACY AND OTHER PRACTICES OF SUCH THIRD PARTIES.
13.4 ANY CORRESPONDENCE OR BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS BETWEEN YOU AND SUCH THIRD PARTIES ARE SOLELY BETWEEN YOU AND ANY SUCH THIRD PARTY.
13.5 SPARK HIRE SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, RELATING TO THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED IN THIS AGREEMENT OR WHERE SUCH DISCLAIMERS ARE HELD TO BE LEGALLY INVALID.
13.6 THIRD PARTY WEBSITES MAY SOLICIT PERSONAL INFORMATION AND SEND COOKIES. THE INCLUSION OF A LINK TO A THIRD PARTY WEBSITE THROUGH THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT OF THE LINKED THIRD PARTY WEBSITE.
13.7 YOU ALSO MAY BE SUBJECT TO ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS THAT MAY APPLY WHEN YOU USE AFFILIATE OR OTHER SERVICES PROVIDED BY SPARK HIRE, THIRD-PARTY CONTENT OR THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE. SPARK HIRE SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY FOR ITS CUSTOMERS FAILING TO ABIDE BY THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES' POLICIES AND TERMS.
14. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
14.1 GENERAL TERMS. FOR EACH OF THE FOLLOWING LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL APPLY:
14.1.2 "DAMAGES" SHALL INCLUDE ANY INJURY, LOSS, CLAIM, DAMAGE, OR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, AND/OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES OR INTANGIBLE LOSS. THE TYPE OF DAMAGES TO WHICH THESE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY APPLY INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR LOST SAVINGS, LOSS TO GOODWILL, LOSS ARISING FROM BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OR VANDALISM OR THEFT OF PROGRAMS OR INFORMATION, LOSS OF REPUTATION, VIOLATION OF PRIVACY, LOSS OF USE OR DATA, LEGAL FEES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ATTORNEY’S FEES, PARALEGAL FEES, AND OTHER COSTS AND EXPENSES), AND/OR ANY OTHER KIND OF DAMAGE OR LOSS.
14.1.3 "SPARK HIRE" SHALL MEAN SPARK HIRE; ITS SUBSIDIARIES; AND, ITS OWNERS, OPERATORS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, AGENTS, AFFILIATES, REPRESENTATIVES, LICENSORS, SUCCESSORS OR ASSIGNS.
14.1.4 "STRATEGIC PARTNERS" SHALL MEAN CO-BRANDERS, SUPPLIERS, VENDORS, AND OTHER PARTNERS USED BY SPARK HIRE AS WELL AS THEIR SUBSIDIARIES, PARENTS, OWNERS, OPERATORS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, AGENTS, AFFILIATES, REPRESENTATIVES, LICENSORS, SUCCESSORS OR ASSIGNS.
14.1.5 THESE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY APPLY REGARDLESS OF WHETHER CAUSED BY SPARK HIRE OR ANY PART OF SPARK HIRE AS DEFINED ABOVE.
14.1.6 THESE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY APPLY TO ALL CLAIMS, CAUSES OF ACTION, AND/OR FORMS OF ACTION, WHETHER FOR OR BASED UPON BREACH OF CONTRACT, EQUITY, NEGLIGENCE, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY OR UNDER ANY OTHER CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION.
14.1.7 THESE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY APPLY EVEN IF SPARK HIRE WAS ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES.
14.2 YOU AGREE THAT SPARK HIRE AND ITS STRATEGIC PARTNERS SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY DAMAGES AS DEFINED ABOVE ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH OR IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE AVAILABILITY OR USE OF, RELIANCE ON, INABILITY TO USE, OR ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES.
14.3 YOU AGREE TO EXCUSE SPARK HIRE AND AGREE THAT IT SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DELAY OR FAILURE TO PERFORM DUE TO ANY CAUSE BEYOND ITS REASONABLE CONTROL INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ACTS OF GOVERNMENT; NATURAL CATASTROPHES; FORCE MAJEURE; ACTS OF GOD; INTERNET DISRUPTIONS OR UNAVAILABILITY; FAILURE OF OPERATING SYSTEMS; UNAVAILABLE NETWORK CONNECTIONS; IMPERFECT COMPUTER TRANSMISSIONS; LABOR DISPUTES: POWER OUTAGES; LOSS OF DATA; OR SIMILAR OCCURRENCES.
14.4 YOU AGREE THAT SPARK HIRE SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY MODIFICATION, SUSPENSION, OR DISCONTINUANCE OF THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES. SIMILARLY, SPARK HIRE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY SHOULD UPDATES TO THE SOFTWARE OR CODE REQUIRE THE INSTALLATION OF OTHER THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE.
14.5 YOU AGREE THAT SPARK HIRE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DAMAGES AS DEFINED ABOVE THAT ARISE OUT OF OR ARE IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH:
14.5.1 THE USE OF OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SPARK HIRE SERVICES;
14.5.2 THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS AND SERVICES RESULTING FROM ANY GOODS, DATA, INFORMATION OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR MESSAGES RECEIVED OR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH OR FROM THE SPARK HIRE SERVICES;
14.5.3 UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS, CONTENT, OR DATA;
14.5.4 STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SPARK HIRE SERVICES;
14.5.5 THE DISCLOSURE OF ANY PARTY'S IDENTITY OR IDENTIFYING INFORMATION;
14.5.6 THESE TERMS OF USE; OR
14.5.7 ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SPARK HIRE SERVICES.
14.6 YOU AGREE THAT SPARK HIRE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DAMAGES AS DEFINED ABOVE. WHERE ANY COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION LIMITS THE ABILITY OF SPARK HIRE TO DISCLAIM ANY DAMAGES, YOU AGREE THAT THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF DAMAGES THAT SPARK HIRE SHALL BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS YOU PAID TO SPARK HIRE.
14.7 IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES, OR YOU HAVE ANY DISPUTE WITH SPARK HIRE IN CONNECTION WITH THE SAME OR THESE TERMS OF USE, THEN YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO CEASE USING THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES.
14.8 YOU AGREE THAT SPARK HIRE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DAMAGES RESULTING OR OCCURRING THROUGH ANY CURRENT, FORMER, AND/OR POTENTIAL EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP (WHETHER EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE OR EMPLOYER-INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR OR EMPLOYER-STAFFING COMPANY) DEVELOPED, MODIFIED, OR TERMINATED BY USE OF THE APPS, WEBSITE AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES.
14.9 YOU AGREE THAT SPARK HIRE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY MISUSE OF CONTENT FOUND ON OR THROUGH THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES. PARTICULARLY, SPARK HIRE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY MISUSE OF ANY VIDEO CONTENT OR INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREON BY ANY CUSTOMER.
14.10 YOU AGREE THAT SPARK HIRE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY MISUSE OF CONTENT FOUND ON OR THROUGH THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES DELIVERED TO STAFFING CLIENTS. PARTICULARLY, SPARK HIRE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY MISUSE OF ANY VIDEO CONTENT OR INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREON BY ANY STAFFING CLIENTS.
14.11 YOU AGREE THAT SPARK HIRE AND ITS STRATEGIC PARTNERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE; ERROR; OMISSION; INTERRUPTION; DELETION OF CONTENT; DEFECT; DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION; BUG; VIRUSES THAT MAY INFECT YOUR COMPUTER SOFTWARE, EQUIPMENT, OR OTHER PROPERTY; COMMUNICATION LINE FAILURE; THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO, ALTERATION, INACCESSIBILITY OR LOSS OF, OR USE OF DATA, INFORMATION AND/OR RECORDS.
14.11.1 WE SPECIFICALLY DO NOT WARRANT OR GUARANTEE (1) THAT THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES OR ANY PORTION THEREOF WILL BE FREE OF INFECTION BY VIRUSES, BUGS, OR ANYTHING ELSE MANIFESTING CONTAMINATING OR DESTRUCTIVE PROPERTIES, (2) THAT THE FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR SPARK HIRE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR (3) THAT DEFECTS IN THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND/OR THE SPARK HIRE SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED.
14.11.2 IT IS YOUR SOLE RESPONSIBILITY TO EXECUTE ANTI-CONTAMINATION VIRUS SOFTWARE AND OTHERWISE TAKE STEPS TO ENSURE THAT THE APPS, WEBSITE, AND SPARK HIRE SERVICES, IF CONTAMINATED OR INFECTED, WILL NOT DAMAGE YOUR INFORMATION OR SYSTEM.
15.EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS.
SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OF SECTIONS 11, 12, 13, and 14 MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
16. RESERVED FOR FUTURE USE.
17. General Provisions
17.1 Acknowledgement. You acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to all terms contained herein. Further, you represent that you have consulted, or have had the opportunity to consult with, your legal, tax, and financial advisors in connection with the execution and performance of the Agreement.
17.2 Applicable Law. These Terms of Use shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois without regard to its conflicts of laws provisions. Similarly, the laws of the State of Illinois (again without regard to its conflicts of laws provisions) shall also govern any dispute arising between you and Spark Hire. You agree to submit to the personal and subject matter jurisdiction of the courts located within Cook or Lake Counties in the State of Illinois. You also agree the venue for any action, dispute or proceeding with respect to this Agreement or any dispute between you and Spark Hire shall be Cook or Lake Counties in the State of Illinois. You further waive all defenses to the contrary including, but not limited to, lack of personal jurisdiction or forum non conveniens.
17.3 Arbitration Clause.
Except with respect to any dispute, claim, or controversy relating to the privacy of consumer information, GDPR, and/or Privacy Shield (see below), any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of these Terms of Use, the Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services shall be settled by arbitration in Chicago, Illinois. Such arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures (or then-existing equivalent) of the JAMS (or then-existing equivalent). The party requesting arbitration shall serve upon the other party a notice demanding arbitration and a description of the issue or issues to be arbitrated.
A single arbitrator shall be agreed upon by the parties or, if the parties cannot agree upon an arbitrator within thirty (30) days, then the parties agree that a single arbitrator shall be appointed by JAMS. The arbitrator may award legal fees (including, but not limited to, attorneys' fees, paralegal fees, etc.), expenses, and costs as part of the award.
Any award issued as a result of the arbitration shall be binding and may be entered as a final judgment or order in any court of competent jurisdiction and enforced accordingly. All costs and expenses of the arbitration, including reasonable legal fees (including, but not limited to, attorney's fees, paralegal fees, etc.), shall be allocated among the parties as determined by the arbitrator.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, either Party may, at its sole discretion, seek preliminary judicial relief in any court of competent jurisdiction (including, but not limited to, preliminary injunctive relief) and, additionally, the provisions of this Section may be enforced by any court of competent jurisdiction.
With respect to any dispute, claim, or controversy relating to the privacy of consumer information, GDPR, and/or Privacy Shield, we direct you to Section 6 of our Privacy and Security Policy entitled Dispute Resolution. Should you have any questions, please contact us at privacy@sparkhire.com.
17.4 Class Actions Waived. You expressly waive any right to participate in any class action against Spark Hire for any claims related to the Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services. In fact, by using the Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services and agreeing to these Terms of Use, you expressly agree that you shall not be permitted to resolve any claims through class actions against Spark Hire.
17.5 Entire Agreement. These Terms of Use, as they shall be modified from time to time, constitute the full and complete understanding among them with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede and preempt any prior understandings, agreements, or representations by or among the Parties, written or oral, which may have related to the subject matter hereof in any way. You may not rely on any other statements, promises, or agreements by any party, whether written or oral, that alters or contradicts the terms of these Terms of Use. Indeed, you affirm that you are not relying upon any verbal or written representations whatsoever, except as expressly set forth in these Terms of Use.
17.6 Incorporation Clause. These Terms of Use expressly incorporate the terms provided for in Spark Hire's Privacy and Security Policy, its Data Protection Agreement, and related terms and documents.
17.7 Intentionally Omitted.
17.8 Independent Parties. You and Spark Hire are independent parties and nothing contained in these Terms of Use shall be construed or implied to create any agency or partnership between you and Spark Hire. At no time shall you or Spark Hire act as an agent for or make commitments for or in the name of the other party.
17.9 Jury Trial Waived. As provided in the Arbitration Clause above, you acknowledge that all disputes with Spark Hire shall be resolved through arbitration. Should any arbitration or court find such restriction unenforceable and/or should any dispute appear before a court, you expressly waive any right to a jury trial in any action against Spark Hire for any claims related to the Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services. In fact, by using the Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services and agreeing to these Terms of Use, you expressly agree that you shall not be permitted to obtain a jury trial in any action against Spark Hire.
17.10 Legal Advice Not Provided. You acknowledge and agree that Spark Hire has not and will not provide you with any legal advice on any subject, but particularly with respect to compliance with employment, data privacy, or other relevant laws, rules, or regulations. You agree not to construe any Spark Hire communications as legal advice.
17.11 Paragraph and Section Headings. Paragraph and Section headings are for convenience only and shall not be used to construe these Terms of Use or otherwise be given any legal effect.
17.12 Reasonableness. The Parties have read each of the terms in these Terms of Use and consider each of them, including all subparts, to be reasonable.
17.13 Savings Clause. In the event that any provision of these Terms of Use is held to be void or unenforceable by a Court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use shall nevertheless be binding upon the Parties with the same effect as though the void or unenforceable part had been deleted. Further, any provision held to be void or unenforceable by a Court of competent jurisdiction shall be construed, if possible, to give effect to the Parties' intent. The Parties agree that any such provision, in its forms modified by the court, shall then be enforceable and shall be enforced.
17.14 Statute of Limitations. To the extent permitted by law, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of the Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services shall be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose. To the extent permitted by law and as applicable, any claim arising from the publication of any content on or through the Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services shall accrue on the first date of publication.
17.15 Survival. You agree that certain of these Terms of Use shall survive termination or expiration of your use of the Spark Hire Services to achieve the fundamental purposes of these Terms of Use including, but not limited to, Sections 1, 5-8, and 11-15, 17.
17.16 Waiver.
17.16.1 No waiver of any breach of any provision of these Terms of Use shall constitute a waiver of any prior, concurrent or subsequent breach of the same or any other provisions hereof, and no waiver shall be effective unless made in writing and signed by an authorized representative of the waiving party.
17.16.2 The failure of Spark Hire to insist, in any one or more instances, upon the performance of any of the terms of these Terms of Use or to exercise any right hereunder, shall not be construed as a waiver of the future performance of any such term or the future exercise of such right.
17.16.3 No employee, agent or representative, including without limitation a customer service representative, of Spark Hire shall be entitled to waive any term of these Terms of Use or any other Spark Hire' agreement or policy.
17.17 Notices. Notices by Spark Hire to you for any reason (including changes to these Terms of Use, the Apps, the Website, and/or Spark Hire Services, the fees, or other similar matters) may be provided by a general posting on the Website at sparkhire.com. Notices by you to Spark Hire may be given through electronic mail to notices@sparkhire.com unless otherwise specified in these Terms of Use. Without receiving a confirmation email back from Spark Hire, you may not assume that your notice has been received.
17.18 Restricted Locations.
The Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services may not be accessed, viewed, downloaded or otherwise received in any country or location in which doing so would, or could be deemed a violation of any law, regulation, rule, ordinance, edict or custom.
Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services may not be used by and is not directed at any country or region currently embargoed by the United States. By using the Apps, Website, and/or Spark Hire Services, you agree to the foregoing and you warrant that you are not located in, or under the control of, or a national or resident of any such country or region.
You agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and what Spark Hire deems, in its sole discretion, acceptable content. For examples of prohibited content and conduct, refer to Section 5.7 above.
You agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside.
Rev. 6/21/2021
