In its User Agreement, LinkedIn declares that its mission is to help professionals all over the world to be productive and successful. However, what are the terms and conditions under which LinkedIn offers this productivity and success? Let us take a look.
Contract
Legally Binding Contract – Clicking on “Join Now” “Join LinkedIn” or “Sign Up” and registering on the website constitutes a legally binding contract between LinkedIn and the User. An unregistered user is a “visitor” and a registered user is a “member” of LinkedIn. This contract is applicable to all the LinkedIn related websites, apps and plugins including the offsite collection of data for LinkedIn’s ads.
“Designated Countries” – This term refers to countries in the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.
Contracting Entity – If a member resides in Designated Countries, she enters into a contract with LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company (“LinkedIn Ireland”). Otherwise, she enters into a contract with LinkedIn Corporation (“LinkedIn Corp.”). The contracting entity will be the controller of the member’s personal data.
Contract Applicable on Members and Visitors – This contract is applicable both on Members and Visitors as one can access some features of LinkedIn even without registering. The data collected from both visitors and members is under the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy of the company.
LinkedIn has the right to Modify the Contract, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy from time to time. The members shall receive notice in case of material changes to these documents. No retroactive changes shall be introduced by the company and continued use of services shall be construed as implied consent to these changes.
Obligations
Eligibility to Use LinkedIn
1. One must be 16 years or older to use LinkedIn. However, members who registered prior to June 2017 under the previous User Agreement when they were less than 16 years of age may continue to use the services.
2. One (1) LinkedIn account per eligible user is allowed.
3. Such an account must be in the real name of the eligible user.
Violation of Terms - Creating an account on behalf of someone less than 16 years of age or creating an account with false information is a violation of the terms of the User Agreement.
Account- Account holders are responsible for anything that happens through their account unless they close it or report misuse. They have to follow the list of Dos and Don’ts and LinkedIn’s Professional Community Policies.
Premium Services – Members can get an invoice for their purchase of Premium Services under “Purchase History”. Purchases are subject to Additional Terms and Refund Policy of LinkedIn. LinkedIn will calculate taxes based on the billing information provided and may store and continue billing the payment method even after it has expired.
Notices – These will be sent to the member either within the service or on the contact information provided by her (email, mobile number, physical address).
Sharing of Content – Job searching activities are not notified to the connections network or the public. They are only shared with the job poster. LinkedIn can remove any information or content with or without notice.
Rights and Limits
Non-Exclusive License – Members are the owners of all the content, feedback and personal information they provide LinkedIn, but they also provide a Non-Exclusive License to it to LinkedIn and its affiliates.
Following are some of the key features of this license:
(i) It is worldwide, transferable and sub-licensable license.
(ii) It grants LinkedIn and its affiliates the right to
· Use
· Copy
· Modify
· Distribute
· Publish and process
any information that members may provide
· without any further consent
· without any notice
· without compensation
Following are some of the Limitations of this Non-Exclusive License:
(i) Extent of Modification – LinkedIn’s Right to Modify the content posted by members extends to editing and making format changes such as translating, transcribing, modifying the size, layout, file type or removing metadata. However, it cannot modify the meaning of expression.
(ii) Social Actions – LinkedIn and its Affiliates have the right, without payment to its members or others, to serve ads near the member’s content and information and a member’s social actions (like, comment, subscribe, follow etc.) may be visible and included with ads. A member’s name and photo may be used to promote a service feature, subject to their settings.
(iii) Separate Consent – LinkedIn and its affiliates will ask for a member’s separate consent if:
- they want to include their content in the advertisements for products and services of third parties to others.
- they want to give others the right to publish a member’s content beyond the services.
However, in case of “public” posts, LinkedIn members are allowed to embed another member’s posts onto third party services. LinkedIn also allows search engines to make that public content findable through their services.
(iv) Termination – This Non-Exclusive License can be terminated by a member by deleting such content from LinkedIn’s services or by closing their account.
Personal Data – LinkedIn has the following rights to a member’s personal data and information subject to its Privacy Policy and the member’s account settings:
- access
- store
- process
- use
Users also promise to provide content and information that is truthful and does not violate any law or anyone else’s rights (including intellectual property rights).
LinkedIn is not a storage service – It has no obligation to store, maintain or provide a copy of the content or information provided by the members except to the extent required by applicable law and its Privacy Policy.
No Responsibility for Misuse – LinkedIn is not responsible for issue of its services where other member’s post content that is false, misleading, illegal, offensive or otherwise harmful. It does not generally review such content and hence assumes no responsibility for the same.
Services offered by Members - LinkedIn connects Members offering services such as (career coaching, accounting etc.) with member’s seeking services. However, one must be at least 18 years of age to offer, perform or procure services on LinkedIn. In addition, there are the following riders:
o LinkedIn does not supervise, direct, control or monitor members in the performance of these services.
o It is not responsible for offering, performance and procurement of these services.
o It does not endorse any particular service offered by any member.
o Nothing shall create employment, agency or joint venture relationship between LinkedIn and any member offering services.
Members who offer services on LinkedIn have to abide by its Professional Community Policies.
As a service provider, LinkedIn helps members to register and attend events organized by other members and connect with other attendees. However, this is also subject to the following conditions: - LinkedIn is not responsible for the conduct of any members or other attendees at such event
LinkedIn is not a storage service – It has no obligation to store, maintain or provide a copy of the content or information provided by the members except to the extent required by applicable law and its Privacy Policy.
No Responsibility for Misuse – LinkedIn is not responsible for issue of its services where other member’s post content that is false, misleading, illegal, offensive or otherwise harmful. It does not generally review such content and hence assumes no responsibility for the same.
Services offered by Members - LinkedIn connects Members offering services such as (career coaching, accounting etc.) with member’s seeking services. However, one must be at least 18 years of age to offer, perform or procure services on LinkedIn. In addition, there are the following riders:
o LinkedIn does not supervise, direct, control or monitor members in the performance of these services.
o It is not responsible for offering, performance and procurement of these services.
o It does not endorse any particular service offered by any member.
o Nothing shall create employment, agency or joint venture relationship between LinkedIn and any member offering services.
Members who offer services on LinkedIn have to abide by its Professional Community Policies.
As a service provider, LinkedIn helps members to register and attend events organized by other members and connect with other attendees. However, this is also subject to the following conditions: - LinkedIn is not responsible for the conduct of any members or other attendees at such event
- LinkedIn does not endorse any particular event listed on its service.
- It does not review and/or vet any of these events.
- That members shall adhere to the terms and conditions that apply to such events.
Limitation, Restriction, Suspension and Termination - LinkedIn reserves the right to limit how a member uses its services. It also reserves the right to restrict, suspend or terminate a member’s account in case of breach of this User Agreement and misuse of its services.
Intellectual Property Rights – LinkedIn, “in” logos, other LinkedIn trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used for LinkedIn’s services are trademarks or registered trademarks of LinkedIn. Trademarks and Logos used in connection with the services are the trademarks of their respective owners.
Automated Processing – Information and data provided by the members is used for making recommendations for content, connections and features.
Limit of Liability
No Warranty Disclaimer – LinkedIn and its affiliates:
(i) make no representation or warranty about the services being uninterrupted and error-free.
(ii) provide the services on an “as is” and “as available” basis.
(iii) they disclaim any implied or statutory warranty including any implied warranty regarding:
o title
o accuracy of data
o non-infringement
o merchantability
o fitness for a particular purpose.
Exclusion of Liability – LinkedIn and its affiliates will not be liable for:
(i) lost profits
(ii) lost business opportunities
(iii) reputation (eg. offensive or defamatory statements)
(iv) loss of data
(v) any indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive or special damages
(vi) any amount that exceeds
o the total fees paid or payable by a member for LinkedIn/its affiliate’s services or
o US$1000
Basis of Bargain – Notwithstanding prior notice of the possibility of any damage such as outlined above, the limitations of liability described in this section form the basis of the bargain between a user and LinkedIn and shall apply to any claims of liability such as Warranty, tort, negligence, contract or law.
Situations where LinkedIn is liable – LinkedIn is liable in the following situations:
(i) Death
(ii) Personal injury
(iii) Fraud
(iv) Gross negligence
(v) Intentional misconduct
(vi) In cases of negligence where a material obligation has been breached. A material obligation is defined as an obligation which forms a pre-requisite to LinkedIn’s delivery of services and on which members reasonably rely.
In order to prove point (vi), the following conditions must be fulfilled:
a. Damages were directly caused by the breach of material obligation
b. Such damages were forseeable upon conclusion of this contract
c. Such damages are to the extent that are typical in the context of this contract.
Termination
The following shall survive termination of this contract: (i) LinkedIn’s right to use and disclose a member’s feedback
(ii) Member’s and/or visitors rights to further re-share content and information shared by the member through LinkedIn’s services.
(iii) Any amounts owed by either party prior to termination
(iv) Sections on Limit of Liability, Governing Law and Dispute Resolution, General Terms and LinkedIn’s Don’ts.
Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
(i) For all members – LinkedIn is liable under the consumer protection laws of the country of member’s residence.
(ii) For members belonging to Designated Countries – The courts in Dublin, Ireland shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute or claims arising out of this contract/services. These disputes or claims shall be governed exclusively by Irish Law.
(iii) For members not belonging to Designated Countries – The courts in Santa Clara County, California, USA shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute or claims arising out of this contract/services. These disputes or claims shall be exclusively governed by Californian Law.
General Terms
Severability – If a court finds any terms of this contract unenforceable, it shall modify such terms in order to achieve the intent of the parties to this agreement. If that is not possible, the court shall severe that unenforceable part and still enforce the rest of the contract.
Waiver – If LinkedIn doesn’t act to enforce a breach of this contract, it shall not mean that it has waived its rights to do so.
Assignment and Transfer – A member cannot assign or transfer this contract to anyone without LinkedIn’s consent. However, LinkedIn can assign this contract to its affiliates or a party that buys it without the user’s consent.
Legal Notice – Any Legal Notice to LinkedIn (for users outside designated countries) must be addressed to:
LinkedIn Corporation
Attn: Legal Dept. (Privacy Policy and User Agreement)
1000 W. Maude Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
USA
LinkedIn Do’s and Don’ts
Do’s
A user shall:
(i) A user shall comply with all applicable laws including but not limited to:
o Privacy Laws
o Intellectual Property Laws
o Anti-Spam Laws
o Export Control Laws
o Tax Laws and
o Regulatory Requirements
(ii) Provide accurate information and keep it updated
(iii) Use his/her real name on the profile
(iv) Use LinkedIn’s services in a professional manner
Don’ts
A user shall not:
(i) create a false identity, misrepresent his/her identity, create a member profile for anyone other than himself (a real person) or use or attempt to use another’s account.
(ii) Develop, support or use any of the following to scrape the services or otherwise copy profiles and other data from services
o Software
o Devices
o Scripts
o Robots
o Crawlers
o Browser plugins
o Add-ons
o Any other technology/means/processes
(iii) Override any security feature or
Circumvent any access controls or
Use limits of the service such as caps on keyword searches or profile views
(iv) Without the consent of LinkedIn:
o Copy
o Use
o Disclose
o Distribute
any information obtained from the services, whether directly or by the use of third parties such as LinkedIn.
(v) Disclose any other information without consent
(vi) Violate Intellectual Property Rights of others including:
o Copyrights
o Patents
o Trademarks
o Trade Secrets or
o Other Proprietary Rights
(vii) Violate Intellectual Property Rights of LinkedIn including, but not limited to:
o Copying/distributing learning videos or other materials
o Copying/distributing technology unless it is released under open source licenses
o Using the word LinkedIn or its Logos in any business name, email or URL except as provided in the Brand Guidelines.
(viii) Post anything that contains software viruses/worms/any other harmful code
(ix) Do any of the following for technology that is not open source:
o Reverse Engineer
o Decompile
o Disassemble
o Decipher
o Otherwise attempt to derive the source code
(x) Imply or state that he is affiliated with or endorsed by LinkedIn without LinkedIn’s express consent
(xi) Do the following without LinkedIn’s consent
o Rent
o Lease
o Loan
o Trade
o Sell/Re-Sell
o Otherwise monetize the services or related data or access to the same
(xii) A ‘deep link’ is a type of a link that sends users directly to an app instead of a website or a store. LinkedIn prohibits users from deep linking to its services for any purpose other than to promote their profile or a group on their services.
(xiii) Use bots or other automated methods for the following:
o Access the services
o Add or download contacts
o Send or redirect messages
(xiv) Monitor the services’ availability, performance or functionality for any competitive purpose
(xv) Engage in “framing”, “mirroring” or otherwise simulating the appearance or function of the services
(xvi) Overlay or otherwise modify the services or their appearance. Examples include inserting elements into the service or removing, covering or obscuring an advertisement included in the services.
(xvii) Interfere with the operation of or place unreasonable load on the services, including but not limited to:
o Spam
o Denial of service
o Attack
o Viruses or
o Gaming algorithms
(xviii) Violate:
o Professional Community Policies
o Additional Terms of a Specific Service
o Bing Maps Terms wherever applicable.
Conclusion
As is clear, the user agreement of LinkedIn is quite exhaustive and is inextricably tied up to its other legal policies such as Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Copyright Policy, Professional Community Policies and even Map Terms of Bing Search Engine. Any violation of the terms of this agreement is a ground for LinkedIn to terminate a user’s access to its services. There is no reference to any arbitration and all claims and disputes arising from this agreement shall be governed by the Laws of California in the courts of Santa Clara County, California, USA (for users from non-designated countries).
- It does not review and/or vet any of these events.
- That members shall adhere to the terms and conditions that apply to such events.
Limitation, Restriction, Suspension and Termination - LinkedIn reserves the right to limit how a member uses its services. It also reserves the right to restrict, suspend or terminate a member’s account in case of breach of this User Agreement and misuse of its services.
Intellectual Property Rights – LinkedIn, “in” logos, other LinkedIn trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used for LinkedIn’s services are trademarks or registered trademarks of LinkedIn. Trademarks and Logos used in connection with the services are the trademarks of their respective owners.
Automated Processing – Information and data provided by the members is used for making recommendations for content, connections and features.
Limit of Liability
No Warranty Disclaimer – LinkedIn and its affiliates:
(i) make no representation or warranty about the services being uninterrupted and error-free.
(ii) provide the services on an “as is” and “as available” basis.
(iii) they disclaim any implied or statutory warranty including any implied warranty regarding:
o title
o accuracy of data
o non-infringement
o merchantability
o fitness for a particular purpose.
Exclusion of Liability – LinkedIn and its affiliates will not be liable for:
(i) lost profits
(ii) lost business opportunities
(iii) reputation (eg. offensive or defamatory statements)
(iv) loss of data
(v) any indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive or special damages
(vi) any amount that exceeds
o the total fees paid or payable by a member for LinkedIn/its affiliate’s services or
o US$1000
Basis of Bargain – Notwithstanding prior notice of the possibility of any damage such as outlined above, the limitations of liability described in this section form the basis of the bargain between a user and LinkedIn and shall apply to any claims of liability such as Warranty, tort, negligence, contract or law.
Situations where LinkedIn is liable – LinkedIn is liable in the following situations:
(i) Death
(ii) Personal injury
(iii) Fraud
(iv) Gross negligence
(v) Intentional misconduct
(vi) In cases of negligence where a material obligation has been breached. A material obligation is defined as an obligation which forms a pre-requisite to LinkedIn’s delivery of services and on which members reasonably rely.
In order to prove point (vi), the following conditions must be fulfilled:
a. Damages were directly caused by the breach of material obligation
b. Such damages were forseeable upon conclusion of this contract
c. Such damages are to the extent that are typical in the context of this contract.
Termination
The following shall survive termination of this contract: (i) LinkedIn’s right to use and disclose a member’s feedback
(ii) Member’s and/or visitors rights to further re-share content and information shared by the member through LinkedIn’s services.
(iii) Any amounts owed by either party prior to termination
(iv) Sections on Limit of Liability, Governing Law and Dispute Resolution, General Terms and LinkedIn’s Don’ts.
Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
(i) For all members – LinkedIn is liable under the consumer protection laws of the country of member’s residence.
(ii) For members belonging to Designated Countries – The courts in Dublin, Ireland shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute or claims arising out of this contract/services. These disputes or claims shall be governed exclusively by Irish Law.
(iii) For members not belonging to Designated Countries – The courts in Santa Clara County, California, USA shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute or claims arising out of this contract/services. These disputes or claims shall be exclusively governed by Californian Law.
General Terms
Severability – If a court finds any terms of this contract unenforceable, it shall modify such terms in order to achieve the intent of the parties to this agreement. If that is not possible, the court shall severe that unenforceable part and still enforce the rest of the contract.
Waiver – If LinkedIn doesn’t act to enforce a breach of this contract, it shall not mean that it has waived its rights to do so.
Assignment and Transfer – A member cannot assign or transfer this contract to anyone without LinkedIn’s consent. However, LinkedIn can assign this contract to its affiliates or a party that buys it without the user’s consent.
Legal Notice – Any Legal Notice to LinkedIn (for users outside designated countries) must be addressed to:
LinkedIn Corporation
Attn: Legal Dept. (Privacy Policy and User Agreement)
1000 W. Maude Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
USA
LinkedIn Do’s and Don’ts
Do’s
A user shall:
(i) A user shall comply with all applicable laws including but not limited to:
o Privacy Laws
o Intellectual Property Laws
o Anti-Spam Laws
o Export Control Laws
o Tax Laws and
o Regulatory Requirements
(ii) Provide accurate information and keep it updated
(iii) Use his/her real name on the profile
(iv) Use LinkedIn’s services in a professional manner
Don’ts
A user shall not:
(i) create a false identity, misrepresent his/her identity, create a member profile for anyone other than himself (a real person) or use or attempt to use another’s account.
(ii) Develop, support or use any of the following to scrape the services or otherwise copy profiles and other data from services
o Software
o Devices
o Scripts
o Robots
o Crawlers
o Browser plugins
o Add-ons
o Any other technology/means/processes
(iii) Override any security feature or
Circumvent any access controls or
Use limits of the service such as caps on keyword searches or profile views
(iv) Without the consent of LinkedIn:
o Copy
o Use
o Disclose
o Distribute
any information obtained from the services, whether directly or by the use of third parties such as LinkedIn.
(v) Disclose any other information without consent
(vi) Violate Intellectual Property Rights of others including:
o Copyrights
o Patents
o Trademarks
o Trade Secrets or
o Other Proprietary Rights
(vii) Violate Intellectual Property Rights of LinkedIn including, but not limited to:
o Copying/distributing learning videos or other materials
o Copying/distributing technology unless it is released under open source licenses
o Using the word LinkedIn or its Logos in any business name, email or URL except as provided in the Brand Guidelines.
(viii) Post anything that contains software viruses/worms/any other harmful code
(ix) Do any of the following for technology that is not open source:
o Reverse Engineer
o Decompile
o Disassemble
o Decipher
o Otherwise attempt to derive the source code
(x) Imply or state that he is affiliated with or endorsed by LinkedIn without LinkedIn’s express consent
(xi) Do the following without LinkedIn’s consent
o Rent
o Lease
o Loan
o Trade
o Sell/Re-Sell
o Otherwise monetize the services or related data or access to the same
(xii) A ‘deep link’ is a type of a link that sends users directly to an app instead of a website or a store. LinkedIn prohibits users from deep linking to its services for any purpose other than to promote their profile or a group on their services.
(xiii) Use bots or other automated methods for the following:
o Access the services
o Add or download contacts
o Send or redirect messages
(xiv) Monitor the services’ availability, performance or functionality for any competitive purpose
(xv) Engage in “framing”, “mirroring” or otherwise simulating the appearance or function of the services
(xvi) Overlay or otherwise modify the services or their appearance. Examples include inserting elements into the service or removing, covering or obscuring an advertisement included in the services.
(xvii) Interfere with the operation of or place unreasonable load on the services, including but not limited to:
o Spam
o Denial of service
o Attack
o Viruses or
o Gaming algorithms
(xviii) Violate:
o Professional Community Policies
o Additional Terms of a Specific Service
o Bing Maps Terms wherever applicable.
Conclusion
As is clear, the user agreement of LinkedIn is quite exhaustive and is inextricably tied up to its other legal policies such as Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Copyright Policy, Professional Community Policies and even Map Terms of Bing Search Engine. Any violation of the terms of this agreement is a ground for LinkedIn to terminate a user’s access to its services. There is no reference to any arbitration and all claims and disputes arising from this agreement shall be governed by the Laws of California in the courts of Santa Clara County, California, USA (for users from non-designated countries).
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