HORIBA Group Terms of Use for Social Media

On HORIBA Group Social Media Registered Accounts, we aim to share product information and company information from HORIBA, Ltd. and its group companies (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “HORIBA Group”) and provide opportunities for communication with stakeholders (hereinafter referred to as the “Service”). In order to further improve communication with stakeholders, we have formulated the terms of use below (hereinafter referred to as “Terms of Use”). In the event that you will use the Service, please do so after agreeing to these Terms of Use.

The HORIBA Group Social Media Registered Accounts that the HORIBA Group currently operates can be seen through the link below.

• List of HORIBA Group Social Media Registered Accounts

Article 1: Scope of application and changes of these Terms of Use

1. These terms shall be applied to the HORIBA Group and users (defined in Article 3) in relation to the provision of the Service and its use.
2. The HORIBA Group may change these terms without users’ prior consent or advance notification to users. Terms that have been changed shall go into effect at the time they are displayed on the HORIBA website.

Article 2: Use of the Service

1. Users shall use the Service according to these terms.
2. The Service will be established for the purposes of transmitting the HORIBA Group’s information and communicating with users.

Article 3: Users

“User” refers to a person who used the Service (use will include actions of viewing it). In addition, in the event that the Service was used, it shall be deemed that the user agreed to these terms.

Article 4: Prohibited actions

1. For the Service, actions that fall under any one of the items below are prohibited.
   1. Actions that hinder operation of the Service, and other actions that are likely to interfere with the Service
   2. Actions that cause inconvenience, disadvantages, or damages to other users, third parties, or the HORIBA Group, or actions that are likely to do so
   3. Actions that infringe the trademark rights, copyrights, privacy, or other rights of other users, third parties, or the HORIBA Group, or actions that are likely to do so
   4. Actions that are prohibited by a business operator that provides social media
   5. Actions that go against the purpose of the Service
   6. Actions for the purpose of commercial gain
   7. Other actions that the HORIBA Group judges as inappropriate
2. For the Service, posts and comments that fall under any one of the items below are prohibited. Posts and comments that fall under those items may be deleted or edited without advance notice. The subject user’s account may also be blocked. In such a case, HORIBA Group will not notify the user.
   1. Information that may specify, disclose, or leak personal information that should be protected, such as stating a user’s name without his or her consent
   2. Confidential Information belonging to the HORIBA Group or to its clients and or suppliers
   3. Content that will damage the honor, privacy, or reputation of a specific individual or group, or libelous content
   4. Content that has received an order for deletion from the courts, a public office or public agency, based on legal grounds
   5. Matters that infringe the rights (portrait rights, copyrights, trademark rights, etc.) of a third party
   6. Matters related to political or religious publicity, advertisement, or solicitation, etc.
   7. Content, that violates public order,  morals or any types of laws or ordinances, such as obscene expressions
   8. Other matters that the HORIBA Group judges to be inappropriate
3. Committing  a prohibited action stated in Article 4.2 is not only a simple violation of etiquette, but could  also be a violation of the law, with criminal and civil liability consequences.
4. In the event that any kind of damage has occurred due to a user’s action, the HORIBA Group may claim compensation for such damage from that user.
5. In the event that a user has caused damage to another user or a third party through the use of the Service, that user shall resolve that matter at his or her own liability and expense, and the HORIBA Group will not bear any liability whatsoever.

Article 5: Intellectual property rights

1. Copyrights and all other intellectual property rights (including but not limited to copyrights, design rights, patent rights, utility model rights, trademark rights, and knowhow) for information that is indicated in the Service shall be attributed to the HORIBA Group or the right holder such as the copyright holder.
2. Users shall not, without obtaining the consent of the right holder, use any information that was provided through the Service in an aspect that infringes copyrights, beyond the scope of making a personal copy for the individual user. In addition, use for the purpose of profit is completely prohibited.
3. In the event that the provisions of this article have been violated and a problem has arisen with a right holder, another user, or a third party, the user shall resolve that problem at his or her own liability and expense, and the HORIBA Group will not bear any liability whatsoever.

Article 6: Handling of posted content

1. In the event that a comment or other information transmitted by a user falls under any one of the items of Article 4.1 or 4.2, the HORIBA Group may, on its own judgment, delete that comment or information without notifying the user.
2. Posts and comments on the Service shall be deemed public information. In addition, the HORIBA Group may save, record, copy, or edit them and post, show, or disclose them free of charge on each form of media.
3. HORIBA Group may reply to posts and comments from users at its sole discretion.

Article 7: Changes and discontinuation of the Service

1. All or a portion of the content posted on the Service may be changed without notifying users in advance. The HORIBA Group does not guarantee that the Service is fully updated.
2. The Service may discontinue provision of a portion of or all functions, based on the HORIBA Group’s circumstances. Even in the event that a user incurred damage due to such discontinuation, the HORIBA Group will not bear any liability whatsoever.

Article 8: Disclaimer

1. The Service does not provide any guarantees whatsoever concerning the accuracy or appropriateness of the various types of provided information that have been posted or shared by users. In addition, the HORIBA Group will not bear any liability in relation to any damages or problems incurred by users in relation to the various types of provided information displayed on the Service or changes or updates of displays of various types of provided information.
2. The HORIBA Group will not bear any liability for any damage or problems (including but not limited to damage due to the loss of business profits, interruption of work, or loss of business information) that arise for users due to being unable to use the Service.
3. The HORIBA Group will not bear liability related to the damage, loss, or disadvantages that arise in relation to use of the Service, in any case, irrespective of the legal cause of the claim.
4. The user shall personally bear the expenses related to installation of computer equipment and communication equipment that are necessary in order to use the Service and telephone charges and charges for application and use of the LAN that are necessary in order to use the Service.

Article 9: Personal information protection policy

The HORIBA Group believes that appropriately protecting personal information is the basis for business activities and that it is a social responsibility. In order to carry out that responsibility, we will strive to protect personal information according to the policy below.

• HORIBA Group’s Privacy Policy
  (Japanese) http://www.horiba.com/jp/privacy-policy/
  (English) http://www.horiba.com/privacy-policy/

Article 10: Governing laws and court jurisdiction

Unless there are other stipulations, matters related to the use of HORIBA Social Media Registered Accounts  and interpretation and application of these conditions of use shall comply with the laws of Japan. In the event that a problem that cannot be resolved under these terms has arisen in relation to use of the Service, both the HORIBA Group and the user shall sincerely discuss and resolve it. In the event that a problem has arisen and, even though sincere discussions were conducted, the problem was not resolved and the necessity of a lawsuit related to use of the Service has arisen, the Kyoto District Court shall be the court of exclusive jurisdiction in the first instance.