UO Terms of Service
1. The Ultima Online License.
Ultima Online is an Internet-based online fantasy role-playing game service that allows you to play the "Ultima Online" computer game when you subscribe and pay a fee, or when you participate through an Internet Game Room (IGR) pursuant to the IGR's rules. As part of the Ultima Online service, Electronic Arts maintains a site on the World Wide Web with a URL address of "www.uo.com" (the "Web Site"). Throughout the remainder of this Agreement, the Ultima Online service (including the Web Site) will be referred to as the "Service", if you have purchased the Ultima Online game CD-ROM published by Electronic Arts Inc. it will be referred to as the "CD" and the software programs contained on the CD and provided to you through the Service will be referred to as the "Software". Electronic Arts grants to you a limited, non-exclusive license to use the CD, the Software and the Service subject to all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and the additional terms set forth in the documentation of the CD.
2. Agreements.
This Agreement, and the terms and conditions set forth in the documentation for the CD, comprise the entire agreement between Electronic Arts and you, regarding the Service, the CD and the Software.
2a. Electronic Arts' unilateral revision of this Agreement; Your responsibility to be aware of changes.
Electronic Arts may revise this Agreement at any time, and such revision shall be effective thirty (30) days after posting of the revised Agreement on the Web Site. You agree to review the Agreement on the Web Site periodically to become aware of such revisions. If any such revision is unacceptable to you, you may terminate your membership as provided in Section 9. Your continued use of the Service thirty (30) days after posting of a revised Agreement on the Web Site will mean that you accept all such revisions.
3. Account Information.
(a) Account, User ID. When you register for the Service, you will become a Member of the Service and an account will be created for you (your "Account"). The term "Member" in this Agreement refers to any person or entity, including you, that has registered for the Service, has entered into this Agreement with Electronic Arts and is authorized by Electronic Arts to use the Service. Upon your registration as a Member of the Service, you must choose a name to identify yourself to other Members and Service staff when you use the Service (your "User ID"). You may not select as your User ID the name of another person (unless it is also your name), or a name which violates any third party's trademark right, copyright, or other proprietary right, or which Electronic Arts deems in its discretion to be vulgar or otherwise offensive. Electronic Arts reserves the right to delete any vulgar or otherwise offensive User ID, or to require you to change your User ID name. You are entirely liable for all activities conducted through your Account and the User ID registered to your Account.
(b) Passwords. Upon your registration for the Service, you will select a password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and you are responsible for any harm resulting from (1) disclosing your password; (2) allowing another person to disclose your password, and (3) use by any person of your password to gain access to your Account and User ID. At no time should you respond to an online request for a password. Electronic Arts employees will never ask for your password online. You acknowledge that although the Service may offer a feature that allows you to "remember" your password and thereby bypass the password protection, this feature makes it possible for third parties to access your Account and User ID. Use of this password bypass feature will be at your own risk. It is strongly discouraged. Likewise, please DO NOT use your User ID as your Password.
(c) Former Members. Members whose Accounts have been terminated by Electronic Arts may not access the Service in any manner or for any reason without the express written permission of Electronic Arts. Active Members may not knowingly allow former Members whose Accounts have been terminated to use the active Members' Accounts or User IDs.
(d) Related Accounts. If an Account is terminated by Electronic Arts, Electronic Arts shall have the right to terminate any other Account that shares the Member name, phone number, email address, Internet Protocol address or credit card number with the terminated Account.
4. Charges for Service.
THIS SECTION DESCRIBES THE CHARGES FOR THE SERVICE. IF YOU SUBSCRIBE TO ULTIMA ONLINE THE FOLLOWING TERMS APPLY. IF YOU ARE PLAYING ULTIMA ONLINE THROUGH AN IGR, YOU MAY SKIP THIS SECTION 4.
(a) General Charges. Current fees for using the Service are published in the billing section of the Web Site. Electronic Arts may change its fees and billing methods at any time effective thirty (30) days after notice of the changes are posted on the Web Site. All changes will be posted on the Web Site and you are responsible for reviewing the billing section of the Web Site to obtain timely notice of such changes. If any such change is unacceptable to you, you may terminate your Membership as provided in Section 9. Your continued use of the Service thirty (30) days after posting of the changes on the Web Site will mean you accept such change. YOUR MEMBERSHIP FEES ARE PAYABLE IN ADVANCE AND ARE NOT REFUNDABLE IN WHOLE OR IN PART. For further information on billing see the Web Site. If your use of the Service is subject to use or sales tax then Electronic Arts may also charge you for any such taxes, which will be in addition to the rates and charges published in the billing section of the Web Site. YOU ARE FULLY LIABLE FOR ALL CHARGES UNDER YOUR ACCOUNT, INCLUDING ANY UNAUTHORIZED CHARGES.
(b) Payment by Credit Card. If you pay for the Service by credit card, you represent to Electronic Arts that you are the authorized user of the credit card used to pay Service charges. Each month you use the Service, you agree and reaffirm that Electronic Arts is authorized to charge your credit card. You agree to promptly notify Electronic Arts of any changes to your credit card account number, its expiration date and/or your billing address, and you agree to promptly notify Electronic Arts if your credit card expires or is canceled for any reason.
5. Rights and Responsibilities.
(a) Content. You acknowledge that: (i) the Software and the Service contain graphics, sound effects, music, animation-style video and text (collectively, "Content"), and (ii) Content may be provided under license by independent content providers, including text contributions from other Members. These independent content providers, including other Members, are referred to in this Agreement as "Content Providers".
(b) Electronic Arts is not Liable for Failure to Remove Content. You, and any user of your Account or User ID, must evaluate, and bear the risk associated with, the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any Content. Electronic Arts does not pre-screen Content as a matter of policy, but Electronic Arts has the right, but not the responsibility, to remove Content at any time which it deems to be harmful, offensive, or otherwise in violation of this Agreement.
(c) Rights. You acknowledge and agree that all characters created, and items acquired and developed as a result of game play are part of the Software and Service and are the sole property of Electronic Arts. You acknowledge that: (i) the Software and the Service permit access to Content that is protected by copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary rights owned by Electronic Arts or Content Providers (collectively, "Rights"), and (ii) these Rights are valid and protected in all media existing now or later developed, and (iii) except as is explicitly provided otherwise, your use of Content shall be governed by the copyright laws of the United States and other applicable laws. You agree that you may upload or otherwise transmit on or through the Service only Content that is not subject to any Rights, or Content in which any holder of Rights has given express authorization for distribution on the Service. By submitting Content to any area on the Service, you automatically grant (or you warrant that the owner of such Content has expressly granted) to Electronic Arts the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such Content worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed for the full term including any renewal term of any Rights that may exist in such Content.
(d) Official Service. Ultima Online has been designed by Electronic Arts for play only on the Service. The Software is licensed to you for play on the Service only. Electronic Arts does not grant you a license to use the Software for any other purpose. You agree to play Ultima Online only on the Service and not through any other means. You further agree not to create or provide any other means through which Ultima Online may be played by others - for example, through server emulators. You may not reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Software, including any proprietary communications protocol used by the Software. You acknowledge that you do not have the right to create, publish, distribute, create derivative works from or use any software programs, utilities, applications, emulators or tools derived from or created for Ultima Online unless specifically authorized in writing by Electronic Arts.
(e) Conduct and Communication. You, and anyone you authorize to use your Account and User ID on the Service, agree to follow the Rules of Conduct published by Electronic Arts. The Rules of Conduct may be found on the Web Site. The Rules of Conduct may change at Electronic Arts discretion, at any time. Electronic Arts reserves the right to terminate your Membership if it determines in its sole discretion that you have engaged in any impermissible conduct whether or not such conduct violates the Rules of Conduct. You acknowledge, however, that Electronic Arts does not pre-screen Content or communication over the Service.
(f) Privacy. You understand that you have no expectation of privacy regarding the communications you make on the Service, and that all communications made by or received from you may be monitored by Electronic Arts representatives. You hereby consent to the extraction of hardware system profile data and any data related to operation of the Software through the Service from any computer that logs on to the Service using your Account.
(g) Parental Guidance. Ultima Online has been given a "TEEN" rating by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (found at
www.esrb.com), which means that parents may find use by persons under the age of 13 is inappropriate. While Electronic Arts may choose to monitor and take action upon inappropriate gameplay, chat or links to the Service, it is possible that at any time there may be language or other material accessible on or through the Service that may be inappropriate for children or offensive to some users of any age. While Electronic Arts has established Rules of Conduct for players accessing the Service, Electronic Arts cannot ensure that other players will not provide Content or access to Content that parents or guardians may find inappropriate or that any user may find objectionable. Electronic Arts does not pre-screen the content of the materials or communications transmitted by each player.
6. Disclaimer of Warranty.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. THIS SECTION LIMITS Electronic Arts' RESPONSIBILITY TO YOU FOR THE SERVICE AND THE SOFTWARE. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY TO YOU REGARDING THE SERVICE OR SOFTWARE.
To the maximum extent allowed by law, Electronic Arts, its licensors and subcontractors do not warrant any connection to, transmission over, or results or use of, any network connection or facilities provided (or failed to be provided) through the Service. You are responsible for assessing your own computer and transmission network needs, and the results to be obtained therefrom. YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT USE OF THE SERVICE AND THE SOFTWARE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICE AND THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS," "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, UNLESS SUCH WARRANTIES ARE LEGALLY INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION. Electronic Arts, ITS PARENT COMPANY (ELECTRONIC ARTS INC.), SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES (collectively, the "Electronic Arts Parties") DISCLAIM ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, AND THOSE ARISING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE, REGARDING THE SERVICE, THE SOFTWARE, AND THE INTERNET. THE Electronic Arts PARTIES ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES SUFFERED BY YOU, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF DATA, ITEMS OR CHARACTERS FROM DELAYS, NONDELIVERIES, ERRORS, SYSTEM DOWN TIME, MISDELIVERIES OR SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS CAUSED BY THE Electronic Arts PARTIES, LICENSORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS, OR BY YOUR OR ANY OTHER MEMBER'S OWN ERRORS AND/OR OMISSIONS. The Electronic Arts Parties makes no warranty with respect to any related software or hardware used or provided by Electronic Arts in connection with the Service except as expressly set forth in the documentation of the CD.
7. Limitation of Liability.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. THIS SECTION LIMITS Electronic Arts' LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGE SUFFERED BY YOU.
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT Electronic Arts PARTIES SHALL NOT ASSUME OR HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY ACTION BY THE Electronic Arts PARTIES, OR ITS CONTENT PROVIDERS, OTHER MEMBERS OR OTHER LICENSORS WITH RESPECT TO CONDUCT, COMMUNICATION OR CONTENT ON THE SERVICE OR THE SOFTWARE. THE Electronic Arts PARTIES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE SERVICE. Electronic Arts PARTIES' ENTIRE LIABILITY TO YOU AND YOUR EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR ANY BREACH OF ANY IMPLIED OR EXPRESS WARRANTY, OR FOR BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT IS LIMITED SOLELY TO THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY YOU FOR THE CD AND THE FEES PAID BY YOU TO Electronic Arts FOR THE SERVICE. BECAUSE SOME STATES OR COUNTRIES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATES OR COUNTRIES Electronic Arts', ITS SUBSIDIARIES' AND AFFILIATES' LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
8. Indemnification.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. Electronic Arts MAY HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGE YOU CAUSE TO OTHERS BY USING OUR SERVICE IN VIOLATION OF THIS AGREEMENT.
At Electronic Arts' request, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless The Electronic Arts Parties and their licensees, distributors, Content Providers and other Members of the Service, from all liabilities, claims and expenses, including attorneys' fees, arising from any breach of this Agreement by you. The Electronic Arts Parties reserve the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you hereunder, and in such event, you shall have no further obligation to provide indemnification for such matter.
9. Termination.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. THIS SECTION EXPLAINS WHAT HAPPENS IF YOUR ACCOUNT IS TERMINATED.
Either you or Electronic Arts may terminate your Account at any time without further obligation to the other. Further, Electronic Arts reserves the rights to terminate the Service at any time without further obligation to you. IF THE SERVICE OR YOUR ACCOUNT IS TERMINATED OR CANCELED AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON, YOU AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING: (1) YOU WILL NOT BE ENTITLED TO ANY REFUND OR PRORATION OF ANY FEES OR UNUSED ACCESS TIME; (2) YOU WILL NOT HAVE ACCESS TO ANY CHARACTERS DEVELOPED OR ITEMS ACCUMULATED AND YOU WILL NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO TRANSFER, SELL OR ASSIGN ANY CHARACTERS OR ITEMS TO ANYONE ELSE; (3) YOU MAY NOT ACCESS THE SERVICE IN ANY MANNER OR FOR ANY REASON, INCLUDING VIA ANY OTHER ACCOUNT. IN THE EVENT THAT AN ACCOUNT IS TERMINATED, Electronic Arts MAY TERMINATE ANY AND ALL OTHER ACCOUNTS THAT SHARE THE MEMBER NAME, PHONE NUMBER, EMAIL ADDRESS, INTERNET PROTOCOL ADDRESS OR CREDIT CARD NUMBER WITH THE TERMINATED ACCOUNT.
10. Member Lists.
From time to time, and consistent with its privacy policy, Electronic Arts may make its Member list available to select companies that offer products and/or information that Electronic Arts believes might be of interest to its Members. If you do not want your name released to these companies, please contact Customer Service.
11. General Provisions.
You may not use, copy, modify, sublicense, rent, sell, assign or transfer the rights or obligations granted to you in this Agreement, except as expressly provided in this Agreement. Any assignment in violation of this Agreement is void, except that you may transfer your Account to another person provided that person accepts the terms of this Service Agreement. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable, and such decision shall not affect the enforceability of: (i) such provision under other circumstances, or (ii) the remaining provisions hereof under all circumstances. Electronic Arts' failure to enforce at any time any of the provisions of this Agreement shall in no way be construed to be a present or future waiver of such provisions, nor in any way affect the right of any party to enforce each and every such provision thereafter. The express waiver by Electronic Arts of any provision, condition or requirement of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of any future obligation to comply with such provision, condition or requirement. Notwithstanding anything else in this Agreement, no default, delay or failure to perform on the part of Electronic Arts shall be considered a breach of this Agreement if such default, delay or failure to perform is shown to be due to causes beyond the reasonable control of Electronic Arts.
12. Choice of Law.
This section provides that the Law of California, USA applies to this Agreement.
This Agreement is governed by and construed under California law as such law applies to agreements between California residents entered into and to be performed entirely within California. All notices given by you or required under this Agreement shall be in writing and addressed to EA at 209 Redwood Shores Pkwy, Redwood City, California 94065, or faxed to (650) 628-1360, Attn.: Ultima Online Account Administration, or emailed to
[email protected].
In order to set up your Account, you will be required to accept all of the above terms and conditions. If you do not accept this Agreement, follow the return instructions given to you online.
,RECALL
Richard Garriot is right UO IS a failed social expirement. 
