Terms of Use – archive

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Terms of Use – 5 June 2020 to 23 February 2022

By accessing the website at www.economist.com ("the Site") or by otherwise accessing any content found on the Site or by using any digital application edition of The Economist newspaper or other digital application published by The Economist Group ("The Economist") (each a "Digital Application"), you are entering into an agreement with The Economist and agree to the terms that follow (the "Terms"). The Site is owned and operated by The Economist.

Please review our Privacy Policy to learn more about how we use any information you provide about yourself.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR US USERS AND SUBSCRIBERS: subject to certain exceptions, all disputes between The Economist and United States users of this Site, including subscribers, will be subject to individual mandatory and binding arbitration as described in detail below, which means that disputes will not be heard in court.

The Economist and The Economist online are trading names of The Economist, which includes the following for the purpose of these Terms:

The Economist Newspaper Limited ("ENL")
Registered in England and Wales. No.236383
Registered office: The Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HT, United Kingdom

Economist Digital Services Limited ("EDSL")
Registered in England and Wales. No. 9282716
Registered office: The Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HT, United Kingdom

The Economist Newspaper NA, Inc. (“ENNA”)
Registered in Delaware.
Registered office: 750 Third Avenue, Fifth floor, New York, NY 10017, United States of America

  • Intellectual Property

  • Use of Economist Content

  • Registration, Passwords and Responsibilities

  • Subscription and Cancellation

  • Fees and Payments

  • User-Created Content

  • Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy

  • Changes to the Site and Digital Applications

  • Gift Subscriptions

  • Liability and Indemnity

  • Force Majeure

  • Miscellaneous

  • Term and Termination

  • Governing Law and Jurisdiction



Intellectual Property
The contents and design of the Site, any Digital Application and any material e-mailed to you or otherwise supplied to you in conjunction with the Site and/or a Digital Application (such contents, design and materials being collectively referred to as the "Economist Content"), is copyright of The Economist and its licensors. You may not use or reproduce or allow anyone to use or reproduce any trade marks (such as "The Economist" name and logo or other trade names appearing on the Site or any Digital Application) for any reason without written permission from The Economist. The software that operates the Site and all Digital Applications is proprietary software and you may not use it except as expressly allowed under these Terms. You may not copy, reverse engineer, modify or otherwise deal with the software.

Use of Economist Content
All Economist content is strictly for personal, non-commercial use only.

You may retrieve and display Economist Content from the Site on a computer screen or mobile device, print individual pages on paper (but not photocopy them) and store such pages in electronic form on your computer or mobile device for your personal, non-commercial use. You may use Digital Applications only on devices for which they were intended, for your personal, non-commercial use and on no more than five separate devices. Except as expressly permitted above, you may not reproduce, modify or in any way commercially exploit any Economist Content. In particular, but without limiting the general application of the restrictions in the previous sentence, you may not do any of the following without prior written permission from The Economist.

  • reproduce or store in or transmit to any other website, newsgroup, mailing list, electronic bulletin board, server or other storage device connected to a network or regularly or systematically store in electronic or print form, all or any part of the Economist Content; or

  • modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit all or any part of the

  • Economist Content (including as part of any library, archive or similar service) without the prior written consent of The Economist; or
    remove the copyright or trade mark notice from any copies of Economist Content made under these Terms.

Any use of Economist Content not specifically permitted above is expressly prohibited. Requests for permission for other uses may be sent to the Rights and Syndication department, 20 Cabot Square, London E14 4QW and may be subject to a fee.

Registration, Passwords and Responsibilities
You are responsible for keeping your information and passwords up to date and confidential.

Certain areas or features of the Site and/or Digital Applications may only be open to registered users or subscribers. By registering on the Site and not also becoming a subscriber, you will become a customer of The Economist as a “Registered User”. Being a Registered User shall entitle you to certain benefits. You should check the benefits page on a regular basis as this page will be updated from time to time. The Economist reserves the right to amend or vary the Economist Content available to Registered Users from time to time. In addition, and if you allow us to when registering your details as a Registered User, we will contact you from time to time in accordance with your preferences and our Privacy Policy.

You are solely responsible for the confidentiality and use of and access to Economist Content and the Site and/or Digital Applications using your user name and/or password. You agree to immediately notify The Economist if you become aware of the loss, theft or unauthorised use of any password, user ID or e-mail address or of any Economist Content. You will provide The Economist with accurate, complete registration information and inform The Economist of any changes to such information. For the purpose of confirming your compliance with these Terms, The Economist reserves the right to monitor and record activity on the Site and Digital Applications, including access to Economist Content.

Each registration and subscription is for the personal use of the Registered User or subscriber only. You may not share your log-in details or password with any other person. You may not share or transfer your subscription. The Economist does not allow multiple users (networked or otherwise) to access the Site and/or any Digital Application through a single name and password and may cancel or suspend your access to the Site and/or a Digital Application if you do this, or breach any of these Terms without further obligation to you.

Subscription and Cancellation
Subscriptions

The Economist offers different types of subscriptions ("Subscriptions") including, for example, subscriptions to print issues of The Economist ("Print Subscriptions"), access to Digital Applications and the Site ("Digital Subscriptions") and print and digital bundles. The Economist reserves the right to vary the amount of content and types of service that it makes available to different categories of users at any time, including without limitation to Registered Users.

ENNA supplies and sets the general terms and conditions that apply to Subscriptions (including Digital Subscriptions and Print Subscriptions) to all users, subscribers and customers in North America, Central America and South America. EDSL supplies and sets the general terms and conditions that apply to Digital Subscriptions to customers in Relevant Countries. The Relevant Countries are India, New Zealand, Taiwan, South Korea, Norway, Switzerland, all countries in the European Union from time to time, the United Kingdom, and any other countries as determined by The Economist from time to time. ENL supplies and sets the general terms and conditions that apply to all other Subscriptions (including Digital Subscriptions and Print Subscriptions) to all users, subscribers and customers in all geographies not otherwise expressly referenced in this paragraph.

The Economist will try to process your Subscription promptly but does not guarantee that your Subscription will be activated by any specified time. By submitting your payment and other subscription details, you are making an offer to us to buy a Subscription. Your offer will only be accepted by us and a contract formed when we have successfully verified your payment and contact details, at which point we will provide you (or, in the case of a gift Subscription, the recipient of the gift) with access to the Subscription. You will receive written confirmation when your Subscription offer has been accepted (beginning the fulfilment of a Subscription does not signify acceptance).

Renewal

Unless specifically stated in any Subscription offer or promotion when you place your Subscription order with us, if you choose an auto-renew payment option, including direct debit, you agree that at the end of the initial subscription period (and of each renewal period thereafter), your Subscription will automatically renew for the same subscription period at the then prevailing renewal rate, which may be changed from time to time. If you do not choose an auto-renew payment option, we will contact you at the end of the initial subscription period with an offer to renew your subscription at the then prevailing renewal rate, which may be changed from time to time. You may cancel your Subscription at any time as set out below.

Cancellation

Unless specifically stated in any Subscription offer or promotion when you place your Subscription order, you have the right to cancel your Subscription at any time. Please note that if your Subscription includes a digital element, by placing your order you agree that we may start your Digital Subscription immediately and you acknowledge that you will lose your right to a refund in relation to any issues that have been published before you cancelled.

If you exercise your right to cancel, unless the terms of any Subscription offer or promotion state otherwise, we will reimburse all payments received from you, less a pro-rated amount for each issue delivered (if your Subscription contains a print element) or published (if your Subscription is a Digital Subscription only) before you cancelled.

In this section references to "published" includes publication on the Site, any Digital Application and/or otherwise made available digitally to customers.

If applicable, any reimbursement will be settled as described in the "Fees and Payments" section below.

How to cancel

You may notify us of your wish to cancel your subscription by contacting our customer service centre for your region. Details can be found on our customer service page. If you prefer, you may, but are not obliged to, complete the form below and send it to us by e-mail to the relevant customer service address for your region.

  • To: The Economist Group

  • Tel no: [insert tel no if applicable]

  • I/we hereby give notice that I/we cancel my/our Subscription contract

  • Purchased on: [insert date of Subscription]

  • Customer Reference Number: [insert relevant Customer reference number]

  • Your name (or the customer's name if different):

  • Your address (or the customer's address if different):

  • Date:

Contract and Disputes

The Economist shall provide your Subscription in accordance with these Terms (and the terms of any offer or promotion that may apply to your Subscription). As further detailed above you have legal rights with regards to your subscription including the right to cancel. Should you have any queries please contact our customer service centre for your region. For EU users, should you have any issues with your Subscription or our services and do not wish to contact our customer service centre, you are entitled to use the EU managed and operated Online Dispute Resolution Platform at http://ec.europa.eu/odr.

Fees and Payments
You are responsible for any fees that are payable including any processing or other fees charged by the issuing bank/payment provider.

The price to be paid for your Subscription will be made clear to you on the Subscription order pages or otherwise during the order process and may vary from time to time. You agree to pay the fees at the rates notified to you at the time you purchase your Subscription together with any processing or other associated fees charged by the issuing bank/payment provider. Eligibility for any discounts is ascertained at the time you subscribe and cannot be changed during the term of your Subscription. We will always inform you in advance of any increase in the price of your Subscription and offer you an opportunity to cancel it if you do not wish to pay the new price.

As well as Subscriptions, access to some Economist Content may be subject to a fee. All payments (including any applicable taxes) must be made in advance in US Dollars or other currency specified by The Economist. You are responsible for the payment of all charges associated with the use, by you or someone else, of the Site and/or a Digital Application using your ID.

When you purchase a Subscription or access to any other Economist Content, you must provide us with complete and accurate payment information. By submitting payment details you confirm that you are entitled to use those payment details for this purpose. If we do not receive payment authorisation or any authorisation is subsequently cancelled, we may immediately terminate or suspend your access to your Subscription or Economist Content and in suspicious circumstances we may contact the issuing bank/payment provider and/or law enforcement authorities or other appropriate third parties.

If your use of the Site or any Subscription is terminated by The Economist, you will be entitled to receive a refund of any credits or pre-payments which remain unused at the time of termination unless such use is terminated because you are in breach of these Terms (which will be determined solely by The Economist). You will continue to be responsible for any fees or other charges you have incurred prior to such termination.

You may be able to use the Site to purchase products or services from The Economist's third party partners. In that event, your contract for such products will be with the third party partner and not with The Economist.

If you are entitled to a refund under these Terms, refunds can only be made to the credit/debit/charge card that was used for the original purchase, unless it has expired in which case we will contact you.

User-Created Content
You are responsible for all content you post.

The Site and any Digital Applications may include comments capability, bulletin boards, discussion groups and other public areas or features that allow feedback to The Economist and interaction between users and The Economist representatives ("Forums"). While The Economist does not control the information/materials posted to Forums by users (the "Messages"), it reserves the right (which it may exercise at its sole discretion without notice) to delete, move or edit the Messages and to terminate your access to and use of the Forums.

You are solely responsible for the content of your Messages. You must comply with any rules posted by The Economist on a Forum. You may not:

  • Post, link to or otherwise publish any Messages containing material that is obscene, racist, homophobic or sexist or that contains any form of hate speech;

  • Post, link to or otherwise publish any Messages that infringe copyright;

  • Post, link to or otherwise publish any Messages that are illegal, libellous, defamatory or may prejudice ongoing legal proceedings or breach a court injunction or other order;

  • Post, link to or otherwise publish any Messages that are abusive, threatening or make any form of personal attack on another user or an employee of The Economist;

  • Post Messages in any language other than English;

  • Post the same Message, or a very similar Message, repeatedly;

  • Post or otherwise publish any Messages unrelated to the Forum or the Forum's topic;

  • Post, link to or otherwise publish any Messages containing any form of advertising or promotion for goods and services or any chain Messages or "spam";

  • Post, link to or otherwise publish any Messages with recommendations to buy or refrain from buying a particular security or which contain confidential information of another party or which otherwise have the purpose of affecting the price or value of any security;

  • Disguise the origin of any Messages;
    Impersonate any person or entity (including The Economist employees or Forum guests or hosts) or misrepresent any affiliation with any person or entity;

  • Post or transmit any Messages that contain software viruses, files or code designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of the Site or any computer software or equipment, or any other harmful component;

  • Collect or store other users' personal data; and/or

  • Restrict or inhibit any other user from using the Forums.

By submitting Messages to any Forum you agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Economist from all claims, costs and expenses (including legal expenses) arising out of any Messages posted or published by you that are in breach of this section.

The Economist has no control over individuals posting Messages on any Forum. The Economist cannot guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of any Messages. Some users may breach these terms and post Messages that are misleading, untrue or offensive. You must bear all risk associated with your use of the Forum and should not rely on Messages when you make (or refrain from making) any specific investment or other decision.

By submitting a Message to a Forum you are granting The Economist a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty free non-exclusive licence to reproduce, modify, translate, make available, distribute and sub-license the Message in whole or in part, and in any form. This may include personal information such as your user or pen name and your expressions of opinion. The Economist reserves the right to contact you by e-mail about your use of the Forums. You waive any moral rights that you may have in regard to the Messages you submit.

It is not possible for The Economist to fully and effectively monitor Messages infringement of third-party rights. If you believe that any content infringes your legal rights, you should notify The Economist immediately by contacting our customer service centre for your region or by using the "Report Abuse" function on reader comments. Repeated misuse of the "Report Abuse" function will result in your access to the Forums being terminated.

Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy
The Economist respects your privacy.

The information that you provide about yourself to The Economist will be used in accordance with The Economist's Privacy Policy.

By visiting our website with cookies enabled, and accepting cookies via our cookie consent tool you agree to the use of cookies as explained in the Cookie Policy . For more information on how we use cookies and to manage your preferences see Cookie Policy.

Changes to the Site and Digital Applications
The Economist reserves the right, in its discretion and at any time, to suspend, change, modify, add or remove portions of Economist Content available on the Site and/or on a Digital Application at any time and to restrict the use and accessibility of the Site and its Digital Applications.

Gift Subscriptions
The Economist allows Subscriptions to be purchased as gifts. The person responsible for payments and fees is the person who initially purchased the gift Subscription and only that person may receive any refunds or other payments that may be due in respect of the gift Subscription. Apart from that, these Terms will apply to the beneficiary of any gift Subscription, who may therefore use the Site and access any Economist Content only in accordance with these Terms, and all references to "your" or "you" (other than in relation to renewal, payment, fees, refunds and cancellations) shall be read as references to the beneficiary of the gift Subscription.

Liability and Indemnity
All Economist Content and services are provided 'as is'. You indemnify us for breaches of these Terms.

Although we endeavour to ensure the high quality and accuracy of the Site and Digital Applications, The Economist makes no warranty, express or implied concerning Economist Content, any Digital Application, the Site or any software that are made available through the Site (the " Services"), which are provided "as is". The Economist expressly disclaims all warranties, including but not limited to warranties of fitness for a particular purpose and warranties of merchantability. In no event will The Economist, its affiliates, agents, suppliers or licensors be liable for indirect, special, incidental, and/or consequential damages (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information or other pecuniary loss) that may arise directly or indirectly from the use of (or failure to use) or reliance on the Services, even if The Economist has been advised of the possibility that such damages may arise. The Economist does not guarantee the accuracy, content, or timeliness of the Services or that they are free from viruses or other contaminating or destructive properties.

In no event will any liability of The Economist or its affiliates, agents, suppliers and licensors to you (and/or any third party) that may arise out of any kind of legal claim (whether in contract, tort, or otherwise) in any way connected with the Services or in breach of these Terms by The Economist exceed the amount, if any, paid by you to The Economist for the particular Service to which the claim relates.

Upon The Economist's request, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless The Economist, its affiliates, agents, suppliers and licensors from any claims and expenses, including reasonable legal fees, related to any breach of these Terms by you or your use of any Services.

Force Majeure
The Economist will not be held responsible for circumstances beyond its control.

The Economist, its affiliates and its information providers will not be liable or deemed to be in default for any delay or failure in performance or interruption of the delivery of the Economist Content that may result directly or indirectly from any cause or circumstance beyond its or their reasonable control, including but not limited to failure of electronic or mechanical equipment or communication lines, telephone or other interconnect problems, computer viruses, unauthorised access, theft, operator errors, severe weather, earthquakes or natural disasters, strikes or other labour problems, wars, or governmental restrictions.

Miscellaneous
Additional Terms apply to your use of Economist Content.

Changes to these Terms. The Economist may, in its discretion, change these Terms (including those that relate to your use of the Site, Digital Applications and/or Economist Content). Whenever the Terms are changed, The Economist will notify you by e-mail or by publishing the revised terms on the website. If you use the Site and/or a Digital Application after The Economist has published or notified you of the changes, you are agreeing to be bound by those changes. If you do not agree to be bound by those changes, you should not use the Site or a Digital Application any further after they are published. Access to certain the Economist Content may be subject to additional terms and conditions. The Economist may also modify, limit or terminate any Subscription offer at any time without prior notice.

Advertising, Third Party Content and other Web Sites. Parts of the Site and/or Digital Applications may contain advertising or other third party content. Advertisers and other content providers are responsible for ensuring that such material complies with international and national law. The Economist is not responsible for any third party content or error, or for any omission or inaccuracy in any advertising material. The Site and/or Digital Applications may also contain links to other web sites. The Economist is not responsible for the availability of these websites or their content.

Assignment of Agreement. This agreement is personal to you and your rights and obligations under these Terms may not be assigned, sub-licensed or otherwise transferred. This agreement may be assigned to a third party by The Economist.

Non-Waiver. No delay or omission on the part of either party in requiring performance by the other party of its obligations will operate as a waiver of any right.

Notices. Notices to The Economist must be given in writing, by letter, and sent to The Economist Group, The Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HT (for the attention of the Group General Counsel).

Severability/Survival/Statute of Limitations. If any provision of these Terms is invalid or unenforceable, such will not render all the Terms unenforceable or invalid. Rather, the Terms will then be read and construed as if the invalid or unenforceable provision(s) are not contained therein. If you are outside of the United States, any cause of action of yours with respect to these Terms must be filed in a court of competent jurisdiction in London, England, within one year after the cause of action has arisen, or such cause will be barred, invalid and void. If you are in the United States, any cause of action of yours with respect to these Terms must be filed in arbitration within one year after the cause of action has arisen, or such cause will be barred, invalid and void.

Whole Agreement. Save as expressly referred to herein, any representation, warranty, term or condition not expressly set out in these Terms shall not apply.

Headings. Headings in these Terms are for convenience only and have no legal meaning or effect, nor shall they be taken into account in interpreting these Terms.

Term and Termination
The Economist may terminate or suspend your access to Economist Content at any time.

The Economist may, in its discretion, terminate or suspend your access to and/or use of all or part of the Site and/or a Digital Application (including any Economist Content) with or without cause by delivering notice to you.

These rights of termination are in addition to all other rights and remedies available to The Economist under these Terms or by law.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction – Users and Subscribers outside of the United States
The provisions in this Section regarding Governing Law and Jurisdiction apply only to users or subscribers outside of the United States. These Terms shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, English law. The parties irrevocably agree that the courts of England shall (subject to the paragraph below) have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute which may arise out of, under, or in connection with these Terms or the legal relationship established by them, and for those purposes irrevocably submit all disputes to the jurisdiction of the English courts.

For the exclusive benefit of The Economist, The Economist shall also retain the right to bring proceedings as to the substance of the matter in the courts of the country of your residence or, where these Terms are entered into in the course of your trade or profession, the country of your principal place of business.

Governing Law; Mandatory Arbitration (and Exceptions); Class Action Waiver; Jurisdiction – U.S. Users and Subscribers Only
The provisions in this Section regarding Governing Law, Mandatory Arbitration, Class Action Waiver, and Jurisdiction apply only to users or subscribers in the United States:

Governing Law. These Terms (and any non-contractual disputes/claims arising out of or in connection with them) are subject to the laws of the state of New York, United States of America, without regard to choice or conflicts of law principles.

Mandatory Arbitration. You and The Economist agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy between you and The Economist arising in connection with or relating in any way to these Terms or to your relationship with The Economist as a user or subscriber (whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation, or any other legal theory) will be determined by mandatory binding individual (not class) arbitration. You and the Economist further agree that the arbitrator shall have the exclusive power to rule on his or her own jurisdiction, including any objections with respect to the existence, scope or validity of the arbitration provision or to the arbitrability of any claim or counterclaim. Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. THERE IS NO JUDGE OR JURY IN ARBITRATION, AND COURT REVIEW OF AN ARBITRATION AWARD IS LIMITED. There may be more limited discovery than in court. YOU SPECIFICALLY AGREE THAT YOU ARE BOUND TO RESOLVE ALL DISPUTES IN ARBITRATION, AND YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE VOLUNTARILY AND KNOWINGLY FORFEITING YOUR RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY AND TO OTHERWISE PROCEED IN A LAWSUIT IN STATE OR FEDERAL COURT. Arbitration shall be subject to the Federal Arbitration Act and shall be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) pursuant to the AAA’s Consumer Arbitration Rules (“AAA Rules”), then in force. The AAA Rules, as well as instructions on how to file an arbitration proceeding with the AAA, appear at adr.org, or you may call the AAA at 1-800-778-7879.

Exceptions to Mandatory Arbitration. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent the dispute arises from a violation of your or The Economist’s intellectual property rights in any manner, both parties agree that the non-infringing party may seek injunctive remedies (or an equivalent type of urgent legal relief) in a state or federal court consistent with the Governing Law and Jurisdiction subsections, and both parties consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in such courts. Additionally, you or The Economist may take the dispute to small claims court if the dispute qualifies for small claims court.

No Class or Representative Proceedings; Class Action Waiver. YOU AND THE ECONOMIST AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. Unless both you and The Economist agree, no arbitrator or judge may consolidate more than one person’s claims or otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding.

Jurisdiction. If, in any dispute, the arbitration provision is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, notwithstanding the Severability provision above, or null and void by any arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction, or if the dispute seeks injunctive remedies arising from a violation of your or The Economist’s intellectual property rights, the dispute shall be resolved by a state or federal court in New York. The parties agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of such court for the purposes of litigating any such dispute. This subsection does not apply to disputes made in small claims court.