Terms of Service – Jam Band Graveyard

These Terms of Service explain the rules that govern use of the Jam Band Graveyard website, including submissions, moderation, content removal, copyright reporting, and other site-related rights and responsibilities.

Effective Date: April 20, 2026

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of the Jam Band Graveyard website and any content, features, forms, submissions, and services made available through it (the “Site”). By accessing or using the Site, or by submitting any content to Jam Band Graveyard (“JBG,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), you agree to these Terms.

If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the Site.

1. Who We Are

Jam Band Graveyard is an Illinois nonprofit corporation recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Our work serves the national jam band community through death, dying, and loss, including through tribute and storytelling, funeral consumer rights education, and curated grief resources.

This Site is one of the ways we carry out that work.

2. Eligibility and Acceptable Use

You may use this Site only in compliance with these Terms and applicable law.

By using the Site or submitting content, you represent that:

you are at least 18 years old, or you are using the Site and submitting content with the permission and involvement of a parent or legal guardian;
the information you provide is accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge; and
you will use the Site respectfully and in a manner consistent with its purpose.

You agree not to:

interfere with or disrupt the security, integrity, or operation of the Site;
attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site, its systems, or other users’ information;
submit unlawful, infringing, defamatory, abusive, harassing, fraudulent, or misleading content; or
use the Site in a way that could harm JBG, contributors, visitors, or the people being memorialized here.

3. Privacy

Your use of the Site is also subject to our Privacy Policy, which explains how we collect, use, retain, and share personal information.

If you submit a tribute, story, photo, or other content to us, we may retain the contact information and submission history you provide for purposes including review, publication, communication with you, recordkeeping, legal compliance, and protection of the Site and community.

4. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we do, we will post the revised version on this page and update the Effective Date above.

By continuing to use the Site after revised Terms become effective, you agree to the updated Terms.

5. Submitting Content

What you are confirming when you submit

If you submit a tribute, story, photo, comment, message, or other material to JBG (“Submitted Content”), you represent and warrant that:

you are the author of the Submitted Content, or you otherwise have all rights, permissions, and authority necessary to submit it and allow JBG to use it as described in these Terms;
any photos, images, text excerpts, or other materials submitted by you are yours to share or are used with permission;
to the best of your knowledge, the Submitted Content is truthful and reflects your honest recollection, perspective, or experience;
the Submitted Content does not infringe or violate any copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, confidentiality, or other rights of any person or entity;
the Submitted Content does not include personal, private, or sensitive information about a living person in a way that is unlawful, nonconsensual, or unreasonably intrusive; and
the Submitted Content complies with these Terms and our Community Ethics.

Review and publication

We review submissions before publication. We may accept, decline, delay, request clarification about, or remove any submission in our discretion.

We may make limited edits for formatting, grammar, accessibility, clarity, length, or alignment with our Community Ethics. We will not intentionally alter the substance or meaning of a tribute without a substantial reason to do so, and where appropriate we may contact you before publishing material changes.

Submission does not guarantee publication.

6. Ownership of Submitted Content and License to JBG

You retain ownership of the content you submit.

You keep ownership of everything you submit. The paragraph below establishes the permission JBG needs to publish and share your submission as part of its work.

By submitting content to JBG, you grant JBG a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, format, adapt solely for technical, accessibility, or display purposes, publish, publicly display, distribute, and share that content in connection with JBG’s mission and services, including on the Site, in JBG newsletters, and through JBG’s official social media channels and similar nonprofit outreach communications.

This license allows us to review, publish, display, archive, maintain, and communicate your submission as part of our work.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, this license continues until the Submitted Content is removed from JBG-controlled channels, except that:

JBG may retain archival, backup, administrative, and legally required copies;
JBG may retain records reasonably necessary to document permissions, disputes, or compliance actions; and
content already included in previously distributed newsletters, social posts, cached pages, backups, or similar materials may not be fully retractable.

If you request anonymity and we agree to publish your submission anonymously, we will omit your name from the public-facing post, but we may retain your identity and contact information internally.

7. Anonymous Submissions

If you ask for your submission to be posted anonymously, we will make reasonable efforts to honor that request in the version of the content published by JBG.

Anonymous publication does not mean anonymous communication with us. We may retain your identifying information internally for review, follow-up, recordkeeping, and legal or safety reasons.

8. Adding to or Updating a Tribute

If you would like to add to or update a tribute after publication, contact us at tributes@jambandgraveyard.org.

We will review requests for additions, updates, or corrections with care, but we cannot guarantee that every requested change will be made exactly as requested or on any particular timeline.

9. Removal Requests

Requests from the original submitter

If you submitted content and want it removed, contact us at tributes@jambandgraveyard.org. We will review your request and work with you directly.

Requests from family members or other third parties

We recognize that memorial content can involve grief, conflict, privacy concerns, and differing perspectives. If a family member or other affected person requests that content be removed, revised, redacted, or restricted, we may review the request and take whatever action we believe is appropriate in light of the circumstances, our mission, the rights and dignity of those involved, and our legal obligations.

We do not guarantee any particular outcome, response time, or process for third-party removal requests.

JBG’s right to act

JBG may decline to publish, remove, redact, restrict access to, or preserve any content at any time, with or without notice, if we believe the content:

violates these Terms or our Community Ethics;
creates legal risk;
infringes intellectual property or other rights;
invades privacy or exposes sensitive personal information;
is misleading, defamatory, abusive, exploitative, or otherwise harmful; or
is inconsistent with the purpose, safety, integrity, or values of the Site.

10. Community Ethics

Jam Band Graveyard is built on honesty, respect, and care for one another. Our Community Ethics describe the values and participation expectations that guide use of the Site and apply to all Submitted Content.

We ask contributors to:

be truthful about what they know and have experienced;
be respectful of the person being remembered, the people who loved them, and others in this community;
be mindful of privacy, especially when referring to living people; and
keep submissions relevant to honoring and remembering a specific person within this community.

We may decline to publish or remove content that we believe is false, defamatory, abusive, harassing, invasive of privacy, infringing, exploitative, or otherwise inconsistent with these Terms, our mission, or our Community Ethics.

11. Photos and Media

Photos and other media submitted to JBG must be materials you own or have the right to share.

By submitting photos or media, you confirm that you have the rights and permissions needed for JBG to use them under these Terms.

We may resize, crop, compress, format, or otherwise adapt submitted media for technical, display, accessibility, or layout purposes, so long as we do not intentionally misrepresent the substance of the submission.

Unless we say otherwise, any upload limits, formatting rules, or submission instructions posted on the Site are incorporated into these Terms.

12. Intellectual Property

Except for Submitted Content owned by users, the Site and its contents, including JBG-created text, graphics, branding, logos, compilations, design elements, and original organizational materials, are owned by JBG or its licensors and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws.

These Terms do not give you any ownership rights in the Site or JBG content. Except as permitted by law or by our written permission, you may not copy, reproduce, distribute, modify, publicly display, or create derivative works from JBG-owned content for commercial or misleading purposes.

13. Copyright Complaints and DMCA Policy

This section explains what to do if you believe someone has posted your copyrighted material on this Site without permission, and what happens if content you submitted is removed in response to a copyright claim.

JBG respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects users of the Site to do the same. If you believe that material available on the Site infringes your copyright, you may submit a notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) to JBG’s designated copyright agent.

Designated Agent

Please send DMCA notices and counter-notifications to:

Copyright Manager Jam Band Graveyard 8604 W Catalpa Avenue, Suite 910 Chicago, IL 60656 Phone: (312) 547-9499 Email: legal@jambandgraveyard.org

JBG intends for this designated agent information to be made available on the Site in a location accessible to the public and maintained as required for applicable DMCA purposes.

What to Include in a Copyright Notice

To help us process your claim, your notice should include substantially all of the following:

your physical or electronic signature;
identification of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by one notice, a representative list of those works;
identification of the specific material on the Site that you claim is infringing or is the subject of infringing activity, including the URL or other information reasonably sufficient for us to locate it;
your name, address, telephone number, and email address;
a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
a statement that the information in your notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

We may request additional information where needed to evaluate or process a notice.

What JBG May Do Upon Receipt of a Notice

Upon receipt of a notice that we believe substantially complies with applicable law, JBG may remove or disable access to the material identified in the notice and may take any other action we believe appropriate under the circumstances.

Where appropriate, we may notify the user who submitted or posted the material. JBG may also forward the notice, including the complainant’s contact information, to the person who submitted the material or otherwise controls it.

Counter-Notification Procedure

If you believe that material you submitted to the Site was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, you may send a written counter-notification to JBG’s designated copyright agent.

To be effective, a counter-notification must include substantially all of the following:

your physical or electronic signature;
identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled, and the location where the material appeared before it was removed or disabled;
a statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification; and
your name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located, or, if your address is outside the United States, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and that you will accept service of process from the person who submitted the original copyright notice or that person’s agent.

Response to a Counter-Notification

If we receive a counter-notification that we believe substantially complies with applicable law, we may provide a copy of it to the person who submitted the original copyright notice and inform that person that we may restore the removed material or cease disabling access to it.

Unless our designated agent first receives notice that the complaining party has filed a court action seeking to restrain the allegedly infringing activity, JBG may restore the material or cease disabling access to it not less than 10 business days and not more than 14 business days after receipt of a substantially compliant counter-notification.

Repeat Infringer Policy

JBG has adopted a policy of restricting or terminating, in appropriate circumstances and in JBG’s discretion, the ability of users who are repeat infringers to submit content to the Site or to use Site features that allow user submissions, postings, or uploads.

JBG may also remove content, refuse publication, or take other reasonable steps where we believe a user has repeatedly infringed the intellectual property rights of others.

This policy does not necessarily require JBG to block access to the Site’s general informational, memorial, or educational content.

Misrepresentations

Please do not submit knowingly false, misleading, or materially inaccurate copyright notices or counter-notifications. Any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing, or that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, may be subject to liability under applicable law.

14. Reporting Other Content Concerns

Not a copyright issue? This section is for everything else — false information, privacy concerns, harmful content, misuse of someone’s name or image, or anything that feels wrong about content on the Site.

If you believe content on the Site is false, defamatory, invasive of privacy, discloses sensitive personal information, misuses a person’s name, image, or likeness, is abusive or harmful, or otherwise violates these Terms or our Community Ethics, you may report it to JBG for review.

Where to Send a Report

Please send non-copyright content concerns to legal@jambandgraveyard.org. If your concern is primarily about a tribute submission, you may also copy tributes@jambandgraveyard.org.

What to Include

To help us review your report, please include as much of the following as possible:

your name and contact information;
the URL or other information reasonably sufficient for us to identify the content at issue;
a description of the specific content you want us to review;
an explanation of why you believe the content is false, defamatory, invasive of privacy, harmful, misleading, inappropriate, or otherwise inconsistent with these Terms or our Community Ethics;
if you are requesting action on behalf of another person, a brief explanation of your relationship to that person or your basis for making the request; and
any supporting information or documentation you want us to consider.

We may request additional information where needed.

How JBG May Respond

JBG will review reported concerns in light of our mission, Community Ethics, the rights and dignity of the people involved, and our legal obligations. After review, JBG may remove content, decline to remove content, request clarification, seek revisions, redact specific material, restrict access, preserve the content while reviewing the matter, or take any other action we believe appropriate under the circumstances.

Where appropriate, we may contact the original submitter or other involved parties, but we are not required to do so before taking action.

No Guaranteed Outcome or Timeline

We will handle these reports with care, but we do not guarantee any particular response time, process, or outcome.

Separate From the DMCA Process

A report submitted under this section is not a DMCA notice and will not be processed through JBG’s copyright takedown procedure unless it specifically alleges copyright infringement.

15. Disclaimers and No Warranties

The Site and all content, features, and services made available through it are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, JBG disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including warranties of accuracy, completeness, reliability, availability, non-infringement, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and quiet enjoyment.

JBG does not guarantee that:

the Site will always be available, uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free;
defects will be corrected;
the Site or any emails, forms, or servers used in connection with it will be free of viruses or other harmful components;
any content submitted to JBG will be published, retained, removed, corrected, updated, or made available within any particular period of time; or
any user-submitted content is accurate, complete, lawful, noninfringing, respectful, or appropriate.

User-submitted content reflects the views, memories, experiences, and statements of the people who submit it. JBG reviews submissions for alignment with these Terms and our Community Ethics, but does not independently verify all facts, rights, permissions, or circumstances described in submitted content.

JBG may review, delay, decline, remove, redact, restrict access to, preserve, or otherwise act on content in its discretion. JBG does not guarantee that any content concern, removal request, correction request, or other report will be resolved in any particular manner or on any particular timeline.

The Site may include educational materials, resource listings, and information about funeral consumer rights, grief support, and related subjects. Those materials are provided for general informational and community purposes only. They are not medical, mental health, legal, financial, or other professional advice, and they are not a substitute for advice from a qualified professional familiar with your circumstances.

The Site may also contain links to third-party websites, resources, or services. JBG does not control and is not responsible for third-party content, policies, practices, availability, or accuracy, and inclusion of a link does not necessarily imply endorsement.

16. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, JBG and its directors, officers, employees, volunteers, contractors, agents, and representatives will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, loss of use, loss of goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or relating to:

your access to, use of, inability to use, or reliance on the Site;
user-submitted content or third-party content appearing on or transmitted through the Site;
JBG’s review, publication, non-publication, removal, redaction, restriction, preservation, or other moderation of content;
any alleged inaccuracy, incompleteness, or omission in Site content;
any interruption, delay, outage, security issue, or technical failure affecting the Site; or
any unauthorized access to or alteration of submissions, transmissions, or data.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability to the extent such liability cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

17. Governing Law

These Terms and any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms, the Site, or any content, feature, or service made available through the Site will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles, except to the extent federal law applies.

18. Venue for Disputes

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms, the Site, or any content, feature, or service made available through the Site must be brought exclusively in the state courts located in Cook County, Illinois, or, if federal jurisdiction exists, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

You and JBG consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts and waive any objection based on improper venue or inconvenient forum, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

19. Optional Pre-Suit Contact

Before filing a lawsuit, we encourage you to contact JBG at legal@jambandgraveyard.org and briefly describe the issue so we can try to address it informally.

Nothing in this section prevents JBG from taking immediate action it reasonably believes is necessary to protect the Site, enforce these Terms, address intellectual property concerns, respond to security issues, or prevent harm.

20. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with any policies or guidelines expressly incorporated into them, including JBG’s Privacy Policy and Community Ethics, constitute the entire agreement between you and JBG regarding your use of the Site and supersede any prior or contemporaneous understandings, communications, or agreements relating to that subject matter.

21. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, unenforceable, or inapplicable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permitted by law, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

22. No Waiver

JBG’s failure to enforce any provision of these Terms will not constitute a waiver of that provision or any other provision. Any waiver by JBG must be in writing to be effective.

23. Assignment

You may not assign or transfer any rights or obligations under these Terms without JBG’s prior written consent. JBG may assign or transfer its rights and obligations under these Terms in connection with a merger, reorganization, transfer of assets, change in control, or similar transaction, or as otherwise necessary to support its nonprofit operations.

24. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms or the Site, you may contact JBG at:

General inquiries: help@jambandgraveyard.org

Tribute submissions and follow-up: tributes@jambandgraveyard.org

Privacy and legal concerns: legal@jambandgraveyard.org

DMCA notices and counter-notifications: legal@jambandgraveyard.org

Jam Band Graveyard 8604 W Catalpa Avenue, Suite 910 Chicago, IL 60656 Phone: (312) 547-9499

Related Policies: Privacy Policy | Community Ethics