Terms of Use

By registering and using IBM TechXchange Community, you agree that you are subject to and will comply with the terms of use set forth below as well as the IBM terms of use and the IBM Copyright and trademark information.

As a contributor to IBM TechXchange Community you agree to adhere to the following terms of use:

Content publication

  • IBM TechXchange Community provides a professional network and a unified set of community tools for connecting, sharing, and collaborating. By posting content ("User Content") in the IBM TechXchange Community, you agree to allow anyone with access to the IBM TechXchange Community to access the content you post. You agree that any discussion you initiate or participate in, or content you post on the Site will be related to IBM products, software, programs, services or associated technologies.
  • Do not post or transmit material that is confidential to you or a third party unless such posting or transmittal is in compliance with the Confidential Information section below. Further, you agree that you will not post or transmit material that is proprietary to a third party unless you attained consent from such third party.
  • Do not post content from, or links to, Internet sites that feature sexual content, gambling, or that advocate intolerance of others. Do not create such content on IBM TechXchange Community.
  • Respect copyright, fair use, and financial disclosure laws. Use appropriate symbols to mark the first occurrence of trademarked terms in your content. Do not post images unless you own the exclusive rights to display the imagery in this context. By posting images that depict a person or persons, you represent and warrant that you attained consent from and verified the legal age of each person depicted in the image for the distribution, display and usage of the image in the general public.
  • Use common courtesy when posting content: refrain from abusive, obscene, or offensive language, images, or links. Remember that you are providing content for a multicultural audience -- things that do not seem abusive, obscene, or offensive to you might seem so to others.
  • IBM may add specialized sections or areas of this Site for specific discussion, selected participants, "confidential only" discussion or, may offer for download, software or other materials for which additional terms and conditions may be applicable. Prior to your participation in such specialized sections or areas or your download of such materials, your acceptance of such additional terms and conditions may be required.
  • User Content may be made available to third-party search engines on the Internet as well as through the Site's search engine. User Content that you post will be available for use on a global basis by IBM, other participants and others who are not participants but who view the User Content on the Internet, without royalties or restrictions. IBM, other participants and others who are not participants but who view the User Content on the Internet, may use User Content, in whole or in part, for any purpose, may create derivative works thereof and may sublicense others to do the same. IBM shall have no obligation to compensate you for any feedback or content that you provide, or requests that you submit on the Site. Furthermore, IBM does not commit, promise, nor have a legal obligation to deliver any code, functionality, software or other materials due to content you post on the Site.
  • IBM IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR USER CONTENT OR THE ACCURACY OF ANY USER CONTENT POSTED. PARTICIPANTS SHALL REMAIN SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE USER CONTENT THEY POST. USER CONTENT DOES NOT REPRESENT THE VIEWS OR OPINIONS OF IBM. IBM DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT ANY USER CONTENT IS CORRECT OR ACCURATE AND IBM DOES NOT ENDORSE ANY USER CONTENT.
  • IBM reserves the right, but does not have the obligation, to monitor the Site. IBM is not responsible for what anyone posts on the Site, and postings do not necessarily represent the opinions or positions of IBM.

User privacy

  • Your profile, which includes your name and display name plus any other information you elect to make public, together with your IBM TechXchange Community activity, such as your forum posts, and blog comments, will be publicly accessible.
  • Show proper consideration for other's privacy, including not referencing another without his or her permission.

Content republishing

  • IBM will have the right to republish any material you contribute to the IBM TechXchange Community environment, including any and all modules on the Site provided on the IBM TechXchange Community environment, and you expressly grant the right to IBM to copy and republish the content in any form.

Content removal

  • IBM also retains the right to decline to post any content, or remove any previously posted User Content in the IBM TechXchange Community environment, including any and all modules on the Site at our discretion.
  • IBM will respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. For more information, please refer to IBM's Digital Millennium Copyright Act Notices. IBM will terminate without notice participants who are "repeat infringers" of copyrights.

No Commitment as to Future Direction

  • References in content on the Site to IBM products, software, programs, services or associated technologies ("IBM Content") do not imply that they will be available in all countries in which IBM operates. IBM Content, including any plans contained in content, may change at any time at IBM's sole discretion, based on market opportunities or other factors, and is not intended to be a commitment to future content, including product or feature availability, in any way. Statements regarding IBM's future direction or intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice and represent goals and objectives only.
  • Do not use any IBM Content provided on the Site to develop software or services that provide the same or similar functionality.

Confidential information

  • IBM has Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) governing any confidential discussion or materials that you participate in, submit or retrieve on the Site. Confidential areas of the Site will be marked as confidential, and you will be presented with the applicable NDA prior to being granted access to a confidential area. For IBM only confidential discussion or materials, you may be required to agree to be bound by the IBM Confidential Disclosure Agreement. For mutual confidential discussion or materials between IBM and third parties, you may be required to agree to be bound by the Mutual Confidential Disclosure Agreement.
  • If an existing NDA exists between you and IBM or your company and IBM that governs any confidential discussions or materials you participant in, submit or retrieve on the Site, the existing NDA shall govern your exchanges with IBM.
  • Unless there is an NDA in place stating the contrary, any information or material sent to IBM will be deemed NOT to be confidential.

General rights

  • IBM PROVIDES THIS SERVICE ON AN 'AS IS' BASIS WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, including but not limited to any warranty relating to noninfringement of any intellectual or other proprietary rights and availability of the service or of the content posted by any parties using the Site's content hosting services. IBM will not be liable for any direct or indirect damages, including without limitation, lost profits, lost savings, or any incidental, special, or other economic consequential damages, even if it has been advised of the possibility of such damages. By using this service, you agree to indemnify IBM against any third-party action based on any content you post on the IBM TechXchange Community.
  • IBM does not give you any express or implied rights or licenses under any intellectual property rights. IBM may change these rules at any time by giving you notice. You accept a change by continuing to use the Site after you have been notified of the change. Changes are not retroactive. Additional or different terms in any written communication from you are void.
  • IBM is not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of any non-IBM Web sites that IBM TechXchange Community may be linked to.
  • IBM reserves the right at all times (but will not have an obligation) to terminate your account or a community for any reason (such as violation of these Terms of Use or the IBM terms of use) or no reason at all, with or without notice. We also reserve the right to access, read, preserve, and disclose any information as we reasonably believe is necessary to (i) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, (ii) enforce these terms, including investigation of potential violations, (iii) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues, (iv) respond to user support requests, or (v) protect the rights, property or safety of IBM, its users and the public.
  • These Terms of Use are governed by the substantive laws of the State of New York. Any proceedings to resolve disputes relating to the Terms of Use shall be brought in a U.S. Federal Court in the State of New York. You hereby expressly waive the right to trial by jury in any matter which arises under these Terms of Use.

IBM employees

  • If you are an IBM employee, you will also follow the IBM Social Computing Guidelines, IBM Business Conduct Guidelines and your employment agreement with IBM, which you can obtain from your Human Resources contact.
  • You will appropriately utilize the Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) detailed in the "Confidential discussion" section as a community owner for any confidential discussions or information.