Terms of Use

Last modified: June 27, 2023

Welcome! SXSW, LLC, its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively, “Company”) own and operate the websites sxsw.com, sxswedu.com, explore.sxsw.com, schedule.sxsw.com, social.sxsw.com, id.sxsw.com, wristbands.sxsw.com, panelpicker.sxsw.com, cart.sxsw.com, volunteer.sxsw.com, merch.sxsw.com, my.sxsw.com,my.sxswedu.com, and related websites and mobile applications (collectively, the “Properties” and, each, a “Property”), including all information, documents, text, audio, visual, and graphics (excluding Third Party Content, which is defined below) on the Properties (collectively, the “Materials”) as well as owns or operates under license all software, products, and services offered and/or operated by Company and/or third parties through the Properties (collectively, the “Products and/or Services”), available for your use subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this document, or in force at the time of your use (collectively, the “Terms of Use”).

NOTICE REGARDING LIABILITY, ARBITRATION, AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER These Terms of Use contain important information regarding limitations of our liability, your indemnification obligations, governing law, and mandatory dispute resolution procedures related to your use of the Properties and the Products and/or Services. These Terms of Use also include a class action waiver and require binding arbitration on an individual basis to resolve disputes, rather than lawsuits in court and jury trials.

BY ACCESSING OR USING THE PROPERTIES IN ANY WAY, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, EVALUATING, DOWNLOADING, PURCHASING, AND/OR USING ANY OF THE MATERIALS OR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES, OR BY VIEWING THIRD PARTY CONTENT ACCESSIBLE VIA THE PROPERTIES, YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF USE AND COMPANY’S PRIVACY POLICY, WHICH IS INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE BELOW. IF YOU DON’T AGREE TO SUCH TERMS WE REQUEST THAT YOU LEAVE THE PROPERTIES (AND REFRAIN FROM USING THE MATERIALS OR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES) IMMEDIATELY.

The Properties are intended for lawful use by persons over thirteen (13) years of age. If you are under the age of thirteen (13) please discontinue using the Properties immediately. The Company does not knowingly collect or solicit personally identifiable information from children under thirteen (13 years of age.  If you are a child under thirteen (13) years of age, please do not attempt to register for or otherwise use the Properties or Products and/or Services or send us any personal information. If we learn we have collected personal information from a child under thirteen (13) years of age, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that a child under thirteen (13) years of age may have provided us personal information, please contact us at info@sxsw.com. 

Company reserves the right to change the Terms of Use and other Company guidelines and policies (including, but not limited to, the Privacy Policy available here and the Participation & Credential Terms and Conditions available here) posted on the Properties from time to time at its sole discretion, with or without notice, and the revised Terms of Use and other revised guidelines and policies will be posted on the Properties. Any changes we make will be effective immediately when we post a revised version of the Terms of Use on the Properties. The “last modified” date above will tell you when the Terms of Use were last revised. By continuing to use the Properties after that date, you agree to the changes. To the extent that these Terms of Use differ from a prior version of the Terms of Use which you previously agreed to, this version of the Terms of Use supersedes and governs. Please periodically check the Terms of Use and policies on Company’s Properties to view the current version. Any dispute between you and Company will be governed by the Terms of Use agreed to at the time of your purchase or, if you have made no purchase, at the time of your use.

If you breach any of the Terms of Use, your authorization to use the Properties and any authorized use of Materials will automatically terminate, any Materials downloaded or printed from the Properties, whether authorized or unauthorized, must be immediately destroyed and, in certain instances, you may also be required to immediately stop using Company’s Products and/or Services. Company reserves the right to pursue any additional remedies available in law or equity.

Certain Products and/or Services available on or through our mobile Properties are available only to persons who have purchased or subscribed to them on a subscription basis (the “Subscribers”).  The payment terms for any paid subscriptions will be communicated to you at the time you subscribe to such paid subscriptions.  With respect to paid subscriptions, unless you opt out of auto-renewal, such paid subscriptions will be automatically extended for successive renewal periods of the same duration as the subscription term originally selected, at the then-current non-promotional rate. You can change or resign your paid subscriptions at any time in the manner permitted through your mobile operating system.  If you terminate a paid subscription, you may use your paid subscription until the end of your then-current term, and your paid subscription will not be renewed after your then-current term expires. However, you will not be eligible for a prorated refund of any portion of the subscription fee paid for the then-current subscription period. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO CONTINUE TO BE CHARGED ON A RECURRING BASIS FOR PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS, YOU MUST CANCEL THE APPLICABLE PAID SUBSCRIPTION IN THE MANNER PERMITTED THROUGH YOUR MOBILE OPERATING SYSTEM BEFORE THE END OF THE RECURRING TERM. PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS CANNOT BE TERMINATED BEFORE THE END OF THE PERIOD FOR WHICH YOU HAVE ALREADY PAID, AND EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED IN THESE TERMS, COMPANY WILL NOT REFUND ANY FEES THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY PAID. 

Intellectual Property; Limited License to Users. The Properties, the Materials, and the Products and/or Services are protected by copyright, trademark, patent, and/or other intellectual property laws, and any unauthorized use of the Properties, Materials, and/or Products and/or Services may violate such laws in addition to these Terms of Use. Except as expressly provided herein, Company and its licensors and suppliers do not grant any express or implied license to the Properties, Site Materials, or Products and/or Services.  You agree not to copy, republish, download, transmit, modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, assign, distribute, license, sublicense, reverse engineer, or create derivative works based on, the Properties, the Materials, or the Products and/or Services, except if expressly authorized herein.

Third Party Content. Various sections of the Site feature content, including, without limitation, films, musical performances, or demonstrations of Third Party Products (defined below) owned or licensed by third party creators or associated rightsholders of that content (the “Third Party Content”). Third Party Content is protected by copyright or other proprietary laws, and is for display and demonstration purposes only.

Accordingly, you must not download, use, copy, share or print Third Party Content unless there is a notice associated with the Third Party Content expressly permitting downloading, using, copying, sharing and/or printing. Downloading, using, copying, sharing or printing Third Party Content without permission is a violation of these Terms of Use and strictly prohibited.  

Purchase of Products and/or Services. In addition to these Terms of Use, when purchasing or using Products and/or Services on the Properties or any other offerings of the Company, you may be subject to any agreements or licenses applicable to those Products and/or Services or other offerings (“Specific Agreement(s)”). Specific Agreements may contain terms and conditions in addition to those in the Terms of Use but all terms and conditions of the Specific Agreements and the Terms of Use apply. In the event of a conflict between the Terms of Use and any Specific Agreement, the conflicting provision of the Specific Agreement controls with respect to your rights to the Product and/or Service or such other offering.

Use of Software, Products, and Services. Any Products and/or Services, and accompanying documentation that is made available through the Properties, whether made available by downloading or otherwise, is the copyrighted, patented and/or otherwise proprietary work of Company and/or its licensors and/or suppliers. Use of Company, Products and/or Services, and accompanying documentation is governed by the terms of the agreement or license that accompanies or is included with such Products and/or Services. You agree not to download or install any Product and/or Service that is accompanied by or includes a license agreement, and you shall not otherwise use any Products and/or Services unless you agree to the terms of the applicable license agreement. If you do not agree to such terms, you will not be able to use the Products and/or Services. Absent a license agreement that accompanies the Products and/or Services, use or Products and/or Services will be governed by these Terms of Use. You agree that you will not decompile, reverse engineer, or otherwise attempt to discover the source code of Products and/or Services made available to you, and that you will not decompile or reverse engineer any such Products and/or Services.

Third Party Products. In addition to the Products and/or Services offered by Company, the Properties also advertise, offer, or make available information, products and/or services provided by third parties (collectively, the “Third Party Products”). Third Party Products are governed by separate agreements or licenses with those third parties. Company offers no guarantees and assumes no responsibility or liability of any type with respect to the Third Party Products, including any liability resulting from incompatibility between Third Party Products and the Products and/or Services provided by Company. You agree that you will not hold Company responsible or liable with respect to the Third Party Products or seek to do so.

Use of Materials. Except as may be indicated to the contrary elsewhere on the Properties or in these Terms of Use (e.g.., the strict limitations against downloading, using, copying, printing or sharing the Third Party Content), you may view and print the Materials available on the Properties subject to the following conditions:

  • The Materials may be used solely for personal, non-commercial, informational purposes;
  • The Materials may not be modified or altered in any way;
  • The Materials may not be distributed or sold, rented, leased, or licensed to others;
  • You may not remove any copyright or other proprietary notices contained in the Materials;
  • Company reserves the right to revoke the authorization to view and/or print the Materials available on the Properties at any time, and any such use shall be discontinued immediately upon notice from Company
  • Any rights granted to you by Company constitute a limited license and not a transfer of title or other rights.

The rights specified above i.e., the right to view and print the Materials are not applicable to the design or layout of the Properties. Elements of the Properties are protected by copyright and other laws and may not be copied, reproduced or imitated in whole or in part.

Trademark Information. The trademarks, logos, and service marks (“Mark(s)”) displayed on the Properties are the property of Company or third parties. You are not permitted to use the Marks without the prior written consent of the owner of the Mark. For example, SXSW® and SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST® are federally registered trademarks of Company. For more information about Company’s trademarks, please visit the Trademarks Guidelines page, which is available here.

Submission of Information. Information submitted through the Properties may be accessed and used by a Company service provider in accordance with the SXSW Privacy Policy (to the extent such information includes personal information) and the policies of those third party service providers. Although Company and Company’s service providers, including, without limitation, Paymentech, LLC dba Chase Orbital (“Chase Orbital”), PayPal, Inc. (“PayPal”), Venmo (“Venmo”), Shopify, Inc. (“Shopify”) and Block, Inc. (“Square”) each take steps to protect the electronic transmission of credit card numbers or other financial information or personally identifiable information (collectively, “Personal Information”) that you submit through their websites, you understand and agree there is inherent risk in sharing your information via the internet. Please review the terms of use and privacy policy of any third party to which you are providing Personal Information and other personal identifying information, including Chase Orbital’s, available here, PayPal’s, available here, Venmo’s, available here, Shopify’s, available here and Square, available here. The Company is not responsible for any error by, or other acts or omissions of any of our payments service providers. By using one of our payments service providers to make payment, you agree to be bound by the applicable terms and conditions, including with respect to offers of credit or delayed payment. We may also work with additional payment processors who you may already have a relationship with or who may process your personal information with your consent.

Other than the Personal Information, and as specifically requested otherwise, do not send any confidential or proprietary information through the Site. If you choose to share Personal Information in a manner that is intended for public display, or any information other than Personal Information with Company, then such information will be deemed NOT to be confidential (“Non-Confidential Information”). For any Non-Confidential Information you do send, post or submit, you grant Company and its affiliates, successors, and assigns an unrestricted, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable, transferrable, worldwide license to use, reproduce, display, perform, modify, transmit and distribute the Non-Confidential Information, and agree that Company is free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques that you send Company for any purpose and in any manner whatsoever without compensation to you or any other person sending the Non-Confidential Information. You represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the Non-Confidential Information and that public posting and use of such Non-Confidential Information by Company or its affiliates, successors or assigns, will not infringe or violate the rights of any third party. If you submit Personal Information via the Properties, Company will treat it in accordance with the SXSW Privacy Policy, which is available here.

You are prohibited from posting or transmitting to or from the Properties any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic, or profane material, or any other material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under the law. By using the Properties, you agree to the SXSW Code of Conduct, which is available here.

User Conduct. In using the Properties, including all Third Party Content and any Products and/or Services, you agree as follows:

  • not to disrupt or interfere with any other user’s use or enjoyment of the Properties, any affiliated or linked sites or any Products and/or Services;
  • not to upload or otherwise transmit through the Properties any viruses or other harmful, disruptive, or destructive files;
  • not to create a false identity or otherwise engage in activity that is deceptive or fraudulent in any manner;
  • not to use or attempt to use or access another’s account, password, services, or systems to access the Properties;
  • not to use any high volume or automated mechanisms (including, without limitation, robots, scrapers, spiders, offline readers, harvesting bots or other mechanism) to retrieve, download, store, mine or reproduce the Properties or the Material;
  • not to attempt to download and/or transmit any content which you are not authorized to transmit and/or infringes on any third party’s rights, including, without limitation, the Third Party Content;
  • not to disrupt or interfere with the security of, or otherwise cause harm to, the Properties, or any Products and/or Services, Materials, Third Party Content, system resources, accounts, passwords, servers, or networks connected to or accessible through the Properties or any affiliated or linked sites;
  • not to post any content that libels, defames, invades privacy, or is indecent, obscene, pornographic, abusive, threatening, illegal, solicits or engages in gambling;
  • not to run Maillist, Listserv, any form of auto-responder or “spam” or any processes that run or are activated while you are not logged into the software or Products and/or Services.

Managing Content and Communications. Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to delete or remove your content from the Properties and to restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to all or part of this Properties, at any time if we have cause to do so (including, without limitation, our good faith belief that you have violated the Terms of Use) without prior notice or liability. In addition, Company reserves the right to delete or remove your content if the applicable subscription or license has expired or lapsed or if Company has a good faith belief that you have violated these Terms of Use or any law or regulation, or that such deletion or removal is necessary to comply with the law or to protect the rights of Company or others. Company may, but is not obligated to, monitor or review (i) any areas on the Properties where users transmit content, and (ii) the substance of any content. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Company will have no liability related to your content arising under the laws of copyright, libel, defamation, privacy, obscenity, or otherwise. Company also disclaims all liability with respect to the misuse, loss, modification, destruction, or unavailability of any of your content. For information regarding copyright infringement takedown procedures pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, please see the Copyright Notice, which is available here.

All material you submit to the Properties (excluding any materials you submit through Company's shopping cart to apply to participate in an event or any music or film & tv submission), including emails, becomes the sole and exclusive property of Company, and Company may reproduce, distribute, display, exhibit, and otherwise exploit that material in all markets and media now known or hereafter devised throughout the Universe in perpetuity without any compensation or other consideration to you. You hereby waive all moral rights you may have in and to that material. Any information that you make available to the public via the Properties is considered Non-Confidential Information.

Use and Protection of Account Number and Password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any of your account numbers, account names, and/or passwords used to access the Properties or any Products and/or Services.  If you become aware that any account numbers, account names and/or passwords have been obtained by any other person or otherwise misused, you will notify the Company as soon as possible. 

WARRANTIES AND DISCLAIMERS. EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED OTHERWISE IN A WRITTEN AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND COMPANY, THE PROPERTIES, THE MATERIALS AND ALL PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, PERFORMANCE, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR THE WARRANTY OF NON-INFRINGEMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, COMPANY MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT (i) THE PROPERTIES, MATERIALS OR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; (ii) THE PROPERTIES, MATERIALS OR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, ALWAYS AVAILABLE, OR ERROR-FREE; (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE PROPERTIES, MATERIALS OR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES WILL BE EFFECTIVE, ACCURATE, OR RELIABLE; (iv) THE QUALITY OF ANY PROPERTIES, MATERIALS OR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR ACCESSIBLE BY YOU WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS; OR (v) ANY ERRORS IN THE PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES OR ANY DEFECTS IN THE PROPERTIES, THE MATERIALS, OR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES, WILL BE CORRECTED.

THE PROPERTIES COULD INCLUDE TECHNICAL OR OTHER MISTAKES, INACCURACIES, OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. COMPANY MAY MAKE CHANGES TO THE PROPERTIES, MATERIALS, OR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES AT ANY TIME IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE PRICES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF ANY PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES, AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. THE PROPERTIES, MATERIALS AND PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES MAY BE OUT OF DATE, AND COMPANY MAKES NO COMMITMENT TO UPDATE SUCH PROPERTIES, MATERIALS, OR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES. YOU UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT (i) COMPANY DOES NOT CONTROL, ENDORSE, OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY CONTENT, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES OFFERED AND/OR PERFORMED BY THIRD PARTIES THROUGH THE PROPERTIES OR THE PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE PROVIDED BY THIRD PARTY VENDORS OR THOSE ACCESSIBLE THROUGH LINKS ON THE PROPERTIES; (ii) COMPANY MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER ABOUT ANY SUCH THIRD PARTIES, THEIR THIRD PARTY CONTENT, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES; (iii) ANY DEALINGS YOU MAY HAVE WITH SUCH THIRD PARTIES ARE AT YOUR OWN RISK; AND (iv) COMPANY SHALL NOT BE LIABLE OR RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CONTENT, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES OFFERED AND/OR PERFORMED BY THIRD PARTIES.

THE USE, INSTALLATION, AND/OR AUTHORIZED DOWNLOADING OF ANY MATERIALS, OR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES, OR SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION OR CONTENT, IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND WITH YOUR AGREEMENT THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER OR COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS OR SERVICES, LOSS OF DATA, UNAUTHORIZED USAGE, INFRINGEMENT OF, OR ACCESS TO, YOUR INFORMATION OR CONTENT, OR OTHER HARM THAT RESULTS FROM SUCH ACTIVITIES. COMPANY ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR ANY COMPUTER VIRUS OR OTHER SIMILAR SOFTWARE CODE THAT IS INSTALLED, TRANSMITTED, OR DOWNLOADED TO YOUR COMPUTER OR COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS OR SERVICES FROM THE PROPERTIES OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY MATERIALS OR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM COMPANY OR THROUGH OR FROM THE PROPERTIES SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE TERMS OF USE.

SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY MAY LAST, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN THOSE STATES, TO THE EXTENT PERMISSIBLE, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES ARE LIMITED TO NINETY (90) DAYS.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. IN NO EVENT INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, NEGLIGENCE, SHALL COMPANY, ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, ATTORNEYS, EMPLOYEES, PARTNERS, LICENSORS, OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS, WHETHER OR NOT COMPANY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR SUCH DAMAGES ARE FORESEEABLE, AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE PROPERTIES, THE MATERIALS OR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES, THE STATEMENTS OR ACTIONS OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON OR THROUGH THE PROPERTIES, ANY DEALINGS WITH VENDORS OR OTHER THIRD PARTIES, ANY UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA, ANY INFORMATION THAT IS SENT OR RECEIVED OR NOT SENT OR RECEIVED, ANY FAILURE TO STORE OR LOSS OF DATA, FILES, OR OTHER CONTENT, ANY SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE PROPERTIES THAT ARE DELAYED OR INTERRUPTED, OR ANY WEB SITE REFERENCED OR LINKED TO FROM THE PROPERTIES. YOU AGREE THAT COMPANY’S LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF ANY KIND OF LEGAL CLAIM IN ANY WAY CONNECTED TO THE PROPERTIES SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO COMPANY IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTH PERIOD PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE CLAIM OR (B) ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100).

SOME JURISDICTIONS PROHIBIT THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, THE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS SET FORTH ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Arbitration. Company is committed to customer satisfaction, so if you have a problem or dispute, we will try to resolve your concerns. But if we are unsuccessful, you or we may pursue claims as explained in this section.

To give Company an opportunity to resolve informally any disputes between you and Company arising out of or relating in any way to these Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, any Services and/or Products provided (“Claim(s)”), you agree to communicate your Claim to Company by contacting info@sxsw.com (“Customer Support”). You agree not to bring any suit or to initiate arbitration proceedings until sixty (60) days after the date on which you communicated your Claim to Customer Support have elapsed. If Company is not able to resolve your Claim within sixty (60) days, you may seek relief through arbitration or in small claims court, as set forth below.

You and Company agree that any and all Claims will be resolved by binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that you and we may assert Claims on an individual basis in small claims court if they qualify. This includes any Claims you assert against us, our subsidiaries, or any companies offering Products and/or Services through us (which are beneficiaries of this arbitration agreement). If Claims qualify for small claims court, those claims will be brought exclusively in small claims courts located in Austin, Texas. In addition, each party shall have the right to pursue injunctive or other equitable relief at any time, from any court of competent jurisdiction, to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of a party's copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents or other intellectual property rights. 

There is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is limited. However, an arbitrator can award on an individual basis the same damages and relief as a court (including statutory damages, attorneys’ fees and costs). The arbitrator must follow and enforce these Terms of Use.

Arbitrations will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its rules, including the AAA Consumer Rules. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA’s rules, except as provided in this section. You will not be responsible for paying any other fees for the arbitration, other than the filing fee; all other fees or expenses charged by AAA will be paid by Company (unless the arbitrator finds that either the substance of your Claim or the relief sought is frivolous or brought for an improper purpose). Further, if AAA determines that you are unable to pay any part of the filing fee, then Company will pay that part too.

Any and all proceedings to resolve Claims will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, consolidated, or representative action. The arbitrator will have authority to decide issues as to the scope of this arbitration agreement and the arbitrability of Claims. If for any reason a Claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration, you and Company each waive any right to a jury trial.  All arbitrations conducted hereunder will be conduct in the English language in Austin, Texas. 

To begin an arbitration proceeding, you must send a letter requesting arbitration and describing your Claim(s) to “SXSW: General Counsel,” at CT Corporation System, 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 900, Dallas, TX, 75201. If we request arbitration against you, we will give you notice at the email address or street address you have provided. The AAA’s rules and filing instructions are available at www.adr.org or by calling 1-800-778-7879. This arbitration agreement shall be governed by and enforced in accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act and federal arbitration law. An arbitration decision may be confirmed by any court with competent jurisdiction.

International Users. The Properties can be accessed from countries around the world and may contain references to Products and/or Services that are not available in your country. These references do not imply that Company intends to announce or provide such Products and/or Services in your country. The Properties are controlled, operated, and administered by Company from its offices within the United States of America. Access to the Properties from territories where the Properties or any of the Materials or Products and/or Services are illegal is prohibited. If you access the Properties from a location outside the United States, you are responsible for compliance with all applicable laws, including but not limited to the Export Control Laws discussed below.

Export Control Laws; Notice to U.S. Government Users. The export and re-export of Company Products and/or Services are controlled by the United States Export Administration Regulations, and such Products and/or Services may not be exported or re-exported to any country to which the United States embargoes goods. In addition, Company Products and/or Services may not be distributed to persons on the Table of Denial Orders, the Entity List, or the List of Specially Designated Nationals. By using, installing, and/or downloading any Company Product and/or Service you are certifying that, no matter where you currently reside, you are not a national or resident of any country to which the United States embargoes goods and that you are not a person on the Table of Denial Orders, the Entity List, or the List of Specially Designated Nationals.

Indemnity and Liability. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold Company, its subsidiaries and  affiliates and its and their respective officers, directors, shareholders, attorneys, agents, employees, licensors, suppliers, co-branders or other partners (collectively, the “Indemnitees”) harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and damages of any kind, made by any third party due to or arising out of content you submit to Company and/or transmit through the Properties (including, without limitation, any content or computer viruses), your use of the Properties, Materials, or any Products and/or Services (including any Third Party Content), your connection to the Properties, your violation of these Terms of Use, the actions of any of your employees or agents in conjunction with the Properties, or your violation of any rights of another person or entity or any and all laws and regulations applicable to these Terms of Use, and/or your use of Company’s Products and/or Services.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction. The Properties (excluding linked third party sites) is controlled by Company from its offices within the State of Texas, United States of America. By accessing the Properties, you and Company agree that all matters relating to your access to, or use of, the Properties shall be governed by the internal laws of the State of Texas, without regard to the conflicts of laws principles thereof, except that the Arbitration provision of these Terms of Use shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. In the event that the Agreement to Arbitrate above is found not to apply to you or to a particular Claim, you agree that any Claim that has arisen or may arise between you and SXSW must be resolved exclusively by a state or federal court located in Travis County, Texas, in a case brought in your individual capacity and not in any representative capacity or as a class action. Both you and Company agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction to a court of competent jurisdiction located in Travis County, Texas for the purpose of litigating all such claims or disputes.

General. The Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Participation and Credentials Terms and Conditions, RFID Policy, and the other guidelines, policies, licenses, disclaimers posted on the Properties, and any other negotiated agreements between you and Company constitute the entire agreement between Company and you. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of the Terms of Use or portion thereof to be unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to effect the intent of the parties as reflected by that provision, and the remainder of the Terms of Use shall continue in full force and effect. Any failure by Company to enforce or exercise any provision of the Terms of Use or related right shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision. The section titles used in the Terms of Use are purely for convenience and carry with them no legal or contractual effect.  Provisions that, by their nature, should survive termination of these Terms of Use shall survive termination. By way of example, all of the following will survive termination: any obligation you have to indemnify Company, any limitations on our liability, any terms regarding ownership or intellectual property rights, and terms regarding disputes between us, including without limitation the arbitration agreement. 

Mobile Applications

You acknowledge and agree that the availability of the Company’s mobile application is dependent on the third party stores from which you download the application, e.g., the App Store from Apple or the Android app market from Google (each an “App Store”). Each App Store may have its own terms and conditions to which you must agree before downloading mobile applications from such store, including the specific terms relating to Apple App Store set forth below. You agree to comply with, and your license to use our application is conditioned upon your compliance with, such App Store terms and conditions. To the extent such other terms and conditions from such App Store are less restrictive than, or otherwise conflict with, the terms and conditions of these Terms of Use, the more restrictive or conflicting terms and conditions in these Terms of Use apply.

I use the SXSW App available via the Apple App Store – should I know anything about that?

These Terms apply to your use of all the Services, including our iOS applications (the “Application”) available via the Apple, Inc. (“Apple”) App Store, but the following additional terms also apply to the Application:

  1. Both you and the Company acknowledge that the Terms of Use are concluded between you and the Company only, and not with Apple, and that Apple is not responsible for the Application or any Material;
  2. The Application is licensed to you on a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferrable, non-sublicensable basis, solely to be used in connection with the Services for your private, personal, non-commercial use, subject to all the terms and conditions of these Terms of Use;
  3. You will only use the Application in connection with an Apple device that you own or control;
  4. You acknowledge and agree that Apple has no obligation whatsoever to furnish any maintenance and support services with respect to the Application;
  5. In the event of any failure of the Application to conform to any applicable warranty, including those implied by law, you may notify Apple of such failure; upon notification, Apple’s sole warranty obligation to you will be to refund to you the purchase price, if any, of the Application;
  6. You acknowledge and agree that the Company, and not Apple, is responsible for addressing any claims you or any third party may have in relation to the Application;
  7. You acknowledge and agree that, in the event of any third-party claim that the Application or your possession and use of the Application infringes that third party’s intellectual property rights, the Company, and not Apple, will be responsible for the investigation, defense, settlement and discharge of any such infringement claim;
  8. You represent and warrant that you are not located in a country subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a “terrorist supporting” country, and that you are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties;
  9. Both you and the Company acknowledge and agree that, in your use of the Application, you will comply with any applicable third-party terms of agreement which may affect or be affected by such use; and
  10. Both you and the Company acknowledge and agree that Apple and Apple’s subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms, and that upon your acceptance of these Terms, Apple will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce these Terms against you as the third-party beneficiary hereof.

Headings. The paragraph headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not be used to limit any portion of these Terms of Use.

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