Welcome to StrausUSA.com. The goal of this web site is to provide access to the widest selection of products to the largest group of people possible. We have established our Terms of Use to spell out what you can expect from us and what we expect from you. By accessing any areas of StrausUSA.com, users ("Users") agree to be legally bound and to abide by the terms set forth below. StrausUSA.com is owned and operated by Financial Consolidated Services, Inc. a Texas Corporation ("FCS"). Any references herein to StrausUSA.com shall be deemed to refer to StrausUSA.com and/or FCS, as applicable under the circumstances.

I. TRADEMARKS
StrausUSA.comtm and SoftNeeds tm are all trademarks of FCS. All rights reserved. These and other StrausUSA.com graphics, logos and service marks and trademarks of FCS and its affiliates may not be used without prior written consent of FCS or its affiliates, as the case may be. All other trademarks, product names, and company names and logos appearing on StrausUSA.com are the property of their respective owners.

II. DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
User expressly agrees that use of StrausUSA.com is at User's sole risk. Neither FCS, nor its affiliates, nor any of their officers, directors, or employees, agents, third-party content providers, merchants, sponsors, licensors (collectively, "Providers"), or the like, warrant that StrausUSA.com will be uninterrupted or error-free; nor do they make any warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the use of StrausUSA.com, or as to the accuracy, reliability, or currency of any information content, service, or merchandise provided through StrausUSA.com.

THIS SITE IS PROVIDED BY STRAUSUSA.COM ON AN "AS IS"AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. STRAUSUSA.COM MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE OPERATION OF THE SITE, THE INFORMATION, CONTENT, MATERIALS OR PRODUCTS, INCLUDED ON THIS SITE. TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, STRAUSUSA.COM DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. STRAUSUSA.COM WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE USE OF THIS SITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL PUNITIVE AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. NO ORAL ADVICE OR WRITTEN INFORMATION GIVEN BY FCS NOR ITS AFFILIATES, NOR ANY OF THEIR OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, PROVIDERS, OR THE LIKE, SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY; NOR SHALL USER RELY ON ANY SUCH INFORMATION OR ADVICE.

Under no circumstances shall FCS or any other party involved in creating, producing, or distributing StrausUSA.com be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages that result from the use of or inability to use StrausUSA.com, including but not limited to reliance by a User on any information obtained from StrausUSA.com or that result from mistakes, omissions, interruptions, deletion of files or email, errors, defects, viruses, delays in operation or transmission, or any failure of performance, whether or not resulting from acts of God, communications failure, theft, destruction, or unauthorized access to StrausUSA.com's records, programs, or services. User hereby acknowledges that this paragraph shall apply to all content, merchandise, and services available through StrausUSA.com. Because some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, in such states liability is limited to the fullest extent permitted by law.

III. CONTENT
a. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS
User acknowledges that StrausUSA.com contains information, data, software, photographs, graphs, videos, typefaces, graphics, music, sounds, and other material (collectively "Content") that are protected by copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, or other proprietary rights, and that these rights are valid and protected in all forms, media and technologies existing now or hereinafter developed. All Content is copyrighted as a collective work under the U.S. copyright laws, and FCS owns a copyright in the selection, coordination, arrangement, and enhancement of such Content. User may not modify, remove, delete, augment, add to, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, create derivative works from, or in any way exploit any of the Content, in whole or in part. If no specific restrictions are displayed, Users may make copies of select portions of the Content, provided that the copies are made only for User's personal use and that User maintains any notices contained in the Content, such as all copyright notices, trademark legends, or other proprietary rights notices. Except as provided in the preceding sentence or as permitted by the fair use privilege under the U.S. copyright laws (see,e.g., 17 U.S.C. Section 107), User may not upload, post, reproduce, or distribute in any way Content protected by copyright, or other proprietary right, without obtaining permission of the owner of the copyright or other propriety right. In addition to the foregoing, use of any software Content shall be governed by the software license agreement accompanying such software.

b. DISTRIBUTION/UPLOADING OF THIRD-PARTY CONTENT
Except as set forth in Section III a. above, User may upload to or otherwise distribute on StrausUSA.com only Content that is not subject to any copyright or other proprietary rights protection (collectively, "Public Content"), or Content in which the author has given express authorization for distribution on the World Wide Web. Any copyrighted or other proprietary Content distributed with the consent of a copyright owner should contain a phrase such as "Copyright, owned by [name of owner]; used by permission." The unauthorized submission or distribution of copyrighted or other proprietary Content is illegal and could subject the User to criminal prosecution as well as personal liability for damages in a civil suit. User will be liable for any damage resulting from any infringement of copyrights or proprietary rights, or from any other harm arising from such submission. Neither FCS, nor its affiliates, nor any of their officers, directors, employees, agents, Providers, or the like, will be liable for any damage resulting from any infringement of copyrights or proprietary rights, or from any other harm arising from such User submission. In compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Users and other persons can report infringement to corrections@StrausUSA.com. By submitting Content to any User-submit areas, including, without limitation, any User book reviews or participation in any author chats, User automatically grants, or warrants that the owner of such Content has expressly granted FCS the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive right and license to use, reproduce, publish, translate, sublicense, copy, and distribute the Content in whole or in part worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or hereafter developed for the full term of any copyright that may exist in such Content. User also permits any other User to access, store, or reproduce the Content for that User's personal use. Subject to this grant, the owner of Content placed on StrausUSA.com retains any and all rights that may exist in such Content.

c. THIRD-PARTY CONTENT
To the extent that StrausUSA.com is a distributor and not a publisher of Content supplied by third parties and Users, StrausUSA.com has no more editorial control over such Content than does a public library or newsstand. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information that constitutes part of Content expressed or made available by third parties, including Providers or any other User of StrausUSA.com, are those of the respective authors or distributors and not of FCS or its affiliates or any of their officers, directors, employees, or agents. Neither FCS nor its affiliates, nor any of their officers, directors, employees, or agents, nor any third party, including any Provider, or any other User of StrausUSA.com, guarantees the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any Content, nor its merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. In many instances, the Content available through StrausUSA.com represents the opinions and judgments of the respective Provider, or User not under contract with FCS. StrausUSA.com neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice, or statement made on StrausUSA.com by anyone other than authorized FCS employees. Under no circumstances shall FCS, or its affiliates, or any of their officers, directors, employees, or agents be liable for any loss, damage or harm caused by a User's reliance on information obtained through StrausUSA.com. It is the responsibility of User to evaluate the information, opinion, advice, or other Content available through StrausUSA.com.

d. EXPORT
The U.S. export control laws regulate the export and reexport of technology originating in the United States. This includes the electronic transmission of information and software to foreign countries and to certain foreign nationals. User agrees to abide by these laws and their regulations -- including but not limited to the Export Administration Act and the Arms Export Control Act and not to transfer, by electronic transmission or otherwise, any Content derived from StrausUSA.com to either a foreign national or a foreign destination in violation of such laws.

IV. ONLINE CONDUCT
User agrees to use StrausUSA.com only for lawful purposes. User is prohibited from posting on or transmitting through StrausUSA.com any unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, sexually explicit, profane, hateful, racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable material of any kind, including but not limited to any material that encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national, or international law.

If StrausUSA.com is notified of allegedly infringing, defamatory, damaging, illegal, or offensive Content provided by User (e.g., through an author chat or online review), StrausUSA.com may investigate the allegation and determine in its sole discretion whether to remove or request the removal of such Content from StrausUSA.com. StrausUSA.com may disclose any Content or electronic communication of any kind (i) to satisfy any law, regulation, or government request; (ii) if such disclosure is necessary or appropriate to operate StrausUSA.com; or (iii) to protect the rights or property of StrausUSA.com, its Users or Providers.

FSC reserves the right to prohibit conduct, communication, or Content that it deems in its sole discretion to be harmful to individual Users, StrausUSA.com, the communities that make up StrausUSA.com, or any rights of StrausUSA.com or any third party, or to violate any applicable law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, FSC, StrausUSA.com and its Providers can not ensure prompt removal of questionable Content after online posting. Accordingly, neither FCS, nor its affiliates, nor any of their officers, directors, employees, or agents, nor Providers shall assume liability for any action or inaction with respect to conduct, communication, or Content on StrausUSA.com.

V. PRIVACY POLICY
In accordance with the terms of StrausUSA.com's Privacy Policy, http://www.StrausUSA.com/privacy.htm, StrausUSA.com respects the privacy of its Users.

VI. TERMINATION OF USAGE
StrausUSA.com may terminate User's access, or suspend any User's access to all or part of StrausUSA.com, without notice, for any conduct that StrausUSA.com, in its sole discretion, believes is in violation of any applicable law or is harmful to the interests of another User, a third-party Provider, a service provider, or StrausUSA.com.

VII. USAGE BY CHILDREN UNDER 13
StrausUSA.com cannot prohibit minors from visiting this site. StrausUSA.com must rely on parents, guardians and those responsible for supervising children under 18 to decide which materials are appropriate for such children to view and/or purchase.

StrausUSA.com requires that all purchases be made either (i) by individuals 18 years of age or older, or (ii) by minors under 18 through a StrausUSA.com authorized affiliated program which permits parents and other guardians to both pay for the purchases of minors, and give verifiable permission for such minors to purchase items on our site and for the collection by us of certain information in accordance with the terms of our privacy policy. EACH TIME YOU PURCHASE A PRODUCT AT STRAUSUSA.COM, YOU ARE REPRESENTING TO STRAUSUSA.COM THAT YOU ARE EITHER (I) AN INDIVIDUAL 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, OR (II) A MINOR UNDER 18 WHO IS PURCHASING THROUGH A STRAUSUSA.COM AUTHORIZED AFFILIATED PROGRAM WHICH PERMITS PARENTS AND OTHER GUARDIANS TO BOTH PAY FOR THE PURCHASES OF MINORS, AND GIVE VERIFIABLE PERMISSION FOR SUCH MINORS TO PURCHASE ITEMS ON OUR SITE AND FOR THE COLLECTION BY US OF CERTAIN INFORMATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS OF OUR PRIVACY POLICY.

VIII. APPLICABLE LAW
This site is created and controlled by FCS in the State of Texas. As such, the laws of the State of Texas will govern these disclaimers, terms and conditions, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of laws. FCS reserves the right to make changes to its site and these disclaimers, terms and conditions at any time. User hereby irrevocably and unconditionally consents to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the State of Texas and of the United States of America located in the State of Texas for any litigation arising out of or relating to use of or purchase made through StrausUSA.com (and agrees not to commence any litigation relating thereto except in such courts), waives any objection to the laying of venue of any such litigation in the Texas Courts and agrees not to plead or claim in any Texas Court that such litigation brought therein has been brought in an inconvenient forum.

IX. SEVERABILITY
The provisions of these Terms of Use are intended to be severable. If for any reason any provision of these Terms of Use shall be held invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part in any jurisdiction, such provision shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability without in any manner affecting the validity or enforceability thereof in any other jurisdiction or the remaining provisions hereof in any jurisdiction.

X. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The Terms of Use, including all documents referenced herein, represents the entire understanding between you and StrausUSA.com regarding your relationship with StrausUSA.com and supersedes any prior statements or representations. YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF USE by using the StrausUSA.com web site. The aforementioned Terms of Use are subject to change with respect to future use or purchases.