Station Terms of Service

(Last Revised November 7, 2008)

QUICK LINKS

I. INTRODUCTION

Our website located at www.station.sony.com, including all of its subsites (typically,any web pages which end in station.sony.com) and all software, products, features, games and services made available, displayed or offered by or through our website or subsites (collectively, "The Station"), is offered to you, the user, by Sony Online Entertainment LLC ("SOE") and its suppliers, service providers, licensors and licensees (collectively, "Third Party Providers") subject to your acceptance, without modification, of the terms, conditions, policies and notices contained herein. Your use of The Station constitutes your agreement to these terms, conditions, policies and notices (the "Agreement"). If you do not agree to be bound by this Agreement, you are not permitted to use or access The Station. If you are under the age of majority in your jurisdiction, you must make sure that your parent or guardian reads and accepts this Agreement on your behalf prior to your use of The Station. Please print a copy of this Agreement for your records.

The Agreement is applicable only to The Station and not other sites on the World Wide Web owned or operated by Sony Corporation (e.g., www.sony.com), its subsidiaries, affiliates and/or related entities (the "Sony Family"). Please note that if you are redirected or otherwise link to The Station from another website (including, without limitation, from one within the Sony Family), then this Agreement applies to your use of The Station (as opposed to any user agreement applicable to the website that you are leaving).

Examples of subsites of The Station include:

SOE may change, add or remove any part of this Agreement, or any other terms associated with the use of The Station, at any time, by posting a notice of such changes on The Station. Any changes shall become part of the Agreement and shall apply as soon as such a notice is posted. By continuing to use The Station after the notice is posted, you are indicating your acceptance of those changes.

The Station is for your individual, non-commercial, entertainment purposes only. Except as may be expressly permitted by SOE, you may not sell or exchange anything you copy or derive from The Station. As long as you comply with the terms of this Agreement, and subject to the terms of any applicable End User License Agreement for our games and services, SOE grants you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited right during the term of this Agreement to enter, use, perform and display The Station and everything on it. You agree not to interrupt or attempt to interrupt the operation of The Station in any way.

II. OUR PRIVACY POLICY

A. GENERAL

Our general Privacy Policy (as of the most recent effective date) ("Privacy Policy") is incorporated into this Agreement by reference and provides additional terms and conditions related to our potential use, collection and disclosure of your personal information. You agree that you have reviewed, agree to and understand our Privacy Policy and the terms and conditions thereof. If you are located outside of the United States, please note that the information that you provide is being sent to the United States. By using The Station, you consent to your data being sent to the United States and to such other third parties and jurisdictions as may be involved in the provision and operation of The Station.

B. FOR KIDS - UNDER AGE 13

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act imposes certain rules regarding our collection, use and disclosure of personal information from children under the age of 13 ("Children" and individually each, a "Child"). As a result, special terms applying to children under 13 are included within our Privacy Policy. We ask that parents and guardians ("Parents") monitor and restrict their Children's access to and use of The Station to the games and services we offer for Children, such as the subsite www.freerealms.station.sony.com, where we have set-up additional protection and parental controls.

C. FOR PARENTS

Parents are encouraged to spend time online with their children under the age of 18 and to become familiar with the types of content available on The Station and the Internet in general. Parents should regularly oversee their kids' use of e-mail and other online communications and transactional features. Control tools are available from online services and software manufacturers that can help provide a safe online environment for kids. You can find out about software that protects your kids at the Direct Marketing Association's home page at: http://www.the-dma.org. If your son or daughter has used your credit card on The Station without your permission, contact us immediately at accounts@soe.sony.com.

D. CONSENT TO MONITOR

Please note that some games available on or through The Station may, when in operation, monitor your computer's random access memory, MAC address, and system and configuration files, crash data, etc. for the purpose of monitoring and improving quality and service and also for the purpose of identifying unauthorized third party programs running concurrently with your game which, in SOE's sole determination: (i) enable or facilitate cheating of any type; (ii) allow users to modify or hack the applicable game interface, environment, and/or experience in any way not expressly authorized by SOE; or (iii) intercept, "mine" or otherwise collect information from or through the applicable game (an "Unauthorized Third Party Program"). In the event that a game detects an Unauthorized Third Party Program, (a) the game may communicate information back to SOE, including without limitation your Station Account username, details about the Unauthorized Third Party Program detected and the activities or functions performed thereby, and/or details about your computer, and/or (b) SOE may exercise any or all of its rights and remedies under this Agreement or the applicable game end user license agreement without prior notice to the user linked to such Unauthorized Third Party Program.

In addition, you acknowledge that any and all character and account data that is stored and is resident on our servers, and any and all communications that you make within The Station or any game (including, but not limited to, messages solely directed at another player or group of players) traverse through our servers, may or may not be monitored by us or our agents, you have no expectation of privacy in any such communications and expressly consent to such monitoring of communications you send and receive. For example, SOE may monitor chat rooms in certain portions of The Station directed to Children.

III. STATION ACCOUNTS

A. INTRODUCTION

Certain content, games and/or services provided by SOE through The Station may be accessed and/or used by you without requiring registration or login to The Station (collectively, "Public Materials"). Other content, games and/or services provided by SOE through The Station, require that you register and open an account (a "Station Account") on The Station in order to be accessed and/or used by you (collectively, "Member Materials"). This Agreement applies equally to your access and use of Public Materials and Member Materials. Any Station Account supplied to you is personal to you, and you may not transfer or make available your Station Account username and/or password to others, including, without limitation, your co-workers or other members of your household (except that Child restricted account information may be accessed by a Parent using parental controls). Any distribution by you of such Station Account username and/or password may result in suspension, termination and/or cancellation of your Station Account.

B. PRE-REGISTRATION

Before you register for a free Station Account, you will be asked your date of birth, gender, and country of residence in order to determine the type of Station Account for which you are eligible. Children identified as under thirteen (13) are subject to a restricted Station Account in order to help limit access to certain adult content, games and services where personal information may be collected, used or disclosed (please see below regarding registration of a Child's account and our Privacy Policy for more information).

C. STATION ACCOUNT REGISTRATION FOR ADULTS AND INDIVIDUALS 13 AND OVER

If your provided date of birth shows that you are thirteen (13) years of age or older, you will be asked to provide a Station username, password, Station handle (optional), and your gender, country, and, in some cases, to once again provide your birthdate. Your Station username and password are used to log-in to your Station Account and to authenticate your identity when necessary. We may also provide you with the opportunity to provide a secret question and answer for added security. When choosing your Station username and/or Station handle, DO NOT use personal information (for example, your full name, surname or e-mail address) that can be used to identify who you are. Your Station handle is the name that will be used to identify you publicly on The Station (e.g., when using SOE Communication Features, as defined below). For added security, we also ask that you do not use your Station username as your Station handle. As part of the registration process we will require that you provide a valid e-mail address in order to provide notices to you about The Station and/or any content, games or services you have requested. In addition, we will provide you with the ability to opt-in to and/or opt-out of additional communications from SOE, the Sony Family and/or our partners. All such communications are subject to our Privacy Policy.

D. ACCESSING YOUR STATION ACCOUNT INFORMATION

You can access, edit and update your Station Account information at anytime by clicking on "My Account" at the top of The Station home page. It is your responsibility to make sure that all information on your My Account page is truthful, complete, current and accurate.

E. STATION ACCOUNT REGISTRATION AND ACTIVATION FOR YOUR CHILD'S ACCOUNT

1. Restricted Accounts Registration

We offer restricted accounts to Children ("Restricted Accounts") which may be used only to access specific Member Materials which are intended for Children. If your Child provides us with a birth date that indicates he or she is under the age of thirteen (13), then your computer may be identified by us for a period of time as being utilized by a Child (such as through the use of a cookie or other technical means) so that your Child will only be permitted to sign up for a Restricted Account with us. When registering for a Restricted Account, in addition to the information your Child provides during pre-registration, your Child will be asked to choose a Station username and password, and to provide a parent or guardian's e-mail address (a secret question and answer may also be subsequently created for the account).

2. Restricted Activation

After successful submission of all registration information, your Child's Restricted Account will be activated ("Restricted Activation") and will remain restricted until such time as your Child reaches the age of thirteen (13) (at which time such Restricted Account shall become a standard unrestricted Station Account).

3. Parental Controls

You, as the Parent of the Child with a Restricted Account, will receive an e-mail communication notifying you of the Restricted Activation of your Child's account shortly after it is created and providing you with your Child's account username and password information. Such e-mail communication will contain a link through which you can access your Child's account using his or her username and password and set certain parental controls which may enable you to limit certain content, games and services available to your Child while using The Station and/or any Member Materials available to your Child thereon. For added security, you will be provided the ability to specify a password which will be used to access and make changes to the parental controls applicable to your Child's account.

In the event that you do not have access to your Child's username and/or password information, you may contact a customer service representative at accounts@soe.sony.com for assistance in attempting to obtain this information. To protect you and your Child's privacy and security, we will take reasonable steps to help verify your identity before granting you access to the information that we have collected and maintained about you or your Child.

F. SECURITY OF YOUR ACCOUNT

It is important that you remember your Station username and password and that you keep your Station username, password and any security questions in a safe offline location.

If you forget your Station username or password and have not provided us with any security questions and answers, you may not be able to access the Member Materials and/or your Station Account.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Station Account and for all activities that occur through the use of your Station Account. You agree to: (i) immediately notify SOE of any unauthorized use of your Station Account or any other breach of security, and (ii) ensure that you secure your Station Account and computer from third party access. SOE will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this Section. You may be issued a new password or required to change your password from time to time.

We have implemented physical, electronic and managerial procedures in order to help safeguard and prevent unauthorized access, use and/or disclosure of your personal information. Although we use reasonable efforts to safeguard the security of your personal information, transmissions made on or through the Internet and personal information stored on our servers or the servers of third parties that we use are vulnerable to attack and cannot be guaranteed to be secure. In addition, submissions made via e-mail are not protected by encryption and are vulnerable to interception during transmission.

IV. STATION COMMUNICATION FEATURES

A. GENERAL

The Station's communication features (such as Station Launcher, Message Boards, voicemail, voice chat, universal chat, messenger-type features, e-mail, e-mail-forwarding, pagers and mobile devices) may be provided to some or all Station Members (some of which may require paid subscriptions or other fees); other or similar communication features (such as in-game or out-of-game voice or text chat, game related message boards, e-mail, e-mail-forwarding, messenger-type features and/or community areas) are services that may be provided to some or all users of certain games available on or through The Station (collectively, "SOE Communication Features").

You understand that by using SOE Communication Features, you may be exposed to messages, information, data, text, software, graphic files, or other materials, whether in written, verbal, electronic, digital, machine-readable or other form, whether now known or hereafter to become known ("User Content") that you might find objectionable. SOE and its Third Party Providers do not control the content of any User Content and do not guarantee their accuracy, integrity or quality. You understand that any User Content sent through or appearing on SOE Communication Features is the sole responsibility of those persons transmitting such User Content. This means that you, and not SOE, are entirely responsible for all User Content that you transmit. Under no circumstances will SOE or its Third Party Providers be liable for any errors or omissions in any User Content or for any loss or damages of any kind incurred as a result of the access to, downloading, viewing, listening, use of or inability to use any User Content sent through or appearing on any SOE Communication Features.

SOE and SOE's Third Party Providers have no obligation to monitor or supervise SOE Communication Features and/or User Content, and expressly disclaim any representation that we or our Third Party Providers will monitor or supervise such Communication Features and/or User Content. However, as previously discussed, we expressly reserve the right, but not the obligation, in our sole discretion to monitor, screen, edit, refuse to post, block or remove, in each case, in accordance with applicable law, any User Content, in whole or in part, sent through or appearing on any SOE Communication Feature and you have no expectation of privacy in any content in any of the SOE Communication Features. Without limiting the foregoing, SOE and/or its Third Party Providers and designees shall have the right to block or remove, in whole or in part, any User Content that is in violation of this Agreement, is illegal, infringing or otherwise offensive or objectionable. Accordingly, you acknowledge that SOE Communication Features are forums for public and not private communications. You also agree to indemnify and hold SOE and its Third Party Providers and designees harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your violation of these terms and conditions or your violation of any rights of another.

Prior to using any SOE communication Features, please carefully review SOE's policies concerning (i) submission of creative ideas, suggestions and materials, (ii) fan fiction, artwork, content or user generated content, and (iii) uploading of photographs, video, and audio materials, located in Section VII of this Agreement.

B. RULES OF CONDUCT

You agree not to do any of the following while accessing or using The Station or any SOE Communication Features:

  1. transmit or facilitate the transmission of any User Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, that may be invasive of another's right of privacy or publicity, hateful, racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
  2. impersonate any person or entity, including but not limited to, a Station or other Sony official, employee, representative or agent (or an official, employee, representative or agent of SOE's affiliates, licensors or licensees), forum leader, guide or host or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
  3. transmit or facilitate the transmission of any User Content that you do not have a right to transmit, under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as nondisclosure agreements);
  4. transmit or facilitate the transmission of any User Content that contains a virus, corrupted data, trojan horse, bot, keystroke logger, worm, time bomb, cancelbot or other computer programming routines that are intended to and/or actually damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or mine, scrape or expropriate any system, data or personal information;
  5. delete any author attributions, legal notices or proprietary designations or labels that you upload to or through an SOE Communication Feature;
  6. use an SOE Communication Feature in a manner that adversely affects the availability of its resources to other users (e.g., excessive shouting (use of all caps), flooding (continuous posting of repetitive text) or excessively large embedded images);
  7. transmit or facilitate the transmission of any unsolicited advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail", "spam", "chain letters", "pyramid schemes" or any other form of solicitation;
  8. intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, rule or regulation;
  9. transmit or facilitate the transmission of any User Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights ("Rights") of any party;
  10. transmit any User Content to an SOE Communication Feature which discloses your or any other person's personal information; and
  11. transmit or facilitate the transmission of any content to an e-mail address, messenger-feature address or other location that is not yours or to which you do not have the expressly authorized right to use without securing the prior authorization of such other person or entity.

SOE retains the right to suspend, terminate, or otherwise sanction The Station membership and/or game subscription of any Station Member who violates the foregoing Rules of Conduct.

C. RIGHTS IN USER CONTENT

Any and all User Content submitted (e.g., by uploading or transmitting) to SOE shall be deemed, and shall remain, the property of SOE and/or its Third Party Providers from the moment of creation. Accordingly, SOE shall exclusively own all now known or hereafter existing copyrights and all other intellectual property rights to all User Content of every kind and nature, in perpetuity, throughout the universe. To the extent that any of the above may be void or unenforceable, you agree that any and all User Content is hereby irrevocably assigned to SOE and/or its Third Party Providers, together with all intellectual property rights therein. To the extent any of the User Content is not assignable, by submitting User Content to an SOE Communication Feature, you agree that SOE and/or its Third Party Providers shall be irrevocably entitled to, throughout the universe and in perpetuity, use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, broadcast, license, perform, post, sell, translate, create derivative works from and distribute any User Content for any purpose whatsoever, commercial or otherwise, in any medium now known or hereafter devised, without compensation or credit to the provider of the User Content. You also give up any claim that any use by SOE and/or its Third Party Providers of any User Content violates any of your rights, including but not limited to moral rights, privacy rights, rights to publicity, proprietary or other rights, and/or rights to credit for the material or ideas set forth therein.

D. LINKS

The Station, including the SOE Communication Features, may provide and users may include in messages, links to other web sites or resources. SOE and its Third Party Providers are not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and do not endorse and are not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. SOE and its Third Party Providers shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of, inability to use or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on such external sites or resources.

V. FEE-BASED STATION GAMES

Some content, games, products and/or services offered on or through The Station may be offered to you on a fee basis. If you elect to subscribe to or purchase fee-based content, games, products and/or services and transmit to SOE a purchase request, you warrant that (i) you are the age of majority in your jurisdiction, or (ii) if you are a minor, you have your parent's permission, and that your use of the particular credit card or other accepted method of payment is authorized and that all information that you submit is true and accurate (including, without limitation, your credit card number and expiration date), and you agree to pay all fees you incur, including all recurring subscription fees unless and until you affirmatively terminate your game, content, product or service account in accordance with the terms for such game, content, product or service. As specified in Section III(A) above regarding Station Accounts, any Station username and password supplied to you in connection with fee-based Member Materials that you purchase is personal to you, and you may not transfer or make available your Station Account name and password to others. Any distribution by you of such Station Account username and password may result in suspension, termination or cancellation of your access to such fee-based Member Materials without refund and in additional charges based on unauthorized use. Your purchase of any fee based content, games and/or services via The Station is subject to our Sales Policies, as discussed in Section VI below.

You understand that online games, and system specifications necessary to play those games, may continuously evolve over time. Accordingly, SOE reserves the right to modify and/or increase the system specifications necessary to play any game - whether free or subscription based - at any time and without notice. In such case, you and not SOE shall be responsible for purchasing any necessary additional software and/or hardware in order to access and play those games. You also acknowledge and agree that SOE and its Third Party Providers do not ensure continuous or error-free access or availability of any game content, feature, game-play, service or server and may change, modify, disable, suspend or remove any such content, feature, game-play, service or server in their sole discretion.

VI. OUR SALES POLICIES

A. THE STORE

Users of The Station who have a Station Account can purchase (or in some circumstances redeem through the use of Station Cash (as described in Section VII(F) below)) SOE products and services, such as digital game downloads, physical copies of games, and other products such as magazines and collectibles at http://store.station.sony.com (the "Store"). You will be required to log into your Station Account before proceeding to checkout. Before conducting any transaction at the Store, please see our Sales Policies set forth in this Section VI below for further details regarding our policies on shipping, refunds and exchanges, ordering, use of credit cards and payment, and other related matters.

Items offered for sale and/or redemption through the Store are for personal use only. All orders of a particular item are subject to quantity limitations (usually five (5) items or less). We reserve the right to cancel orders that appear to be for commercial or retail use. These restrictions apply to orders placed by the same customer or Station Account, those using the same credit card, or those using the same billing/shipping address. In the event your order is canceled, we will attempt to notify you using the e-mail provided with your order.

B. USE OF METHODS OF PAYMENT AND GAME CARDS

SOE's commerce systems use secure socket layer encryption technology when you transmit payment information (e.g. your credit card number) to us. For US Dollar payments, we accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and JCB. For non-US Dollar currencies, SOE offers a variety of payment methods in currencies such as Euros, Pound Sterling, Japanese Yen, Swedish Krona, Danish Krona, Norwegian Krone, Swiss Franc, and Australian Dollars. In addition, we may permit you to redeem your Station Cash for certain designated products or services offered through the Store.

If you have elected to purchase or redeem Station Cash for SOE products and/or services through SOE's commerce systems, upon your acceptance of these terms and submission of your order, you hereby agree that we have the right to automatically charge your credit card or debit your account for the applicable fees or charges, plus any applicable taxes we are required to collect, and you authorize us to do so. The Station Cash value posted by SOE on the Store for any product or service being offered for redemption is inclusive of the applicable sales taxes therefor. However, any prices posted in US Dollar or non-US dollar currencies by SOE on the Store do not include any applicable sales tax. With respect to the purchase of any games through SOE's commerce systems, you will be required to review and accept the applicable end user license agreement for such game prior to submitting your order. After the submission of your order, you will receive an e-mail receipt from SOE providing full details of your purchase or redemption. Please print a copy of such e-mail for your records. You hereby agree to receive all notices and records from SOE in electronic form, and you acknowledge that you will only be entitled to receive notices or records from SOE in paper form by contacting us directly and making such request.

Thereafter, if you have purchased or redeemed a subscription based product or service, each time your subscription comes up for renewal, we have the right to charge your credit card or debit your account the then-current renewal rate plus any applicable taxes we are required to collect, and you authorize us to do so. All charges made to your credit card or debits to your account can be viewed by you under the Payment History section of SOE's customer account management web site (https://account.station.sony.com/authenticated/cam/paymentHistory.action). If we are unable to process your credit card or debit your account at a renewal period, your subscription may be immediately terminated and your access to the applicable product or service shall be limited to the use of "free of charge" functions, if any. SOE reserves the right to change the fees or applicable charges and to institute new charges at any time, upon at least ten (10) days prior notice to you (which notice may be provided by e-mail or through posting such notice on The Station).

You can stop the automatic renewal of your subscription services at any time by logging into SOE's customer account management system (https://account.station.sony.com/authenticated/cam/amHome.vm), clicking on the "Subscriptions Info" button, and then click on the "Cancel" button for the subscription you wish to stop, then click the "Yes" button to confirm your cancellation of service. So long as you elect to stop the automatic renewal of your subscription at least three (3) business days prior to your next monthly cycle, you will not be billed the applicable fees for such next subscription cycle. In the event you cancel your subscription service, SOE will not refund any fees already paid or owed by you.

You may purchase or redeem SOE game cards through the Store which provide you with pre-paid access to various games for a specified subscription period (each a "Game Card"). If we make a Game Card available and you use a Game Card to pay for subscription services through the Store, the Game Card shall activate your subscription service for the period stated on the Game Card and, thereafter, you will either need to provide an additional payment method accepted by SOE or purchase another Game Card for subsequent subscription periods, or your subscription will be terminated.

C. REFUNDS AND RETURNS POLICY

In the event that you have purchased any packaged goods from SOE, you may return such packaged goods to us for any reason within thirty (30) days of shipment for a full refund, less shipping and handling charges. No refunds will be made for purchases of Virtual Goods (including purchases of Station Cash), items that are downloadable or opened, that are received by us more than thirty (30) days after delivery or that were obtained using Station Cash. Downloaded products or account keys purchased to activate or unlock downloaded software are non-refundable at any time. Refused orders will be treated as a return, with the same policy that applies to returned items.

Prior to returning your merchandise, please send an e-mail to returns@station.sony.com if you need to report a damaged order, or if you need to request an exchange.

Unless you have requested an exchange, you can expect a refund in the same form of payment originally used for purchase within thirty (30) days after we receive your return. If a package is (i) undeliverable (including those for which the shipper cannot locate the intended recipient, resulting in the order being returned to sender or abandoned) or (ii) refused (including instances in which the recipient is unwilling to pay any applicable taxes or duties which results in the order being returned to sender or abandoned), shipping and handling charges shall nonetheless be due and payable. All undeliverable or refused orders will be treated as a return, with the same policy applied as returned items.

Please indicate the reason for your return, include the packing slip which was enclosed with your original order detailing the items you purchased, and wrap the package securely. If you do not have your packing slip, please indicate on a separate piece of paper the order number, the name, address, and e-mail address of the person who purchased the order, along with the reason for the return. Enclose this with the returned item, and send the entire package to the following address:

Sony Online Entertainment LLC Returns

1915 10th Ave. W

Mobridge, SD 57601

USA

For your protection, we recommend that you use UPS or Insured Parcel Post for your shipment. If you would like to contact us directly, please e-mail us at: returns@station.sony.com.

D. ORDERING AND CANCELLATIONS

You can check the orders you've placed under the Payment History section of SOE's customer account management web site (https://account.station.sony.com/authenticated/cam/paymentHistory.action). You will receive an e-mail after shipment has occurred that contains the tracking number of your package and a link to the carrier's web site.

Due to the high demand for our products and the short time between when you place your order and when we ship it, we cannot accept cancellations. Once you have submitted an order on-line through the Store, the purchase of an account key for downloadable software unlocks the product and is not reusable, and therefore cannot be cancelled or refunded once purchased. However, you can return packaged items in accordance with our return policy described above.

E. PRE-ORDERS

From time to time, pre-ordering of Sony Family products may be permitted through the Store. You will receive two e-mails from us during the pre-ordering/shipping process. The first e-mail you receive will be a verification of receipt of your pre-order. The second e-mail will notify you when your pre-order has been upgraded to an order, which will allow you to track its progress on the Account History page.

In order to change your shipping or billing information submitted with respect to a pre-order, or the quantity of products pre-ordered, you will need to cancel your original pre-order (with the outdated information) and place a new pre-order using your updated information. You can make this change by clicking here. However, you will not be able to change your shipping or billing information, or change a pre-order, once such pre-order has been upgraded to an order.

Our pre-order products each have different projected release dates. This prevents us from combining these items together in a single order. If one of the products were to be delayed, your entire order could not be shipped until all items were in stock. So, we handle pre-orders individually to ensure you receive your pre-order products in a timely manner. The only way around this is to pre-order the items separately, allowing us to ship each order individually as they become available, or to wait until all the products have been released before placing your order. At that time you will be able to add multiple products to your order.

Please review the product description page to confirm the most current projected release date; we do not ship products prior to the release date. Please keep in mind that all release dates are estimates only and are subject to change.

Pre-order of digitally delivered products and services are subject to the terms of each such offer. Please be advised that download speeds may vary greatly depending on factors such as your internet connection and the traffic to our servers at any particular time.

F. SHIPPING

For order which are in stock, such orders are usually shipped within 1-2 business days of the order being received. Delivery times are from the date the order is shipped and are dependent upon the mode of shipping selected. If you are unable to view the tracking information provided through the UPS site (located at http://ups.com/), your package may not have been scanned into the UPS system. If your order does not arrive within fifteen (15) days of receiving the e-mail titled Your Station Store.com Order Has Shipped, please send an e-mail with your name (as it appears in your billing information) and order number to returns@station.sony.com with your name and order number for assistance. Claims for refunds will be reviewed and approved by UPS according to their guarantee policy.

Due to space limitations, the confirmation e-mail may cut-off some letters or characters. Street address lines display up to thirty (30) English characters on the UPS shipping label. Before reporting that your address is incomplete, please log into the Store (https://store.station.sony.com/) and click on the Billing Info section. Open the order that you are concerned about and verify that all of the information is accurate. To report missing characters or an incorrect address, please send an e-mail with your name (as it appears in your billing information) and order number to returns@soe.sony.com. In most cases we will not be able to notify UPS of the address change until it arrives in your destination city. This may cause a minimum of one day delay in delivery. Please note that, if the purchaser entered the incorrect address (including zip code) or failed to enter an apartment or suite number, this delay will not be covered under the UPS delivery guarantee.

Occasionally taxes and duties charges may change between the time the pre-order is placed and when the order ships, based upon the area shipped to. These fees are your responsibility and are determined at the time of shipment. For shipments outside the United States, additional customs import duties and/or taxes may be applicable in the recipient country. The party receiving the shipment is responsible for paying any such customs duties and/or taxes. In addition to the fees described above, if you are a resident of a European Union country, you will also be charged any applicable VAT fees. Please check with your local government to determine what, if any, customs duties and/or taxes may be required; please check with United Parcel Service to determine what, if any, administrative or brokerage fees are applicable.

USPS is the only shipping method available for Military and P.O. Box addresses. Visit the UPS or USPS websites for more information about delivery times.

H. HOW TO CONTACT SOE CUSTOMER SERVICE

You may contact Customer Service by completing the form located on our Knowledge Base. Please follow these instructions:

1. Select the e-mail Support tab.
2. Enter your e-mail address, Station Name, First and Last name in the designated fields.
3. Under the Requested Information section, choose a Product and Category (To access Station Store, select Accounts/Billing from the drop down menu).
4. If applicable, please include the Order Identification Number (Order ID) within the body of the message.
5. Click Continue to submit the form.

If you wish to contact us about a return, please send an e-mail to returns@station.sony.com. Please see our return policy above for further details.

Additional support information is available Monday to Friday 9 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. PST via phone at:

(858)-790-7827 for Star Wars Galaxies; and

(858)-537-0898 for EverQuest, EverQuest II, EverQuest Online Adventures, PlanetSide, Matrix Online, Vanguard, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Free Realms.

VII. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

A. GENERAL

The Station, including, without limitation, all SOE Communication Features, contains copyrighted material, trademarks and other proprietary information including, without limitation, text, software, photographs, video, graphics, music and sound, and the entire contents of The Station and each area contained therein are copyrighted as a collective work under the United States copyright laws. SOE owns a copyright in the selection, coordination, arrangement and enhancement of such content. You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit, any of the content contained on The Station (including, without limitation, content that The Station enables you to download) without the express written permission of SOE and any other applicable owner. In the event of any permitted copying, redistribution or publication of copyrighted material, no changes in or deletion of author attribution, trademark, legend or copyright notice may be made. The downloading of copyrighted material from The Station is allowed by you only for your own use. You acknowledge that SOE and/or third-party content providers remain the owners of all materials posted on The Station, and that you do not acquire any of those ownership rights by downloading copyrighted materials.

SOE hereby grants to each Station game subscriber that is in good standing (each, a "Game Subscriber"), such grant to be automatically revoked as of the moment that the subscriber's account is no longer in good standing, a limited, personal, nonexclusive, nontransferable, nonassignable and fully revocable license to use (a) the relevant SOE game name, and (b) trademarks and copyrighted material from the applicable game, including non-player character (NPC) names and images, deity and monster names and images, geographical names, item names and images, character names and images, background art, and screenshots containing any of the foregoing (collectively, the "SOE Game Property"), solely to be used for material (for example, so-called "fan fiction" and "fan artwork") that the Game Subscriber posts to and/or transmits through SOE Communication Features ("Game Licensed Content") in accordance with this Agreement -- and for no other use. Each Game Subscriber promises SOE that any Game Licensed Content that he or she provides shall comply in all respects with this Agreement.

B. COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK NOTICES

All contents, games and other information offered on or through The Station are subject to copyright and trademark protections, as detailed in our Legal and Copyright Notices.

C. Fan Sites

  1. Solely in connection with your fansite or your fansite pages dedicated to the games that SOE develops, publishes and/or distributes, we may grant you, on a non-exclusive and non-sublicenseable basis, permission to reproduce and redistribute on the fansite to end users, certain SOE and Third Party Provider game-related images, graphics or artwork (the "SOE Fansite Content") and certain SOE and Third Party Provider trademarks and logos (the "SOE Marks") that SOE may expressly designate "for fansite use" on fansite pages at www.station.com or its associated game sites, so long as you comply with the terms and conditions described here and on the fansite pages, as those terms and conditions may be modified from time to time in SOE's sole discretion. You acknowledge and agree that SOE shall have the right to amend, delete, add to or otherwise modify any SOE Fansite Content used or accessed by you in accordance with this Section VII(C)(1).
  2. As the operator of an independent, unaffiliated web site, you will have sole editorial control over the fansite, except that you represent and warrant to SOE that the fansite will not post material that is illegal or infringes on the rights of third parties or harms the reputation of the game, SOE, its parent or affiliate companies, or its officers or employees. If at any time you post such disparaging material, or material that is illegal or infringes upon the rights of any third party, SOE may terminate the grant set forth in Section VII(C)(1). Your ownership in the fansite excludes the SOE Fansite Content and SOE Marks and excludes any derivative works based upon or including the SOE Fansite Content and/or SOE Marks. The fansite is not a "Joint Work" as that term is defined in the United States Copyright Act, Title 17 United States Code ("U.S.C.").
  3. You agree to include SOE's trademark, copyright or other proprietary rights notices, as provided on the fansite page for the game referenced, when displaying SOE Fansite Content or SOE Marks, and agree to comply with usage guidelines that may be provided by SOE from time to time. You shall not remove or alter any identifying information or copyright management information conveyed in connection with copies of SOE Fansite Content or SOE Marks, including in digital form; nor challenge SOE's or its Third Party Provider's ownership of the SOE Fansite Content or SOE Marks, nor use or adopt any trademarks that might be confusingly similar to such SOE Marks.
  4. SOE reserves all rights, title and interest in and to the SOE Fansite Content and SOE Marks which are not expressly granted herein. You shall not rent, lease, reproduce, modify, translate or create derivative works of the SOE Fansite Content except as expressly permitted herein, nor create any derivative works (including without limitation fiction or visual art) from, or in any way exploit, any of the characters or content contained in the game or on The Station, without the express written permission of SOE. SOE does not consent to the protection under the copyright law of any unauthorized derivative work. The creation and sale of merchandise based on the game or upon SOE Fansite Content or SOE Marks is expressly prohibited.
  5. If you intend to charge a subscription or access fee to generate revenue from the fansite, we would require you to execute a simple license agreement with us. The limited permission granted here with respect to fansite use of certain SOE Fansite Content and SOE Marks does not cover such circumstances.
  6. Fansites that quote an article or patch message from an SOE site (such as Harpy's Head Tavern or other game site associated with Station.com) are requested to limit the quote to a paragraph or less and provide a link back to The Station or associated game site for the full article or message, rather than reproducing on the fansite the entire patch message or article. Permission to link from the fansite to Station.com or the associated game site is granted in such circumstances.
  7. Under no circumstances will SOE be liable to you for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages of any kind in connection with this permission. SOE reserves the right in its sole discretion to expressly refuse this permission to any particular fansite, or to revoke this permission at any time.

D. POLICY ON REPEAT INFRINGERS; AGENT FOR NOTIFICATIONS OF CLAIMED INFRINGEMENT

  1. We respect the intellectual property rights of others and request that the people who use The Station do the same. Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 512(i) of the United States Copyright Act, SOE has adopted and implemented a policy respecting the copyright law that provides for the termination in appropriate circumstances of users of the SOE online system or network who are repeat infringers. SOE may terminate access for content providers or forum participants (e.g., StationChat, voice chat, universal chat, messenger type features, Message Boards, pagers, etc.) who are found repeatedly to provide or post protected User Content without necessary rights and permissions.
  2. If you believe that your work has been copied and is accessible on The Station in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, you may notify us by providing our copyright agent (specified below) with the following information in writing and in the form required by 17 U.S.C. 512 of the United States Copyright Act:
  3. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
  4. A description of the copyrighted work that you allege is being infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted are to be covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works;
  5. A description of the allegedly infringing material and information sufficient to permit us to locate the material;
  6. Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and/or an electronic mail address;
  7. A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, or its agent, or the law; and
  8. A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that you have the authority to enforce the copyrights that are claimed to be infringed.
  9. Interim Designation of Agent to Receive Notifications of Claimed Infringement, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 512 (c) of the United States Copyright Act: Address: Sony Online Entertainment LLC, 8928 Terman Court, San Diego, CA. 92121. Name of Agent Designated to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement: Andrew S. Zaffron, Office of the General Counsel and Executive Vice President, Business Affairs. Address of Designated Agent to which Notification Should be Sent: Sony Online Entertainment LLC, 8928 Terman Court, San Diego, CA. 92121. Telephone Number of Designated Agent: (858) 577-3100. Facsimile Number of Designated Agent: (858) 577-3356. E-mail Address of Designated Agent: gcagent@soe.sony.com. This e-mail address is intended solely for the receipt of legal "Notifications of Claimed Infringement" under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, as codified in 17 U.S.C. 512. It is not intended for general inquiries and permission requests concerning the use of SOE content.

E. SUBMISSIONS, FAN FICTION, ARTWORK, CONTENT, AND PHOTOGRAPHS

  1. SOE is pleased to hear from its customers and welcomes your comments regarding SOE's online services. Unfortunately, however, SOE's long-standing company policy does not allow it to accept or consider creative ideas, suggestions or materials other than those it has specifically requested. The intent of this policy is to avoid the possibility of future misunderstandings when projects developed by SOE's professional staff might seem to others to be similar to their own creative work. Accordingly, we must, regretfully, ask that you do not send us any original creative materials such as game ideas or original artwork. While we do value your feedback on our services and products, we request that you be specific in your comments on those services and products, and not submit any creative ideas, suggestions or materials.
  2. Any and all creative suggestions, ideas, notes, drawings, concepts or other information that you send to us, whether at our specific request or despite our request that you not do so (other than Content transmitted on SOE Communication Features) and any and all Licensed Content (collectively, "Submissions") shall be deemed, and shall remain, the property of SOE from the moment of creation. Accordingly, SOE shall exclusively own all now known or hereafter existing copyrights and all other intellectual property rights to all Submissions of every kind and nature, in perpetuity, throughout the universe. To the extent that any of the Submissions may be void or unenforceable, you agree that any and all Submissions are hereby irrevocably assigned to SOE, together with all intellectual property rights therein. In the event that any of the Submissions are not assignable, you agree that SOE shall be irrevocably entitled to, throughout the universe and in perpetuity, use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, broadcast, license, perform, post, sell, translate, create derivative works from and distribute any Submission for any purpose whatsoever, commercial or otherwise, in any medium now known or hereafter devised, without compensation or credit to the provider of the Submission. You also give up any claim that any use by SOE and/or its licensee(s) of any Submission violates any of your rights, including but not limited to moral rights, privacy rights, rights to publicity, proprietary or other rights, and/or rights to credit for the material or ideas set forth therein. If you provide any Submission, you promise that you are eighteen years of age or older; if you are under eighteen (18) years of age, you must first contact SOE at license@soe.sony.com to obtain an agreement for your Parent to sign. You agree at SOE's request to execute such further documents and do such further acts as may be necessary or desirable to document, perfect, register, or enforce SOE's ownership of the Submissions, including, without limitation, execution of a copyright assignment in a form provided by SOE in its sole discretion. If you fail or refuse to execute any such documents, you hereby appoint SOE as your attorney in fact, which appointment is coupled with an interest and is irrevocable, to act on your behalf and to execute, deliver, record and file such documents
  3. If you upload any photograph, video, or audio file to or through any SOE Communication Feature, you (i) grant to SOE the non-exclusive, worldwide right to use, post, publish and display such material on The Station, without royalty or compensation of any kind, (ii) expressly waive any and all rights of privacy, moral rights or rights of attribution and integrity, in and with respect to the photograph, video, or audio file, (iii) promise that the material is either a picture, video, or audio file of you or that duplication and distribution of the material will not violate any right of or require any compensation to any person or entity, (iv) promise that you are the copyright owner of the material or have all rights necessary to authorize its unfettered use and distribution and (v) promise that you are eighteen (18) years of age or older. You understand that, once your photograph, video, or audio file is posted, anyone can download and/or distribute that material. You expressly waive any and all claims you may have against SOE and release SOE from any and all liability arising from or related to the submission and SOE's or any third party's use or transmission of the photograph, video, or audio file.

F. STATION CASH AND OTHER VIRTUAL GOODS

1. Station Cash.

a. Obtaining Station Cash. If you have an active Station Account you may participate in our Station Cash service offering. Station Cash ("Station Cash") is an online redeemable point system which can be used to obtain certain products and services offered by SOE for redemption through our online Store. Station Cash can be acquired, used and redeemed in a variety of ways. For example, you may have the opportunity to acquire Station Cash by participating in and/or by completing certain tasks or objectives in one of our Station games such as EverQuest. We may also offer Station Cash to you for free through one of our promotional campaigns. In addition, we currently offer Station Cash to you for sale through our online Store or at retail in the form of Station Cash Cards. Station Cash is sold in bundles and the price may vary depending on the amount you purchase and the location it is being purchased. Please note that any Station Cash you obtain through a Station Cash Card will not be usable until such time as you register it online with your Station Account. We may from time to time limit the amount of Station Cash you may obtain in your account balance at any one time or in the aggregate. We will notify you if you reach such limit. No sales tax is charged when purchasing Station Cash; however, sales tax may apply to your redemption of Station Cash for SOE products or services in some jurisdictions. The amount of tax charged depends upon many factors, including the type of product or service purchased. Redemptions of Station Cash for SOE products or service in the following jurisdictions may be subject to sales taxes: The states of California, Colorado, Indiana, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington, and the European Union. Where applicable, SOE will deduct the required sales tax from the amount of Station Cash you redeem and SOE will remit the required amounts to the taxing authority. For your convenience, the Station Cash value posted by SOE for any product or service being offered for redemption already is inclusive of the applicable sales taxes therefor. Except as otherwise set forth herein or in our Sales Policy in Section VI above, you are solely responsible for any tax consequences that may result from your acquisition, use or redemption of Station Cash.

b. License to use Station Cash. No matter how you obtain Station Cash, you acknowledge and agree that such Station Cash solely represents a limited license right to a virtual good which is governed by the terms of this Agreement, and that such Station Cash is non-transferable to another person or Station Account, has no cash value and is non redeemable for any sum of money or monetary value from SOE at any time. The Station Cash does not constitute a personal property right.

c. Redemption of Station Cash. From time to time SOE may offer opportunities for you to redeem your Station Cash (e.g., at the Store or while playing a game on The Station) for certain items or services provided that you have a sufficient balance to do so. While your Station Cash does not have any set expiration date, please be aware that SOE may from time to time cease, without notice to you, to continue to offer an item or service in exchange for your Station Cash. As such, if you see an item or service being offered by us for redemption that interests you, we strongly encourage you to redeem your Station Cash for such item or service as soon as possible. Similar to an ATM machine, in order to protect against theft, we will from time to time limit the amount of Station Cash you may redeem or purchase at any one time, day or week. We will notify you if you reach such limits. Once you redeem your Station Cash, the amount redeemed will be deducted from your balance. We will not reinstate any deducted Station Cash except in limited circumstances at our sole and absolute discretion after investigation.

d. Corrections. You are solely responsible for verifying that the proper amount of Station Cash has been added to or deducted from your Station Account. You can view your Station Cash balance from within any of our products or services that accept Station Cash for payment. If you believe that a mistake has been made with respect to your Station Cash balance, please contact us immediately so that we can investigate the matter. Note that we may require additional information and/or documentation to verify your claim. We will let you know the results of our investigation, however, you acknowledge and agree that we have sole and absolute discretion in determining whether or not your claim is valid and if so the appropriate remedy.

e. Improper Usage of Station Cash. We reserve the right to reduce, liquidate, deactivate, suspend or terminate your Station Cash or access thereto if we suspect, after investigation, that you have misused the Station Cash service or have otherwise used the Station Cash service to conduct any fraudulent or illegal activity.

2. Virtual Goods Generally.

You agree that SOE retains the unfettered right to modify its games and all aspects of characters, items, points and coin, including Station Cash (collectively, "Virtual Goods") therein. You acknowledge that SOE has been, is, and will be constantly making changes to its games. You further acknowledge that SOE can and will, in its discretion, modify features, functions or abilities of any element of any of its games or any Virtual Goods (which may, among other things, make the Virtual Goods substantially more valuable, effective or functional, or less valuable, effective or functional, more common or less common, or eliminated entirely). You acknowledge and agree that all Virtual Goods represent a limited license right governed by the terms of this Agreement, and are not redeemable for any sum of money or monetary value from SOE at any time.

SOE may authorize certain third party service provider(s) (and has designated Live Gamer Inc. ("Live Gamer")), as a permissible means through which you can barter certain transferable Virtual Goods with other Station Account holders (an "Exchange"). All transactions conducted through an SOE-authorized Exchange are processed by a third party service provider, such as Live Gamer, Inc., and your eligibility to participate in any such Exchange is governed by the terms of service, privacy policies and agreements implemented by Live Gamer, Inc. (or such other applicable SOE-Exchange) from time to time.


YOU PROMISE, THEREFORE, THAT YOU WILL NEVER ASSERT OR BRING ANY CLAIM OR SUIT AGAINST SOE, ITS LICENSOR(S) OR THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS, ANY COMPANY IN THE SONY FAMILY, OR ANY EMPLOYEES OF ANY OF THE ABOVE, WHICH IS RELATED TO OR BASED ON (I) A CLAIM ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE LIVE GAMER EXCHANGE (OR ANY OTHER APPLICABLE SOE-EXCHANGE), (II) A CLAIM ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE ACTS OR OMISSIONS OF LIVE GAMER, INC. OR ANY THIRD PARTY ACTING ON OR THROUGH THE LIVE GAMER EXCHANGE (OR ANY OTHER APPLICABLE SOE-EXCHANGE) (III) A CLAIM THAT YOU "OWN" ANY VIRTUAL GOODS IN ANY GAME, (IV) A CLAIM FOR THE "VALUE" OF VIRTUAL GOODS IF SOE DELETES THEM (AND/OR TERMINATES YOUR STATION ACCOUNT(S)), (V) A CLAIM FOR THE "VALUE" OF VIRTUAL GOODS THAT YOU MAY LOSE IF SOE DOES ANYTHING THAT IT IS ENTITLED TO DO PURSUANT TO ANY PROVISION OF THIS AGREEMENT, THE APPLICABLE GAME'S USER AGREEMENT AND SOFTWARE LICENSE, RULES OF CONDUCT, TERMS OF SERVICE AND/OR SOE'S PRIVACY POLICY, OR FOR ANY MALFUNCTIONS AND/OR "BUGS" IN SOE's GAMES, AND/OR LIVE GAMER (OR SUCH OTHER APPLICABLE SOE-EXCHANGE) AND/OR (VI) A CLAIM THAT THE "VALUE" OF ANY VIRTUAL GOODS HAS INCREASED OR DECREASED BY VIRTUE OF ANY GAME MODIFICATION THAT SOE HAS MADE OR WILL MAKE. ALL OF THE ABOVE APPLIES WHETHER ON A LIVE GAMER EXCHANGE ENABLED SERVER OR ON A NON-LIVE GAMER EXCHANGE OR ON ANY OTHER SOE-EXCHANGE ENABLED SERVER.

G. SOFTWARE AVAILABLE ON THE STATION

  1. Any software that is made available to download from The Station ("Software") is the copyrighted work of SOE and/or the Sony Family and/or Third Party Providers or other suppliers. Use of the Software is governed by the terms of the end-user license agreement, if any, which accompanies or is included with the Software ("License Agreement"). End users shall not install or use any Software that is accompanied by or includes a License Agreement unless the end user first agrees to the License Agreement terms. For any Software not accompanied by a license agreement, the following shall constitute the License Agreement: SOE hereby grants to you, the user, a personal, non-transferable license during the term of this Agreement to use the Software for viewing and other use of The Station in accordance with this Agreement, and for no other purpose. Please note that all Software, including, without limitation, all HTML code contained on The Station, is owned by SOE and/or the Sony Family and/or Third Party Providers or other suppliers and is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Any reproduction or redistribution of the Software is expressly prohibited by law, and may result in severe civil and criminal penalties. Violators will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible.
  2. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, COPYING OR REPRODUCTION OF THE SOFTWARE TO ANY OTHER SERVER OR LOCATION FOR FURTHER REPRODUCTION OR REDISTRIBUTION IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED. THE SOFTWARE IS WARRANTED, IF AT ALL, ONLY ACCORDING TO THE TERMS OF THE APPLICABLE LICENSE AGREEMENT. EXCEPT AS WARRANTED IN THE LICENSE AGREEMENT, SOE AND SOE'S THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH REGARD TO THE SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

VIII. DISCLAIMERS; LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

A. DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY

  1. NEITHER SOE, SOE'S THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS, THE SONY FAMILY, NOR ANY PERSON OR ENTITY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DISTRIBUTING ANY CONTENT OR SERVICES CONTAINED ON THE STATION, NOR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS, MAKE ANY WARRANTY WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THAT THE STATION WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE; NOR DO THEY MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE STATION OR AS TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY OR CONTENT OF ANY INFORMATION, SERVICE OR MERCHANDISE PROVIDED ON OR THROUGH THE STATION, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ALL SOE COMMUNICATION FEATURES.
  2. THE STATION AND ALL INFORMATION, CONTENT AND SERVICES CONTAINED THEREON ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. SOE AND SOE'S THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OTHER THAN THOSE WARRANTIES WHICH ARE INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION, RESTRICTION OR MODIFICATION UNDER THE LAWS APPLICABLE TO THIS AGREEMENT. USE OF THE STATION, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ALL COMMUNICATION FEATURES OF THE STATION, IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.

B. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

  1. THE DISCLAIMERS OF LIABILITY CONTAINED IN THIS SECTION VIII APPLY TO ANY DAMAGES OR INJURY CAUSED BY ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMPUTER VIRUS, COMMUNICATION LINE FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO, ALTERATION OF, OR USE OF THE STATION, WHETHER FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORTIOUS BEHAVIOR, NEGLIGENCE, OR UNDER ANY OTHER CAUSE OF ACTION.
  2. IN NO EVENT WILL SOE, ANY SOE THIRD PARTY PROVIDER, THE SONY FAMILY OR ANY PERSON OR ENTITY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DISTRIBUTING ANY CONTENT OR SERVICES CONTAINED ON THE STATION, OR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS, BE LIABLE FOR: (A) ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO (I) THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE STATION, (II) THE BREACH OF ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, (III) THE USE BY YOU OF THE STATION OR ANY BROWSER OWNED OR OPERATED BY ANY PARTY AND/OR (IV) THE DOWNLOADING OF ANY SOFTWARE OWNED OR OPERATED BY ANY THIRD PARTY, IN CONNECTION WITH THE STATION; OR (B) ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE STATION, EVEN IF SOE WAS PREVIOUSLY ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
  3. IN THE EVENT ANY CLAIM RELATING TO THE PERFORMANCE OR NONPERFORMANCE BY SOE PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT, OR IN ANY OTHER WAY CONCERNING THE STATION, IS MADE BY YOU, THE ACTUAL DAMAGES TO WHICH YOU MAY BE ENTITLED SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE FEES, IF ANY, PAID BY YOU FOR USE OF THE STATION.
  4. NEITHER SOE, NOR ANY SOE THIRD PARTY PROVIDER OR THE SONY FAMILY ENDORSES OR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY OPINION, ADVICE OR STATEMENT, NOR FOR ANY OFFENSIVE, DEFAMATORY, OBSCENE OR ILLEGAL POSTING OR CONDUCT, ON THE STATION, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ALL SOE COMMUNICATION FEATURES OF THE STATION, BY ANYONE OTHER THAN AUTHORIZED SOE EMPLOYEES WHILE ACTING IN THEIR OFFICIAL CAPACITIES. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL SOE, ANY SOE THIRD PARTY PROVIDER, THE SONY FAMILY OR ANY PERSON OR ENTITY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DISTRIBUTING ANY CONTENT OR SERVICES CONTAINED ON THE STATION, OR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS, BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY YOUR RELIANCE ON INFORMATION OBTAINED ON OR THROUGH THE STATION, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ALL SOE COMMUNICATION FEATURES. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO EVALUATE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR USEFULNESS OF ANY INFORMATION, OPINION, ADVICE OR OTHER CONTENT AVAILABLE THROUGH THE STATION, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ALL SOE COMMUNICATION FEATURES. PLEASE SEEK THE ADVICE OF PROFESSIONALS, AS APPROPRIATE, REGARDING THE EVALUATION OF ANY SPECIFIC INFORMATION, OPINION, ADVICE OR OTHER CONTENT.
  5. NEITHER SOE, NOR ANY SOE THIRD PARTY PROVIDER OR THE SONY FAMILY ENDORSES, WARRANTS OR GUARANTEES ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE OFFERED BY A THIRD PARTY THROUGH THE STATION AND NONE OF SOE, ANY SOE THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS OR THE SONY FAMILY WILL BE A PARTY TO OR IN ANY WAY MONITOR ANY TRANSACTION BETWEEN YOU AND THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. AS WITH THE PURCHASE OF A PRODUCT OR SERVICE THROUGH ANY MEDIUM OR IN ANY ENVIRONMENT, YOU SHOULD USE YOUR BEST JUDGMENT AND EXERCISE CAUTION WHERE APPROPRIATE.

IX. GENERAL TERMS INCLUDING TERMINATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION

A. NOTICE

SOE may give notice to you by means of a general notice on The Station, electronic mail to your e-mail address on record in SOE's account information (if you are a Station Member), or by written communication sent by first class mail, postage prepaid, or overnight courier to your address on record in SOE's account information (if you are a Station Member). You may give notice to SOE by electronic mail to accounts@soe.sony.com or by first class mail, postage prepaid, or overnight courier to Sony Online Entertainment LLC, 8928 Terman Court, San Diego, CA 92121. Attn: Accounts.

B. TERMINATION

Either SOE or you may terminate this Agreement and your Station Account at any time. Fees paid for any subscription term or pay-per-use are paid in advance and are not refundable in whole or in part. You may terminate this Agreement at any time by not using The Station. However, to terminate a game, feature or service account or subscription for which you are subscribed, you must affirmatively terminate each such game account, feature or service in accordance with the terms and conditions for each such game, feature or service. Termination of your Station Account does not necessarily terminate your game, feature or service account or recurring subscription fees and you will continue to incur and be responsible for recurring payment of such fees until you affirmatively terminate each such game account, feature or service in accordance with all applicable terms and/or end user license agreements therefor. We can terminate the Agreement by asking you to stop using The Station, and, if necessary, by preventing your access to The Station and/or your Station Account. Upon termination of this Agreement, you shall have no further rights to use The Station or its services. Your only right and remedy with respect to any dissatisfaction with The Station is to terminate this Agreement and your Station Account and use of the Sites and SOE Communication Features, including, without limitation, any dissatisfaction with (i) any terms and conditions of this Agreement, or any policy or practice of SOE in operating The Station, (ii) content available through The Station, or any change therein, or (iii) the amount or type of fees or billing methods, or any change thereof. Without limiting the foregoing, SOE shall have the right to terminate this Agreement with you, effective immediately, and/or terminate or temporarily suspend your access to your Station Account and/or all or any part of The Station, without notice, in the event of any conduct by you which SOE, in its sole discretion, considers to be unacceptable, or for conduct that SOE believes is a violation of the terms and conditions contained herein or any policies or guidelines posted by SOE on The Station, or for other conduct which SOE believes, in its sole discretion, is harmful to SOE, other Station Members or other users of The Station. SOE reserves the right to deny registration of any individual as a Station Member and to deny access to The Station to any individual. Sections IV(C), VI, VII, VIII and IX shall survive termination of this Agreement in perpetuity.

C. INDEMNIFICATION

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless SOE, the Sony Family, the Third Party Providers, and all of their respective officers, directors, owners, agents, employees, information providers, affiliates, licensors and licensees (collectively, "Indemnified Parties") from and against any and all liability and costs including, without limitation, attorneys' fees and costs, incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising out of (i) any breach by you of the Agreement or any representations, warranties and/or covenants contained herein or (ii) your use of The Station, including, without limitation, your Station Account and all SOE Communication Features.

D. TAXES

You may be required to report as taxable income the value of any prizes received by you. To collect a prize, you will be required to provide a valid Social Security number or other tax identification number and any other information reasonably required by SOE. SOE and/or any sponsor who provides a particular prize may report the value of the prize to Federal and/or state taxing authorities.

E. JURISDICTIONAL ISSUES

This site is controlled and operated by SOE from its offices within the State of California, United States of America. SOE makes no representation that materials in this site are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Those who choose to access The Station from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable. Software from The Station is further subject to United States export controls. No software from The Station may be downloaded or otherwise exported or re-exported (i) into (or to a national or resident of) Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Sudan, or any other country to which the U.S. has embargoed goods; or (ii) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Commerce Department's Table of Deny Orders. By downloading or using the Software, you represent and warrant that you are not located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any such country or on any such list.

F. RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES

In order to expedite and control the cost of disputes, you and SOE agree that any legal or equitable claim relating to this Agreement (referred to as "Claim") will be resolved as follows:

1. Informal Resolution

You and SOE agree that we will first try to resolve any Claim informally. Accordingly, neither of us may start a formal proceeding (except for Claims involving any violation of the federal trademark or copyright laws, or for injunctive relief) for at least thirty (30) days after one of us notifies the other of a Claim in writing. SOE will send its notice to your billing address, with a copy via e-mail to your e-mail address. You will send your notice to Sony Online Entertainment, 8928 Terman Court, San Diego, CA 92121 Attn: Legal Department.

2. Formal Resolution

(a) Agreement to Arbitrate. Except as provided in Section (IX)(F)(2)(c) below, if we cannot resolve a Claim informally, we agree that any and all Claims either of us asserts shall be resolved solely through binding arbitration. The arbitration will be conducted under the rules of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service ("JAMS") that are in effect at the time the arbitration is initiated, including the rules for the exchange of non-privileged and relevant information, and under the rules set forth in this Agreement. If there is a conflict between JAMS rules and the rules set forth in this Agreement, the rules set forth in this Agreement will govern. If you initiate the arbitration, you agree to pay a fee of $125 or, if less and you tell SOE in writing, the amount that you would pay to initiate a lawsuit against SOE in the appropriate court of law in your state. Other fees will be paid in accordance with JAMS rules. The arbitration will be held at a location in your hometown area (meaning, the closest JAMS dispute resolution center to your hometown) unless you and SOE both agree to another location. In the arbitration proceeding, the arbitrator must follow applicable law, and any award may be challenged if the arbitrator fails to do so. Forms and other information on filing such a Claim can be found at www.jamsadr.com.
BY AGREEING TO ARBITRATE AS SET FORTH HEREIN, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE BOTH WAIVING OUR RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT AND HAVE A JURY TRIAL.


(b) Special Rules. You and SOE agree that the type of arbitration in which we both agree to participate is between SOE and you as an individual. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AND SOE ARE AGREEING THAT NEITHER OF US WILL UTILIZE OR ATTEMPT TO UTILIZE CLASS ACTION ARBITRATION PROCEDURES IN ANY ARBITRATION.

(c) Exceptions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (i) any Claim involving a violation of applicable trademark or copyright laws, or a Claim for injunctive relief, may be decided only by a federal court (or, for injunctive relief, federal or state court) in the County of San Diego, State of California, and (ii) neither you nor SOE shall be precluded from filing a Claim in small claims court for disputes within the small claims court jurisdictional level.

3. Severability


You and SOE agree that if Section (IX)(F)(2)(a) is found to be unenforceable in its entirety by a court of competent jurisdiction, it shall be severed from this Agreement and – in that event -- you and SOE agree to submit to personal jurisdiction in California and agree that any Claim shall be exclusively brought in the appropriate state or federal court in the County of San Diego, State of California. You and SOE also agree that if Section (IX)(F)(2)(b) is found to be unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, then – regardless of the enforceability of Section (IX)(F)(2)(a) -- any class action Claim shall be exclusively brought in the appropriate state or federal court in the County of San Diego, State of California and you agree to submit to personal jurisdiction in California.

G. Miscellaneous

This Agreement is governed in all respects by the substantive laws of the State of Delaware and of the United States of America. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (IX)(F)(2) above shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly disclaimed. Our failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. You may not assign or transfer this Agreement or your rights hereunder, and any attempt to the contrary is void. This Agreement sets forth the entire understanding and agreement between us and you with respect to the subject matter hereof. No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default. The section headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the interpretation of this Agreement. If any provision of these terms shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

 
   
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