Terms and Conditions

My PC Optimum Voice Terms & Conditions

Welcome and thank you for your interest in the My PC Optimum Voice Panel (hereinafter “My PC Optimum Voice” or “Panel”) provided to you by Loblaw Companies Inc. (“Loblaw” also referred to as “we”, “us” or “our”). My PC Optimum Voice allows active PC Optimum members to share their honest thoughts and opinions about our products, brands, retail banners and services with us, and allows us to reward our most engaged customers with additional offers, rewards and incentives.

1. Acceptance of Terms and Conditions

Use of the My PC Optimum Voice Panel website (“Panel Site”) indicates you accept these Terms and Conditions. If you do not accept these Terms and Conditions, do not use the Panel Site. Loblaw reserves the right to modify the Terms and Conditions at any time and may update them without notice to you. Terms and Conditions are considered effective upon posting of the modified guidelines on the Panel Site.

My PC Optimum Voice is an interactive website where registered Panel members can answer questions and provide thoughts, opinions and/or information for research purposes. All content is owned and controlled by Loblaw and/or its affiliates and/or agents. You understand and agree that joining My PC Optimum Voice may include certain communications from Loblaw, such as administrative messages, and that these communications are considered part of the My PC Optimum Voice panel membership and you will not be able to opt out of receiving them without ceasing to be a member of My PC Optimum Voice. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any new features that augment or enhance the current Panel, including the release of new features, shall be subject to these Terms and Conditions. You are responsible for obtaining access to My PC Optimum Voice and that access may involve third party fees (such as Internet service provider or airtime charges). In addition, you must provide and are responsible for all equipment necessary to access My PC Optimum Voice.

Please read these Terms & Conditions in their entirety. We advise you to pay particular attentions to the highlights below:

  • You agree to keep your user name and password information confidential.
  • You understand that you are responsible for the content and your profile information.
  • Certain categories of information such as your user name and pre-selected avatar are available to other registered users and Loblaw, and therefore will not be kept confidential.
  • You agree not to post any content that is illegal, threatening, obscene, or invasive of another's privacy or otherwise inappropriate.
  • You agree to respect others’ opinions that may be posted during Panel discussions, and will not hold Loblaw responsible for other Panel members’ comments that you may find offensive.
  • You acknowledge that Loblaw shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to refuse or remove any content that is posted via the Panel.
  • You agree to keep all information related to our surveys, new product ideas and product-related information confidential.
  • You agree not to copy, sell, trade, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of the Panel.
  • You understand that any material downloaded (such as video) is done at your own discretion and risk and that you will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data that results from the download of such material.
  • You understand that cookies and Java Script/Java must be enabled on your computer in order to access and participate in the Interactive Panel.
  • By agreeing to join My PC Optimum Voice, you consent to Loblaw’ use of any information you provide, personal or non-personal, for the purpose of conducting marketing and social research.

2. Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in My PC Optimum Voice you must: (i) be a registered member of the PC Optimum program; (ii) be a legal resident of Canada; and (iii) must be age of majority or older.

3. Registration Information & Privacy Policy

When you register for My PC Optimum Voice, you will be required to create a member profile by providing your name, the e-mail address associated with your PC Optimum account, mailing address, and other information about yourself for us to conduct marketing and social research (“Account”). Any information you provide or that is gathered by us during any visit to the Panel site shall be subject to the terms of the Loblaw Companies Inc. Privacy Policy (the "Privacy Policy") available at http://www.loblaw.ca/en/privacy.html. This Privacy Policy may be amended from time to time. We collect, use, and share your personal information, including with organizations outside of Loblaw, in accordance with the Privacy Policy to help us administer the My PC Optimum Voice Panel Site and your profile.

We will also share information about your Account with affiliates of Loblaw, as well as other organizations outside of Loblaw, so that we or another affiliate of Loblaw may communicate with you about surveys, promotions, contests, events, other programs, products or services that might be of interest to you by any contact method that you have provided to us. To withdraw your consent to receive such communications, sign-in to your Account online at https://mypcoptimumvoice.ca and change your communication preferences, which will also cease your membership with the Panel.

You will choose a username and password upon completing the My PC Optimum Voice registration process. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the username and password, and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your username and password. You agree to (a) immediately notify Loblaw of any unauthorized use of your username and password or any other breach of security, and (b) ensure that you log-out at the end of each My PC Optimum Voice session. Loblaw cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this.

At any time after the completion of the registration process you have the opportunity to select an avatar of your choice from the selection of avatars provided. You can visit your profile at any time to add/remove/change your profile avatar as well as change your user name, password and email address. To change your profile information on the Panel Site: click on Account Settings, update your profile and save the updates you made by clicking on “Save”. You are fully responsible for the content posted as part of your profile.

We reserve the right to refuse to allow you to join the Panel for any reason in our sole and absolute discretion, including for not meeting the eligibility requirements.

4. User Profile Information

We may refuse to grant you, and you may not use, a screen name or email address that is already being used by someone else, that impersonates another person, that belongs to another person (without that person's prior consent), that violates the intellectual property or other rights of any person, that is vulgar or otherwise offensive, or that we reject for any other reason, at our sole discretion. In consideration of your use of My PC Optimum Voice, you agree that all information provided in your profile is accurate, true, current, and complete. Loblaw may terminate your account if any of the information provided is found to be inaccurate, false, out of date, or incomplete.

5. Content of Messages

You understand that all opinions, information, data, text, messages or any other materials ("Content"), that are publicly posted or otherwise provided to Loblaw through My PC Optimum Voice, are the sole responsibility of the person from which such Content originated and do not necessarily reflect the views of Loblaw.

You understand that by using My PC Optimum Voice, you may be exposed to Content that is opinionated, offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will Loblaw be liable in any way for any Content, including, but not limited to, for any errors or omissions in any Content, or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via My PC Optimum Voice.

You may NOT use your registration membership or allow anyone else to use your registration membership to post, email, transmit or otherwise make available:

1.   Content that is abusive, vulgar, obscene, hateful, fraudulent, or that discloses private or personal matters concerning any person. This includes language, information, or images. Masked vulgarity, obscenity or profanity (e.g. “f*ck”) is deemed to be equivalent to including the actual objectionable word, phrase or symbol in your post, message or otherwise in My PC Optimum Voice.
 
2.   Content that is threatening, harassing, libelous, defamatory or abusive, either between Panel members or directed towards a Panel moderator, Panel manager or other employee.
 
3.   "Rants," "slams," or threats of any nature against Loblaw or another company or competitor.
 
4.   Bigoted, racially, or ethnically offensive comments.
 
5.   Political or religious statements or commentary (unless within the scope of the topic area of a message board as determined by Loblaw at its sole discretion).
 
6.   Sexually oriented content (unless within the scope of the topic area of a message board as determined by Loblaw at its sole discretion).
 
7.   Off-topic comments not related to enterprise communities or the Loblaw platform.
 
8.   Any material that you don't have the right to transmit under law (such as copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, securities or other proprietary rights of any party) or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as nondisclosure agreements).
 
9.   Language that promotes illegal activity or discusses illegal activities with the intent to commit them. This includes any message that solicits or promotes the use of an illegal substance.
 
10. Unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, or other forms of solicitation including chain letters, pyramid schemes, class action suits, charitable appeals, "junk mail", or "spam". This includes advertising links in signatures.
 
11. Any file or link to a file that contains viruses, corrupted files, "Trojan Horses," or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment
 
12. Duplicate posts, spam messages, or posts repeated excessively on one or more boards.
 
13. Messages designed to evade profanity or other filters.
 
14. Personal phone numbers or addresses (to protect privacy).
 
15. Personal email addresses, private information such as social security numbers, or other contact information that is not your own, including, but not limited to Loblaw employee's email addresses.
 
16. Hyperlinks that lead to sites that violate any of the panel guidelines.
 
17. Any message that impersonates another person or affiliation with an entity, including but not limited to Loblaw.

In addition, our guidelines do not permit you to:

1. Intentionally violate any other applicable law, regulation, contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as by posting inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements) while accessing and using our site.
 
2. Interfere in any way with the operations in the panel or with a fellow Panel member’s message box, including but not limited to mail or "post" bombing, news bombing, other flooding techniques, deliberate attempts to overload a system and broadcast attacks, or attempts to avoid messaging blocking.
 
3. Evade bans or suspensions or otherwise disregard directions from My PC Optimum Voice moderators or administrators.

My PC Optimum Voice moderators may at any time and without prior notice remove any posted message or thread, delete words that violate these guidelines from posted messages, or ban your account for violating the above reasonable provisions.

You also agree to NOT use My PC Optimum Voice to:

1.Harm minors in any way;
 
2. Impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, an Loblaw official, My PC Optimum Voice moderator, leader, guide or host, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
 
3. Forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any Content transmitted through My PC Optimum Voice;
 
4. Disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, cause a screen to "scroll" faster than other users of My PC Optimum Voice are able to type, or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other users' ability to engage in real time exchanges;
 
5. Interfere with or disrupt My PC Optimum Voice or servers or networks connected to My PC Optimum Voice, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to My PC Optimum Voice;
 
6. Intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, provincial, state, national or international law;
 
7. "Stalk" or otherwise harass another;
 
8. Collect or store personal data about other users;

You acknowledge that Loblaw has the right (but not obligation) pre-screen Content before it’s posted to the Panel, and that Loblaw and its designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to monitor, refuse, edit, adapt or remove any Content that is posted via My PC Optimum Voice.

You acknowledge and agree that Loblaw may preserve Content and may also disclose Content if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce the Terms and Conditions; (c) respond to claims that any Content violates the rights of third-parties; or (d) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Loblaw, its affiliates, My PC Optimum Voice users and the public.

You understand that the technical processing and transmission of My PC Optimum Voice, including your Content, may involve (a) transmissions over various networks; and (b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices.

Recognizing the global nature of the Internet, you agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable Content. Specifically, you agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the country in which you reside.

6. Member Generated Content, Content Submitted or Made Available for Inclusion in the VIP Panel

The Content found in the My PC Optimum Voice Site comes from a variety of sources, primarily from Panel members. Loblaw makes no claims or representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or truth of any material submitted or found in any discussion areas. Loblaw is not liable for any website links posted within discussion areas; website links posted in discussion areas may link to sites not administered or under the control of Loblaw and users must open such links at their own risk. Loblaw is not liable for any errors or delays in the content or transmission of postings on the site. Remember that you are responsible for your own decisions to act upon the information provided by Panel members. Loblaw makes no guarantee of the confidentiality or privacy of any communication or information transmitted on the site, or any web-site linked to the site, or otherwise in connection with the services and Loblaw will not be liable for the privacy of any e-mail addresses, registration and identification information, confidential or trade-secret information that is publicly posted.

Your contribution of Content to publicly accessible areas of My PC Optimum Voice is completely voluntary. Loblaw will own all ideas, whether patentable or not patentable, and all suggestions contributed by you to publicly accessible areas of My PC Optimum Voice, as well as any ideas, developments and/or inventions conceived by you and made accessible to Loblaw as a result of your participation in My PC Optimum Voice. Loblaw and/or their affiliates may use these ideas, suggestions, developments, and/or inventions in any manner it sees fit without any compensation or attribution to you.

Any Content you post to publicly accessible areas of My PC Optimum Voice or otherwise provide to Loblaw through My PC Optimum Voice will be considered a “work-made-for-hire” under copyright law for the benefit of Loblaw. If for any reason such Content is deemed not to be a work-made-for-hire, you hereby assign to Loblaw all right and title in and to such Content (including all intellectual property rights), including any renewals. This means that Loblaw will own all rights in and to the Content you post, and no compensation will be due to you for any reason.

"Publicly accessible" areas of My PC Optimum Voice are those areas of the Panel that are intended by Loblaw to be available to other My PC Optimum Voice members and Loblaw employees.

7. Sharing Content and Information made available on the Panel

Creating an Account, updating your profile or adding Content or uploading a picture to your profile is completely voluntary. Certain information you provide in your public profile, such as your user name and profile photo are considered publicly available to everyone including other My PC Optimum Voice members, and therefore will not be kept confidential.

Even after you remove information from your profile or delete your Account, copies of non-personal information, and all posts and content added to the Panel will remain viewable by Loblaw.

Unauthorized Use: If your user identification or password(s) is compromised, or if you become aware of any unauthorized use of your account or other breach of security, you are responsible for promptly notifying us. You can notify us by sending an email to myvoice@mypcoptimumvoice.ca.

8. Links to Websites

My PC Optimum Voice may provide links to other World Wide Web sites or resources. Because Loblaw has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that Loblaw is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any Content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You further acknowledge and agree that Loblaw shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such Content, goods or services available on or through any such site or resource.

9. Technology Requirements

Cookies

You understand that cookies must be enabled on your computer in order to access and participate in the panel.

A cookie is a small bit of information that is stored in a user's browser, often just a code that contains the server name and a generated string of unique text and numbers. A cookie cannot be used to get data from your hard drive. Cookies are used to store information about what pages you have requested within that specific site. Other than the personal information already provided during the recruiting process, there is no way for the site to know more about you.

Java Script/Java

You understand that you must have Java Script enabled on your computer. Some of the features in the VIP Panel are programmed using Java Script or Java, and you must have this enabled in order to complete the surveys and participate in the VIP Panel.

10. Indemnity; Liability

You agree to indemnify and hold Loblaw, and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, co-branders, service providers for this Panel Site or other partners, and their respective employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable legal fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of Content you submit, post, transmit or make available through My PC Optimum Voice, your use of My PC Optimum Voice, your connection to My PC Optimum Voice, your violation of the Terms & Conditions, or your violation of any rights of another.

Except where prohibited, you agree that (1) any and all disputes, claims or causes of action arising out or connected with the Panel shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by arbitration or alternate dispute resolution, as selected by Loblaw, to take place in the province of Ontario; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out of pocket costs incurred in participation but in no event attorney’s fees; and (3) under no circumstances will a member be entitled to obtain awards for and members hereby waive all rights to claim punitive, incidental, special and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket costs, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. Except where prohibited, all issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Terms & Conditions and the decisions of Loblaw or My PC Optimum Voice Managers in connection with the Panel, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the province of Ontario and the federal laws applicable therein, without regard for conflict of laws doctrine. Should any term or provision of this paragraph or any other rule herein be concluded to be void, unenforceable or contrary to applicable law as provided herein, such term or provision shall, but only to the extent necessary to bring the rule within the requirements of such law, be deemed to be severed from the other terms and conditions; and the remainder of these Terms and Conditions shall be given effect as if it had not included the severed item.

11. No Resale of Service

You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of My PC Optimum Voice (including your Panel username), Content within My PC Optimum Voice, use of My PC Optimum Voice, or access to My PC Optimum Voice.

12. Intellectual Proprietary Rights

Loblaw owns the copyright to all material on and from this site. Notwithstanding any other term or condition in this Agreement, Loblaw retains ownership to the copyright in this site and all material on and from this site.

The Panel Site contains many of the valuable trademarks, names, package designs, copyrights and other proprietary material owned and used by Loblaws Inc. and/or its affiliated companies including but not limited to President's Choice® and PC® (the "Trademarks").

The Trademarks on this web site are protected from copying or reproduction under national and international trademark and copyright laws and nothing contained herein shall be construed as conferring by implication or otherwise any license or right under any patent, trademark, copyright or other proprietary right. Therefore, the use of the Trademarks is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

You acknowledge and agree that My PC Optimum Voice and any necessary software used in connection with My PC Optimum Voice ("Software") contain proprietary and confidential information that is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws. You further acknowledge and agree that Content contained in information presented to you through the Panel is protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents or other proprietary rights and laws. Except as expressly authorized by Loblaw, you agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on My PC Optimum Voice or the Software, in whole or in part.

13. Termination

Loblaw reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to immediately, without notice, suspend or terminate (i) these Terms and Conditions; and/or (ii) your registration(s) with or ability to access the Panel upon any breach by you of these Terms and Conditions or for any reason in our sole and absolute discretion. Notwithstanding any termination or expiration of these Terms and Conditions, whether by Loblaw or by you, the terms of Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15 shall survive.

14. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:

YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. LOBLAW EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

LOBLAW MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT (i) THE PANEL WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (ii) THE PANEL WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE PANEL WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, (iv) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE PANEL WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS, AND (V) ANY ERRORS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED.

ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE PANEL IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.

NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM THE PANEL OR THROUGH THE PANEL SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF PANEL USERS MAY EXPERIENCE EPILEPTIC SEIZURES WHEN EXPOSED TO CERTAIN LIGHT PATTERNS OR BACKGROUNDS ON A COMPUTER SCREEN OR WHILE USING THE PANEL. CERTAIN CONDITIONS MAY INDUCE PREVIOUSLY UNDETECTED EPILEPTIC SYMPTOMS EVEN IN USERS WHO HAVE NO HISTORY OF PRIOR SEIZURES OR EPILEPSY. IF YOU, OR ANYONE IN YOUR FAMILY, HAVE AN EPILEPTIC CONDITION, CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN PRIOR TO USING THE SERVICE. IMMEDIATELY DISCONTINUE USE OF THE PANEL AND CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS WHILE USING THE PANEL -- DIZZINESS, ALTERED VISION, EYE OR MUSCLE TWITCHES, LOSS OF AWARENESS, DISORIENTATION, ANY INVOLUNTARY MOVEMENT, OR CONVULSIONS.

15. Miscellaneous

These Terms and Conditions and any other terms or documents referred to herein represent your entire agreement with Loblaw with respect to your use of the Panel or any part thereof. You understand and agree that, except as expressly set forth herein, these Terms and Conditions are not intended to confer and does not confer any rights or remedies upon any person other than the parties to these Terms and Conditions. If any part of these Terms and Conditions is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect. The failure by Loblaw to pursue any available claim or defense pursuant to these Terms and Conditions or otherwise will not be a waiver of such claim or defense. The headings used in these Terms and Conditions are for convenience only, and will have no effect on the interpretation or legal enforceability of the terms herein.

These Terms and Conditions were last revised on March 7, 2018.