Terms of Service

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS and the SUPPLEMENTAL TERMS CAREFULLY. WHEN YOU USE ANY ONLINE GAME, SERVICE or WEBSITE FROM ELECTRONIC ARTS YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THIS TERMS OF SERVICE.

Last Update: May 5th, 2009

STAR WARS™: THE OLD REPUBLIC™ TERMS OF SERVICE

This Terms of Service, including all supplemental terms as amended from time to time, governs your use of the online game, service, or web site known as Star Wars: The Old Republic ("TOR" and the "TOR Services") operated by BioWare Austin LLC, its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively, "BioWare"). Please read the Supplemental Terms which are contained in links to this Terms of Service or at the bottom of this document. Supplemental Terms and TOR Privacy Policy and other Terms are an integral part of this Terms of Service and incorporated in this document by reference.

You can find the Terms of Service at the "Terms of Service" link at the bottom of the TOR website from which you may also print a copy for your records.

California residents: see the special notice at end of this document.

1. TOR Account

A TOR Account ("Account") may be required to access and use TOR Services. If you have questions about Account registration, please contact us by visiting http://www.swtor.com/support.

To create a TOR Account, you must have an email address, and provide truthful and accurate information. TOR Accounts are available only to adults, or in their discretion, their minor child. If you are a minor, your parent or guardian must complete the registration process, in which case he or she takes full responsibility for all obligations under this Terms of Service. TOR Accounts will not be allowed for minors under thirteen (13) years of age, regardless of permission and/or registration by such minor's parent or guardian. You must be eligible to use the TOR Service for which you are registering. Some TOR Services may require creation of a ["User Name" or "Persona"]. [User names or Personas] are tied to your Account. You may not use a ["User Name" or "Persona"] that is used by someone else, is vulgar or offensive, or otherwise violates the Terms of Service.

You are solely responsible for all activity on your Account. Your Account may be terminated if someone else uses it to engage in activity that violates the Terms of Service or is otherwise improper or illegal. You should not reveal your Account password to others. BioWare and LucasArts will not ask you to reveal your password, or ever initiate any contact with you asking for your password reminder words.

2. Fee Based Services.

Some TOR Services require payment of a fee. You must have an Account and pay the subscription or other fees to participate in these activities. Information about subscription and other fees for TOR Services is published in the relevant pages at http://www.swtor.com/support.

3. Privacy.

Your privacy is important to us. Please read the TOR Privacy Policy carefully for information relating to TOR collection and use of personal information. You may access the TOR Privacy Policy by visiting “Privacy Policy” at http://www.swtor.com/legalnotices/privacypolicy.

When you connect to TOR Service, we may retrieve information from the computer used to log onto the TOR Service. The information we collect may include information about the computer's hardware system and any data related to the computer's operation of the TOR Software or use of TOR Services. We will not collect any personal information about you, however, without your knowledge and consent as stated in our Privacy Policy at http://www.swtor.com/legalnotices/privacypolicy.

4. Content.

"Content" on TOR Services may include software, technology, text, artwork, music, sound, and other audio visual material, and the design and appearance of our websites. Content may be provided by third parties, including other users of TOR Services. BioWare and LucasArts do not pre-screen all Content and does not endorse, approve, or prescreen any Content that you and other users may contribute to TOR Services. You bear the entire risk of the completeness, accuracy or usefulness of Content found on TOR Services.

BioWare and LucasArts reserves the right to remove Content that is objectionable to us for any reason. The decision to remove Content is in BioWare's and LucasArts' sole and final discretion. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, BioWare and LucasArts does not assume any responsibility or liability for Content that is generated by third parties or for the failure or delay in removing any such Content.

5. Rules of Conduct.

In addition to the Terms of Service, you must obey all federal, state, and local laws, regulations and rules that apply to your activities when you use TOR Services. BioWare and LucasArts reserves the right to terminate your Account and to prevent your use of any and all TOR Services, if your Account is used to engage in illegal activity or to violate this Terms of Service.

The Rules of Conduct for all TOR Services appear at http://www.swtor.com/legalnotices/rulesofconduct. Specific TOR Services may also post additional rules that apply to your conduct on those services.

If you encounter another user who is violating the Rules of Conduct, please report this activity by using the “Help” or “Report Abuse” functions in the TOR Service.

6. Updates to the Service; Notices.

Terms of Service for new TOR Services and important changes to existing services will be posted at the TOR site. You agree to check here periodically for new information and terms that govern your use of TOR Services. BioWare and LucasArts reserve the right to modify the Terms of Service at any time. Revisions to terms affecting existing TOR Services shall be effective thirty (30) days after posting the new Terms of Service. Terms for new TOR Services are effective immediately. If you do not agree to the new terms, or to any of the terms in this Terms of Service, your only remedy is to not use TOR Services and to cancel your Account or applicable subscriptions.

IMPORTANT: BIOWARE MAY FIND IT NECESSARY TO MAKE CHANGES TO, OR RESET CERTAIN PARAMETERS TO BALANCE GAME PLAY AND USAGE OF TOR SERVICES. THESE CHANGES OR "RESETS" MAY AFFECT CHARACTERS OR GAMES OR GROUPS UNDER YOUR CONTROL AND MAY CAUSE YOU SETBACKS WITHIN THE RELEVANT GAME WORLD. BIOWARE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MAKE THESE CHANGES AND IS NOT LIABLE TO YOU FOR THESE CHANGES.

7. Intellectual Property Rights: Your Responsibility

Much of the Content on the TOR Services is owned by BioWare and LucasArts or our third party licensors and is protected by United States and International copyright, trade dress, patent, and trademark laws, international conventions, and other laws protecting intellectual property and related proprietary rights. You shall not copy or download any Content from any TOR Services unless you are expressly authorized BioWare or LucasArts to do so.

You agree not to remove, obscure, or alter copyright, patent, trademark, or other proprietary rights notices affixed to Content. You may not to sell, license, distribute, copy, modify, publicly perform or display, transmit, publish, edit, adapt, create derivative works from, or otherwise make unauthorized use of Content. BioWare and LucasArts reserves all rights in BioWare and LucasArts owned and licensed Content that are not expressly granted to you in this Terms of Service.

Making unauthorized copies of Content found on TOR Services may result in the termination of your TOR Account(s), prohibition on use of TOR Services, and further legal action. Content owners may take criminal or civil action against you for unauthorized use of intellectual property. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless BioWare and LucasArts from any unauthorized or illegal conduct by you, or through use of your Account, on TOR Services.

For clarification, if you create any Content which is derived from any intellectual property or proprietary rights of LucasArts and/or BioWare (regardless of whether such Content is submitted to LucasArts and/or BioWare) such Content is owned by LucasArts and/or BioWare. You hereby assign all right, title and interest (if any) to such Content and waive any claims that you may have relating to such Content, including, but not limited to, claims for compensation, attribution or any moral rights with respect to such Content.

8. Contributing Third Party Content to TOR Services.

BioWare and LucasArts respect the intellectual property rights of others. You must have the legal right to upload Content to TOR Services. You may not upload or post any Content on TOR Services that is protected by copyright, trademark or other intellectual property rights unless (i) you are the owner of all of those rights; or (ii) you have the prior written consent of the owner(s) of those rights to make such use of that Content. BioWare and LucasArts may, without prior notice to you and in its sole judgment, remove Content that may infringe the intellectual property rights of a third party. If BioWare determines that you infringe upon BioWare's or LucasArts or a third party’s intellectual property rights, BioWare may terminate your Account without notice to you. If your Account is terminated, no refund will be granted for any fees you have paid, and you will lose access to entitlements and assets associated with your Account (such as game points, digital assets and tokens).

9. Contributing Your Own Content to TOR Services; License Grant to BioWare and LucasArts and Others

In exchange for BioWare and LucasArts enabling your contribution of Content, when you contribute Content (i.e., Content that is not owned by or is not a derivative of BioWare or LucasArts' Content)) to a TOR Service, you expressly grant to BioWare and LucasArts a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, complete and irrevocable right to quote, re-post, use, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, syndicate, license, print, sublicense, distribute, transmit, broadcast, and otherwise communicate, and publicly display and perform the Content, or any portion thereof, in any manner or form and in any medium or forum, whether now known or hereafter devised, without notice, payment or attribution of any kind to you or any third party. You grant BioWare and LucasArts all licenses, consents and clearances to enable BioWare and LucasArts to use such Content for such purposes. You waive, and agree not to assert any moral or similar rights you may have in such Content.

If the TOR Service on which you contribute Content permits other users to access and use that contributed Content as part of the TOR Service, than you also grant all other users of the relevant TOR Service the right to use, copy, modify, display, perform, create derivative works from, and otherwise communicate and distribute your contributed Content on or through the relevant TOR Service without further notice, attribution or compensation to you.

10. Public Communication

You understand, acknowledge and agree that any Content you contribute to TOR Services is not confidential and may be viewed and used by anyone accessing the TOR Services. You are solely responsible for your Content and may be held liable for Content that you post.

11. Software, Utilities and Tools

TOR Services may require that you download software or other utilities and tools from BioWare and LucasArts or its licensors onto your computer ("TOR Software"). BioWare and LucasArts grants to you a non-exclusive, limited license to use TOR Software solely for the purpose stated by BioWare and LucasArts at the time the TOR Software is made available to you. If an End User License Agreement is provided with the TOR Software, your use of the TOR Software is subject to the terms of that license agreement. You may not sub-license, or charge others to use or access TOR Software. You may not translate, reverse-engineer, reverse-compile or decompile, disassemble or make derivative works from TOR Software. You may not modify TOR Software or use it in any way not expressly authorized in writing by BioWare and LucasArts. You understand that BioWare’s introduction of various technologies may not be consistent across all platforms and that the performance of TOR Software and related TOR Services may vary depending on your computer and other equipment.

From time to time, BioWare may provide you with updates or modifications to TOR Software. You understand that in order to continue using the TOR Software and TOR Services, you must accept and install such updates or modifications.

12. Export Control Laws.

TOR Software may be subject to United States export controls, and export controls of other jurisdictions. By downloading TOR Software from BioWare, you warrant that you are not located in any country, or exporting TOR Software to any person or place, to which the United States, the European Union, or any other jurisdiction has embargoed goods.

You agree to abide by U.S. and other applicable export control laws and not to transfer, by electronic transmission or otherwise, any Content or TOR Software subject to restrictions under such laws to a national destination prohibited by such laws, without first obtaining, and then complying with, any requisite government authorization. You further agree not to upload to TOR Services any data or software that cannot be exported without prior written government authorization, including, but not limited to, certain types of encryption software. The assurances and commitments in this Section shall survive termination of this Agreement.

13. Links to Third-Party Sites.

TOR Services may include hyperlinks to web sites operated by third parties including advertisers and other content providers. Those sites may collect data or solicit personal information from you. BioWare and LucasArts does not control such web sites, and is not responsible for their availability, content, privacy policies, or for the collection, use or disclosure of any information those sites may collect.

14. Limitations on Warranty and Liability.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT THE USE OF TOR SERVICES, TOR SOFTWARE, AND THE INTERNET IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. TOR SERVICES, TOR SOFTWARE, AND THIRD-PARTY SERVICES AND PRODUCTS ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS FOR YOUR USE, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, UNLESS SUCH WARRANTIES ARE LEGALLY INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION. BIOWARE PROVIDES TOR SERVICES ON A COMMERCIALLY REASONABLE BASIS AND DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS OR USE TOR SERVICES AT TIMES OR LOCATIONS OF YOUR CHOOSING, OR THAT BIOWARE WILL HAVE ADEQUATE CAPACITY FOR TOR SERVICES AS A WHOLE OR IN ANY SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIC AREA.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR ANY DISPUTE WITH BIOWARE, LUCASARTS OR ITS LICENSORS IS TO STOP USING TOR SERVICES, AND TO CANCEL YOUR TOR ACCOUNT. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT BIOWARE, LUCASARTS, ITS LICENSORS AND AFFILIATES ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY ACT OR FAILURE TO ACT BY THEM OR ANY OTHER PERSON REGARDING CONDUCT, COMMUNICATION OR CONTENT ON TOR SERVICES OR USE OF TOR SOFTWARE. IN NO CASE SHALL BIOWARE, LUCASARTS OR ITS LICENSORS, AFFILIATES', EMPLOYEES', OFFICERS', OR DIRECTORS' (COLLECTIVELY, "TOR AFFILIATES") LIABILITY TO YOU EXCEED THE AMOUNT THAT YOU PAID TO BIOWARE FOR TOR SERVICES. IN NO CASE SHALL BIOWARE, LUCASARTS OR TOR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF TOR SERVICES, TOR SOFTWARE, THE INTERNET OR FOR ANY OTHER CLAIM RELATED IN ANY WAY TO YOUR USE OF TOR SERVICES OR ACCOUNTS. BECAUSE SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATES OR JURISDICTIONS, BIOWARE’S, LUCASARTS AND TOR AFFILIATES' LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. BIOWARE AND LUCASARTS DOES NOT ENDORSE, WARRANT OR GUARANTEE ANY THIRD PARTY PRODUCT OR SERVICE OFFERED THROUGH BIOWARE AND WILL NOT BE A PARTY TO OR IN ANY WAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MONITORING ANY TRANSACTION BETWEEN YOU AND THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this Terms of Service limits BioWare’s and LucasArts liability to you for fraudulent misrepresentations, death or personal injury caused by BioWare’s or LucasArts' negligence, or any other liability to the extent such liability cannot be excluded or limited as a matter of applicable law.

15. Indemnification.

Upon BioWare's or LucasArts request, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless BioWare, LucasArts and its affiliates, employees, contractors, officers, directors, vendors, and content providers from all liabilities, claims and expenses, including attorneys' fees, that arise from a breach of these Terms of Service for which you are responsible or in connection with your transmission of any Content on TOR Services. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you agree to indemnify and hold BioWare, LucasArts and TOR Affiliates harmless for any improper or illegal use of your Account, including the illegal or improper use of your Account by someone to whom you have given permission to use your Account. You agree that you will be personally responsible for your use of TOR Services and for all of your communication and activity on TOR Services, including any Content you contribute, and that you will indemnify and hold harmless BioWare, LucasArts and TOR Affiliates from any liability or damages arising from your conduct on TOR Services, including any Content that you contribute.

BioWare and LucasArts reserve the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you. In that event, you shall have no further obligation to provide indemnification to BioWare or LucasArts in that matter. This Section shall survive termination of this Terms of Service.

16. Termination of TOR Services and Accounts.

BioWare may terminate any TOR Service at any time by giving you notice of such termination within the time period specified when you joined the particular TOR Service, or if no time period for notice of termination was specified, then within thirty (30) days of the date such notice is posted on the applicable TOR Service.

BioWare may also terminate your Account(s) (and access to all related entitlements) for violation of this Terms of Service, breaking the Rules of Conduct, illegal or improper use of your Account, or illegal or improper use of TOR Services, products, BioWare's or LucasArts Intellectual Property. BioWare may issue you a warning, or BioWare may immediately terminate any and all Accounts that you have established. You acknowledge that BioWare is not required to provide you notice before terminating your Account(s), but it may choose to do so. If BioWare terminates your Account, you may not participate in a TOR Service again without BioWare's express permission. If you wish to participate in a TOR Service, please contact http://www.swtor.com/support. BioWare reserves the right to refuse to keep Accounts for, and provide TOR Services to, any individual.

If your Account, or a particular subscription for an TOR Service associated with your Account, is terminated, no refund will be granted; no online time or other credits (e.g., points in an online game) will be credited to you or converted to cash or other form of reimbursement, and you will have no further access to your Account or entitlements associated with your Account or the particular TOR Service (such as points, tokens or other digital items).

17. Cancellation of your Account.

You have the right to cancel your Account or a particular subscription to an TOR Service at any time. You understand and agree that the cancellation of your Account or a particular subscription is your sole right and remedy with respect to any dispute with BioWare, including any dispute related to, or arising out of: (1) any term of this Terms of Service or BioWare’s enforcement or application of this Terms of Service; (2) the Content available through TOR Services or any change in Content provided through TOR Services; (3) your ability to access and/or use TOR Services; or (4) the amount or type of fees, surcharges, applicable taxes, billing methods, or any change to the fees, applicable taxes, surcharges or billing methods for TOR Services.

Contact BioWare's Customer Service Department at http://www.swtor.com/support to cancel your Account. BioWare reserves the right to collect fees, surcharges or costs incurred before you cancel your Account or a particular subscription to a TOR Service. You are also responsible for any amounts owed to third-party vendors or content providers before your cancellation. Any delinquent or unpaid fees and other unresolved issues with TOR Services must be settled before you establish a new TOR Account.

18. General Terms.

1. Remedies. You agree that this Terms of Service is not intended to confer and does not confer any rights or remedies upon any person other than the parties to this Terms of Service. You also understand and agree that this Terms of Service, the TOR Privacy Policy and the Supplemental Terms incorporated into this Terms of Service, including BioWare’s enforcement of those policies, are not intended to confer, and do not confer, any rights or remedies upon any person.
2. Severability. If any part of this Terms of Service is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of BioWare and LucasArts, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.
3. Waiver. The failure of BioWare or LucasArts to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Terms of Service will not constitute waiver of such right or provision. Any waiver of any provision of this Terms of Service will be effective only if in a writing signed by BioWare or Lucas Arts.
4. Governing Law. If you reside in a Member State of the European Union: (i) the laws of England, excluding its conflicts-of-law rules, govern this Terms of Service and your Account(s); and (ii) you expressly agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or dispute with BioWare or relating in any way to your membership or your use of TOR Services resides in the Courts of England and you further agree and expressly consent to the exercise of personal jurisdiction in the courts of England in connection with any such dispute including any claim involving BioWare and LucasArts or its affiliates, employees, contractors, officers, directors, vendors and content providers. If you reside elsewhere: (i) the laws of the State of California, excluding its conflicts-of-law rules, govern this Terms of Service and your Account(s); and (ii) you expressly agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or dispute with BioWare or relating in any way to your Account(s) or your use of TOR Services resides in the state and federal courts within the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and you further agree and expressly consent to the exercise of personal jurisdiction in such courts in connection with any such dispute including any claim involving BioWare or its affiliates, employees, contractors, officers, directors, vendors and content providers. As noted above, your conduct may also be subject to other local, state, national, and international laws.

19. Entire Agreement.

The Terms of Service (including the TOR Privacy Policy and Supplemental Terms incorporated into this document), and any end user license agreement that may be provided with the TOR Software, and any posted rules or instructions regarding a particular game, activity, contest, or sweepstakes constitute the entire agreement between you and BioWare and LucasArts relating to your rights and obligations in the use of TOR Services. If there is any conflict between the Terms of Service and any other rules or instructions posted on a TOR Service, BioWare and LucasArts shall resolve the conflict in its sole discretion.

Bookmark http://www.swtor.com/legalnotices/termsofservice, and visit this site regularly for updates to STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC Terms of Service.

20. Special Notice to California Residents.

Pursuant to Cal. Civil Code § 1789.3, (a) BioWare is located at 3110 Esperanza Crossing, Suite 110 Austin, TX 78758, telephone: (512) 539-5100, (b) The fees and charges for TOR Services vary depending on the services selected by you and (c) If you have a complaint regarding TOR Services or desire further information on use of TOR Services, visit BioWare’s customer support web page at http://www.swtor.com/support. For complaints, you may also contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the Department of Consumer Affairs in writing at 400 "R" Street, Sacramento, California 95814 or by telephone at 1-916-445-1254 or (800) 952-5210.