James Valley Cooperative Telephone Company Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)

The following sets forth the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) of users and Customers of services provided by James Valley Cooperative Telephone Company (James Valley). Any Customer found in violation of this Policy may be subject to disciplinary action including any of following:

• Warning.
• Suspension of services.
• Expulsion from the James Valley network services.
• Termination of James Valley network services.
• Forfeiture of all fees paid to date.
• Liability for any legal fees and costs incurred by James Valley due to the violation.

Disciplinary actions may be taken at any time by James Valley with or without notice to Customer upon James Valley’s sole discretion and determination in order to protect its network, customers or other internet users.

General Prohibitions:  James Valley prohibits use of its network (Network) in any way that is unlawful, harmful to or interferes with use of James Valley network or systems, or the network of any other provider, interferes with the use or enjoyment of services received by others, infringes intellectual property rights, results in the publication of threatening or offensive material, or constitutes Spam/E-mail/Usenet abuse, a security risk or a violation of privacy.

Unlawful Activities:  The James Valley network may be used only for lawful purposes. Transmission, distribution or storage of any material in violation of any applicable law or regulation is prohibited. This includes, without limitation, material protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property right used without proper authorization, and material that is obscene, defamatory, threatening, unlawful or in any way constitutes or encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offense.

Inappropriate and unacceptable conduct also includes initiating, perpetuating or participating in malicious activities, including, but not limited to, an illegal scheme, spidering, harvesting, use of spyware, falsifying references to James Valley or impersonating any other person or entity.

James Valley prohibits illegal robocalling and the illegal use of auto-dialers on its network. Customers are required to cooperate with James Valley in responding to inquiries on whether a customer will employ an auto-dialer or robocall style tool in conducting its business and will update any such information as needed.

James Valley will cooperate with appropriate law enforcement agencies and regulatory agencies in investigating claims of illegal activity and may be required to disclose Customer information in order to comply with a court order or subpoena.

Violation of Intellectual Property Rights:  The Network shall not be used to publish, submit/receive upload/download, post, use, copy or otherwise reproduce, transmit, re-transmit, distribute or store any content/material or to engage in any activity that infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates the intellectual property rights or privacy or publicity rights of James Valley or any individual, group or entity, including but not limited to any rights protected by any copyright, patent, trademark laws, trade secret, right of privacy, right of publicity, or other intellectual property right now known or later recognized by statute, judicial decision or regulation or otherwise used without proper authorization.

Other Users:  James Valley prohibits engaging in activity that may or will interfere with the service of another user, host or network on the Internet.  Users are also prohibited from activity considered a precursor to attempted security violations including, but not limited to, any form of scanning, probing, or other testing or information gathering activity, without prior express written consent from James Valley.

Distribution of Internet Viruses, Worms, Trojan Horses, or Other Destructive Activities:  Network shall not be used to distribute information regarding the creation of and sending Internet viruses, worms, Trojan horses, pinging, flooding, mailbombing, or denial of service attacks. Also, activities that disrupt the use of or interfere with the ability of others to effectively use the network or any connected network, system, service, or equipment.

System and Network Security:  Violations of system or Network security are prohibited and may result in criminal and civil liability. James Valley reserves the right to investigate incidents involving such violations and which may result in the involvement of law enforcement if a criminal violation is suspected.  Examples of system or Network violation include, without limitation, the following:

• Unauthorized access to or use of data, systems or networks, including any attempt to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system or network or to breach security or authentication measures without express authorization of the owner of the system or network.
• Unauthorized monitoring of data or traffic on any network or system without express authorization of the owner of the system or network.
• Interference with service to any user, host or network including, without limitation, mailbombing, flooding, deliberate attempts to overload a system and broadcast attacks.
• Forging of any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in an email or newsgroup posting.

USENET:  Posting the same or similar message to one or more newsgroups (excessive cross-posting or multiple posting, also known as “SPAM”) is explicitly prohibited. 

Email:  Sending unsolicited mail messages, including, without limitation, commercial advertising and informational announcements, is prohibited. A Customer shall not use another site’s mail server to relay mail without the express permission of the site. Sending unsolicited mail messages from another site on behalf of a site or mail ID on a James Valley network is prohibited.

Customer Responsibilities:  Customers remain solely and fully responsible for the content of any material posted, hosted, downloaded/uploaded, created, accessed or transmitted using the Network. James Valley has no responsibility for any material created on the Network or accessible using the Network, including content provided on third-party websites linked to the James Valley network. Such third-party website links are provided as Internet navigation tools for informational purposes only, and do not constitute in any way an endorsement by James Valley of the content(s) of such sites.

Customers are responsible for taking prompt corrective action(s) to remedy a violation of AUP and to help prevent similar future violations.

Customer is responsible for the security and maintenance of any device that Customer connects to the James Valley network. James Valley is not responsible for any loss or damage, including but not limited to data, equipment or financial loss, incurred by the Customer as a result of using the James Valley network.

Personal Use:  The James Valley service may only be used by members of the subscribing household for personal purposes. The James Valley service may not be sold, subleased or shared with third parties. The James Valley residential service may not be used for commercial purposes. Any wireless network access device operating at a Customer location must be configured to require a password to prevent unrestricted public access to the James Valley network. The customer is responsible for maintaining adequate security and control of its own passwords and credentials.

Commercial Use:  The James Valley service may only be used by the subscribing business and its employees. The James Valley service may not be sold, subleased or shared with third parties, unless specifically permitted in the customer’s service contract. Any wireless network access device operating at a Customer location must be configured to require a password (including any guest-Wi-Fi access) to prevent unrestricted public access to the James Valley network. The customer is responsible for maintaining adequate security and control of its own passwords and credentials.

AUP Enforcement:  Customer’s failure to observe the guidelines set forth in this AUP may result in James Valley taking actions anywhere from a warning to a suspension or termination of Customer’s use of the Network and James Valley reserves the right to act immediately and without notice to suspend or terminate the customer’s use of the Network in response to a court order or government notice that certain conduct must be stopped or when James Valley reasonably determines, that the conduct may: (1) expose James Valley to sanctions, prosecution, civil action or any other liability, (2) cause harm to or interfere with the integrity or normal operations of James Valley’s network or networks with which James Valley is interconnected, (3) interfere with another James Valley Customer’s use of the Network or the Internet (4) violate any applicable law, rule or regulation, or (5) otherwise present an imminent risk of harm to James Valley or James Valley Customers. 

Incident Reporting:  Any complaints (other than claims of copyright or trademark infringement) regarding violation of this AUP by an James Valley Customer (or its user) should be directed to Support@nvc.net. Where possible, include details that would assist James Valley in investigating and resolving such complaints (e.g. expanded headers, IP address(s), a copy of the offending transmission and any log files).

Changes to the AUP:  The use of the James Valley network by the Customer is subject to the terms and conditions of any agreements entered into by such Customer with James Valley and the AUP is incorporated into such agreements.  James Valley reserves the right to amend this AUP from time to time and will notify Customers by posting a revised copy of the AUP on the James Valley website at James Valley.com. Customers are responsible for monitoring this website for changes. Use of the James Valley network and/or Services after changes to the AUP are posted on the website shall be deemed to constitute Customer’s acceptance of such new or additional terms of the AUP.