Terms of Service
Contents
- Introduction
- Privacy Policy
- Acceptance of Terms
- Payment and Services
- Third-Party Websites and Content
- Advertising within Cocoon
- Registering for the Service
- Lawful Use of the Software and Service
- Ownership of Intellectual Property
- Disruption of Service
- Termination of Service
- Disclaimer of Warranty
- Limitation of Liability
- Indemnification
- Trademark and Copyright
- Other Legal Terms and Conditions
Introduction
Welcome to Virtual World Computing and Cocoon. The vworldc.com and getcocoon.com websites (the Websites) and Cocoon services provided via the Websites are owned and operated by Virtual World Computing, a privately held company with offices at 5383 Hollister Avenue, Suite 140, Santa Barbara, CA 93111.
Throughout these terms of service, we refer to Virtual World Computing as "VWC," "we," "us," "the Company." We may also refer to the Cocoon browser as "the Software" and to web-based services as "the Service."
These terms and conditions set forth the legally binding terms for your use of the Service. By using the Service, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. We will refer to visitors and registered members alike as "users" or as "you" in these terms and conditions.
Privacy Policy
The VWC Privacy Policy is written in plain English to be as clear as possible. Please read it. The privacy policy is incorporated by reference into these terms of service. Therefore, by using the Service, you are also agreeing to and accepting our privacy policy.
Acceptance of Terms
Your use of the Service is your acceptance of these terms and conditions (including our privacy policy). Your use is also your agreement to abide by all applicable laws. Please read these terms and conditions carefully. If you do not agree with them, then you should discontinue use of the Service.
We may modify these terms and conditions from time to time. The most current version will be posted here. Continued use of Cocoon after those changes go into effect signifies agreement to the revised terms of service. We reserve the right to suspend, change or terminate the Service with or without notice to you.
Payment and Services
Cocoon browser is used to deliver the Cocoon service(s). The Cocoon service is free unless you elect to sign up for Cocoon+. Cocoon services is a paid Software as a Service business. The Cocoon+ also provides you cloud anti-virus which is meant to keep your computer safe from viruses and malware. However, there are no guarantees that this service or any other anti- virus has the ability to know all the viruses on the web.
To purchase the Cocoon+ services, you must be legally capable of entering into a binding contract and be at least 18 years of age.
The day you purchase your Cocoon services, begins the first day of your billing cycle. You may cancel your order in the first 30 days for a full refund to be applied to the same credit card you placed your order with. To cancel your order contact customer service at support@getCocoon.com. If Cocoon terminates an account due to policy violation, there will be no refund. If you elect to sign up for an annual subscription, the term will continue for 12 months from the first day of your billing cycle. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of such term unless you provide written notice of your intent to terminate your subscription with 30 days written notice and the same credit card you placed your order with will be charged for the renewal term.
By purchasing the Cocoon services, you authorize VWC to charge the then current monthly or annual fee of your selected account plan both at the time of purchase as well as for the automatic renewal of the service.
VWC may change the service fee amount upon 30 days prior notice to you by email. Any changes to the subscription fee will be effective on the next billing cycle and will not apply retroactively or to the remainder of your existing annual plan.
Third-Party Websites and Content
Cocoon is a service that enables you to access and interact with all types of web destinations in a secure environment. However, you must turn on the security by logging in and seeing the blue bar for it to protect your privacy. If you do not turn on Cocoon security your information may be tracked without your knowledge or approval. Please note that the websites that you may visit while using Cocoon are designed, operated and supported by third parties. Consequently, we have no control over the function or security of these websites and we make no representations or warranties with regard to these websites. Any information that you share with a third-party website is subject to the privacy policy of that website. We urge you to read the terms and conditions (including the privacy policy) of any third-party website before sharing any information or conducting a session with that website. The Service may also include content provided by third parties (such as news articles, editorials and RSS feeds) and public forums in which you may contribute content (such as chat rooms, blogs and bulletin boards). We have no control over such content, and we make no representations or warranties with respect to such content.
Advertising within Cocoon
To keep Cocoon free we show advertisements. Additionally we may add our affiliate code to some eCommerce sites that results in a commission payout to Cocoon. Ads that are shown in Cocoon may be based on the page that you are currently visiting. If you click on an ad, the advertiser will most likely place a cookie in your Cocoon account, which you can manage like any other cookie a website or advertiser gives you. You can ignore it or delete it as you wish, knowing that Cocoon is still protecting your identity and will not share your IP address with advertisers without your approval, barring any hardware or software malfunctions.
Registering for the Service
In order to register for the Service, you must be of legal age in your state to form a binding contract, and have not been prohibited or barred from registering for the Service. You also must have a valid and working email address. Without such valid email address Cocoon can not provide customer support for your account (i.e. password reset). We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your use of the Service if you fail to meet the requirements just stated.
Once you register for the Service, we will communicate with you through the email address that you used when registering. You can communicate with us by contacting us through our contact information on the left or by emailing us at
You will select a password when you register for the Service. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and your account information. We will hold you responsible and accountable for all activity that occurs under your password or in your account. You must notify us immediately if you believe that your password has been compromised or your account is violated. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage occurring to you if you fail to comply with the requirements of this paragraph.
Your account may not be assigned or transferred to anyone else, during your lifetime or via survivorship rights following your death. Any assignment or transfer in violation of this prohibition shall be null and void.
Anti-Money Laundering Policy
It is the policy of Virtual World Computing to actively prevent money laundering and any other activity that facilitates money laundering or the funding of terrorist or criminal activities by complying with all applicable requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and counterpart provisions of foreign law (see, e.g., Costa Rican Laws Nos. 7786 & 8204).
The term “money laundering” refers to acts designed to conceal or disguise the true origins of criminally derived funds so that the funds appear to have derived from legitimate origins or constitute legitimate assets. Terrorist financing may not involve the proceeds of criminal conduct, but rather an attempt to conceal either the origin of the funds or their intended use, which could be for criminal purposes. Legitimate sources of funds are a key difference between terrorist financiers and traditional criminal organizations.
Our Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) policies, procedures and internal controls are designed to ensure compliance with all applicable law, and are reviewed and updated on a regular basis to ensure appropriate policies, procedures and internal controls are in place to account for both changes in regulations and changes in our business. Under our AML policy, we:
- Train our staff continuously regarding AML regulations.
- Appoint a compliance officer who is responsible for monitoring and reporting any and all suspicious activities.
- Comply with any inquiries from law enforcement personnel regarding possible AML activities.
- Refuse to allow our Service to be used in any manner, or by any person, that we determine to be connected to money laundering or other criminal activity.
Lawful Use of the Software and Service
You may not use the Software or Service for any unlawful purpose. Without limiting the foregoing, you agree to the following terms.
You will not use the Service to:
- Interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers or networks connected to the Service, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Service;
- Store, upload, distribute or otherwise make available any material that contains malware, spyware, software viruses, trojans, or any other computer code, files or programs designed to collect information about users or to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
- Impersonate any other person or entity or misrepresent an affiliation with another person or entity;
- Phish, spoof, or otherwise attempt to mislead another user as to the origin or destination of any communication occurring via the Service;
- Store, upload, distribute or otherwise make available any unsolicited promotional offers or unauthorized solicitations, such as spam and junk mail;
- Store, upload, distribute or otherwise make available any content that you do not have the right to distribute or otherwise make available (including any posting in violation of applicable copyright law or any proprietary or confidentiality agreement);
- View, store, upload, distribute child pornography or harm minors in any way;
- Store, upload, distribute or otherwise make available any content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, or ethnically objectionable;
- Violate (intentionally or unintentionally) or attempt to violate local, state, national or international law.
- Violate (intentionally or unintentionally) or attempt to violate the terms of service of any service you access with your Cocoon account.
The prohibitions listed above are intended to protect the integrity of the Service, to protect other users, to protect us, and to comply with applicable law. If you engage in any of these prohibited activities, we may suspend or terminate your access to and use of the Service with or without notice.
You are prohibited from using the Software and Service if you are a citizen, national, or resident of, or are under control of, the government of Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Libya, North Korea, Syria, or any other country to which the United States has prohibited export. You agree not to download or otherwise export or re-export the Software, directly or indirectly, to the above mentioned countries nor to citizens, nationals or residents of those countries.
You agree not to reverse engineer, disassemble or otherwise try to identify the source code of the Service and Software or to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade or resell the Service and Software or any portion of the Service and Software.
Ownership of Intellectual Property
The Service functions as a result of software that we have developed or licensed from third-parties. You acknowledge and agree that the Service and the software that enables the function of the Service (including the Cocoon toolbar add-on and the Cocoon website) contain our proprietary and or confidential information that is protected by intellectual property and other law. You further agree that, as between you and us, we retain all ownership and intellectual property rights in such software. Subject to the terms and conditions of this agreement and the Cocoon desktop software end-user license agreement, we grant you a personal, non-transferable and non-exclusive right to use the object code of the software that enables the function of the Service. You agree not to use the software except in connection with the use of the Service.
The Service may include different kinds of content that are provided by us or by third parties, including advertisements, trademarks, news articles, editorials and blogs. You agree that any content provided by us or by third parties is protected under applicable intellectual or other law.
Except as permitted under applicable law, you agree that you will not modify, reverse engineer, decompile, or create derivative works of the Service, the software that enables the function of the Service, or any content provided by us or by any third party via the Service unless you have express authority to do so from us (with regard to the Service, the software and our content) or the applicable third party (with regard to the third party content). You hereby assign any derivative works in the Service, the software or our content to us.
Disruption of Service
Access to our website and the Service may be delayed or unavailable from time to time for a variety of reasons, including hardware failures, connection failures, software failures (including viruses, bugs, configuration issues, firewall screens, etc), force majeure events (i.e., war, earthquake, natural catastrophes, etc), government or regulatory actions and similar events over which we have no control. We make no representations or warranties with respect to the availability of the Service.
Termination of Service
We may, under certain circumstances and without notice, terminate your account and your access to the Service. Such circumstances would include, without limitation:
- Your request that we terminate your account;
- Your breach of these terms and conditions
- A request from a governmental authority
- Unexpected technical or security difficulties
- An extended period of inactivity on your part
- Your engaging in fraudulent or unlawful activity
- Your failure to pay or renew your subscription fees if they apply.
Disclaimer of Warranty
THE SERVICE (INCLUDING THE TOOLBAR ADD-ON) IS PROVIDED AS IS. WE DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE CANNOT GUARANTEE AND DO NOT PROMISE ANY SPECIFIC RESULTS FROM USE OF THE WEBSITE AND/OR THE SERVICE. WE DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT SOFTWARE, CONTENT OR MATERIALS ON THE WEBSITE OR THE SERVICE ARE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, RELIABLE, CURRENT OR ERROR FREE. ANY SOFTWARE, CONTENT OR MATERIALS DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICE IS ACCESSED AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH SOFTWARE, CONTENT OR MATERIALS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM US OR FROM THE SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THESE TERMS OF SERVICE.
Limitation of Liability
IN NO EVENT WILL VIRTUAL WORLD COMPUTING OR ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR LOST DATA ARISING FROM YOUR INABILITY TO USE THE WEBSITE OR THE SERVICE OR FROM YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR THE SERVICE, OR ANY SOFTWARE, CONTENT OR OTHER MATERIALS ON, ACCESSED THROUGH OR DOWNLOADED VIA THE SERVICE, EVEN IF THE COMPANY IS AWARE OR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, OUR LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER, AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION, WILL AT ALL TIMES BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID, IF ANY, BY YOU TO US FOR THE SERVICE DURING THE TERM OF YOUR SUBSCRIPTION. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IF NO FEES ARE PAID TO US FOR THE SERVICE, YOU SHALL BE LIMITED TO INJUNCTIVE RELIEF ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE PERMITTED BY LAW, AND SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO DAMAGES OF ANY KIND FROM US, REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE OF ACTION.
SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS SET FORTH IN THE DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold Virtual World Computing, its subsidiaries and affiliates, and each of their directors, officers, agents, contractors, licensors, partners and employees, harmless from and against any loss, liability, claim, demand, damages, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees, arising out of or in connection with any content or other materials that you submit, post, share or otherwise make available on or through the Service, your use of the Service, your conduct in connection with the Service or with other users of the Service, or any violation of these terms and conditions or of any law or the rights of any third party.
Trademark and Copyright
Virtual World Computing and Cocoon, and other Company graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts and service names are registered trademarks or trade dress of Virtual World Computing in the U.S. and/or other countries. Our trademarks and trade dress may not be used, including as part of trademarks and/or as part of domain names, in connection with any product or service in any manner that is likely to cause confusion or to imply affiliation with or sponsorship of such product or service and may not be copied, imitated, or used, in whole or in part, without our prior written permission.
We may link to third party websites or reference the products, services, processes or other information of third parties, by using such third party's trade name, trademark, or trade dress. Our use of trade names, trademarks or trade dress of a third party does not constitute or imply that such third party endorses, sponsors, recommends or is affiliated with us, nor does it constitute or imply that we endorse, sponsor, recommend or are affiliated with such third party.
We respect the intellectual property rights of others and we prohibit users from uploading, posting or otherwise transmitting via the Service any materials that violate another party’s intellectual property rights. When we receive proper notification of alleged copyright infringement as described below, we remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material and terminate the accounts of repeat infringers. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, please provide our copyright agent the following information:
- An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest;
- A description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;
- A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the website;
- Your address, telephone number, and email address;
- A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
- A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner's behalf.
Our agent for notice of claims of copyright or other intellectual property infringement can be reached as follows:
Attn: Legal
5383 Hollister Avenue, Suite 150
Santa Barbara, CA 93111
Other Legal Terms and Conditions
These terms and conditions (together with the End User License Agreement for Cocoon desktop software and technologies) constitute the entire agreement between you and VWC and govern your use of the Service and supersede any prior agreements between you and VWC with respect to the Service.
These terms and conditions and your relationship with VWC shall be governed by the laws of California without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. You agree that all claims or disputes arising under these terms and conditions or in connection with the Service, which are not resolved within thirty (30) days following the delivery by one party to the other of a written notice describing the dispute, shall be resolved by binding arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association before a single arbitrator in Santa Barbara, California. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on the parties, and judgment thereon shall be entered in a court of competent jurisdiction. You acknowledge and agree that by consenting to this agreement, you are consenting to binding arbitration of all disputes hereunder, and that in arbitration, you shall not have a right to a jury trial, shall have limited discovery rights, and shall have very limited rights of appeal from the decision of the arbitrator. Any party seeking temporary or preliminary injunctive relief may do so in any state or federal court in California having jurisdiction thereof.
The failure of VWC to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these terms and conditions shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision; and any single waiver of a right or provision of these terms and conditions does not constitute an agreement to continue to wave such right or provision. If any provision of these terms and conditions is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, you and we agree, nevertheless, that the court should endeavor to give effect to the intention as reflected in the provision, and that the other provisions of these terms and conditions shall remain in full force and effect.
The section titles in these terms and conditions are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.
Updated August 8, 2018