Last Modified: December 11, 2025
Amalgamated Storytelling LLC dba Heard Seen Loved (“Heard Seen Loved”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is here to share your stories. Our mission is to support, amplify, and share the authentic stories of trans, non-binary, and gender-expansive individuals, their families, and allies; to connect communities with affirming resources and information; and to foster understanding, empathy, and advocacy through storytelling. To assist you in sharing and learning about these stories, these terms of use (these “Terms”) govern your use of the Heard Seen Loved website (the “Site”) and the content and functionality provided via the Site (such content and functionality, together with the Site, collectively, the “Services”).
The stories shared by Heard Seen Loved are the personal stories of our contributors, and the beliefs and opinions expressed in these stories are those of our contributors and not necessarily those of Heard Seen Loved. These stories may address difficult topics, including mental health and discrimination, that may be triggering. No information on the Site, including these stories, is intended to serve as legal advice or to endorse any activity that may be considered unlawful in any jurisdiction. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with federal, state, and local laws that may apply to you. As further described in these Terms, these stories, and the other content made available through the Services, are provided only for your non-commercial, informational use.
These Terms create a binding legal agreement between you and Heard Seen Loved.
PLEASE CAREFULLY READ ALL OF THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THESE TERMS.
PLEASE CAREFULLY REVIEW THESE TERMS AND THE HEARD SEEN LOVED PRIVACY POLICY (AVAILABLE AT HTTPS://WWW.HEARDSEENLOVED.ORG/PRIVACY-POLICY) (THE “PRIVACY POLICY”) BEFORE USING THE SERVICES. BY USING THE SERVICES (INCLUDING BY VISITING THE SITE OR MAKING ANY OTHER USE OF THE SERVICES), YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE REVIEWED THE PRIVACY POLICY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THESE TERMS, OR IF YOU OBJECT TO THE PRIVACY POLICY, YOU MUST NOT USE THE SERVICES. PLEASE NOTE THAT SECTION 12 OF THESE TERMS CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND A CLASS ACTION WAIVER THAT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS FOR RESOLVING DISPUTES WITH HEARD SEEN LOVED AND/OR PROVIDERS.
The Services are offered and available only to users who are at least thirteen (13) years of age. By using the Services, you affirm that you (a) are at least thirteen (13) years of age, (b) are fully able and competent to enter into the terms, conditions, obligations, affirmations, representations, and warranties set forth in these Terms, and to abide by and comply with these Terms, and (c) have not previously been terminated, removed, or suspended from the Services. If you are using the Services on behalf of a company, organization, or other entity, you further affirm that you have authority to bind that entity to these Terms, and you agree to be bound by these Terms on behalf of that entity.
1) Ownership.
The Services are owned and operated by Heard Seen Loved. You acknowledge and agree that Heard Seen Loved and/or Heard Seen Loved’s technical, content, and service providers (“Providers”) own all right, title, and interest in and to the Services, including: (a) all information, data, software, text, displays and visual interfaces, graphics, images, video, and audio, and all other elements of the Services, and the design, selection, and arrangement thereof; and (b) all intellectual property and other legal rights (including, but not limited to, any and all copyrights, patents, patent applications, trade secrets, trademarks, and other intangible rights) therein. Except for materials and content that you have submitted via the Services, such as your own images, photographs, videos, and comments (your “User Content”), you may not publish, reproduce, distribute, display, perform, edit, adapt, modify, or otherwise exploit any part of the Services without Heard Seen Loved’s written consent. You will not earn or acquire any ownership rights in any copyrights, patents, trade secrets, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights on account of these Terms or any use of the Services. You agree and understand that Heard Seen Loved is not obligated to provide you with access to the Services. You agree that all content provided to you through the Services is owned by Heard Seen Loved, Providers, and/or other third parties and that you will have no ownership rights in such content.
2) License Grant and Restrictions.
a) Subject to your compliance with these Terms, Heard Seen Loved hereby grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, and revocable license to access and use the Services on your personal device(s) solely for your personal, non-commercial use, as provided herein. By downloading or using the Services, you acknowledge that: (a) the Services are licensed, not sold to you; and (b) third-party terms and fees, such as those from your mobile carrier, may apply to the use and operation of your device in connection with your use of the Services, and that you are solely responsible for any such third-party terms and fees.
b) You may not use the Services for any other purpose. You may not publish, reproduce, distribute, display, perform, edit, adapt, modify, create derivative works of, resell, or otherwise exploit the Services or any content distributed thereon under any circumstances, except for your own User Content.
c) You may not (a) circumvent or disable any content protection system or digital rights management technology used with the Services, (b) decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, or otherwise reduce the Services, or any software or technology provided to you in connection with the Services, to a human-readable form, (c) remove identification, copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices from materials provided on the Services, or (d) use the Services in an unlawful or unauthorized manner. Any use of the Services not expressly authorized by these Terms is a breach of these Terms and may violate copyright, trademark, or other laws.
3) Discontinuation of the Services; Termination.
Heard Seen Loved reserves the right to permanently or temporarily amend or discontinue the Services at any time, in our sole discretion, without notice to you. To the fullest extent permitted under applicable law, we will not be liable for any change to or any discontinuation of the Services.
4) Third-Party Services and Links.
The Services may contain links to third-party content and integrations with third-party platforms, like social media sites. Heard Seen Loved does not control, endorse, sponsor, recommend, or otherwise accept responsibility for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of such third-party content and integrations. These links and integrations are provided only as a convenience, and Heard Seen Loved does not make any representations or warranties with respect to third-party links and integrations. Use of any linked third-party content and integrations is at your own risk and subject to the terms of use for such third-party content.
5) User Content.
You remain fully responsible for your User Content. You agree not to provide User Content that:
· infringes or misappropriates any third-party intellectual property right;
· degrades others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual preference, gender identity, disability, or other classification;
· is unlawful, defamatory, libelous, inaccurate, deceiving, or that could reasonably be considered objectionable, profane, obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, pornographic, harassing, abusive, threatening, embarrassing, hateful, intended to intimidate or incite violence, or otherwise inappropriate;
· impersonates any person, or misrepresents your identity or affiliation with any person or organization;
· gives the impression that it comes from or is endorsed by Heard Seen Loved or any other entity or third party, if that is not the case.
You continue to own any User Content that you submit through the Services, but by submitting User Content, you grant us a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, worldwide, fully sublicensable license to publish, reproduce, distribute, display, perform, edit, adapt, modify, and otherwise use your User Content (or any portion thereof) in any way that we want and in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed. You hereby waive any moral rights you may have in your User Content. You further represent that you have obtained the consent of all individuals who are identifiable or otherwise described in your User Content, or of the individual’s parent or legal guardian if the individual is under 18 years old, to include the individual’s likeness or description in your User Content and for us to enjoy all of the rights and privileges that you grant to us under these Terms, including without limitation the right to use the individual’s likeness or description in our advertising and marketing activities. Any use of your User Content will be in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Other users may be able to access and view your User Content on the Services or on Heard Seen Loved’s accounts on third-party platforms including, without limitation, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Once you post or share your User Content with other users of the Services, you grant those users a non-exclusive license to access and use your User Content, as long as that use is consistent with these Terms and the functionality of the Services.
You understand and agree that we are not responsible for any User Content. We are not obligated to publish or use your User Content. We may monitor, review, edit, remove, delete, or disable access to your User Content at any time, without prior notice and in our sole discretion, for any or no reason.
You may, at any time, request in writing that we remove your User Content from the Services and/or Heard Seen Loved’s accounts on third-party platforms by contacting Heard Seen Loved at info@heardseenloved.org. Upon receipt of your request, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to remove your User Content from such of the Services and/or accounts as soon as practicable.
6) Limitations on Use of the Services.
You may not access or use, or attempt to access or use, the Services to take any action that could harm Heard Seen Loved, its Providers, or any other third party, interfere with the operation of the Services, or use the Services in a manner that violates any laws. For example, and without limitation, you may not:
· impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation or the origin of any materials that form part of your User Content;
· transfer your access to the Services to any third party;
· engage in unauthorized “crawling,” “scraping,” or harvesting of content or personal information, or use any other unauthorized automated means to compile information available through the Services;
· take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on Heard Seen Loved’s network or infrastructure;
· use any device, software, or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Services or any activity conducted on the Services, including uploading or disseminating any virus, adware, spyware, worm, or other malicious code, or attempt to probe, scan, test the vulnerability of, or breach the security of any system or network;
· attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any of the software comprising or in any way making up a part of the Services;
· use the Services for the purpose of exploiting, harming, or attempting to exploit or harm minors in any way, such as exposing them to inappropriate content, asking them for personal information, or otherwise;
· distribute any unauthorized materials or advertise or promote goods or services through the Services without Heard Seen Loved’s permission (including, without limitation, by sending spam or any other similar solicitation);
· engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits any person from using or enjoying the Services, or that, in Heard Seen Loved’s sole judgment, exposes Heard Seen Loved or any of Heard Seen Loved’s users, affiliates, or any other third party to any liability, damages, or detriment of any type, including causing damage to Heard Seen Loved’s reputation; or
· assist any person in doing any of the above.
Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability. Heard Seen Loved may investigate and work with law enforcement authorities to prosecute users who violate the Terms.
7) Monitoring and Enforcement.
We have the right to:
· remove or refuse to post any User Content for any or no reason in our sole discretion;
· take any action with respect to any User Content that we deem necessary or appropriate in our sole discretion, including if we believe that such User Content violates these Terms, infringes any intellectual property right or other right of any person or entity, threatens the personal safety of users of the Services or the public, or could create liability for Heard Seen Loved;
· disclose your identity or other information about you to any third party who claims that your User Content violates their rights, including their intellectual property rights or their right to privacy;
· take appropriate legal action, including, without limitation, referral to law enforcement, for any illegal or unauthorized use of the Services; and
· terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Services for any or no reason, including, without limitation, any violation of these Terms.
Without limiting the foregoing, we have the right to cooperate fully with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity or other information of anyone posting any content on or through or otherwise accessing or using the Services.
However, we cannot review all User Content as it is posted to the Services, and cannot ensure prompt removal of objectionable material after it has been posted. Accordingly, we assume no liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications, or content provided by any user or third party. We have no liability or responsibility to anyone for performance or nonperformance of the activities described in this section.
8) Changes to Terms.
Heard Seen Loved may change any of the terms contained herein at any time, in our sole discretion. Please check these Terms periodically so that you are aware of any changes. We will notify you by posting a notice on the Heard Seen Loved website of any changes to these Terms that materially modify your rights or obligations (“Material Modifications”). Any Material Modifications will be effective upon your acceptance of the modified Terms, or upon your continued use of the Services after we send or post a notice of the changes, whichever is earlier. Changes to these Terms that do not materially modify your rights or obligations will be effective immediately upon publication. However, any disputes arising under these Terms will be resolved pursuant to the version of these Terms in effect at the time the dispute arose.
9) Feedback.
You agree that any comments, suggestions, or feedback you provide regarding your use of the Services (“Feedback”) will become the exclusive property of Heard Seen Loved, regardless of the form or platform in which it is delivered. You further agree that Heard Seen Loved and Providers may use all or part of your Feedback or any derivative thereof in any manner or media without any remuneration, compensation, or credit to you, including to improve the Services and create other products and services. You hereby assign to Heard Seen Loved all right, title, and interest to your Feedback, including all copyrights therein. To the extent such assignment is not permitted, you hereby grant Heard Seen Loved a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, worldwide, fully sublicensable license to exploit the Feedback as described in this section.
10) Communications with You.
Heard Seen Loved and Providers may communicate with you about the Services, including through one or more third-party email or survey services, via methods determined by Heard Seen Loved, including through the Services or contact information you provide as part of the registration process for the Services. You consent to receive communications from Heard Seen Loved and/or Providers that may: (a) solicit Feedback via email, surveys, bug reports, or other methods Heard Seen Loved may determine; (b) collect additional information regarding issues you report in your Feedback; (c) notify you of changes to the Services or these Terms; and (d) tell you about future Heard Seen Loved programs, products, or services. You agree that any such notices, disclosures, and other communications will satisfy Heard Seen Loved’s applicable legal notification requirements. Heard Seen Loved recommends that you keep a copy of any electronic communications we send to you for your records. You agree that Heard Seen Loved may share your contact information with Providers, and, to the extent necessary to enable such communications, with other third parties.
11) Disclaimer of Warranties, Limitation of Liability, and Indemnity.
a) YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, AND ARE PROVIDED WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NEITHER HEARD SEEN LOVED NOR PROVIDERS MAKE ANY WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, COMPLETENESS, AVAILABILITY, SECURITY AND PRIVACY OF YOUR DATA AND/OR INFORMATION, COMPATIBILITY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT; OR THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, FREE OF VIRUSES AND OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, ACCURATE, ERROR FREE, OR RELIABLE; OR AS TO THE ACCURACY, CURRENCY, OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICES, WHETHER PROVIDED IN TEXT, AUDIO, VIDEO, GRAPHICAL, OR OTHER FORM (THE “SERVICE CONTENT”). NEITHER HEARD SEEN LOVED NOR PROVIDERS MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO ANY THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS. HEARD SEEN LOVED IS NOT RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DECISIONS YOU MAY MAKE IN RELIANCE ON THE SERVICES OR SERVICE CONTENT, OR FOR ANY DEFECTS OR ERRORS THAT MAY RESULT FROM YOUR PROVISION OF INCOMPLETE OR INACCURATE INFORMATION TO HEARD SEEN LOVED OR THE SERVICES, YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WITH HARDWARE THAT DOES NOT MEET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS SPECIFIED BY HEARD SEEN LOVED, OR YOUR USE OF ANY VERSION OF THE SERVICES OTHER THAN THE MOST RECENT GENERALLY AVAILABLE RELEASE OF THE SERVICES. YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR PROPERTY, INCLUDING YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR MOBILE DEVICE, OR THE LOSS OF DATA, THAT RESULTS FROM USE OF THE SERVICES.
b) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL HEARD SEEN LOVED, PROVIDERS, OR THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES, SUCCESSORS, AND ASSIGNS, OR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE INVESTORS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS (INCLUDING THOSE WHO HELP ADMINISTER AND OPERATE THE SERVICES), AGENTS, AND SUPPLIERS (COLLECTIVELY, THE “LICENSOR PARTIES”), BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF SAVINGS OR REVENUE, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF LIFE OR HEALTH, THE CLAIMS OF THIRD PARTIES, AND ANY COST OF ANY SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO THE SERVICES, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHER THEORY, EVEN IF THE LICENSOR PARTIES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGES. YOU FURTHER WAIVE AND HOLD HARMLESS THE LICENSOR PARTIES FROM ANY CLAIMS RESULTING FROM ANY ACTION TAKEN BY SUCH PARTIES DURING, OR TAKEN AS A CONSEQUENCE OF, INVESTIGATIONS BY EITHER SUCH PARTIES OR LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES AS REFERENCED IN SECTIONS 6 AND 7. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE LICENSOR PARTIES’ TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE ACTUAL AMOUNT YOU PAID FOR THE SERVICES (IF ANY) AND $100, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT AN APPLICABLE LAW DOES NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. THE PARTIES AGREE THAT THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS ARE ESSENTIAL TO THESE TERMS.
c) YOU FURTHER AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE LICENSOR PARTIES FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL LIABILITIES, CLAIMS, DAMAGES, EXPENSES (INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS), AND OTHER LOSSES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO YOUR BREACH OR ALLEGED BREACH OF THESE TERMS, YOUR ACCESS TO, USE OF, OR ALLEGED USE OF THE SERVICES, YOUR FEEDBACK, YOUR VIOLATION OF ANY THIRD-PARTY RIGHT, INCLUDING ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, OR ANY RIGHTS OF PUBLICITY, CONFIDENTIALITY, OR OTHER PROPERTY OR PRIVACY RIGHT, AND ANY CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR ALLEGING FRAUD, INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT, GROSS NEGLIGENCE, OR CRIMINAL ACTS COMMITTED BY YOU. HEARD SEEN LOVED RESERVES THE RIGHT TO EMPLOY SEPARATE COUNSEL AND ASSUME THE EXCLUSIVE DEFENSE AND CONTROL OF ANY MATTER OTHERWISE SUBJECT TO INDEMNIFICATION BY YOU. IN SUCH EVENT, YOU SHALL PROVIDE HEARD SEEN LOVED WITH SUCH COOPERATION AS HEARD SEEN LOVED REASONABLY REQUESTS.
12) Arbitration.
PLEASE REVIEW AS THIS MAY AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS. THIS SECTION 12 IS APPLICABLE TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
a) Mandatory Arbitration of Disputes. You and Heard Seen Loved each agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation, or validity thereof or the use of the Services (each, a “Dispute” and collectively, the “Disputes”) will be resolved solely by binding, individual arbitration, unless expressly provided otherwise in this Section 12, and not in a class, representative, or consolidated action or proceeding. You and Heard Seen Loved agree that the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of these Terms and that EACH OF YOU AND HEARD SEEN LOVED IS WAIVING THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION. This Section 12 shall survive the termination of these Terms.
b) Exceptions and Opt-out Option. The only exceptions to this Section 12 are the following:
(1) You or Heard Seen Loved each may seek to resolve an individual Dispute in small claims court if it qualifies.
(2) You or Heard Seen Loved each may seek injunctive or other equitable relief from a court to prevent (or enjoin) the infringement or misappropriation of your or Heard Seen Loved’s respective intellectual property rights.
(3) You may opt out of arbitration entirely and litigate any Dispute individually if you provide us with a signed, written notice of your decision to do so pursuant to Section 12(i) below; however, if you are opting out of an updated version of this arbitration provision, you understand that you will remain subject to the prior version of any arbitration provision to which you had previously agreed.
c) Initial Dispute Resolution and Notification. You and Heard Seen Loved agree that, prior to initiating an arbitration or other legal proceeding, you and Heard Seen Loved will attempt to negotiate an informal resolution of the Dispute. To begin this process, and before initiating any arbitration or legal proceeding against Heard Seen Loved, you must send a Notice of Dispute (“Notice”) by email to the attention of Heard Seen Loved’s Legal Department at the following email address: info@heardseenloved.org. For purposes of these Terms, initiating an arbitration means filing an arbitration demand (“Demand”).
Your Notice to Heard Seen Loved must contain all of the following information: (a) your full name, address, account, and the email address associated with your account, to the extent applicable; (b) a detailed description of the nature and basis of the Dispute; (c) a description of the relief you want, including any money damages you request; and (d) your signature verifying the accuracy of the Notice and, if you are represented by counsel, authorizing Heard Seen Loved to disclose information about you to your attorney.
After receipt of your Notice, you and Heard Seen Loved shall engage in a good-faith effort to resolve the dispute for a period of 60 days, which both sides may extend by written agreement (“Informal Dispute Resolution Period”). During the Informal Dispute Resolution Period, neither you nor Heard Seen Loved may initiate an arbitration or other legal proceeding.
If the Dispute is not resolved during the Informal Dispute Resolution Period, you may initiate an individual arbitration as provided below.
d) Conducting Arbitration and Arbitration Rules. Any arbitration must be initiated with and conducted by National Arbitration & Mediation (“NAM”) pursuant to its Comprehensive Dispute Resolution Rules and Procedures and/or its Mass Filing Supplemental Dispute Resolution Rules and Procedures (together, the “NAM Rules”), except as modified by these Terms. The NAM Rules are available at www.NAMADR.org or by calling NAM at 1-800-358-2550. In any instance where the applicable NAM Rules and these Terms are inconsistent, these Terms shall control.
An arbitration Demand filed with NAM must include a certification signed by the filing party verifying compliance with the Initial Dispute Resolution and Notification requirements and other requirements set out in this Section 12.
If NAM fails or declines to conduct the arbitration for any reason, we will mutually select a different arbitration administrator. If we cannot agree, a court will appoint the arbitration administrator.
Any arbitration hearing will be a virtual hearing, unless you and Heard Seen Loved agree otherwise in writing.
The arbitrator shall have exclusive authority to decide all issues relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, and scope of this arbitration agreement, except that only a court of competent jurisdiction as set forth in Section 14(h) (and not an arbitrator) shall have the exclusive authority to resolve any claim that all or part of the Class Action Waiver set forth in these Terms or the Mass Filing procedures set forth in Section 12(e) are unenforceable, unconscionable, void, or voidable.
The arbitrator may consider but will not be bound by rulings in other arbitrations where you and Heard Seen Loved were not both parties.
e) Mass Filing Procedures. YOU AND HEARD SEEN LOVED AGREE THAT, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, EACH OF YOU AND HEARD SEEN LOVED IS WAIVING THE RIGHT TO BRING OR PARTICIPATE IN A MASS ARBITRATION. Heard Seen Loved’s receipt of one or more Notice(s) of substantially similar claims brought by or on behalf of 25 or more claimants (including you) within a 60-day period (“Mass Filing”) shall be subject to the additional procedures set forth below. Claims included in a Mass Filing, if not resolved during the Informal Dispute Resolution Period, may proceed only in accordance with the procedures set out below, and subject to the NAM Mass Filing Supplemental Dispute Resolution Rules and Procedures (“NAM Mass Filing Rules”, available at https://www.namadr.com/resources/rules-fees-forms/) to the extent not contrary to these Terms. If a court determines that this Section 12(e) is not enforceable as to your claim, then your claim may only proceed individually in court consistent with these Terms.
(1) Batching. You and Heard Seen Loved agree that your and other individuals’ claims deemed by Heard Seen Loved a Mass Filing may be filed with NAM in batches of no greater than 50 individuals’ claims at one time, with 25 claims (or half of the total number of claims in a batch, if less than 50) selected by counsel for you and other claimants and 25 claims (or half of the total number of claims in a batch, if less than 50) selected by Heard Seen Loved. After your claim is batched and permitted to be filed as a Demand, you and Heard Seen Loved agree that selection and appointment of an arbitrator for your Demand shall be governed by the NAM Mass Filing Rules.
(2) First (Bellwether) Batch. The first batch of up to 50 Demands are the Bellwether Arbitrations. If your claim is included in the Bellwether Arbitrations, you and Heard Seen Loved shall cooperate with the arbitrator assigned to your arbitration to resolve your claim within 120 days of the initial pre-hearing conference.
(3) Stay of Filing of Other Claims. If your claim is not among those selected for the Bellwether Arbitrations, your claim cannot be filed until it is assigned to a batch and authorized to be filed in a later stage of this process. No arbitration fees will be assessed on you or Heard Seen Loved in connection with your claim unless and until it is assigned to a batch and authorized to be filed with NAM.
(4) Mediation. After the Bellwether Arbitrations are completed, if your claim remains unresolved, you and Heard Seen Loved agree to mediate your claim along with any other unresolved claims included in the Mass Filing (“Global Mediation”). The mediator will be selected according to the procedure set forth in the NAM Rules, and Heard Seen Loved will pay the mediator’s fees. The Global Mediation shall be completed within 120 days of the selection of a mediator, unless extended by written agreement between you and Heard Seen Loved.
(5) Election To Proceed in Court. If Global Mediation is not successful in resolving your claim, and 100 or more claims included in the Mass Filing remain unresolved, you or Heard Seen Loved may opt out of arbitration and elect to have your claim resolved in court consistent with Section 14(h). You or Heard Seen Loved must exercise this election within 45 days of the completion of Global Mediation.
(6) Sequential Arbitration of Remaining Batches. If neither you nor Heard Seen Loved opt out of arbitration, another batch of no greater than 50 individuals’ claims will be selected from the Mass Filing, with 25 claims (or half of the total number of claims in a batch, if less than 50) selected by counsel for claimants and 25 claims (or half of the total number of claims in a batch, if less than 50) selected by Heard Seen Loved. If your claim is included in this next batch of 50 claims, your claim will be filed with NAM, and you and Heard Seen Loved shall cooperate with the arbitrator assigned to your arbitration to resolve your claim within 120 days of the initial pre-hearing conference. The process of batching up to 50 individual claims at a time will continue until the parties resolve all claims included in the Mass Filing. No unbatched claim can proceed to be filed as a Demand until the previous batch has been resolved.
(7) Tolling. For any claim subject to these Mass Filing procedures, any statute of limitations applicable to your claim shall be tolled from the date the Informal Dispute Resolution Period begins until the earlier of (a) the date your arbitration Demand is filed, or (b) the date you or Heard Seen Loved opts out of arbitration pursuant to Section 12(e)(5).
f) Arbitration Costs. Payment of all arbitration filing fees and costs will be governed by the applicable NAM Rules. If you prevail on your claim in arbitration, Heard Seen Loved will reimburse you for any portion of the arbitration filing fees you paid that exceeded the amount you would have paid to file a complaint in a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to Section 14(h). If Heard Seen Loved prevails on your claim in arbitration, and the arbitrator finds that your claim was frivolous or filed in bad faith, the arbitrator may award Heard Seen Loved reimbursement from you of Heard Seen Loved’s arbitration filing fees and costs.
g) Offer of Settlement. Each of you and Heard Seen Loved may, but is not obligated to, make a written offer to settle your claim at least 14 days before the arbitration hearing date. The amount or terms of any settlement offer may not be disclosed to the arbitrator until after the arbitrator issues an award on the claim. If an award is issued in a party’s favor but is less than the other party’s settlement offer, the arbitrator may order such party to pay the arbitration costs incurred by such other party after its offer was made, unless otherwise prohibited by the underlying law governing your claim.
h) Class Action Waiver. YOU AND HEARD SEEN LOVED AGREE THAT, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, EACH OF YOU AND HEARD SEEN LOVED MAY BRING CLAIMS (WHETHER IN COURT OR IN ARBITRATION) AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF, CLAIMANT, OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, COORDINATED, PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, REQUEST FOR PUBLIC INJUNCTIVE RELIEF, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. This also means that you and Heard Seen Loved may not participate in any class, collective, consolidated, coordinated, private attorney general, request for public injunctive relief, or representative proceeding brought by any third party. Notwithstanding this provision or any other language in these Terms, you or Heard Seen Loved may participate in a class-wide settlement. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AND HEARD SEEN LOVED WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL.
i) Effect of Changes on Arbitration. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 8, if Heard Seen Loved modifies any terms of this Section 12 after the date you first accepted these Terms or any subsequent changes to these Terms, you may reject the new changes to this Section 12 by sending us notice by email to the attention of Heard Seen Loved’s Legal Department at the at the following address within 30 days of the date such change became effective: info@heardseenloved.org. Even if you reject a change, you will remain subject to this Section 12 of the last version of the Terms you had accepted.
j) Severability. If, after exhaustion of all appeals, a court finds any part of this Section 12 unenforceable as to any claim or request for a remedy, then you and Heard Seen Loved agree to arbitrate all claims and remedies subject to arbitration before litigating in court any remaining claims or remedies; all other claims (or requests for relief) remain subject to this Section 12, and all other Terms shall continue to be enforceable and valid.
k) Third-Party Beneficiaries. All Licensor Parties are intended third-party beneficiaries of this Section 12.
13) Termination.
The term of these Terms will commence on the date of your first acceptance of these Terms and continue until the earliest of: (a) the date upon which Heard Seen Loved, in its sole discretion, provides notice to you of termination of these Terms or your access to the Services is terminated (which may occur for any reason); and (b) your violation or breach of any provisions of these Terms (the “Term”). Heard Seen Loved may immediately terminate these Terms and suspend or terminate your access to the Services for any or no reason at any time without notice, including, but not limited to, if you fail to comply with any provision of these Terms.
Upon termination of these Terms, the rights granted to you under these Terms with respect to the Services will immediately terminate. However, Heard Seen Loved’s ownership of your Feedback, as well as the limitations on Heard Seen Loved’s liability, the indemnification provisions, and the terms pertaining to the dispute resolution process, will survive any expiration or termination of these Terms.
14) Miscellaneous.
a) Supplemental Terms. When using the Services, you agree to comply with and are subject to any posted guidelines, rules, or supplemental terms applicable to such services or features, as may be posted from time to time. All such guidelines, rules, or terms are hereby incorporated by reference into these Terms. To the extent that you are asked to review and accept any supplemental terms that expressly conflict with these Terms, the supplemental terms associated with the applicable portion of the Services govern with respect to your use of such portion of the Services to the extent of the conflict.
b) Section Headers. Section headers are provided for convenience and do not affect the interpretation of any provision or the rights of any party.
c) Entire Agreement; No Assignment. These Terms, the Privacy Policy, and any other terms expressly incorporated by reference herein form the entire agreement between you and Heard Seen Loved regarding your use of the Services. These Terms, and any rights and licenses granted hereunder, may not be transferred or assigned by you, but may be assigned by Heard Seen Loved without restriction. These Terms operate to the fullest extent permissible by law.
d) No Joint Venture, Partnership, Employment, or Agency Relationship. You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and Heard Seen Loved as a result of these Terms or your access to and use of the Services.
e) Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held to be unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision will be deemed severable from these Terms and will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
f) Force Majeure. Heard Seen Loved will be excused from performance under these Terms for any period when we were prevented from or delayed in performing any obligations under these Terms, in whole or in part, due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including, but not limited to, acts of God, flood, fire, earthquake, explosion, war, terrorism, invasion, riot or other civil unrest, strikes, labor stoppages or slowdowns or other industrial disturbances, telecommunications, network, computer, server or Internet downtime, unauthorized access to Heard Seen Loved’s information technology systems by third parties, or passage of law or any action taken by a governmental or public authority, including imposing an embargo.
g) No Waiver. Heard Seen Loved’s failure to enforce any provisions of these Terms or respond to a violation by any party does not waive Heard Seen Loved’s right to subsequently enforce any terms or conditions of these Terms or respond to any violations. Nothing contained in these Terms is in derogation of Heard Seen Loved’s right to comply with governmental, court, and law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of the Services or information provided to or gathered by Heard Seen Loved with respect to such uses.
h) Governing Law; Exclusive Jurisdiction. These Terms shall be governed by, and construed and interpreted in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York (without giving effect to conflict of law principles). To the extent a lawsuit or court proceeding is permitted under these terms, you and Heard Seen Loved agree that any dispute will be litigated in the state or federal courts located in New York County, New York, and both of us submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of those courts. By using the Services, you waive any claims that may arise under the laws of other states, countries, territories, or jurisdictions.
i) Contact. For inquiries or questions regarding these Terms or the Services, please contact Heard Seen Loved at info@heardseenloved.org.
Heard Seen Loved Story Submission Terms
Amalgamated Storytelling LLC dba Heard Seen Loved (“Heard Seen Loved”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is here to share your stories. Our mission is to collect and share the stories of transgender youth and adults in order to educate people about their experiences and uplift the transgender community. These Story Submission Terms apply to the stories that you submit to Heard Seen Loved.
By submitting any video, images, text, sound recordings, or other content (“Submission”), you expressly agree to our Terms of Use (the “Terms”) and Privacy Policy.
· Heard Seen Loved Terms of Use: https://www.heardseenloved.org/terms-of-use
· Heard Seen Loved Privacy Policy: https://www.heardseenloved.org/privacy-policy
These Story Submission Terms are hereby incorporated into the Terms. Your Submission is your “User Content” as described in the Terms, and the terms and conditions of the Terms applicable to your User Content apply to your Submission. In accordance with the Terms, Heard Seen Loved may use your Submission, in whole or in part, for any purpose in furtherance of our mission, through any media channels.
If your submission includes your or another individual’s name, image, voice, or likeness (“Appearance”), then you (on behalf of yourself and such individual(s)) authorize Heard Seen Loved to use such Appearance(s) in connection with both non-commercial and commercial uses of the Submission and waive all rights of publicity and privacy with respect to such uses of such Appearance(s). You agree that Heard Seen Loved may make modifications (including edits and adaptations) to your Submission, including with respect to the presentation of your or another individual’s Appearance, and that Heard Seen Loved has no liability to you for any such modifications or for any distortion or other effects resulting from any such modifications. You waive any and all claims arising from any such modifications. You acknowledge that you may not have any right to review or approve how your Submission is used. You hereby release Heard Seen Loved and its agents and assigns from any and all claims which arise out of or are in any way connected with such uses.
If you request in writing that we not disclose your or another individual’s Appearance in connection with your Submission, then Heard Seen Loved will work with you to remove your or such individual’s Appearance from the Submission before we share the story included in your Submission. For example, Heard Seen Loved may attempt to disguise an individual’s Appearance by using alternative names, animated representations, or other methods determined by us in our sole discretion. However, Heard Seen Loved cannot guarantee that individuals described in the stories that we share will not be identifiable.
You may, at any time, request in writing that we remove your Submission from our media channels by contacting us at info@heardseenloved.org Upon receipt of your request, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to remove your Submission from our media channels as soon as practicable.
You are solely responsible for your Submission. By submitting your Submission, you represent and warrant that:
· You are the creator and owner of your Submission, or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions (including, where an individual described in your Submission is under 18 years old, from such individual’s parent or legal guardian, and where your Submission includes another individual’s Appearance, from such individual) to authorize Heard Seen Loved to exercise the rights to your Submission granted by you here and in the Terms.
· Your Submission, and the use of your Submission as contemplated here and by the Terms, does not and will not infringe, violate, or misappropriate any third-party right, including any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, moral right, privacy right, right of publicity, or any other intellectual property or proprietary right.
· You are at least 18 years old. If you are under 18 years old, then your parent or legal guardian must submit your Submission (and be bound by these Story Submission Terms and the Terms with respect to your Submission) on your behalf.
Heard Seen Loved reserves the right to modify or refuse to accept, post, display, or transmit any of your Submission in our sole discretion.
