Terms of Use

Last Updated: February 14, 2008

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE.

Welcome to NAHBGreen.org (sometimes referred to herein as the "site" or "website"), a website operated by NAHB Research Center, Inc. (sometimes referred to herein as the "Research Center"), a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders.

By using this site and/or any materials downloaded or otherwise obtained directly or indirectly from this site, you agree to the following terms of use ("Terms"). The Research Center reserves the right, at any time and without prior notification, to modify, alter, or update these Terms. You may review the most current version of these Terms by clicking on the "Terms of Use" hyperlink at the bottom of any web page throughout this site. You are responsible for periodically reviewing these Terms for changes. If you continue to use this site after changes have been made, you are signifying your acceptance of the new Terms, regardless of whether you have reviewed the new Terms.

Certain areas of this site may include additional guidelines or rules that supplement these Terms. By using those areas of this site, you are agreeing to comply with those additional guidelines and rules as well.

Access to Site

To access this site, you must have access to a compatible web browser. You are responsible for obtaining and maintaining all Internet access services, computer hardware, software and other equipment and services needed for access to and use of this site and paying all charges related thereto.

Registration

In order to access the scoring tool and certain other features of this site you may be required to register and obtain a unique username and password. In connection with any such registration, you agree to: (a) provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the registration form; and (b) maintain and promptly update such information to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, the Research Center has the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current and future use of this site or any portion hereof.

You are solely responsible for maintaining the strict confidentiality of your username and password and for any charges, costs, expenses, damages, liabilities and losses incurred or suffered as a result of your failure to do so. Furthermore, you are entirely responsible for any and all activities that occur under your username and password and for ensuring that use of your account complies fully with these Terms. To reduce the risk that others will gain unauthorized access to your account, you must ensure that you "log out" from your account at the end of each session. You further agree to immediately notify the Research Center of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security. You may not use anyone else's account, at any time, without the permission of the account holder.

Copyright and Trademarks

All site design, text, graphics, artwork, photographs, illustrations, documents, audio clips, video clips, software, data and other copyrightable or otherwise legally protectible elements contained herein are the exclusive property of the Research Center, its affiliates or its or their third party suppliers, advertisers or sponsors, as the case may be, and are protected by United States and international intellectual property laws. The selection, sequence, "look and feel" and arrangements hereof are the exclusive property of the Research Center and are protected by United States and international intellectual property laws. All rights reserved.

All trademarks (TM), service marks (SM), and trade names are proprietary to the Research Center, its affiliates, or the respective owner of such marks, as the case may be. You may not use any such marks for any purpose whatsoever without the express prior written permission of the owner of such marks.

This site is for your personal use only. With respect to any documents or other materials expressly made available for download by the Research Center from this site (e.g., CAD designs, informational videos, instructional materials, etc.), you may view, print, download and make copies of such materials, subject to the following conditions: (a) the materials may be used solely for your own personal use; and (b) you must retain without modification all copyright, trademark and other proprietary notices and all disclaimers affixed to or contained in such materials and all copies thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, certain documents, images and other materials appearing on this site have been obtained from individuals or other organizations not affiliated with the Research Center and may be subject to additional restrictions on use. In some cases, permission to use such materials must be obtained directly from the applicable individual or organization. You may contact the webmaster at webmaster@nahbrc.com to determine which materials are subject to such restrictions or require permission for use. Except as expressly provided above, you may not reproduce, download, republish, frame, transmit, distribute, sell, license, modify, alter, reverse engineer or prepare derivative works from this site, any materials downloaded or otherwise obtained from this site, or any portion of such works or materials, except with the express prior written permission of the Research Center. Nothing contained in this site shall be construed as conferring by implication, estoppel or otherwise any license or right under any copyright, patent, trademark or other proprietary interest of the Research Center, its affiliates or any third party. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.

Use of spiders, robots and similar data mining and extraction tools is expressly prohibited, except by publicly available Internet search engine portals for purposes of indexing the website.

Feedback and Other Suggestions

Although comments and questions about this site are welcomed, the Research Center does not accept unsolicited submissions, creative ideas or other content for the site. Any messages, suggestions, ideas or concepts that are submitted shall become, and remain, the exclusive property of the Research Center. Furthermore, the Research Center is not responsible for the confidentiality of any such information communicated to the Research Center. If you choose to submit any such material to the Research Center, you agree that the Research Center is entitled to unrestricted use of such submissions throughout the world for any purpose whatsoever, including advertising and promotional purposes, and including but not limited to the right to reproduce, distribute, display, perform and modify the material in any manner or media, without compensation to you or any other party.

User Postings

With respect to any materials you elect to post for inclusion in the site, such as user testimonials, you must only post content that you created or that you have permission to post. By posting materials, you grant to the Research Center, its affiliates and suppliers, simultaneous with such posting, the royalty-free, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully sublicensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, transmit, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such material (in whole or part) worldwide in perpetuity and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media or technology now known or later developed.

Furthermore, you represent that you have the lawful right to furnish such submissions to the Research Center and agree that you will not submit any information unless you are legally entitled to do so. Because of the open nature of the Internet, we recommend that you not submit information you consider confidential or proprietary.

Users agree not to post on the site any information or material that: (a) is unlawful, profane, hateful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, obscene, vulgar, libelous, defamatory, deceptive, fraudulent, tortuous or that encourages criminal activity; (b) infringes upon or misappropriates any third party’s intellectual property or other proprietary rights; (c) invades or otherwise violates any third party's privacy; (d) impersonates another user, person, corporation or entity; (e) contains viruses or any other computer code, files or programs that interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any software, hardware or telecommunications equipment, or otherwise permits or enables the unauthorized use of a computer or computer network or interferes with the use of this site; (f) is racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable; or (g) violates these Terms. All determinations regarding the removal of such material shall be made at the Research Center's sole discretion.

Users are prohibited from using this site for chain letters, junk mail, spamming, or unauthorized commercial activities of any kind.

The Research Center's Rights

You expressly acknowledge and agree that the Research Center reserves the right to monitor, reject, edit and/or remove any user postings for any reason in its sole discretion, including any messages forwarded to third parties via the website. Without limiting the foregoing, the Research Center may remove any material that it feels is defamatory, damaging, illegal, in any way offensive or annoying, that infringes upon or otherwise violates any third party's rights, or that the Research Center otherwise determines is inconsistent with its policies and/or these Terms. A user's access to all or any portion of this site may be suspended or terminated at the sole discretion of the Research Center if it feels that the user's conduct is inappropriate. Although the Research Center may from time to time monitor user postings, in no event does it assume any particular obligation to do so or liability for any failure or delay in either monitoring user postings or removing specific material.

The Research Center shall have the right to disclose any content or communication of any kind when requested by governmental or quasi-governmental authorities to conduct an investigation, hearing or the like; to allow the Research Center or a governmental or quasi-governmental authority to verify or enforce compliance with the policies governing this site and applicable laws; or to allow the Research Center to protect against misuse or unauthorized use of this site and all portions thereof. The Research Center also may disclose any content or communication of any kind whenever we believe disclosure is necessary to limit our legal liability; to protect or defend our rights or property; to protect the safety, rights, or property of our users; or to satisfy any legal obligation.

The Research Center has the right to any and all legal methods for identifying persons responsible for the illegal or unlawful uploading of information to, alteration of information on, or interference with the operation of this site or any part of the network to which it is connected.

Notice and Procedure for Making Claims of Infringement

The Research Center respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. If you believe your copyrighted materials have been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please follow our Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement, which includes instructions on how to contact us to report possible copyright infringement by our users. ALL INQUIRIES NOT RELATING TO SUCH A CLAIM WILL NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE.

Links and Advertising

For your convenience, this site provides links to websites operated by third parties. The Research Center has no control over and does not endorse or otherwise guarantee such websites. This site may also feature advertisements and sponsorships from third parties. The inclusion of an advertisement or sponsorship on this site does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by the Research Center with respect to any products or services of such third parties. The Research Center does not assume any responsibility or liability for the availability of such websites, advertising, or sponsorships; for any content, advertising, software, products, services and other materials on or available from such websites; or for such sponsors or the parties that operate such websites or display such advertisements. The Research Center shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss of any sort caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, advertising, software, products, services or other materials on or available through any such website or third party. Your correspondence or business dealings with such third parties, including but not limited to the payment and delivery of goods or services and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such third party. You should carefully review their privacy statements and other conditions of use. Your use of such websites and associated products and services is entirely at your own risk.

Links may be made to our website from other personal and organizational web pages. We require that you link to our site rather than downloading portions of it to another web server, so that our viewers will see our most up-to-date information.

Disclaimer
THE INFORMATION, SERVICES, PRODUCTS, AND MATERIALS CONTAINED IN THIS SITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO TEXT, GRAPHICS, ARTWORK, PHOTOGRAPHS, ILLUSTRATIONS, CAD DESIGNS, DOCUMENTS, AUDIO CLIPS, VIDEO CLIPS, SOFTWARE, DATA, SCORING TOOLS AND REPORTS, AND LINKS, ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY OR OTHER OBLIGATION OF ANY KIND. EXCEPT AS MAY BE OTHERWISE EXPRESSLY PROVIDED IN A SEPARATE AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND THE RESEARCH CENTER, THE RESEARCH CENTER AND ITS AFFILIATES MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY OF THE INFORMATION, SERVICES, PRODUCTS, AND MATERIALS CONTAINED IN OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE, INCLUDING THE RESULTS OF ANY SCORING TOOLS AND REPORTS. THE RESEARCH CENTER AND ITS AFFILIATES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, FOR ANY DAMAGE OR LOSS OF ANY SORT CAUSED OR ALLEGED TO BE CAUSED BY OR IN CONNECTION WITH USE OF OR RELIANCE ON ANY SCORING REPORTS OR OTHER INFORMATION OR MATERIALS GENERATED BY OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED FROM THIS SITE. ALL RISK OF USE LIES WITH THE USER. THE RESEARCH CENTER AND ITS AFFILIATES DISCLAIM ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO SUCH INFORMATION, SERVICES, PRODUCTS, AND MATERIALS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NONINFRINGEMENT, AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE. THE RESEARCH CENTER DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THIS SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR SECURE, THAT THIS SITE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE PROVIDED BY A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RESEARCH CENTER OR ITS AFFILIATES SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY.

YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DATA OR INFORMATION YOU CHOOSE TO STORE IN YOUR ACCOUNT, INCLUDING DATA REGARDING STORED PROJECTS. THE RESEARCH CENTER AND ITS AFFILIATES HEREBY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY WITH RESPECT THERETO, INCLUDING ANY LOSS OR CORRUPTION OF SUCH DATA OR INFORMATION. WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO RETAIN BACKUP COPIES OF ANY SUCH DATA OR INFORMATION.

WHILE WE USE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO FURNISH ACCURATE AND UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION, THE RESEARCH CENTER AND ITS AFFILIATES DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE INFORMATION ACCESSIBLE VIA THIS SITE IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE, RELIABLE, CURRENT OR ERROR-FREE. ALL INFORMATION, SERVICES, PRODUCTS AND MATERIALS ON THIS SITE ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. THE RESEARCH CENTER AND ITS AFFILIATES ASSUME NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE INFORMATION ACCESSIBLE VIA THIS SITE.

CERTAIN STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, YOU MIGHT HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.

Third Party Materials

The Research Center is not responsible for any material posted by or otherwise obtained from parties other than the Research Center, including but not limited to user testimonials and other postings, documents prepared by third parties and made available via this site and third party software. The Research Center is merely providing access to such material as a service to you.

With respect to any materials posted by or otherwise obtained from parties other than the Research Center, such parties are responsible for the reliability, accuracy and truthfulness of such material and such matters are beyond the control of the Research Center. Similarly, the Research Center has no control over whether such material is of a nature that users will find offensive or otherwise unacceptable and expressly disclaims any responsibility for such material. Just as when you obtain materials in any other setting, you should exercise appropriate discretion, good judgment and caution in accessing such materials and in taking any actions based upon such materials.

Accordingly, you will bear all risk associated with any such material that you access. Information and opinions expressed by users or other third parties are not necessarily those of the Research Center.

No Rendering of Advice

The information contained in or made available through this site is provided for informational purposes only. The Research Center is not engaged in providing legal, engineering, environmental, consulting, design, architectural, accounting, or other professional services of any kind through this site, and any user requiring such services is advised to seek the assistance of a competent professional. Your use of this site does not give rise to a client, advisory, fiduciary or professional services relationship between you and the Research Center.

Limitation of Liability

THE RESEARCH CENTER, ITS AFFILIATES AND ITS AND THEIR THIRD PARTY SUPPLIERS, ADVERTISERS, SPONSORS, AND EMPLOYEES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSSES OR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE OR ANY MATERIALS OR INFORMATION CONTAINED IN OR MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS SITE (INCLUDING SCORING REPORTS), INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, DATA OR USE OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES), EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THE FOREGOING LIMITATION SHALL APPLY REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION AND WHETHER IN CONTRACT, BREACH OF WARRANTY, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE. THIS INCLUDES DAMAGES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE.

THE RESEARCH CENTER, ITS AFFILIATES AND ITS AND THEIR THIRD PARTY SUPPLIERS, ADVERTISERS, SPONSORS AND EMPLOYEES CANNOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANY THIRD PARTY CLAIMS, LIABILITY, DAMAGES, OR COSTS ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND/OR ANY MATERIALS OBTAINED FROM THIS SITE (INCLUDING SCORING REPORTS), YOUR VIOLATION OF THESE TERMS OF USE, OR THE ACTIVITIES OF ANY USER OF YOUR ACCOUNT.

BECAUSE SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATES OR JURISDICTIONS THE RESEARCH CENTER'S LIABILITY, AND THE LIABILITY OF ITS AFFILIATES AND ITS AND THEIR SUPPLIERS, ADVERTISERS, SPONSORS, AND EMPLOYEES, SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

Termination and Suspension; Modifications to Site

The Research Center reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate, suspend or otherwise restrict your access to or use of this site (or any portion hereof) with or without notice at any time for any reason whatsoever, including without limitation if the Research Center believes that you have violated or acted inconsistently with the letter or spirit of these Terms. In addition, the Research Center reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify or temporarily or permanently suspend or discontinue this site (or any aspect or feature hereof) with or without notice at any time. The Research Center shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any such termination, suspension, restriction, modification or discontinuation.

Indemnification

By using this site and/or posting or distributing material, you agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Research Center, its affiliates and its and their third party suppliers, advertisers, and sponsors, and its and their officers, directors, employees, contractors and agents, for any and all claims, damages, defense costs, attorneys' fees and expenses, losses and causes of action arising out of your use or misuse of the site or any materials obtained from this site, posting of any material to this site, distributing of any materials obtained from this site, use of the scoring tool or distribution of or reliance on any results obtained therefrom, violation of any rights of any third party, or breach of these Terms. The Research Center reserves the right, at its expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you agree to cooperate with the Research Center in asserting any available defenses.

Governing Law; Exclusive Jurisdiction; Waiver of Jury Trial

The Research Center operates and maintains this site from within the United States of America. The Research Center makes no representation that this site or any content on or accessed through this site is appropriate or available for use in locations other than the United States of America. You are responsible for compliance with all local laws and regulations, as applicable, including but not limited to all applicable laws regarding online conduct and acceptable content, as well as all applicable export control laws. These Terms and the relationship between you and the Research Center shall be governed by the laws of the State of Maryland, USA, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods shall have no applicability to these Terms. The parties hereby agree to waive and opt-out of any application of the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA), or any version thereof, adopted by any State in any form. ANY LEGAL ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF THIS SITE SHALL BE INSTITUTED ONLY IN A STATE OR FEDERAL COURT LOCATED IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND, USA, AND YOU EXPRESSLY CONSENT TO THE PERSONAL AND EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF SUCH COURTS. EACH PARTY HEREBY WAIVES ITS RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY FOR ANY DISPUTES BETWEEN THE PARTIES.

Consent to Electronic Delivery of Notices

To the extent that the Research Center is required to provide you with any notices, agreements or other information regarding this site, you agree that the Research Center may deliver such information electronically, including without limitation posting the notices on the home page of this site or contacting you via email. To withdraw your consent to receive notices electronically, you must notify us of your withdrawal of such consent and discontinue your use of this site.

Minors

This site is not intended for use by or availability to minors. IF YOU ARE NOT LEGALLY AN ADULT UNDER THE LAW WHERE YOU LIVE OR IF YOU ARE UNDER 13 YEARS OF AGE, YOU MAY NOT ACCESS OR USE THIS SITE.

Miscellaneous

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and the Research Center with respect to your access to and use of this site and supersede any prior or contemporaneous agreements, whether written or oral, between you and the Research Center with respect to the subject matter hereof. The failure of the Research Center to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of these Terms is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of these Terms shall remain in full force and effect. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of this site or these Terms must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. The section headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not be given any legal or contractual effect.

Privacy

Please review our Privacy Policy, which also governs your visit to this site and is incorporated herein by reference, to understand our practices.

Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement

Pursuant to Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(2), all notifications of claimed copyright infringement on the Research Center website should be sent ONLY to our Designated Agent.

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS PROVIDED SOLELY FOR NOTIFYING THE RESEARCH CENTER THAT YOUR COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL MAY HAVE BEEN INFRINGED BY OUR USERS. Do not send any inquiries unrelated to copyright infringement (e.g., requests for technical assistance or customer service) to the contact listed below. You will not receive a response if sent to that contact.

Written notification must be submitted to the following Designated Agent:
Service Provider(s): NAHB Research Center, Inc.
Name of Agent Designated to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement: Thomas Kenney
Full Address of Designated Agent to Which Notification Should be Sent: NAHB Research Center, Inc., 400 Prince Georges Blvd., Upper Marlboro, MD 20774
Telephone Number of Designated Agent: (301) 249-4000
Facsimile Number of Designated Agent: (301) 430-6180
E-mail Address of Designated Agent: tkenney@nahbrc.com
Under Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(3)(A), the Notification of Claimed Infringement must include the following:

1. An electronic or physical signature of the owner or of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;
2. Identification of the copyrighted work (or works) that you claim has been infringed;
3. A description of the material that you claim is infringing, and the location where the original or an authorized copy of the copyrighted work exists (for example, the URL of the page of the website where it is lawfully posted; the name, edition and pages of a book from which an excerpt was copied; etc.);
4. A clear description of where the infringing material is located on our website, including as applicable its URL, so that we can locate the material;
5. Your address, telephone number and e-mail address;
6. A statement that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and
7. A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.