SMEI Terms & Conditions and Writer’s Agreement
As part of your Executive Membership, you agree to SMEI’s Terms & Conditions and Writer’s Agreement.
SMEI EXECUTIVE MEMBERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. Grant of Rights/License: You grant Sales & Marketing Executives International, Inc. (“SMEI”) the following rights/license to any and all content which you publish, post, submit or otherwise provide for consideration for publication on any websites, blogs or other digital or mobile media platforms dedicated to the SMEI professional membership organization of which you were or are a member (collectively the “Work”):
a) Worldwide rights to publish in any or all editions/versions of the Publications (defined as SMEI.org, SMEI Blog, and other SMEI branded/affiliated media) including domestic and foreign, whether in the English language or translated into a foreign language, including any successor, similar or replacement versions thereof;
b) The right to use the Work as it appears in the Publications in advertising and promoting SMEI, its publications and/or its products as well as the right to excerpt and create teasers and summaries of the Work;
c) Non-exclusive rights to republish, store, syndicate, distribute and/or sell reprints of all or any portion of the Work in any language and in any country;
d) The right to use your name and likeness in a fair and dignified manner and to publish information about you in connection with the advertising and promotion of the Publications;
e) All rights granted by this agreement are granted in perpetuity and applicable in all media including, but not limited to, all electronic media, internet, wireless or mobile platforms whether now known or hereafter created.
2. Copyright/Coverage: Except for the rights granted us hereunder, you retain all rights, including copyright, in the Work. We intend that this agreement shall cover Works published in any of the Publications after the date of this agreement.
3. Representations and Warranties; Indemnification; Conflict of Interest:
a) You represent and warrant that you will be the sole author of the Work; that the Work will be original and not previously published in any form; that the Work will not knowingly contain any untrue statements or material that is deceptive, fraudulent or intentionally misleading, that it will not knowingly invade any right of privacy or infringe upon any statutory or common law copyright or otherwise violate the rights of any third party or any applicable law or regulation and that all statements in the Work which are asserted as facts are true and are based upon reasonable research for accuracy. You agree to cooperate in the defense of any legal action brought against SMEI arising from the publication of your Work and you agree to retain all notes, drafts and copies relating to the Work for three (3) years from acceptance.
b) You agree and represent that you will disclose to SMEI in writing any actual or potential conflict of interest, including but not limited to any financial interest in any product, firm, or commercial venture relating to the subject of the Work.
c) You agree and represent that You will not use your association with SMEI to advertise or otherwise promote or identify yourself in any speaking engagements or public appearances without the prior written consent of SMEI. In addition, You will not use your association with SMEI to solicit or accept free or discounted gifts or services.
d) You agree and represent that you will clear, at your expense, the rights set forth in Section 2 for any third party content you include in the Work. If you do not, you shall not include such content in the Work.
e) You shall indemnify SMEI and hold SMEI harmless against any liability, cost or expense including reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred as a result of any breach of your representations or warranties.
f) You acknowledge and agree that SMEI will edit and review your Work in its discretion.
5. Liability of Content Contributors: SMEI, in its sole discretion, may publish, withdraw, postpone or alter any content you provide. You understand that you are responsible for any legal claims arising from the work you provide and that SMEI intends to treat such Work as covered by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act’s safe harbor.
6. Contributor Guidelines/Conditions: You agree to abide by the terms of the Contributor Guidelines provided herein below as amended from time to time, which are incorporated herein by this reference. You also agree to periodically check the guidelines for any amendments.
Note: Your failure to follow the Guidelines/Conditions, particularly those pertaining to copyright infringement, will result in termination of this agreement.
7. Relationship of the Parties: Nothing herein shall be construed to create an employer-employee relationship between SMEI and You. You are an independent contractor and not an employee or agent of SMEI or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. You have the right to control the means, manner and method by which you create the Work and you assume responsibility for the quality, scope and accuracy of the Work.
8. Term and Termination: This agreement shall remain in effect until terminated by either party upon written notice. All provisions that, by their nature should survive termination, shall survive, including any grant of rights/license.
9. Modification/Assignment: This agreement contains our entire understanding and may not be modified, waived, assigned or discharged orally. Any modifications, waiver, assignment or discharge must be in writing and signed by you and by us.
10. Governing Law/Jurisdiction/Severability/Superseding Agreement: This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of the Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision.
SMEI BLOGGING GUIDELINES
We trust that you will use your best judgment when publishing your content. These guidelines are designed to help you understand our readers’ expectations and suggest ways that will help you build your audience. More in-depth guidelines on topics, focus, word count, etc. are available here.
Game Plan: Blogging works best if you follow a game plan. Figure out what topics you’re covering, explain your focus to your readers, and then stick with your strategy.
Headlines: Please write your headlines in Title Case.
Attribution/Links: Readers like to check out your original sources themselves. When you comment on a news article or blog post published elsewhere, you should credit the source and provide a link to that source.
Images: Images work best when they are a JPEG of less than 100 kb. Images look best if they are less than 400 px (if horizontal) or 200 x 300 px (if vertical).
Conflicts of Interest: Our readers expect you will disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest concerning topics covered in your blog. (You may also be legally required to make these disclosures). This includes any financial interest in any product, firm, or commercial venture relating to your post’s subject. You should not use your association with SMEI to solicit or accept free or discounted goods or services.
Copyright: You are responsible for obtaining the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions for SMEI to use all content contained in your posts including any photographs, images, and/or audio or visual material contained in them.
Problematic Content: Controversial posts can be very successful, especially when they are thoroughly researched and explained well. However, some controversial posts are likely to offend or alienate your readers and, in serious cases, could expose you to potential legal liability. Posts/topics you will want to avoid:
• images or videos that contain nudity or sexual activity.
• “hate speech,” i.e., content that promotes hate or violence towards groups based on race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, or sexual orientation/gender identity.
• threats of violence directed at specific people; encouraging readers to engage in violent activity.
• content that is unnecessarily shocking or graphic (ex: close-up images of gunshot wounds or accident scenes).
• confidential information that has not been published elsewhere (online or offline) (ex: someone else’s credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, unlisted phone numbers, and driver’s license numbers).
• impersonations of other people or organizations. Well-executed parodies or satires can work, but only when readers aren’t misled about your true identity.
• posts that encourage readers to engage in dangerous or illegal activities.
• posts designed just to drive traffic to your site or to move your site up in search listings.
• links to sites where your readers can obtain unauthorized downloads of other people’s copyrighted works.
• posts that expose readers to viruses, pop-ups, unwanted software installations or malicious code.