U.S. FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS - IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION

This Terms of Use Agreement is a binding contract between you and Franklin Templeton Investments (“Franklin Templeton”). It governs your use of this website and all content, materials and information available through this website. By using or accessing this website, you accept and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree with the terms and conditions of this Terms of Use Agreement, you are not granted permission to access or otherwise use this website or the content, information and material contained therein.

These Terms were last amended as of: 04/30/2018

On this page:

• Acceptance of the Terms of Use and any Amendments
• U.S. Financial Professionals Only
• The Franklin US Index
• Authorized Use and Users
• Prohibited Uses and Means of Access
• Personal Information Transmission, Unsolicited Communications and Usage Monitoring
• Copyright, Trademark and other Intellectual Property Rights
• Third Party Content Providers, Sites, Referrals, and Disclaimers
• Disclaimers
• Limitation of Liability
• Indemnification
• Governing Law, Forum, Severability, and Miscellaneous
• Termination

Acceptance of the Terms of Use and any Amendments

This Terms of Use Agreement (the "Terms of Use") states the terms and conditions under which you may use this website and the content, information and material contained therein (referred to collectively as the "Site" or the "Site Content"). Please read the Terms of Use carefully. By accessing, browsing and/or using this Site, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agree to be legally bound by the Terms of Use.

Your use of this Site is governed by the version of the Terms of Use in effect on the date this Site is accessed by you. We reserve the right to change the Site and the Terms of Use at any time, without notice. If you use the Site after the amended Terms of Use have been posted, you will be deemed to have agreed to the Terms of Use, as amended.

U.S. Financial Professionals Only

THIS SITE IS INTENDED FOR U.S. INVESTMENT CONSULTANTS (“FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS”) ONLY. IT IS NOT INTENDED FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC OR FOR USERS THAT DO NOT RESIDE IN THE U.S. BY ACCEPTING THIS TERMS OF USE AGREEMENT, YOU CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE A U.S. FINANCIAL PROFESSIONAL.

The Franklin US Index

The Franklin US Index (the “Index”) is owned by Franklin Templeton, and is calculated and maintained by S&P Opco, LLC (a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices, LLC).  The Index is not sponsored by S&P Dow Jones Indices, their affiliates or their third party licensors (collectively, "S&P Dow Jones Indices").  Franklin Templeton and S&P Dow Jones Indices (collectively, the "Index Parties") will not be liable for any errors, omissions or interruptions in calculating the Index. The Index Parties make no representations or warranties, express or implied and shall have no liability with respect to the adequacy, accuracy, timeliness and/or completeness of the Index. Products based on the Index are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the Index Parties and the Index Parties have no responsibilities, obligations or duties to purchasers of such products. Franklin Templeton®, Franklin®, Franklin US Index, and the corresponding logos are trademarks of Franklin Templeton. S&P® is a registered trademark of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC, and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC.  

Franklin Templeton designs, sponsors and publishes indices for use in portfolio and product benchmarking, and portfolio management. The Index, and its allocations and data, are subject to change at any time.

Neither Franklin Templeton nor the Index guarantee future income or protect against loss of principal. There can be no assurance that an investment strategy or financial product based on or in any way tracking the Index will be successful. Franklin Templeton has no liability for any errors, omissions or interruptions of the Index. Franklin Templeton shall not be liable in any way to the issuer, purchasers, or any other party in respect of the use or accuracy of the Index or any data included therein.  Indexes are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index.

Third party licensee’s products that track the Index are not issued, sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Franklin Templeton.  Franklin Templeton’s only relationship to licensee of the Index is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of Franklin Templeton.  Franklin Templeton is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the benefits and charges of Index licensee’s products that track the Index or the timing of the issuance or sale of such products or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which an Index licensee’s products are to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be.  Franklin Templeton has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration or marketing of such products.  While an Index licensee may for itself execute transactions with Franklin Templeton in or relating to the Index, purchasers of Index licensee’s  products acquire all such  products from the Index licensee, and neither acquire any interest in the Index nor enter into any relationship of any kind with Franklin Templeton upon purchasing such third party products that track the Index.

Franklin Templeton has no responsibilities, obligations or duties to purchasers of such third party products, and makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of any third party products that track the Index or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in such products, or in the Index licensee particularly, or the ability of the Index to track general market performance.  The Index is determined, composed and calculated without regard to Index licensee, its products, or any purchasers of such products.  Franklin Templeton has no obligation to take the needs of the Index licensee or the owners of such licencee’s products into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Index.  There is no assurance that products based on the Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. 

In providing the Index, Franklin Templeton is not acting as an investment adviser.  Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by Franklin Templeton to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Franklin Templeton may independently issue and/or sponsor financial products unrelated to an Index licensee’s products, but which may be similar to and competitive with such Index licensee’s product.  In addition, Franklin Templeton may trade financial products which are linked to the performance of the Index. 

FRANKLIN TEMPLETON DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO.  FRANKLIN TEMPLETON SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN.  FRANKLIN TEMPLETON MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY AN INDEX LICENSEE, OWNERS OF THE INDEX LICENSEE’S PRODUCTS, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO.  WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL FRANKLIN TEMPLETON BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF IT HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE.  THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN FRANKLIN TEMPLETON AND AN INDEX LICENSEE.

The licensee products based on the Index are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P Dow Jones Indices.  S&P Dow Jones Indices does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of such product  or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the licensee’s products particularly or the ability of the Index to track general market performance.  S&P Dow Jones Indices' only relationship to Franklin Templeton and an Index licensee with respect to the Index is the licensing of the underlying S&P index components to the Index, certain trademarks, service marks and trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices, and the provision of the calculation services related to the Index.  S&P Dow Jones Indices is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the prices and amount of the Index licensee’s products or the timing of the issuance or sale of such products or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Index licensee’s products may converted into cash or other redemption mechanics.  S&P Dow Jones Indices has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of products that track the Index.  S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment advisor.  Inclusion of a security within the Index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it investment advice.

S&P DOW JONES INDICES DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, SOFTWARE, OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION WITH RESPECT THERETO, INCLUDING, ORAL, WRITTEN, OR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS.  S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN.  S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY A LICENSEE, OWNERS OF ANY PRODUCT THAT TRACKS THE INDEX, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, SOFTWARE, OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO.  WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME, OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE.

Authorized Use and Users

Personal use. This Site is intended only for your personal, non-commercial use consistent with your use as a U.S. Financial Professional, unless you and we have agreed otherwise in writing.

U.S. resident use only. This Site is intended for residents of the United States only. If you choose to access this Site from locations outside of the United States, you do so at your own initiative and risk, and are responsible for compliance with all applicable laws.

No solicitations. Nothing on this Site shall be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell, or a recommendation for, a security, investment or any other product or service, or to use any index or otherwise participate in any particular trading strategy. Further, nothing on this Site is intended to constitute investment advice or a recommendation to make any kind of investment decision and may not be relied on as such.  Historical or simulated data should not be taken as an indication or guarantee of any future performance.  There is no guarantee any forecast or prediction will materialize.

No investment recommendations or professional advice; use of tools. This Site is for general educational, informational use only and is not intended to provide any tax, legal, insurance or investment advice, and nothing on the Site should be construed as a recommendation, by us or any third party, to acquire or dispose of any investment or security, or to engage in any investment strategy or transaction or to use any index. While certain information available on the Site may provide general investment or financial analyses, such information is not to be construed as our providing investment recommendations or advice. You assume all risk relating to any use of the information on this Site.  Unless otherwise specified, your clients are responsible for determining whether any investment, index, security or strategy or any other product or service is appropriate or suitable for them based on their investment objectives and personal and financial situation. Your clients should consult an attorney or tax professional regarding their specific legal or tax situation.

Prohibited Uses and Means of Access

Prohibited Uses. Because all servers have limited capacity and are used by many people, you may not use the Site in any manner that could damage or overburden any Franklin Templeton server, or any network connected to any Franklin Templeton server. You may not use the Site in any manner that would interfere with any other party's use of the Site.

Means of Access. In general, this site supports the current and prior major release of the following browsers: Microsoft Internet Explorer®, Mozilla Firefox®, Safari™ and Chrome. Although you may use other means to access the Site, be aware that the Site may not appear accurately through other access methods, and you use them only at your own risk. You are responsible for setting the cache settings on your browser to ensure that you are receiving the most recent data. You should not access the Site through devices or services that are designed to provide high-speed, automated, repeated access, unless such devices are approved by us.

Personal Information Transmission, Unsolicited Communications and Usage Monitoring

Personal Information Transmission. Your use of the Site may involve the transmission of information, including personally identifiable data, about you. You consent to the transmission of such information by electronic means through the Internet and represent that such consent shall be effective each time you use the Site.

Unsolicited communications. We welcome your feedback about this Site and may use it to improve the Site. Should you provide unsolicited ideas, or material of any kind ("Communications") and we use it to develop or market products, services, content, tools or information, you agree that we can do so without compensating you. By providing us with such Communications, you represent to us that you own all rights to it.

Technically this means that you hereby grant Franklin Templeton a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable license to edit, reproduce, disclose, transmit, publish, broadcast, or post your Communications either on the Site or elsewhere with no liability or obligation to you. Franklin Templeton is free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how, or techniques obtained in your unsolicited Communications for any purpose including, but not limited to, developing and marketing products. Unless we state otherwise on the Site or in our Privacy Policy, any Communications that you email or otherwise transmit through the Site can be treated by us as non-confidential and nonproprietary.

Usage monitoring. We reserve the right, but do not have the obligation, to access, archive, or monitor any use of this Site, or your use of this Site and your Communications. By using the Site, you accept our right to access, archive, or monitor usage to ensure service quality, or to evaluate the Site, the security of the Site, compliance with these Terms of Use, or for any other reason. You agree that our monitoring activities will not entitle you to any cause of action or other right with respect to the manner in which we monitor your Site usage and enforce, or fail to enforce, these Terms of Use. You further agree that in no event will Franklin Templeton be liable for any damages incurred by you as a result of our usage monitoring.

Copyright, Trademark and other Intellectual Property Rights

You acknowledge that this Site is protected by applicable copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents, proprietary rights and other intellectual property laws, and that these worldwide rights are valid and protected in all forms, media, and technologies existing now or developed in the future. Accordingly, you may not copy, distribute, modify, post or frame-in the Site, including any text, graphics, video, audio, software code, user interface design or logos, except as explicitly authorized below or by us in writing.

Permitted uses. Franklin Templeton grants you a non-exclusive, personal, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, limited and revocable right to access, use and display this Site on any computers or other electronic display device of which you are a user, for your personal and non-commercial use only (the "Permitted Uses"). You agree to use the Site only for lawful purposes, for the Permitted Uses, and not for the Prohibited Uses. No other use of the Site is authorized unless you and we have agreed otherwise in writing.

You may print copies of the Site's Content, provided that these copies are made only to other U.S. Financial Professionals for the Permitted Uses and that you include any notices and any legal information contained in the Site Content, such as all copyright notices, trademark legends, or other proprietary rights notices as well as all legal caveats furnished in the footnotes or under "Important Legal Information" as shown on the screen or through a link.

Prohibited uses. You are prohibited from any use of the Site that would give rise to liability or otherwise violate any applicable laws or regulations or the Terms of Use. You may not publicly perform, publicly display, transmit, publish, participate in the sale or transfer of, modify, or create derivative works based on anything available through the Site, in whole or in part. You shall not store electronically any significant portion of any part of the Site. No reverse engineering, linking, framing, or modification of any part of this Site is allowed without our written approval. Any modification or unauthorized use is a violation of Franklin Templeton's copyrights and other proprietary rights.

Trademarks and copyrights. Company product and service names and logos used and displayed on this Site may be trademarks or service marks owned by others. Nothing on this Site should be construed as granting any license or right to use any of the Franklin Templeton Trademarks or other trademarks displayed on this Site without the prior written permission in each instance of Franklin Templeton and/or the owner(s) of such other trademarks. All goodwill generated from the use of the Franklin Templeton Trademarks on any website will inure to our benefit.

The Site also contains text, software, graphics, images, and other material protected by copyrights or other proprietary rights and laws (collectively, the "Proprietary Material"), owned by Franklin Templeton or its licensors. Any use of such Proprietary Material other than as permitted herein is expressly prohibited without the prior permission of Franklin Templeton and/or the relevant rights holder in writing.

Copyright Policy and Claims Procedure. We reserve the right to remove from our Site any content that is alleged to infringe someone's copyright. If you reasonably believe that your copyrighted work is accessible on this Site in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please follow our Claims Procedure.

Third Party Content Providers, Sites, Referrals, and Disclaimers

Conditions may apply to third party content. Some of the content, material and information available through the Site may be provided by companies that are not affiliated with Franklin Templeton ("Third Party Content") and their source is clearly identified. In some cases, the Third Party Content may be framed-in on the Franklin Templeton Site or available through a link to a third party site. In the case of Third Party Content, there may be additional restrictions that apply to its use. You should be careful to examine them (for example, in accompanying statements or caveats or their posted terms of use) because they may be more restrictive than the restrictions Franklin Templeton imposes on our own, proprietary Site Content. Third Party Content providers may have reserved a right to modify the restrictions they impose on use of their content without notice. As with our Site's Terms of Use, use of Third Party Content after a change in the posted restrictions relating to that content will constitute acceptance of those changes.

Not responsible for Third Party Content, referrals or links to third parties or third party sites. For informational or educational purposes, or as a service and convenience to you, this Site may provide referral information, Third Party Content or live links to a regulatory agency, non-profit organization, or other unaffiliated third party and their websites, including companies that have a relationship with Franklin Templeton.

Our decision to provide referral information to a third party or to pass on an offer made by a third party vendor or to provide a link from our Site to a third party site is not an endorsement of the third party, their products or services, or their website accessed through any such links. While we would generally only provide such information from, or links to, sources considered reliable, we do not have the resources to conduct independent investigations and accordingly we make no representations or warranties as to third party products, services, content, tools and information, and do not guarantee their accuracy, timeliness, completeness or usefulness. We advise and encourage you to do your own research. You will use Third Party Content only at your own risk.

Although Third Party Content may be displayed, framed-in or provided in a pop-up box on the Site, or available through a live link from our Site to a third party site, Franklin Templeton does not prepare, edit, guarantee or endorse Third Party Content. By clicking on a link from our Site to any third party site, you will leave this Site (even if, for your convenience, a second browser window is opened). When viewing Third Party Content through such a link, keep in mind that the third party's site terms and conditions, privacy and security policies, or other legal information may be different from those of Franklin Templeton's Site. We are not liable for any direct or indirect technical or system issues, consequences, or damages arising from your use of any third party website. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY THIRD PARTY, THEIR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, THEIR WEBSITE, OR ANY CONTENT MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH SUCH THIRD PARTY SITES, NOR DO WE MAKE ANY WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIRD PARTY CONTENT (OR ITS ACCURACY) ON ANY THIRD PARTY SITES, AND WE SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER IN RELATION TO ANY OF THE FOREGOING.

Disclaimers

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THIS SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. NONE OF FRANKLIN TEMPLETON, ITS AFFILIATES OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS (COLLECTIVELY, THE "FRANKLIN TEMPLETON PARTIES") GUARANTEES THE TIMELINESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS OF ANY OF THE SITE. NONE OF THE FRANKLIN TEMPLETON PARTIES WARRANT THAT THIS SITE OR DOWNLOADS WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS, OR BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE OR ERROR FREE OR THAT THIS SITE, ITS SERVER OR ANY FILES AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOADING THROUGH THIS SITE ARE FREE OF COMPUTER VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL ELEMENTS. THE FRANKLIN TEMPLETON PARTIES HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR VIRUSES OR ANY OTHER DAMAGE THAT MAY BE CAUSED TO YOU AS A RESULT OF USING THIS SITE. PERIODS OF VOLATILE OR UNUSUAL MARKET ACTIVITY, IN PARTICULAR, MAY AFFECT SYSTEMS AVAILABILITY OR RESPONSE TIME.

YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THIS SITE AND THE TIMELINESS, USEFULNESS, ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE SITE IS ASSUMED SOLELY BY YOU. ALL OF THE FRANKLIN TEMPLETON PARTIES HEREBY SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY REPRESENTATIONS, ENDORSEMENTS, GUARANTEES, OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS SITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, ALL OF THE FRANKLIN TEMPLETON PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO ANY RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THIS SITE.

You are responsible for your connectivity. You agree that you are responsible for the means you use to access the Site and understand that your hardware, software, the Internet, your Internet Service Provider, and other third parties involved in connecting you to our Site may not perform as intended or desired.

Not responsible for third party damages. Franklin Templeton also disclaims responsibility for damages third parties may cause to you through the use of this Site, whether intentional or unintentional. For example, you understand that hackers could breach our security procedures, and that Franklin Templeton will not be responsible for any related damages.

No reliance on Data. Reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that Site Content is complete and accurate. However, due to the nature of information delivery technology and the necessity of using multiple data sources, including Third Party Content, we are unable to assure the accuracy of the data you access through this Site. In addition, any simulated data shown is subject to numerous assumptions and limitations, and as such, is used for general illustrative purposes only and should not be relied upon by you.  Site Content is presented only as of the date published or indicated and may be superseded by subsequent market events or other reasons. Franklin Templeton has no duty to update this Site or any Site Content. WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY ACTIONS OR INVESTMENT DECISIONS TAKEN BY YOU BASED ON THE ACCURACY OF THE DATA PRESENTED THROUGH THIS SITE.

Cautions about future or "forward-looking" statements. Speculation or stated beliefs about future events, such as market and economic conditions, company or security performance, upcoming product offerings or other projections are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and uncertainties. General business, market, economic and political conditions could cause actual results to differ materially from what we presently anticipate or project.

Internet email. We discourage you from using e-mail for sending confidential or sensitive information. If you send e-mail (encrypted or not) to us over the Internet, you are accepting the associated risks of lack of confidentiality.

Limitation of Liability

YOUR SOLE REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH YOUR USE OF OUR SITE IS TO STOP USING THE SITE. YOU AGREE THAT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE FRANKLIN TEMPLETON PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (COLLECTIVELY, THE "EXCLUDED DAMAGES"), ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THIS SITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: LOSS OF REVENUE, TRADING LOSSES, ANTICIPATED PROFITS, BUSINESS, SAVINGS, GOODWILL OR DATA; ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, DENIAL OF SERVICE, ATTACK, INTERRUPTION, DEFECT, OPERATOR ERRORS, INCONVENIENCE OR DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION OR COMPUTER VIRUS; FAILURE OF ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT OR COMMUNICATIONS LINES (INCLUDING TELEPHONE, CABLE AND INTERNET); SEVERE OR EXTRAORDINARY WEATHER (INCLUDING FLOOD, EARTHQUAKE, OR OTHER ACT OF GOD); FIRE, WAR, INSURRECTION, TERRORIST ACT, RIOT, LABOR DISPUTE AND OTHER LABOR PROBLEMS, ACCIDENT, EMERGENCY OR ACTION OF GOVERNMENT; OR THIRD PARTY THEFT OF, DESTRUCTION OF, UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO, ALTERATION OR USE OF YOUR INFORMATION, EQUIPMENT OR PROPERTY, EVEN IF THE FRANKLIN TEMPLETON PARTIES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF OR COULD HAVE FORESEEN THE EXCLUDED DAMAGES. FURTHER, THE FRANKLIN TEMPLETON PARTIES WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY, BY YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY, WITH THESE TERMS OR WITH APPLICABLE FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL LAWS.

THESE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY WILL APPLY REGARDLESS OF: (I) ANY NEGLIGENCE OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE OF ANY FRANKLIN TEMPLETON PARTY OR (II) WHETHER THE LIABILITY SOUNDS IN NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) OR ANY OTHER THEORY OF LEGAL LIABILITY; AND WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT EVEN IF ANY REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY OR EXCLUSION OF WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN THOSE STATES, THE FRANKLIN TEMPLETON PARTIES' LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE FRANKLIN TEMPLETON PARTIES' AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU EXCEED ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100).

Indemnification

As a condition of your use of the Site, you agree to make the Franklin Templeton Parties and their third party providers whole for any and all claims, losses, liabilities and expenses (including but not limited to attorneys' fees) arising from your violation of these Terms of Use.

Governing Law, Forum, Severability, and Miscellaneous

Failure by Franklin Templeton to enforce any provision(s) of these Terms of Use shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. This Site is controlled and operated by Franklin Templeton from its offices within California in the United States of America. The laws of the State of California govern these Terms of Use. If you take legal action relating to these Terms of Use, you agree to file such action only in the state courts of the City and County of San Mateo, California, or the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and you consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of those courts for the purposes of litigating any such action.

If any provision of these Terms of Use is deemed unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall be enforced to the fullest extent possible, and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

You shall comply with all laws, rules and regulations by any governmental authority or agency which govern or apply to the operation and use of the Site. Without limiting the foregoing, you agree to comply with such restrictions and not to export or re-export any of the Site to countries or persons prohibited under the export control laws of the United States. These Terms of Use inures to the benefit of Franklin Templeton, its successors and assigns. You may not assign the Terms of Use. No waiver shall be effective unless in writing. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved by Franklin Templeton.

Termination

You acknowledge and agree that Franklin Templeton may restrict, suspend or terminate the Terms of Use or your access to, and use of, all or any part of Site, including any links to third-party sites, at any time, with or without cause, including but not limited to any breach of the Terms of Use, in Franklin Templeton's absolute discretion and without prior notice or liability. The relevant version of the Terms of Use shall continue to apply to all prior use of the Site. The following paragraphs of this Terms of Use shall survive termination of your use or access to the Site: paragraphs concerning The Franklin US Index, Indemnification, Disclaimers, Limitations of Liability, Termination and General Provisions, and any other provision that by its terms survives termination of your use of or access to the Site.