TERMS AND CONDITIONS (Privacy Policy follows on from T&C)
These terms and conditions (the “Terms”) are the terms on which this website http://www.darrenshan.com (the “Website”) may be made available to you.  By accessing the Website you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms then please do not use the Website. If you have any questions, complaints or comments on this Website then you may contact me by sending me an email via the Contact Form http://www.darrenshan.com/contact/ or by letter to: Darren Shan, c/o Paul Kenny, Rahina, Clarina, County Limerick, Ireland.

1. THE WEBSITE
1.1 The Website enables you to keep up to date with what is going on in my world. You can read my blog, find out facts about me, look at my book covers, read reviews, contact me and register for my regular update – Shanville Monthly. You can also download wallpapers and screen savers to your computer via the Website.
1.2 You can also send questions to me or other fans via the Messageboard.  The Messageboard is made available to you via the Website but is subject to additional terms and conditions which will be notified to you when you access the Messageboard. You will need to register with Yuku and agree to the additional terms and conditions to be able to post messages.
2. SYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS
2.1 It is your responsibility to ensure that you are able to comply with the relevant system requirements that must be met for you to be able to successfully access the Website. I accept no responsibility for any lack of functionality of the Website that is due to your equipment (including, but not limited to, your computer, internet connection, operating system or settings and software).
3. RIGHTS GRANTED AND RIGHTS RESERVED
3.1 Your use of the Website and its contents grants no rights to you in relation to my intellectual property rights including, without limitation, copyright, trademarks, logos, text, graphics, photographs and book covers or the intellectual property of third parties in the Website and its contents.
3.2 You may not copy, reproduce, republish, download, post, broadcast, record, transmit, commercially exploit, edit, communicate to the public or distribute in any way the web pages or materials on the Website or the computer codes of elements comprising the Website other than for your own personal use. Provided you comply with this paragraph, you may download insubstantial excerpts of this content to your hard disk for the purpose of viewing it provided that no more than one copy of any information is made.
3.3 Any use other than that permitted under this paragraph 3 may only be undertaken with my prior express authorisation.
3.4 By submitting information, Fan Art, text, photos, graphics or other content to me, you grant me a right to use such materials on the Website including, without limitation, to edit, crop, copy, reproduce, post and remove such materials from the Website.
4. LINKS TO AND FROM OTHER WEBSITES
4.1 You may establish links to any page of the Website provided:
• you do not remove or obscure the copyright notice or other notices on the Website; and
• you immediately stop providing links to the Website if notified by me.
4.2 I may provide links to other websites from time to time (via advertising or otherwise).  These links are provided for your ease of reference and convenience only. I do not control such third party websites and am not responsible for their contents. You acknowledge that I will not be party to any transaction or contract with a third party that you may enter into and I shall not be responsible to you in respect of any loss or damage which you may suffer by using those websites.  You agree that you will not involve me in any dispute between you and the third party.
5. YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE/ VISITOR MATERIAL AND CONDUCT
5.1 You agree that in using the Website you will not:
5.1.1 use the Website in any way that may lead to the encouragement, procurement or carrying out of any criminal activity or for any other unlawful purpose;
5.1.2 use the Website for any purpose other than your personal use;
5.1.3 email, transmit or otherwise disseminate any content which is defamatory, obscene, in breach of copyright, vulgar or indecent or may have the effect of being harassing; threatening, abusive or hateful or that otherwise degrades or intimidates an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age or disability;
5.1.4 transfer files that contain viruses, trojans or other harmful programs.
5.2 I reserve the right to suspend, restrict or terminate your access to this Website at any time without notice at my discretion if we have reasonable grounds to believe you have breached any of the restrictions above.
6. YOUR LEGAL OBLIGATIONS/ YOUR PROMISES TO ME
6.1 You confirm that:
6.1.1 you are over 18 or that you have your parent or guardian’s consent to use the Website;
6.1.2 you will comply with the restrictions on your use of the Website as set out in these Terms; and
6.1.3 in relation to any material submitted to me or posted on the Website, including without limitation any Fan Art, you have the right to do so and have obtained all necessary licences and or approvals.
6.2 You agree to compensate me from any claim or legal proceedings brought against me as a result of you breach of these Terms.
6.3 If I take legal action against you for breach of these Terms and a court makes an award in my favour, you will be responsible for all costs allowable by the courts.
7. MY LEGAL OBLIGATIONS AND LIMITS ON LIABILITY
7.1 I accept liability for death or personal injury resulting from my negligence. I do not seek to exclude liability for fraudulent misrepresentation.
7.2 I do not accept any liability for damage to your computer system or loss of data that results from your use of the Website and I cannot guarantee that any files that you download are free from viruses, contamination or destructive features. I recommend that you install virus protection software on your computer.
7.3 I do not warrant that the Website will be available uninterrupted and in a fully operating condition. Access to the Website may be suspended temporarily and without notice in the case of system failure, maintenance or repair or for reasons reasonably beyond my control.
7.4 All content and services on the Website are provided on an ‘as is’ and ‘as available’ basis. I do not make any representation or give any warranty (whether express or implied) in respect of the Website or its content, including, without limitation, any advice given (on a personal or general basis) on or via the Website. Nothing in this paragraph 7 shall restrict your statutory rights.
8. SECURITY AND PRIVACY
8.1 You must read my Privacy Policy (please see section after Terms & Conditions) which contains important information about the use of your personal data and other information regarding your privacy.
8.2 I will co-operate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing me to disclose the identity of or locate anyone breaching paragraph 5.1 or otherwise for the prevention or detection of crime or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders. There may be other circumstances in which I may be required by law to disclose information about you or your use of the Website.
9. CHANGES TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
I am constantly looking for new ways to improve this Website.  I therefore reserve the right to amend these Terms at any time. All such changes will take effect once they have been posted on the Website and you will be deemed to have accepted any such changes by your use of the Website from such time.
10. SEVERENCE
If any part of these Terms is disallowed or found to be ineffective by any court or regulator, the other provisions shall continue to apply.
11. TRANSFER
These Terms are personal to you. You may not transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms to anyone else.
12. THIRD PARTY RIGHTS
These Terms are not intended to give rights to anyone except you and me.
13. GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION
In the event of any dispute between us concerning these Terms, the laws of England and Wales will apply.  If you wish to take court proceedings against me, you must do so within the United Kingdom.
These Terms were last updated on 17 January 2010.
© Darren Shan 2010. All rights reserved.

PRIVACY POLICY
1. GENERAL
I respect your privacy and am committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy has been created to let you know what information is collected when you visit the website at http://www.darrenshan.com (the “Website”), why I collect this information and how the collected information is used.
If you use the Messageboard which is made available to you via the Website, you will need to register with Yuku and agree to Yuku’s additional terms and conditions and privacy policy to be able to post messages.
2. CONSENT TO PRIVACY NOTICE
By your continued use of the Website following the posting of this Privacy Policy, you agree to this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy should be read in conjunction with my Terms and Conditions (see above) and any additional applicable terms posted on the Website. I may periodically make changes to this Privacy Policy and will notify you of these changes by posting the modified terms on the Website. I recommend that you revisit this Privacy Policy regularly. If I am going to use Personal Information in a manner materially different from that stated at the time of collection I will notify you by posting a notice on the Website.
If you have any questions concerning this Privacy Policy please email me via the Contact Form http://www.darrenshan.com/contact/http://www.darrenshan.com/contact/ on the Website.
3. COLLECTED INFORMATION
“Personal Information” means information that may be used to identify an individual, including, but not limited to, first and last name, home address, email address, pictures, other contact information, website usage preferences, any personal photographs and Fan Art you submit to me and feedback regarding the Website. You may be asked to provide Personal Information when you use the Website. In addition, when you interact with the Website, the servers may keep an activity log unique to you that collects certain administrative and traffic information including: source IP address, time of access, date of access, web page(s) visited, language use, software crash reports and type of browser used.
Means of Collecting and Processing Data
I may automatically collect certain data as discussed above and receive Personal Information about you where you provide such information through the Website or other communications and interactions with me.
Information Use
I use the Personal Information you provide to respond to your emails, to enable you to register to receive my Shanville Monthly updates, to post your Fan Art on the Website (unless you ask me to hold back your Personal Information when I upload your pictures), to provide user support (including processing any complaints or enquiries made by you) and for any other purpose related to the operation of the Website.
Passing on Your Data to Third Parties
I will not sell, lease or share your Personal Information with any third parties except as set forth in this Privacy Policy.
You may contact me by email via the Contact Form http://www.darrenshan.com/contact/ or by letter to: Darren Shan, c/o Paul Kenny, Rahina, Clarina, County Limerick, Ireland if you: 1) want to confirm the accuracy of the Personal Information I have collected about you; 2) would like to update your Personal Information or delete your Personal Information; and/or 3) have any complaint regarding my use of your Personal Information. If requested, I will change any information you have provided to me or mark any information to prohibit future use.
Excluded Disclosures
I may disclose your Personal Information if required to do so by law, or if I believe in good faith that such action is necessary to: (1) comply with any legal process served on me or in circumstances where I am under a substantially similar legal obligation; (2) protect and defend my rights or property; or (3) act to protect the personal safety of users of the Website or the public.
COOKIES
Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer or equipment when you visit certain online pages that record your preferences. I use cookies to track use of the Website. I may also use cookies to monitor traffic, improve the Website and make it easier and/or more relevant for your use.
When do I use cookies?
On the website
I use cookies to collect information. My servers use two different types of cookies:
• A ‘session-based’ cookie: This type of cookie is only allocated to your computer for the duration of your visit to the Website. A session-based cookie helps you move around the Website faster and allows me to give you information that is more relevant to you. This cookie automatically expires when you close your browser.
• A ‘persistent’ cookie: This type of cookie will remain on your computer for a period of time set for each cookie.
Cookies enable me to:
• Identify your preferences when customising content or functionality for you.
• Collect statistics on the use of the Website.
I may also use cookies and web beacons to ensure that my mailing tools are working properly.
Refusing cookies
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but, if you prefer, you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies. The Help menu on the menu bar of most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie and how to disable cookies altogether. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to experience all of the features available via the Website.
5. SECURITY
Security
I use reasonable measures to protect all Personal Information received directly from you that is stored within my database. I also take steps to ensure that anyone employed by me or acting on my behalf employs adequate levels of security.
Third-Party Practices
I cannot ensure the protection of any information or images that you provide to a third-party online site that links to or from Website, since these third-party online sites are owned and operated independently of me. Any information collected by these third parties is not governed by this Privacy Policy but by the privacy policy, if any, of such third party. If you have questions about a third party’s information practices, please read its privacy policy. I assume no responsibility or liability whatsoever for the practices, actions or policies of such third parties, and I am not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such online sites.
This Privacy Policy was last updated on 18 January 2010.