eFileTexas.gov
Usage Agreement
Welcome
to eFileTexas.gov, the electronic filing program of the Texas Judicial Branch.
Please read this Agreement carefully. It governs Your access to and use of
eFileTexas.gov. Your use of eFileTexas.gov
is conditioned upon Your acceptance of this Agreement. By clicking on the
"I Accept" button or similar button, You are
agreeing to be legally bound by all of the terms and conditions of this
Agreement. As used in this Agreement, "You" or "Your"
includes You and Your employer and Users.
Sections:
1.
Definitions
2.
License; Restrictions on Use
3.
Access to the eFileTexas.gov Internet Site
4.
Limitations on Use
5.
Representations and Warranties
6.
Fees
7.
Proprietary Rights
8.
Disclaimers and Limitations
9.
Your Warranties and Indemnification
10.
Limitations of Liability
11.
Arbitration
12.
Miscellaneous
Section 1. Definitions
The
following terms have the following meanings in this Agreement:
"
User" means You and, if applicable, any of Your employees, agents,
independent contractors, consultants or others who agree to be bound by the
terms and conditions of this Agreement and who are authorized or otherwise
designated or permitted by You to access and use eFileTexas.gov pursuant to the
License.
"Enhancement"
means any correction, modification, customization, revision, enhancement,
improvement, update, upgrade, new release or other change that is released
generally by Tyler for eFileTexas.gov.
“Fees” mean statutory filing fees and other
court fees, credit card fees and fees for services that may be made available
to You and Your Users pursuant to the Electronic Filing Agreement between Tyler
Technologies, Inc. and the Office of Court Administration executed on November
8, 2012, as amended from time to time.
"Information"
means the records, data, databases, documents, materials, and other information
accessible through eFileTexas.gov.
"License"
means the limited license granted to You under this Agreement.
"Proprietary
Rights" means any patent, copyright, trademark, service mark, trade secret
or other intellectual property right.
“eFileTexas.gov”
means the electronic filing system designed to receive, transfer, maintain, and
provide access to documents for the benefit of Users.
"Third
Party Content" means any content, records, data, documents, materials, or
other information supplied to Tyler pursuant to an agreement with a third party
for inclusion as part of, or for use with, eFileTexas.gov.
"Tyler"
means Tyler Technologies, Inc. and its operating units and divisions.
"eFileTexas.gov
Internet Site" means the Web sites (and all Enhancements thereto) located
at http://www.eFileTexas.gov.com.
"Tyler
Technology" means any know-how, processes, methodologies, specifications, designs,
inventions, functionality, graphics, techniques, methods, applications,
computer programs, user manuals, on-line documentation, products or other
technology and materials of any kind, or any Enhancement thereto, used by Tyler
in connection with the performance of eFileTexas.gov or made available by Tyler
to You, any User or any third party through the eFileTexas.gov Internet
Site.
"Unauthorized
Use" means any use, reproduction, distribution, disposition, possession, disclosure
or other activity, including, without limitation, any bulk reselling involving
any aspect of eFileTexas.gov, the eFileTexas.gov Internet Site or Information
that is not expressly authorized under this Agreement or otherwise in writing
by Tyler.
"User
Identification" means the unique user identification name and password
issued or otherwise assigned to each User for access to and use of
eFileTexas.gov.
Section
2. License; Restrictions on Use
2.1
License. Subject to the restrictions and limitations set forth in this Section
2 and elsewhere in this Agreement, Tyler hereby grants to You and Your Users a
nonexclusive, nontransferable, limited license to do the following during the
term of this License: (a) enable You and Your Users to access and use
eFileTexas.gov subject and according to the terms of this Agreement solely for
Your and Your Users’ internal use in the regular course of Your and Your Users’
business; (b) subject to any applicable third party rights or restrictions of
law, reproduce the Information for use in connection with the rights granted
under (a) above and provide the Information to Your and Your Users’ customers
and clients and third parties in the regular course of Your and Your Users’
business, provided that such Information is provided as an incidental part of,
and ancillary to, the other services You and Your Users provide Your and Your
Users’ clients or customers, or the regular course of Your and Your Users’
business.
2.2
General Restrictions and Limitations. Paragraph 2.1 sets forth the entirety of
Your and Your Users’ right to access and use eFileTexas.gov. The License does
not include the right to, and You and Your Users will not directly or
indirectly (a) enable any person or entity other than Users to access and use
eFileTexas.gov; (b) modify or create any derivative work based upon any Tyler
Technology; without prior permission, Information in which anyone else may have
an ownership or protected interest; or Third Party Content; (c) except as
necessary to conduct Your and Your Users’ regular course of business, engage
in, permit or suffer to continue any bulk copying or bulk distribution of the
Information or store the Information in a searchable database accessible to
third parties, excluding You and Your and Your Users’ clients and agents; (d)
grant any sublicense or other rights under the License; (e) reverse engineer,
disassemble or decompile all or any portion of, or attempt to discover or
recreate the source code for, any software that is part of the Tyler Technology;
(f) remove, obscure or alter any Proprietary Rights notice related to the
eFileTexas.gov Internet Site, eFileTexas.gov, the Tyler Technology or any Third
Party Content; or (g) engage in, permit or suffer to continue any Unauthorized
Use by any person or entity within Your control. You will ensure, through
proper instructions and enforcement actions, that all access to and use of
eFileTexas.gov and the Information obtained by You and Your Users, or otherwise
through Your facilities, equipment, identifiers or passwords, will conform to
this Agreement and will be made and used solely for proper and legal purposes,
and will be conducted in a manner that does not violate any law or regulation,
the rights of any third party, court orders or Tyler's policies.
2.3
No Attorney-Client Relationship.
eFileTexas.gov does not constitute or contain legal advice. Use of eFileTexas.gov may require the
application of professional expertise and judgment, for which You should
consult a competent attorney licensed to practice in the appropriate
jurisdiction.
2.4
Third Party Content, Software and Services. The License as it relates to any
Third Party Content, software or services is further subject to any
restrictions and limitations specified in the terms and conditions displayed
with or referenced in any such Third Party Content, software or services.
Tyler's agreements with such third parties may require Tyler to deny or
otherwise restrict Your or Your Users access to certain Third Party Content,
software or services available through eFileTexas.gov. You will comply with all
such restrictions upon reasonable notice. IN THE EVENT OF ANY CONFLICT BETWEEN
THIS AGREEMENT AND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS IMPOSED BY THIRD PARTIES, THE THIRD
PARTY TERMS AND CONDITIONS WILL APPLY.
Section
3. Access to the eFileTexas.gov Internet Site
3.1
Equipment, Services and Facilities. You are solely responsible for providing,
installing and maintaining at Your own expense all equipment, facilities and
services necessary for You and Your Users to access and use eFileTexas.gov,
including, without limitation, all computer hardware and software, modems,
printers, telephone service and Internet access.
3.2
Password. Each User will be issued or otherwise assigned User Identification to
access and use eFileTexas.gov. You
acknowledge that You are fully responsible for all liabilities incurred through
the use of any User Identification and that any transaction under a User
Identification will be deemed to have been performed by You. If you have authorized, permitted or
otherwise designated employees, agents, independent contractors, consultants or
others to access and use eFileTexas.gov, You are solely responsible for
tracking the User Identifications to specific Users and for ensuring the
security and confidentiality of all User Identifications. You will immediately
notify Tyler of any unauthorized use of any User Identification or any other
breach of security known to You. Use of any User Identification other than as
provided in this Agreement will be considered a breach of this Agreement by
You.
3.3
Hours of Operation; Scope of eFileTexas.gov. Tyler reserves the right at any
time and without prior notice to You or Your Users to change eFileTexas.gov's hours of operation or to limit Your and
Your Users’ access to eFileTexas.gov in order to perform repairs, make
modifications or as a result of circumstances beyond Tyler's reasonable
control. Tyler may add or withdraw products or services to or from
eFileTexas.gov from time to time. You acknowledge that Tyler has no obligation
to maintain or provide any Enhancements to eFileTexas.gov.
3.4
Privacy Statement. Tyler believes strongly in protecting user privacy and
providing You with notice of Tyler's collection and use of data, including
personal identifying information, collected on the Tyler Internet Site. Tyler reserved the right to contact you in
order to provide you updates and other information about this website. For additional information, please refer to
the Tyler Privacy Statement for information regarding how Tyler uses and collects
information.
http://www.tylertech.com/privacy
Section
4. Limitations on Use
4.1
Individual Access. Only one individual may log-in to the eFileTexas.gov
Internet Site at the same time using the User Identification assigned, unless
we permit otherwise.
4.2
Intellectual Property. The Tyler Technology intellectual property used in
connection with eFileTexas.gov is the property of Tyler and is protected by
applicable intellectual property laws.
Section
5. Representations and Warranties.
5.1
Security. Tyler shall implement administrative, physical, and technical safeguards
that reasonably and appropriately protect the confidentiality and integrity of
the data or documents submitted by You and Your Users through the
eFileTexas.gov system, and the computing, processing and storage devices used
to process, maintain, store, and transmit Information. At a minimum, Tyler
shall remain compliant with PCI security standards, and shall additionally
obtain SSAE16 Type II certification and thereafter remain compliant with the
same or equivalent. Tyler shall not use data or documents submitted through the
eFileTexas.gov system for any purpose other than performance of this Agreement
and will not disclose, disseminate, transmit, publish, distribute, make
available, or otherwise convey any such information to any third party without
the court's consent, except as may be required by law, regulation, judicial or
administrative process or as may be required pursuant to the State of Texas
Electronic Filing Agreement.
5.2
You agree that, except as specifically set for herein, Your
access to and use of eFileTexas.gov and the content available through
eFileTexas.gov is on an "as-is" basis, and Tyler does not make any
representations or warranties, express or implied, including, without
limitation, any representations or warranties of merchantability or fitness for
a particular purpose.
Section
6. Fee Schedule
6.1
Fees. You are ultimately and fully responsible for payment to Tyler of all
Fees, charges and other amounts whether
or not You and Your Users are incurring such fees, charges or other amounts on
Your own account or on behalf of Your and Your Users’ clients. All amounts payable under this Agreement are
denominated in United States Dollars and You will pay all such amounts in
lawful currency of the United States.
6.2
Payment Terms. Unless You and Tyler separately agree to different payment
terms, You will pay for statutory filing and court
fees by credit card. When You register for eFileTexas.gov, You will be prompted
to enter Your credit card information. Tyler accepts Visa, Master Card,
American Express and the Discover Card.
6.3
Suspension of Services. If You fail to pay any amount under this Agreement when
due, in addition to any other remedies available at law or in equity, Tyler
will have the right, in its sole discretion, to immediately suspend the License
and You and Your Users' access to and use of the Tyler Services. Section 7. Proprietary Rights
7.1
Ownership. The eFileTexas.gov Internet Site and the Tyler Technology that
constitutes eFileTexas.gov involve valuable Proprietary Rights of Tyler. You
acknowledge that You obtain only license rights under this Agreement. No title
to or ownership of eFileTexas.gov, the eFileTexas.gov Internet Site and the
Tyler Technology, or any Proprietary Rights associated therewith is transferred
to You, any User or any third party under this Agreement.
7.2
Protection of Proprietary Rights. You will not infringe or violate, and will
take appropriate steps and precautions for the protection of Tyler's
Proprietary Rights. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, You will (a) maintain access and use restrictions sufficient
to prevent any Unauthorized Use; (b) except as provided by this Agreement, not
make eFileTexas.gov, the eFileTexas.gov Internet Site, the Tyler Technology or
Third Party Content available to any third party without the prior written
consent of Tyler; and (c) otherwise use Your best efforts to prevent any
Unauthorized Use. You will immediately notify Tyler of any Unauthorized Use
that comes to Your attention and cooperate with Tyler to investigate and
prevent the same. In the event of any Unauthorized Use relating to Your
activities, any User or any of Your representatives, You
will take all steps reasonably necessary to terminate such Unauthorized
Use.
7.3
Infringer Policy. Tyler respects the intellectual property of others, and
expects its users to do the same. Tyler may, in appropriate circumstances and
at its own discretion, limit access to the eFileTexas.gov Internet Site and/or terminate
your account if You or any of Your Users infringe the intellectual property
rights of others. Any person who believes that any Information available
through the eFileTexas.gov Internet Site infringes upon any copyright owned or
controlled by such person, or that any link on the eFileTexas.gov Internet Site
directs users to another Web site that contains such infringing material may
file a notification of such infringement with our Designated Agent. Please see
the Copyright Policy and Notice and Procedure for Notifying Designated Agent of
Claims of Copyright Infringement, located at:
http://www.tylertech.com/terms.
Section
8. Disclaimers and Limitations
8.1
Assumption of Risk; Responsibility to Verify. You acknowledge that Tyler does
not verify the completeness, propriety, timeliness or accuracy of any
Information or Third Party Content available through the eFileTexas.gov
Internet Site. Tyler does not control the contents of any Information and
except as provided in section 5.1, supra, will not be responsible for any
claimed loss of privilege or other claimed injury due to disclosure of sealed,
confidential or privileged information. Tyler may provide from time to time
links from the eFileTexas.gov Internet Site to other Web sites that are not
controlled by Tyler and are not related to eFileTexas.gov. Tyler is providing
these links only as a convenience, and no such link implies an affiliation,
endorsement, or adoption by Tyler of the linked Web site or any Information,
services or products obtained through such links. You acknowledge that by
providing the Information and
eFileTexas.gov, Tyler does not underwrite or assume any of the
risks of Your business or activities. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO VERIFY THE
INFORMATION AND THIRD PARTY CONTENT OBTAINED THROUGH THE EFILETEXAS.GOV
INTERNET SITE WITH THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION REPOSING AT THE COURT OF RECORD OR
OTHER DATA SOURCE.
8.2
DISCLAIMER. THE LICENSE,
EFILETEXAS.GOV, THE EFILETEXAS.GOV INTERNET SITE, TYLER
TECHNOLOGY, INFORMATION AND ALL SOFTWARE, SERVICES AND OTHER ITEMS PROVIDED
THEREIN ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY
KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 5.1, SUPRA.
TYLER, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OWNERS, SUPPLIERS AND THE
PROVIDERS OF THIRD PARTY CONTENT, DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
ARISING BY LAW OR OTHERWISE, WITH RESPECT TO ANY ERROR, DEFECT, DEFICIENCY,
INFRINGEMENT OR NONCOMPLIANCE IN
EFILETEXAS.GOV, THE EFILETEXAS.GOV INTERNET SITE, TYLER TECHNOLOGY,
INFORMATION OR ANY SOFTWARE, SERVICES OR OTHER ITEMS PROVIDED BY, THROUGH OR ON
BEHALF OF TYLER UNDER THIS AGREEMENT (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY
IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR
NONINFRINGEMENT AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY ARISING FROM COURSE OF PERFORMANCE,
COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE).
8.3
Third Party Content, Software and Services. Except as otherwise agreed upon by
the parties in writing, the warranties, obligations and liabilities of Tyler and
Your and Your Users’ remedies with respect to any Third Party Content, software
or services will be limited to whatever recourse may be available against the
third party provider of such Third Party Content, software or services and ARE
SUBJECT TO ALL RESTRICTIONS AND OTHER LIMITATIONS AS MAY BE DISPLAYED IN OR
REFERENCED BY SUCH THIRD PARTY CONTENT, SOFTWARE OR SERVICES.
Section
9. Your Warranties and Indemnification
9.1
Warranty. In addition to any warranties set forth elsewhere in this Agreement, You warrant to Tyler that the performance of Your
obligations and Your and Your Users' access to and use of eFileTexas.gov will
not violate any third party rights or any applicable laws, rules or
regulations.
9.2
Indemnification. To the extent permitted by Texas law, except for damages
resulting from Tyler’s breach of section 5.1, supra, you will defend, indemnify
and hold harmless Tyler, and its directors, officers, employees, owners and
agents from and against any and all claims, costs, losses, damages, judgments
and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or in
connection with (a) any claim alleging any breach of any of the foregoing
warranties or any other provision of this Agreement; (b) any damage arising
from causes beyond the control or without the fault or negligence of Tyler; (c)
any use by You or Your Users, customers or clients of the Information, Third
Party Content, or any other software, services or other items provided under
this Agreement.
Section
10. Limitations of Liability
10.1
Force Majeure. Neither party will be liable for, or be considered to be in
breach of or default under this Agreement on account of, any delay or failure
to perform as required by this Agreement as a result of any cause or condition
beyond such party's reasonable control (including, without limitation, any act
or failure to act by the other party).
10.2
No Consequential Damages. NEITHER TYLER NOR ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES,
AGENTS, AFFILLIATES OWNERS, SUPPLIERS AND THE PROVIDERS OF THIRD PARTY CONTENT
WILL BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OF YOUR USERS, CUSTOMERS OR CLIENTS FOR ANY
INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT
LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT, REVENUE, DATA, BUSINESS OR USE) WHETHER
OR NOT CHARACTERIZED BY IN NEGLIGENCE, TORT, CONTRACT, OR OTHER THEORY OF
LIABILITY, EVEN IF TYLER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES
AND IRRESPECTIVE OF ANY FAILURE OF AN ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF A LIMITED REMEDY,
ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO ANY PROVISION OF THIS AGREEMENT, THE LICENSE, EFILETEXAS.GOV, THE EFILETEXAS.GOV INTERNET
SITE, THE TYLER TECHNOLOGY, INFORMATION OR ANY SOFTWARE, SERVICES OR OTHER
ITEMS PROVIDED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, OR THE FAILURE OF TYLER TO PERFORM ITS
OBLIGATIONS, REGARDLESS OF ANY NEGLIGENCE BY TYLER.
10.3
Limitation of Liability. EXCEPT FOR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM TYLER’S BREACH OF
SECTION 5.1, IN NO EVENT WILL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF TYLER WITH REGARD TO
THE LICENSE,
EFILETEXAS.GOV, INFORMATION AND ANY OTHER ITEMS OR SERVICES
PROVIDED OR FAILED TO BE PROVIDED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT EXCEED THE COMPENSATION
PAID BY YOU TO TYLER UNDER THIS AGREEMENT IN THE THREE (3) MONTHS PRECEDING THE
ACCRUAL OF SUCH CLAIM.
Section
11. Arbitration
Unless
prohibited by applicable law, any controversy or claim arising out of or
relating to this Agreement, which is not settled by reasonable negotiations
between the parties, will attempt to settle the same by mediation. The
mediation will be conducted by a single mediator and agreed rules if all
parties can agree upon such mediator and rules, and if such agreement cannot be
reached between the parties, the mediation will be mediated by a single
mediator. The cost of mediation will be
borne equally by the parties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may,
on good cause shown, seek a temporary restraining order and/or a preliminary
injunction from a court of competent jurisdiction, to be effective pending the
institution of the mediation process.
Section
12. Miscellaneous
12.1
Modifications. This Agreement may be amended by Tyler, with the approval of the
Office of Court Administration, from time to time by Tyler posting on the
eFileTexas.gov website a new click-thru license; in addition to posting a new
click-thru license, Tyler may post on the eFileTexas.gov Internet Site the
amended Agreement or other notice of the amendments. Latest revision dates are
indicated at the top of the document. Continued use of the eFileTexas.gov
Internet Site following the fifteenth day after such posting will constitute
acceptance of the change. If You do not accept the amended terms, You must cease using eFileTexas.gov.
12.2
Assignment. This Agreement, and the License granted hereunder, may not be
assigned by You to any third party. Subject to the foregoing, this Agreement
will bind and benefit the parties and their respective successors and
assigns.
12.3
Nonwaiver. Waiver of any breach of any term or
condition of this Agreement will not be deemed a waiver of any prior or subsequent
breach.
12.4
Termination. Notwithstanding any of these terms and conditions, Tyler reserves
the right, without notice and in its sole discretion, to terminate Your
License, and to block or prevent future access to and use of the eFileTexas.gov
by You or Your Users. Unless such termination is at Your request or is due to
Your breach, Tyler will refund any fees prepaid by You with respect to periods
following the effectiveness of such termination. Upon notice of termination,
You and Your Users will immediately discontinue use of eFileTexas.gov.
12.5
Severability. This Agreement will be enforced to the fullest extent permitted
by applicable law. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or
unenforceable to any extent, then (a) such provision will be interpreted,
construed and reformed to the extent reasonably required to render the same
valid, enforceable and consistent with the original intent underlying such
provision and (b) such invalidity or unenforceability will not affect any other
provision of this Agreement.
12.6
Questions and Contact Information. General questions or comments about the
eFileTexas.gov Internet Site or eFileTexas.gov may be directed to eFileTexas.gov’s Customer Service by e-mail at
support@eFileTexas.gov.com or by postal mail at Tyler Technologies, Inc., 5101
Tennyson Parkway, Plano, TX 75024.
12.7
Applicable Law; Jurisdiction and Venue. This Agreement will be interpreted,
construed and enforced in all respects in accordance with the laws of the State
of Texas, U.S.A., without reference to its choice of law principles to the
contrary. The 1980 UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of
Goods or its successor will not apply to this Agreement.
12.8
Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the
parties with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement, and this
Agreement replaces and supersedes any prior verbal understandings, written
communications or representations on the subject matter hereof.