document: title: copyright and privacy policies
text: FL Department of State  
  
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Copyright Issues and Privacy Policy  
  
CONDITIONS OF USE  
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PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY   
BEFORE USING THIS SITE. By using this site, you signify your assent to these terms of use. If you do not agree to these terms of use, please do not use the site.   
I. RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF MATERIALS  
This site is owned and operated by THE STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF STATE (referred to as "DOS" herein). No material from WWW.DOS.STATE.FL.US or any Web site owned, operated, licensed or controlled by THE STATE OF FLORIDA or DOS may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way, except that you may download the materials on any single computer for your personal, non-commercial use only, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. Modification of the materials or use of the materials for any other purpose is a violation of THE STATE OF FLORIDA and DOS's copyright and other proprietary rights. For purposes of this Agreement, the use of any such material on any other Web site or networked computer environment is prohibited. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are proprietary to THE STATE OF FLORIDA and DOS. 

In the event you download software from the site, the software, including any files, images incorporated in or generated by the software, and data accompanying the software (collectively, the "Software") are licensed to you by THE STATE OF FLORIDA and DOS. THE STATE OF FLORIDA and DOS does not transfer title to the Software to you. You own the medium on which the Software is recorded, but THE STATE OF FLORIDA and DOS retains full and complete title to the Software, and all intellectual property rights therein. You may not redistribute, sell, decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, or otherwise reduce the Software to a human-perceivable form.   
  
II. JURISDICTIONAL ISSUES  
Unless otherwise specified, the materials in the site are presented solely for the purpose of promoting programs, applications, and other products available in the United States, its territories, possessions, and protectorates. This site is controlled and operated by THE STATE OF FLORIDA and DOS from its offices within THE STATE OF FLORIDA, United States of America. THE STATE OF FLORIDA and DOS makes no representation that materials in the site are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Those who choose to access this site 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 this site is further subject to United States export controls. No software from this site may be downloaded or otherwise exported or reexported (1) into (or to a national or resident of) Cuba, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Iran, Syria, or any other country to which the U.S. has embargoed goods; or (2) 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.   
III. TERMINATION  
This agreement is effective until terminated by either party. You may terminate this agreement at any time by destroying all materials obtained from any and all STATE OF FLORIDA or DOS site(s) and all related documentation and all copies and installations thereof, whether made under the terms of this agreement or otherwise. This agreement will terminate immediately without notice from THE STATE OF FLORIDA and DOS if in sole discretion you fail to comply with any term or provision of this agreement. Upon termination, you must destroy all materials obtained from this site and any and all other STATE OF FLORIDA and DOS site(s) and all copies thereof, whether made under the terms of this agreement or otherwise.   
IV. DISCLAIMER  
THE MATERIALS IN THIS SITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, THE STATE OF FLORIDA AND DOS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE STATE OF FLORIDA AND DOS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THE MATERIALS WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THIS SITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. THE STATE OF FLORIDA AND DOS DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE MATERIALS IN THIS SITE IN TERMS OF THEIR CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. YOU (AND NOT THE STATE OF FLORIDA AND DOS) ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION. APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.   
V. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY  
Under no circumstances, including, but not limited to, negligence, shall THE STATE OF FLORIDA and DOS be liable for any special or consequential damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, the materials in this site, even if THE STATE OF FLORIDA and DOS or a STATE OF FLORIDA and DOS authorized representative has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Applicable law may not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability or incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. In no event shall THE STATE OF FLORIDA and DOS's total liability to you for all damages, losses, and causes of action (whether in contract, tort (including, but not limited to, negligence), or otherwise exceed the amount paid by you, if any, for accessing this site.   
VI. LINKS TO THIRD PARTIES  
There are links contained on this website that will let you leave the DOS web server and/or servers owned and operated by THE STATE OF FLORIDA. The linked sites are not under the control of DOS  or THE STATE OF FLORIDA and neither DOS or THE STATE OF FLORIDA is reposible for the contents of any linked site, or any link contained in a linked site, or any changes or updates to such sites. DOS is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by DOS  or THE STATE OF FLORIDA of the site.  
VII. OTHER  
This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of THE STATE OF FLORIDA, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law. If any provision of this agreement shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this agreement and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. This is the entire agreement between the parties relating to the subject matter herein and shall not be modified except in writing, signed by both parties.   
  
VIII. Privacy Policy  
  
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.

Thank you for visiting the Florida Department of State's web site. This policy describes the privacy practices of the Florida Department of State regarding information collected from visitors to our web site. It contains information about what data is collected and how that information is used. This policy may be updated periodically, so please check back from time to time. 

Web Site Use Information: 

Your privacy is very important to us. Our policy is to collect no personal information about you when you visit the Florida Department of State's web site, unless you affirmatively choose to make such information available to us. 

When you visit our web site, the web server automatically recognizes only the Internet domain and IP address from which you accessed the site. Our web site utilizes a standard technology called "cookies" (see explanation below, "What Are Cookies?") and web server logs to collect information about how our web site is used. Information gathered through cookies and web server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our web site, and the web sites visited just before our web site. This is done so that the content of the site can be improved. This information does not result in the identification of your personal e-mail address or other personal information. These cookies expire after you leave our site. 

How Do We Use the Information That You Provide to Us? 

If you choose to share personal information, such as by subscribing to an e-newsletter, sending a message, or filling out an electronic form with personal information, the information will only be used for the purposes you authorized. Once you register with us and sign in to our services, you are not anonymous to us, and the information will be saved for a designated period of time in order to comply with the state of Florida's archiving policies. 

However, information will not be disclosed to third parties or other government agencies, unless required by state or federal law.

Please note: Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.

What Are Cookies?

· Cookies are a feature of web browser software that allows web servers to recognize the computer used to access a web site.

· Cookies are small pieces of data that are stored by a user's web browser on the user's hard drive.

· Cookies can remember what information a user accesses on one web page to simplify subsequent interactions with that web site by the same user or to use the information to streamline the user's transactions on related web pages. This makes it easier for a user to move from web page to web page and to complete commercial transactions over the Internet.

What About Other Web Sites Linked to Our Web Site? We are not responsible for the practices employed by web sites linked to or from our web site nor the information or content contained therein. Often links to other web sites are provided solely as pointers to information on topics that may be useful to the users of our web site.

If you have other questions about our privacy policies, or have suggestions on how these policies can be improved, please feel free to e-mail us at webmaster@mail.dos.state.fl.us , or contact us by telephone at 850-245-6500.