Terms of Service

Last updated: September 2026

1 We at The Voice of Upstate ("Provider," "us," "our," or "we"), are happy to provide you with this website and the services available thereon (the "Site" and "Services", respectively). The Site is created and hosted by Magic Merlin Inc. ("Merlin"). The term "Services" shall also reference the Site where applicable. These Terms of Service (the "Terms") set out the rules by which you may use the Services. When we use the term "you," we mean any individual visiting our Site and using our Services. These Terms form a legally binding contract between you and us and by continuing to use our Services, you accept these Terms. If you do not agree, do not continue browsing the website and using the Services. If you have any questions, please contact us at contact form. We may update these Terms from time to time and will post the updated version on this page with the date it was published. If you continue to use our Services after an update, you agree to and accept the updated Terms.

2. Our Services.

Subject to these Terms, Provider allows you to use the Services on a non-exclusive basis for your personal or internal business purposes.

3. Use Restrictions.

We may provide certain materials through the Services, such as images, diagrams, articles, posts, videos, and reports ("Content"). You may not do or attempt to do or facilitate a third party in doing any of the following: (1) decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse-engineer any of the software and/or code, if and as applicable, used to provide the Services without our prior written authorization, including framing or mirroring any part of the Services; (2) copy, modify, or distribute the Services in any manner not permitted by these Terms; (3) circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the Services or features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any Content; (4) use the Site, Services, or Content thereon in connection with any commercial endeavors in any manner, except for the purposes specifically set forth in these Terms; (5) use any robot, spider, site search or retrieval application, or any other manual or automatic device or process to retrieve, index, data-mine, or in any way reproduce the Content or circumvent the navigational structure or presentation of the Services in any other way; (6) remove, alter, or conceal any copyright, trademark, service mark or other such notices incorporated in the Services; and (7) use the Site, Services, or Content in any manner not permitted by these Terms or applicable law. We will cooperate with any law enforcement authorities and comply with any court order where we suspect that you or any other visitor to the Site has violated applicable law or these Terms.

4. Representations.

By accepting these Terms, you represent that you are at least 18 years old and have the ability to form a binding contract. You also represent that your use of the Services will not violate any applicable law or any obligation you have to a third party.

5. Intellectual Property

5.1 Our Property. We or our licensors retain all worldwide intellectual property rights, title, and interest in our Site and Services, including its overall appearance and any text, graphics, designs, videos, interfaces, and underlying source files of the Services, any Content we provide, and our name, trademarks, and logos. In some cases we have obtained the right to use certain elements from others as part of our Services and in that case, those elements are owned by their respective owner/s. Even though we're allowing you to use our Services, that doesn't mean that we're transferring ownership or any other rights to you or that we're allowing you to use our name, any trademarks, logos, or similar property as your own.

6. Privacy.

When you use our Services, we collect Personal Data (as defined in the Privacy Notice) about you. Check out our Privacy Notice at https://thevoiceofupstate.com/legal/privacy for details about the types of Personal Data we collect, what we do with it, the security measures we use to keep it safe, and the rights you have regarding your Personal Data. Please note that some Personal Data is collected and processed by Merlin.

7. Disclaimers and Disclaimer of Warranty

7.1 All information and content posted on the Site is for informational purposes only and Provider provides no guarantees with respect thereto. Your use of the Services is at your sole discretion and risk. The Services and any Content are provided on an AS IS and AS AVAILABLE basis without warranties of any kind. We do not represent or warrant that the Services will be accurate or useful for your needs.

7.2 OTHER THAN THE WARRANTIES MADE EXPLICITLY IN THESE TERMS, WE DO NOT MAKE ANY ADDITIONAL WARRANTIES (IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE) ABOUT THE SITE, SERVICES OR ANY CONTENT, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THAT THE SERVICES AND/OR ANY CONTENT WILL BE OF GOOD QUALITY, USEFUL FOR YOUR SPECIFIC NEEDS OR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURATE, ERROR-FREE (OR THAT ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED), RELIABLE, SECURE, COMPLETE, CURRENT, NON-INFRINGING, OR THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE PROVIDED IN A TIMELY MANNER.

7.3 We cannot control the functionality of services provided by third parties and assume no responsibility for any telephone or network line failure or interruption, or traffic congestion on the internet or on the Services themselves. We cannot control the actions of bad actors and do not guarantee that we will successfully prevent unauthorized access to or alteration of the Services.

7.4 Our Site may provide you with links (including ads) to third-party sites. We make no promises regarding and are not liable for the content, goods, or services provided by such third parties, including any payments submitted through such links. We also cannot make any promises about and are not liable for another party's data protection policies. When you click on any of these links, you do so at your own risk. We urge you to exercise caution when using third-party services.

7.5 In light of the above, you understand that using the Services entails some degree of risk. When you choose to use the Services, you do so at your sole discretion and risk. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties and therefore some of the above exclusions may not apply to you. Check your local laws for any restrictions regarding the exclusion of implied warranties.

8. Indemnification

8.1 You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Provider, his/her/its affiliates, and his/her/its/their respective directors, officers, employees, subcontractors, and agents from and against any claim, damage, or loss, including reasonable court costs, attorneys' fees, and any fines that may be incurred, that arise directly or indirectly from your: (a) breach of these Terms, including any of your representations or warranties, whether by you, your employees, agents, or anyone using your account or device, and whether or not that use was authorized by you; (b) use or misuse of the Services; (c) violation of any law or regulation, including breach of applicable data protection laws; and (d) infringement of any right of any third party.

8.2 We agree to indemnify, defend, and hold you harmless from and against any claim, damage, or loss, including reasonable court costs, attorneys' fees, and any fines that you may incur in connection with any actual or threatened claim, demand, action or other proceeding by any third party arising from or relating to a claim that the Services, as delivered, infringe any patent or copyright or misappropriate any trade secret, provided however, that we shall have no responsibility or liability for any claim to the extent resulting from or arising out of (a) the use of the Services not in compliance with these Terms or applicable law; (b) the combination of the Services with any services that we did not provide; (c) the modification of the Services by any party other than us; or (d) the use of any version of the Services that is not the most up-to-date version.

8.3 Either party claiming indemnification under this Section ("Indemnitee") shall: (i) provide the other party ("Indemnifying Party") with written notice of a claim promptly upon becoming aware thereof; (ii) allow Indemnifying Party to control the defense and settlement of the claim, provided that no settlement may be entered into without the consent of Indemnitee if such settlement would require any action on the part of Indemnitee and further provided that Indemnitee may engage its own counsel at its own expense; and (iii) reasonably cooperate with Indemnifying Party, at Indemnifying Party's expense, in the defense and settlement of the claim.

9. Limitation of Liability.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, PROVIDER (AND HIS/HER/ITS AFFILIATES OR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, OR SUBCONTRACTORS) SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, WHETHER OR NOT SUCH DAMAGES ARE FORESEEABLE AND WHETHER OR NOT PROVIDER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR MAXIMUM AND AGGREGATE LIABILITY UNDER THESE TERMS AND UNDER ANY CAUSE OF ACTION WILL NOT EXCEED A CUMULATIVE AMOUNT OF USD $50.

10. General.

These Terms will take effect when you first use the Services and shall continue in full force and effect as long as you continue to use the Services. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to the Services at any time, for any reason, with or without notice. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between us and you regarding our Services. We may assign our rights and obligations in these Terms to any third party. You may not assign any of your rights or obligations in these Terms to anyone else and any attempt to do so will be void. If either party waives any rights regarding any breach or default of these Terms, that waiver shall not be deemed to waive any other breach or default. The courts in the State of Delaware shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes regarding these Terms. The laws of the State of Delaware shall govern these Terms without regard to the United Nations Convention on the International Sales of Goods. In the event that a court rules that a provision of these Terms is unenforceable, that provision shall be replaced with an enforceable provision which most closely achieves the effect of the original and the remaining terms of these Terms shall remain in full force and effect. Nothing in these Terms creates any agency, employment, joint venture, or partnership relationship between us and you, and nothing in these Terms enables you to act on our behalf. If we are required to provide notice to you hereunder, we may provide such notice to the contact details you provided when contacting us or registering for the Services.