SC.GOV is a creation and a service of the State of South Carolina ("State"). It is operated and managed under a long-term contract with a private company, South Carolina Interactive, LLC ("SCI" or "South Carolina Interactive"). The term "we," "our" and "us" in this policy refers to the State and SCI.

Privacy Policy

User privacy is an important concern to us. We are committed to privacy and security, and to providing the best possible user experience for our users and online customers ("You"). We also strive to protect the personal and confidential information of those who use our online services. For more information on this, please see our Privacy Policy. This policy may be updated by us from time to time, so please check here frequently.

Terms of Use

Please read this agreement ("Agreement") carefully before accessing or using the State website at SC.GOV (the "Site"). By accessing or using the Site, you agree to be bound by this Agreement. We provide the information and services on this Site to you, the user, conditioned on your acceptance without modification of the terms, conditions and notices contained herein. Your use of the Site constitutes your agreement to all such terms, conditions and notices.

You understand that we are not engaged in rendering legal services or other such advice. Your use of the Site is subject to the additional disclaimers and notices that may appear throughout the Site. We assume no responsibility for any consequence relating directly or indirectly to any action or inaction that you take based on the information, services or other material on this Site. The State and SCI rely upon state agencies that furnish content made available on SC.GOV to determine that the content is accurate and current. While we strive to keep the information on this Site accurate, complete and up-to-date, we cannot guarantee, and will not be responsible for any damage or loss related to, the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information.

You will not (nor cause anyone else to) use the website to perform any illegal activities, including, without limitation, defaming, abusing, harassing, stalking, threatening, or otherwise violating the legal rights (such as rights of privacy) of others or immoral activities or any of the following types of activities, without limitation:
a.    transmitting information that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other proprietary rights of any party;
b.    transmitting any material that contains software viruses, trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots, or any other computer code, files, or programs which may interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
c.    impersonating anyone or any entity, falsely stating, or otherwise misrepresenting your affiliation with a person or entity;
d.    advertising or commercial content;
e.    interfering with or disrupting the website;
f.    disrupting the activities or enjoyment of the website for other users; or
g.    collecting, or storing personal data about other users.

You agree to abide by all applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations. You are responsible for any materials you create or upload. You acknowledge that your posted materials are not endorsed by the State or SCI and such materials should not be considered to have been reviewed, screened or approved by the State or SCI. You should exercise discretion before relying on information contained in user content.

We may preserve and disclose your submitted materials if required to do so by law or we believe in good faith that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with legal process, enforce this Agreement, respond to a claim that your materials violate any third party's rights, or protect the right, property or personal safety of the State, any users of the website, and the public.

Personal and Noncommercial Use 
Limitation: Prohibited Uses

We may provide information and services on the Site. We grant you access to the Site solely to receive the information and use the services. You may not use web frames to provide access to this information on another website or sell any access to or large compilations of data on the Site. When requested, you agree to provide true, accurate and complete user information. You shall not access or attempt to access password protected, secure or non-public areas of the website without the State's prior written permission. You will comply with all privacy laws. You may not engage in the practices of screen scraping, data mining, or any other bulk information gathering in connection with the Site, except as may be permitted under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act.

Proprietary Rights

All materials on this Site (as well as the organization and layout of the Site) are owned and copyrighted, licensed by, or used with permission that is granted to the State or SCI. No reproduction, distribution, or transmission of the copyrighted materials at this Site is permitted without our prior written permission.

Digital Millenium Copyright Act

If you believe that any material contained on the SC.GOV site (the "Site") infringes your copyright or other intellectual property rights, you may notify South Carolina Interactive of your copyright infringement claim in accordance with the following procedure. South Carolina Interactive, LLC will process notices of alleged infringement which it receives, and may take action as authorized by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and/or other applicable intellectual property laws if it has the ability to do so. The DMCA requires that notifications of claimed copyright infringement should be sent to this Site's Designated Agent:

By mail:
South Carolina Interactive, LLC DMCA Agent
c/o Stinson Leonard Street
Stinson IP Administrator, 1201 Walnut, Suite 2900, Kansas City, MO 64106

By phone:
816-842-8600

By fax:
816-691-3495

By email:
DMCA@stinsonleonard.com
To be effective, the notification must be in writing and contain the following information (DMCA, 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3)):
•    Physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
•    Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
•    Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or claimed to be the subject of infringing activity and that is sought to be removed or access to which is sought to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the location of the material;
•    Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
•    A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
•    A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Emails sent to DMCA@stinsonleonard.com for purposes other than communication about copyright claims may not be acknowledged or responded to.

Disclaimer of Warranties

Your use of this site and the services and information offered at the site is at your sole risk and on an “as is” and “as available” basis. The state and sci expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, and non-infringement. You agree to use virus software to protect your computer from viruses. While we try to keep information up to date, portions of the information may be incorrect or not current.

Limitation of Liability

The state and sci and its affiliates shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages, including but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data or other intangible losses (even if advised of the possibility of such damages), resulting from: (I) the use or the inability to use the site, its information or services; (ii) the cost of finding alternate or replacement information; (iii) unauthorized access; or (iv) any other matter relating to the site or information on the site.

Indemnification

If you use this Site and the Services and Information offered at the Site in any way that results in damage to SCI or the State, you will need to take responsibility for such damage. You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the State and SCI, our affiliates and government partners, and our officers, directors, shareholders, and agents (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) from and against any and all third party claims, demands, obligations, damages, losses, liabilities, expenses, and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising from (a) your access or use of the Sites; (b) breach of these Terms of Use; or (c) your infringement or misappropriation of any intellectual property or other rights of the State, SCI, its affiliates or third parties.

Links to Third Party Sites and Our Website

We discuss our linking requirements and restrictions in our Linking Policy.

Changes to Website

We may make improvements or changes in the information, services, products, and other materials on this website, or terminate this website at any time. We may modify this Agreement at any time, and such modifications will be effective immediately upon posting of the modified Agreement. Accordingly, you agree to review the Agreement periodically, and your continued access or use of this website will be deemed your acceptance of the modified Agreement.

Monitoring the System from Intrusion

All State and SCI computer systems are subject to monitoring to determine proper functioning of the system and to provide security for the computer system's operation. By using the computer systems you consent to the exercise of such monitoring practices. We reserve the right to use any legally appropriate measures to prevent and investigate anyone attempting to modify, deface, delete, or otherwise tamper with or abuse a State or SCI website, server, database, information system, or other State or SCI technology asset.

Miscellaneous

This website is intended to and directed to residents and visitors of the State of South Carolina. You agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal and state courts in the State of South Carolina for any matter arising under this Agreement. This Agreement and the resolution of any dispute related to this Agreement or this website will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of South Carolina, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law. Failure by the State or SCI to insist upon strict enforcement of any provision of this Agreement will not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of this website or this Agreement must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. If any of these terms will be deemed invalid, void, or for any reason unenforceable, that term will be deemed severable and will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining term.

Entire Agreement. These Terms of Use, together with our Privacy Policy and any additional terms, rules, or other policies to which the Sites and Services refer, contain the entire agreement between you and Us and supersedes any prior or contemporaneous agreements concerning the subject matter hereof.

Waiver. No delay or omission by Us or you in exercising any right under these Terms of Use will operate as a waiver of that or any other right. 

Modification. We reserve the right to modify, supplement, or replace the terms of these Terms of Use or any additional terms that apply to the Sites at any time, effective by notifying you as provided herein. If you do not want to agree to any to these Terms of Use, you can terminate these terms at any time pursuant to the Section below titled Term and Termination. You should review these Terms of Use regularly. Your continued access or Use of the Sites after the Terms of Use have been revised constitutes your express consent to the modified Terms of Use. 

Severability. If a particular term or condition is deemed not enforceable, invalid, or void, that term or condition shall be deemed severable and not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining terms or conditions.

Admissibility of Printed Version. A printed version of these Terms of Use and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in any judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to these Terms of Use to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.

Section Titles. The section titles in these Terms of Use are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.

Assignment. You may not assign or delegate any rights or obligations under these Terms of Use. Any purported assignment and delegation shall be ineffective. We may freely assign or delegate all rights and obligations under these Terms of Use, fully or partially without notice to you. We may also substitute, by way of unilateral novation, SCI for any third party that assumes SCI’s rights and obligations under these Terms of Use, effective upon notice to you.

Term and Termination. These Terms of Use are effective unless and until terminated by us. You may terminate these terms at any time by discontinuing use of the Sites and destroying all materials obtained from use of such Sites and all related documentation and all copies and installations thereof. Your access to the Sites may be terminated immediately: (i) if, in our sole discretion, you fail to comply with any term or provision of these Terms of Use; (ii) We are required to do so by law (for example, where the provision of the Sites to you is, or becomes, unlawful); (iii) the State has terminated its relationship with SCI or ceased to offer the Sites to you; (iv) SCI is transitioning to no longer providing the Sites to Users in South Carolina; or (v) the provision of the Sites to you by Us is, in our sole discretion, no longer commercially viable. Upon termination, you must cease use of the Sites and destroy all materials obtained from your use of the Sites and all copies thereof.

 

Updated 1/10/2020