A note to our members: As a result of some productive feedback we received from the community, we recently made a few changes to our Terms of Use. We’re always looking for better ways to serve and protect our members and we plan to continue to develop our policies based on member input. Please familiarize yourself with the terms below. For a complete index of every change we made, click here. As always, we welcome your feedback here or to policies@couchsurfing.com. We apologize for any inconvenience, but our legal documents are only available in English.
Last updated: 06/03/2013
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY. BY CLICKING “SIGN UP” OR BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SERVICES, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF USE AND ALL TERMS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THESE TERMS, DO NOT ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICES.
These Terms of Use ( “Terms” ) apply to your access to and use of any website, mobile application or other online or mobile product or service (collectively, the “Services” ) of Couchsurfing International, Inc. ( “Couchsurfing,” “we” or “us” ). If you are using the Services on behalf of any entity, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to accept these Terms on such entity’s behalf and that such entity will be responsible for your violation of these Terms. Failure to use our Services in accordance with these Terms may result in, among other things, termination or suspension of your rights to use the Services and may subject you to legal action by Couchsurfing and/or severe civil and/or criminal penalties.
We reserve the right to make changes or modifications to these Terms, or any policy or guideline of our Services, at any time and in our sole discretion. Any changes or modifications will be effective immediately upon posting the revisions on our Services, and you waive any right you may have to receive specific notice of such changes or modifications. Your continued use of our Services following the posting of changes or modifications will constitute your acceptance of such changes or modifications. Accordingly, you should frequently review these Terms and applicable policies and guidelines to understand the terms and conditions that apply to your use of the Services.
Please refer to our Privacy Policy for information about how Couchsurfing collects, uses and discloses information about our members. In addition, by accessing or using our Services, you agree to adhere to the Community Guidelines.
Please Contact Us with any questions regarding these Terms. You can contact us by mail at PO Box 7775 ECM 86600, San Francisco, CA 94120 or by phone at +1.415.404.6611.
The Couchsurfing “Services” refer to both our website(s) and our mobile application(s), as well as any other products or services that we may create in the future. Please remember to read our Privacy Policy, which explains what information we collect about you and how we use and share that information.
You must be at least 18 years old to access or use the Services. By registering to use our Services, you represent that you are at least 18 years old.
In order to access certain areas and features of our Services, you will need to register for an account. You agree to (a) create a unique password that you do not use with any other online product or service; (b) provide accurate, truthful, current and complete information when creating an account; (c) maintain and promptly update your account information upon any changes; (d) maintain the security of your account by protecting your password and restricting access to your account; (e) promptly notify Couchsurfing if you discover or otherwise suspect any security breaches related to the Services; and (f) take responsibility for all activities that occur under your account and accept all risks of any authorized or unauthorized access.
Couchsurfing may offer the opportunity to purchase products and services from third parties. You acknowledge that such products and services are offered and sold to you by one or more third parties. For more information, please refer to the applicable third party’s terms of sale and privacy policy that are presented as part of the checkout process.
3.1 You Have Sole Responsibility When Interacting with Other Members. Our Services provide a platform for members to learn about one another, arrange stays and travel, engage in activities and communicate with one another. Couchsurfing is not a party to, has no involvement or interest in, makes no representations or warranties as to, and has no responsibility or liability with respect to any communications, transactions, interactions, disputes or any relations whatsoever between you and any other member, person or organization. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other members of our Services. We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to monitor interactions between you and other members of our Services.
Remember, the Couchsurfing Services are just a platform that enable you to communicate and interact with other people around the world. We cannot be responsible for the interactions that you have with other Couchsurfing members, so please use good judgment and keep safety in mind when you use our Services.
3.2 Identity Verification. We cannot and do not confirm each member’s identity. Although we provide tools intended to assist with identity verification, such as our address verification tool (as described in Section 3.3), you are solely responsible for determining the identity and suitability of others with whom you may interact through our Services. Couchsurfing does not represent or warrant that our tools are sufficient to determine whether it is appropriate for you to interact with another member. Further, we do not endorse any persons who use or register for our Services. We do not investigate or verify any member’s reputation, conduct, morality, criminal background, or any information members may submit to the Services (other than the address-verification tool as described in Section 4.3). We encourage you to take precautions when interacting with other members, particularly when meeting a stranger in person for the first time.
3.3 Our Address-Verification Tool. Our address verification tool is intended merely to confirm that the postal address a member submits to us is an address at which that member is able to access or receive mail. Couchsurfing’s address verification tool is not intended to confirm that a member actually resides at a particular address. While this is one of many ways to reduce the risk of misconduct by a member, it is not a guarantee of any member’s identity or good faith.
3.4 Member-Hosted Events; Couchsurfing Ambassadors. Members may organize in-person meetings and host events for other Couchsurfing members; however, these events are not sponsored or endorsed by Couchsurfing and members attend such meetings and events at their own risk. In addition, Couchsurfing members may sign up to become Couchsurfing Ambassadors (or members of a successor program) and contribute their time to activities that support the Couchsurfing community, such as meeting new members, organizing events and answering questions. Couchsurfing Ambassadors (or members of a successor program) are not agents of Couchsurfing and Couchsurfing is not responsible or liable for any acts or omissions of these members.
3.5 Release. Because our Services are merely a platform, in the event that you have a dispute with one or more members, you release us (and our officers, directors, members, employees, agents and affiliates) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code 1542, which says: “A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the debtor.”
The Services include interactive areas where you or other members can create, post or store content, messages, materials, data, information, text, music, sound, photos, videos, graphics or other items or materials on the Services (collectively, “Member Content” ). You are solely responsible for your use of such interactive areas and agree that your use of these areas is at your own risk.
4.1 Member Content Restrictions. You are solely responsible for any Member Content that you submit, post or transmit via our Services. You agree not to post, upload to, transmit, distribute, store, create or otherwise publish through the Services, Member Content that we believe, in our sole discretion:
(a) is unlawful, libelous, defamatory, harassing, threatening, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, or that would otherwise create liability or violate any local, state, national or international law;
(b) contains nudity, sexually explicit content or is otherwise obscene, pornographic, indecent, lewd, suggestive or sexually exploitative of minors;
(c) may disparage any ethnic, racial, sexual or religious group by stereotypical depiction or is otherwise abusive or inflammatory;
(d) depicts the use of illicit drugs;
(e) contains offensive language or images or is otherwise objectionable;
(f) incites violence or characterizes violence as acceptable, glamorous or desirable;
(g) contains unsolicited promotions, political campaigning, advertising or solicitations, without our prior written consent;
(h) contains private or personal information about another person, unless such person has agreed to the disclosure of this information;
(i) contains viruses, corrupted data or other harmful, disruptive or destructive file viruses, cancel bots, Trojan horses, harmful code, flood pings, denial-of-service attacks, packet or IP spoofing, forged routing or electronic mail address information or similar methods or technology;
(j) may infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual or proprietary right of any party. By posting Member Content, you represent and warrant that you have the lawful right to distribute and reproduce such Member Content; or
(k) would constitute, encourage or provide instructions for a criminal offense or violate the rights of any third party.
Couchsurfing is not responsible for any Member Content that you or other members post, transmit or store through the Services. We have no obligation to post Member Content from you or anyone else and we may, in our sole discretion, edit, remove or delete any Member Content without notice. If you become aware of Member Content that violates these Terms, you may report it by clicking on the “Report!” or its successor link located near such content. Enforcement of these Terms, however, is solely in our discretion and the absence of enforcement in some instances does not waive of our right to enforce the Terms in other instances. In addition, these Terms do not create a private right of action on the part of any third party or any reasonable expectation that the Services will not contain any content that is prohibited by such rules.
4.2 Member Conduct. By accessing or using the Services, you agree to act responsibly, exercise good judgment and comply with the Community Guidelines. In addition, you agree not to:
(a) use the Services in violation of any applicable law or regulation, including promoting or encouraging any illegal activity;
(b) infringe the rights of any third party, including without limitation, intellectual property, privacy, publicity or contractual rights;
(c) use the Services in any manner that could interfere with, disrupt, negatively affect or inhibit other members from fully enjoying the Services or that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the functioning of the Services in any manner;
(d) use our Services in connection with the distribution of spam (which we define as unsolicited bulk e-mail or any other unsolicited messages of a commercial, religious, romantic, political or other nature not within the intended purposes of the Services);
(e) stalk, intimidate, threaten or otherwise harass or cause discomfort to any other member of our Services;
(f) collect or store any information about any other member other than as permitted on our Services;
(g) use our Services for any commercial purpose whatsoever, unless with prior written consent from Couchsurfing;
(h) register for more than one member account;
(i) impersonate any person or entity, or falsify or otherwise misrepresent yourself or your affiliation with any person or entity, whether by providing or omitting to provide information;
(j) circumvent or attempt to defeat any security or verification measure relating to use of the Services;
(k) hold yourself out as an agent, representative, employee or affiliate of Couchsurfing, including but not limited to when you host an event for other Couchsurfing members or sign up to be a Couchsurfing Ambassador; or
(l) assist any third party in doing any of the foregoing.
4.3 Member Content License. You own all of the Member Content that you post to our Services. If you post Member Content to our Services, you hereby grant us a perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free and fully sublicensable license to use, reproduce, display, perform, adapt, modify, create derivative works from, distribute, have distributed and promote such Member Content in any form, in all media now known or hereinafter created (including in emails or other communications to our members) to administer, operate, develop and otherwise provide the Couchsurfing Services. You represent and warrant that (a) you own and control all of the rights to the Member Content that you post or you otherwise have the right to post such Member Content to the Services; (b) the Member Content is accurate and not misleading; and (c) the use and posting of the Member Content you supply does not violate these Terms and will not violate any rights of or cause injury to any person or entity.
You own the Member Content that you post to our Services. If Member Content contains information about you, our Privacy Policy will apply, and we encourage you to review this policy for information about how we can use and share such information.
Separate and apart from Member Content, we welcome questions, comments, suggestions and ideas about Couchsurfing and our Services ( “Submissions” ). If you provide a Submission, whether by email or otherwise, you agree that it is non-confidential (unless Couchsurfing states otherwise in writing) and shall become the sole property of Couchsurfing. Couchsurfing shall own exclusive rights, including all intellectual property rights, and shall be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of Submissions for any purpose, commercial or otherwise. You acknowledge that Couchsurfing is not obligated to provide acknowledgment or compensation to you in exchange for Submissions
Unless otherwise indicated, the Services and all content and other materials on the Services, including, without limitation, the Couchsurfing logo, and all designs, text, graphics, pictures, videos, information, data, software, sound files and other files, and the selection and arrangement thereof, (collectively, the “Couchsurfing Materials” ) are the proprietary property of Couchsurfing or our licensors or members and are protected by U.S. and international copyright laws.
You are granted a limited, non-exclusive and non-sublicensable license to access and use the Services and Couchsurfing Materials; however, such license is subject to these Terms and does not include: (a) any resale or commercial use of the Services or the Couchsurfing Materials; (b) the distribution, public performance or public display of any Couchsurfing Materials; (c) modifying or otherwise making any derivative uses of the Services and the Couchsurfing Materials, or any portion thereof, unless modification or derivative use is specifically provided for under separate terms; (d) use of any data mining, robots or similar data gathering or extraction methods; (e) downloading (other than the page caching) of any portion of the Services, the Couchsurfing Materials or any information contained therein, except as expressly permitted on the Services; or (f) any use of the Services or the Couchsurfing Materials other than for their intended purposes. Any use of the Services or the Couchsurfing Materials other than as specifically authorized herein, without the prior written permission of Couchsurfing, is strictly prohibited and will terminate the license granted herein. Such unauthorized use may also violate applicable laws, including without limitation copyright and trademark laws. Unless explicitly stated herein, nothing in these Terms shall be construed as conferring any license to intellectual property rights, whether by estoppel, implication or otherwise. This license is revocable at any time.
In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) and other applicable law, Couchsurfing has adopted a policy of terminating, in appropriate circumstances and in Couchsurfing’s sole discretion, members who are deemed to be repeat infringers. Couchsurfing may also, in our sole discretion, limit access to the Services and/or terminate the accounts of any members who we believe may infringe any intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement.
If you believe that anything on the Services infringes upon any copyright which you own or control, you may file a notification of such infringement with the Couchsurfing Copyright Agent as set forth below.
Please see 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3) for the requirements of a proper notification. You should note that if you knowingly misrepresent in your notification that the material or activity is infringing, you will be liable for any damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, incurred by us or the alleged infringer as the result of our relying upon such misrepresentation in removing or disabling access to the material or activity claimed to be infringing.
“Couchsurf,” “Couchsurfing,” the Couchsurfing logos and any other Couchsurfing service name or slogan contained on the Services are trademarks of Couchsurfing and may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of Couchsurfing or the applicable trademark holder. You may not use any metatags or any other “hidden text” utilizing “Couchsurfing” or any other name, trademark or product or service name of Couchsurfing without our prior written permission. In addition, the look and feel of the Services, including all page headers, custom graphics, button icons and scripts, are the service mark, trademark and/or trade dress of Couchsurfing and may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part, without our prior written permission. All other trademarks, registered trademarks, product names and names or logos mentioned in the Services are the property of their respective owners. Reference to any products, services, processes or other information, by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, supplier or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof by us. Any authorized use of these trademarks must be in accordance with guidelines that Couchsurfing may provide you from time to time, including the Couchsurfing Trademark Policy
Our logo and the terms “Couchsurfing” and “Couchsurfer”, as well as other terms and visual elements that you might see throughout the Couchsurfing Services, are protected trademarks. However, we do support members using these trademarks in appropriate ways, such as to make your own T-shirts or to create local Couchsurfing community social media pages. To learn more, including how to obtain written permission to use our marks, please read our Trademark Policy
You are granted a limited, non-exclusive right to create a text hyperlink to the Services, provided such link does not portray Couchsurfing or any of our services in a false, misleading, derogatory or otherwise defamatory manner and provided further that the linking site does not contain any adult or illegal material or any material that is offensive, harassing or otherwise objectionable. This limited right may be revoked at any time. You may not use a Couchsurfing logo or other proprietary graphic of Couchsurfing to link to the Services without the express written permission of Couchsurfing. Further, you may not use, frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any Couchsurfing trademark, logo or other proprietary information, including the images found on the Services, the content of any text or the layout/design of any page or form contained on a page of the Services without Couchsurfing’s express written consent. Except as noted above, you are not conveyed any right or license by implication, estoppel or otherwise in or under any patent, trademark, copyright or other proprietary right of Couchsurfing or any third party.
In using our Services, you may be exposed to content from other members or third parties ( “Third-Party Content” ), either on our Services or through links to third-party websites. We do not control, endorse or adopt any Third-Party Content and shall have no responsibility for Third-Party Content, including without limitation material that may be misleading, incomplete, erroneous, offensive, indecent or otherwise objectionable. You must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, Third-Party Content, including without limitation, profiles of other members of our Services.
We incorporate Google Maps into the Services as a convenience to you. By using this feature of the Services, you agree to be bound by Google’s Terms of Use.
We may, in our discretion and without liability to you, with or without cause (such cause may include your breach of these Terms), with or without prior notice and at any time: (a) terminate your access to our Services, (b) deactivate or delete your account and all related information and files in such account and/or (c) bar your access to any of such files or Services. In any of these instances, you are not permitted to register for another Couchsurfing account without our prior written permission.
In rare circumstances, when we feel it is necessary to protect the safety or the well being of the Couchsurfing community, we will remove a member’s account from our Services. We don’t take this decision lightly, but it is sometimes required.
We may, in our discretion and without liability to you, with or without prior notice and at any time, modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, any portion of our Services.
14.1. You hereby represent and warrant that you have the full power and authority to enter into and perform under these Terms. If you are using our Services on behalf of any entity, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to accept these Terms on such entity’s behalf.
14.2. You hereby represent and warrant that you will use our Services in a manner consistent with any and all applicable local, state, national and international laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, United States export-control laws.
14.3. If you are (a) located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any country to which the United States has embargoed goods or services, (b) identified as a “Specially Designated National”, or (c) placed on the Commerce Department’s Denied Persons List, you represent and warrant that you will not engage in financial transactions with, or commercial activities on, Couchsurfing (including making payments in connection with any identity verification tools provided by Couchsurfing). Without limiting the foregoing, you are solely responsible for determining whether you have complied with travel restrictions to and from certain countries, including travel to and from countries other than the U.S.
14.4. You hereby represent and warrant that you will not use the Services if the laws of your country prohibit you from doing so in accordance with these Terms (for example, if you are not allowed to provide the types of personal information that we require or if you are prohibited from participating in certain Internet activity). By using the Services, you represent and warrant that such use will not violate, or cause us to violate, the laws of your country.
15.1. IF YOU USE OUR SERVICES, YOU DO SO AT YOUR SOLE RISK. OUR SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM, AND YOU WAIVE, ALL OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT AS TO THE SERVICES, INCLUDING THE INFORMATION, CONTENT AND MATERIALS CONTAINED THEREIN.
15.2. WE DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT (A) OUR SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; (B) OUR SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE; (C) ANY INFORMATION THAT YOU MAY OBTAIN THROUGH OUR SERVICES WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE; (D) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH OUR SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS; (E) ANY INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE OR WE COLLECT WILL NOT BE DISCLOSED TO THIRD PARTIES; OR (F) ANY ERRORS IN ANY DATA OR SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED.
15.3. IF YOU ACCESS OR TRANSMIT ANY CONTENT THROUGH THE USE OF OUR SERVICES, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND YOUR SOLE RISK. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE ARISING OUT OF SUCH ACCESS OR TRANSMISSION; THEREFORE, YOU SHOULD USE INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED SOFTWARE TO DETECT AND DISINFECT VIRUSES FROM ANY DOWNLOAD.
15.4. NO DATA, INFORMATION OR ADVICE OBTAINED BY YOU IN ORAL OR WRITTEN FORM FROM US OR THROUGH OR FROM OUR SERVICES WILL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THESE TERMS.
16.1. IN NO EVENT SHALL COUCHSURFING, OR OUR DIRECTORS, MEMBERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF PROFITS OR LOSS OF DATA, WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO: (A) THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE OUR SERVICES; (B) THE COST OF REPLACEMENT OF ANY GOODS, SERVICES OR INFORMATION PURCHASED OR OBTAINED AS A RESULT OF ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM OR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH OR FROM OUR SERVICES; (C) DISCLOSURE OF, UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR CONTENT; (D) DAMAGES FOR LOSS OR CORRUPTION OF DATA OR PROGRAMS, SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS OR PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, EVEN IF WE KNOW OR HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES; (E) STATEMENTS, CONDUCT OR OMISSIONS OF ANY SERVICE PROVIDERS OR OTHER THIRD PARTY ON OUR SERVICES; (F) YOUR OR ANYONE ELSE’S CONDUCT OR ACTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THE SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, BODILY INJURY, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, DEATH OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES RESULTING FROM COMMUNICATIONS OR MEETINGS WITH OTHER REGISTERED MEMBERS OF OUR SERVICES OR PERSONS INTRODUCED TO YOU BY OUR SERVICES, WHETHER ON-LINE OR OFF-LINE; OR (G) ANY OTHER MATTER ARISING FROM, RELATING TO OR CONNECTED WITH OUR SERVICES OR THESE TERMS.
16.2. WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY FAILURE OR DELAY IN PERFORMING UNDER THESE TERMS, WHETHER OR NOT SUCH FAILURE OR DELAY IS DUE TO CAUSES BEYOND OUR REASONABLE CONTROL.
16.3. IN NO EVENT WILL OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY IN ANY MATTER ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO OUR SERVICES OR THESE TERMS EXCEED THE SUM OF ONE HUNDRED US DOLLARS ($100).
16.4. 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 LIMITATIONS OF SECTIONS 16 AND 17 MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
You shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless Couchsurfing (and each of our officers, directors, members, employees, agents and affiliates) from any claim, demand, action, damage, loss, cost or expense, including without limitation reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or relating to (a) your use of our Services; (b) any Member Content or Submissions you provide; (c) your violation of these Terms; (d) your violation of any rights of another; or (e) your conduct in connection with the Services. Further, if you are using the Services on behalf of any entity, you represent and warrant that such entity agrees to indemnify you and Couchsurfing for violations of these Terms in accordance with this Section. If you are obligated to indemnify us, we will have the right, in our sole and unfettered discretion, to control any action or proceeding and determine whether we wish to settle it, and if so, on what terms.
If you interact with anyone through our Services who you feel is acting or has acted inappropriately, including but not limited to offensive, violent or sexually inappropriate behavior, who steals from you or engages in any other disturbing conduct, we strongly encourage you to immediately report such person to the appropriate authorities and to us by contacting us using the Couchsurfing Help Center. Please note that although we encourage you to report misconduct, we are not responsible or liable for our members’ actions, and we are not obligated to take any action.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT REQUIRES YOU TO ARBITRATE DISPUTES WITH COUCHSURFING AND IT LIMITS THE MANNER IN WHICH YOU CAN SEEK RELIEF.
You and Couchsurfing agree to arbitrate any dispute arising from these Terms or relating to the Services, except that you and Couchsurfing are not required to arbitrate any dispute in which either party seeks equitable or other relief for the alleged unlawful use of copyrights, trademarks, trade names, logos, trade secrets or patents. ARBITRATION PREVENTS YOU FROM SUING IN COURT OR FROM HAVING A JURY TRIAL. You and Couchsurfing agree that you will notify each other of any dispute within thirty (30) days of when it arises, that you will attempt informal resolution prior to any demand for arbitration, that any arbitration will occur in San Francisco, California and that arbitration will be conducted confidentially by a single arbitrator in accordance with the Rules of the American Arbitration Association. You and Couchsurfing also agree that the state or federal courts in San Francisco County, California have exclusive jurisdiction over any appeals of an arbitration award and over any suit between the parties not subject to arbitration. Other than class procedures and remedies discussed below, the arbitrator has the authority to grant any remedy that would otherwise be available in court. WHETHER THE DISPUTE IS HEARD IN ARBITRATION OR IN COURT, YOU AND COUCHSURFING WILL NOT COMMENCE AGAINST THE OTHER A CLASS ACTION, CLASS ARBITRATION OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR PROCEEDING.
20.5 Assignment. You may not assign any of your rights or obligations under these Terms without prior written consent from Couchsurfing. Couchsurfing may assign any or all of its rights under these Terms, in whole or in part, without obtaining your consent or approval.
20.2 Entire Agreement. These Terms contain the entire agreement, and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, between the parties regarding their subject matter.
20.3 Waiver. Our failure or delay in exercising any right, power or privilege under these Terms shall not operate as a waiver thereof.
20.4 Severability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any of these Terms shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other of these Terms, all of which shall remain in full force and effect.
20.5 Assignment. You may not assign any of your rights or obligations under these Terms without prior written consent from Couchsurfing. Couchsurfing may assign any or all of its rights under these Terms, in whole or in part, without obtaining your consent or approval.
20.6 Headings. Headings of sections are for convenience only and shall not be used to limit or construe such sections.
20.7 Survival. Sections 3.5 (Release), 4 (Member Conduct and Content), 5 (Submissions), 9 (Trademarks), 11 (Third-Party Content), 14 (Member’s Representations and Warranties), 15 (Disclaimer of Warranties), 16 (Limits on Liability), 17 (Indemnity), 19 (Disputes), and this Section 20 (Miscellaneous) shall survive any termination or expiration of these Terms.