Becoming a member of HotWheelsCollectors.com^sm is easy and it's completely FREE! Registering to be a member will allow you to participate in all kinds of interactive features designed just for Hot Wheels collectors like you.

In order to become a member, you must accept the terms of the “HWC MEMBER SERVICE AGREEMENT,” which simply outlines the type of acceptable and unacceptable behavior in this online community. You'll be asked to create a user name and password and you will be required to submit a valid e-mail address. Please read through the agreement below, and join the most exciting Hot Wheels community on the Web.

HWC™ Member Service Agreement

Updated January 2007

Welcome to Mattel, Inc.'s on-line community and related services (the "Services"). Mattel, Inc. and its affiliates and subsidiaries ("Mattel" or "we") provide the Services to you subject to this Member Service Agreement (this "Member Agreement"), which you must read and accept in its entirety before using our Services.

It's critical that you read the entire Member Agreement. It contains important information that addresses prohibited conduct. It outlines liabilities and obligations that you agree to assume each time you use our Service. And it highlights certain rights that we reserve so that we can ensure that our Service will be an enjoyable Internet experience and so that we can remain a responsible member of the Internet community. And, if that's not compelling enough, you should know that, once accepted by you, this Member Agreement is a legally binding document.

Once you read the entire Member Agreement, if you agree to all of its terms, then type the words "I accept" where indicated. By doing so, you'll be bound by this Member Agreement whenever you use our Service. We may update, modify, or otherwise change this Member Agreement from time-to-time, particularly when we add, remove, or modify features of the Service, and we make these changes to this Member Agreement without prior notice to you. Those updates, modifications, and changes will be binding on you from the time that we post them. You can always review the most current version of this Member Agreement on our website, and we urge you to do so on a regular basis. Any changes that we make to this Member Agreement will be binding on you even if you fail to read them. It's your responsibility to read this Member Agreement and keep apprised of all changes to it. If you don't accept this Member Agreement by typing "I accept" where indicated, then you can't use our Service.

1. Our Service

Our Service includes a broad range of features, and these features will vary from time-to-time. Unless we expressly tell you otherwise, all new features that we provide to modify, supplement, or improve our current Service will be subject to this Member Agreement. Although we do not charge for using our Service, we reserve the right to charge for your use of the Service (or any portion of it) in the future and, regardless of whether or not we charge for our Service, you must obtain access to the World Wide Web at your own cost in order to use our Service. Your use of the Service is also subject to the Term and Conditions of Website Use that relate to this website. For more information, please see our full Terms and Conditions of Website Use.

2. Eligibility and Your Registration Obligations

You are eligible to register and become a member only if you are at least 18 years of age on or before the date that you register. You must provide truthful, complete information (the "Registration Information") on our online registration form. You also must update the Registration Information as appropriate in order to keep the Registration Information truthful and complete. If you provide us with any Registration Information or other information that isn't truthful, complete, or up-to-date, or if we have grounds to suspect that any of it isn't truthful, complete, or up-to-date, then we may suspend, terminate, or take any other legal action with respect to your account. If you share your password with any other person, then you assume complete responsibility for that 'use of our Service, including, without limitation, your obligations in Sections 3 and 4 of this Member Agreement. We reserve the right to refuse use of our Service (or any portion of it) by you or any third party.

3. Content on the Service

All information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages, statements, opinions, and other information or materials that you find at www.HotWheelsCollectors.com and that does not originate directly from Mattel (the "Content"), whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, are the sole responsibility of the party from whom that Content originated. This means that you, and not Mattel, are fully responsible, and are legally liable, for all Content that you upload, download, post, make available, or otherwise transmit (via e-mail, e-card or otherwise) on the Service. We don't assume any obligation to review or control the Content posted by users of the Service or otherwise, nor do we, either expressly or implicitly, warrant or make any assurance about the accuracy, source, quality, or integrity of any such Content. In addition, visitors to our website and other users of our Service may have access to Content that you upload, post, or otherwise make available and might copy, modify, or exploit it. We will not be liable, and we disclaim all liability, in connection with any such use of any Content by visitors to or users of our Service.

While using the Service, you may be exposed to Content of other users with which you may disagree or that you may find offensive, indecent, or objectionable, or that is inaccurate, misleading, or illegal. You expressly assume and agree to bear any and all risks associated with the use of any Content and your exposure to any Content, including any reliance by you on the accuracy, integrity, usefulness, or completeness of such Content. We will not be liable, and we disclaim all liability, in connection with any harm, loss, or damages of any amount or type arising from your access to, or use of, the Service or any Content posted to, downloaded from, or otherwise made available through the Service, whether that Content is posted to, downloaded from, or otherwise made available through the Service by Mattel, you, another user, or any other third party.

The community of users of the Service may include moderators, many of who may not be affiliated in any way with Mattel and may be users of the Service just like you. Without limiting the generality of the preceding two paragraphs, (a) if you view or participate in moderated message boards, then you may receive Content from the message board moderators, (b) we don't assume any obligation to review or control any Content posted on the message boards or any Content from message board moderators, nor do we, either expressly or implicitly, warrant or make any assurance about the accuracy, source, quality, or integrity of any such Content, and (c) we will not be liable, and we disclaim all liability, in connection with any harm, losses, and or damages of any amount or type arising from your access to, or use of, such Content.

4. Prohibited User Conduct

In using the Service, you may not:

1. upload, post, transmit (via e-mail, e-card, or otherwise), or otherwise make available any Content, or select any member name, that:
   1. violates any right of any party;
   2. is abusive, harmful, threatening, harassing, vulgar, obscene, hateful, pornographic, or racially or ethnically objectionable, or violates the privacy of a third party;
   3. violates any applicable domestic or international law, or government regulation (including, without limitation, those of any state, foreign country, securities exchange, the S.E.C., and the F.C.C.);
   4. upload, post, make available, or otherwise transmit serial numbers for software for the purpose of illegally registering or validating software;
   5. is disruptive to Mattel's Internet community or to Mattel's business or business relationships; or
   6. you don't have a right to make available under any contractual or fiduciary relationship (including, without limitation, confidential information of others, including information learned during employment or consulting relationships or pursuant to non-disclosure agreements, and inside information as that term is understood under applicable securities laws).
2. upload, post, transmit (via e-mail, e-card, or otherwise), or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses, worms, or any other computer code or portions of code, programs, or files designed to interfere with, interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications or other equipment or to cause a security breach of such software, hardware, or other equipment;
3. upload, post, transmit (via e-mail, e-card, or otherwise), or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, spam, junk mail, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or any other form of commercial or political solicitation, except in those areas of the Service that we may designate for such purposes;
4. engage in or run raffles, lotteries, contests, sweepstakes, or chain letters or other pyramid schemes;
5. disguise the origin of any Content uploaded to, posted on, transmitted, or otherwise made available on or through the Service, including, without limitation, by forging headers, providing inaccurate intellectual property notices, or otherwise manipulating identifiers;
6. impersonate any person or entity, including, without limitation, a Mattel official, employee, or representative, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation or association with, sponsorship by, or connection to, any person or entity, including, without limitation, by using logos, names, trademarks, service marks, meta tags, addresses, symbols, or other identifiers that you do not have the legal right to use;
7. modify, obscure, or eliminate the Mattel frame set, banner advertising, or any other content or information that originates from Mattel;
8. monitor, gather, or copy Content or any Mattel items available on the Service by using any robot, "bot", spider, crawler, spyware, engine, device, software, extraction tool, or any other automatic device, utility, or manual process of any kind;
9. attempt to harm minors in any way;
10. promote or provide instructions or information about how to engage in illegal conduct or commit illegal activities, promote physical harm or injury, or promote any illegal act of cruelty to animals. This includes, but is not limited to, providing instructions on how to assemble bombs and any other weapons, and creating Crush websites;
11. collect or harvest screen names; collect or store personal data about other users; or solicit or attempt to discover a user's password, screen name, or other registration information without the user's express knowledge and consent;
12. interfere with or disrupt the Service, or servers or networks connected to the Service, or violate any requirements, policies, regulations, or procedures of networks connected to the Service;
13. disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, cause a screen to "scroll" faster than other users of the Service are able to type, or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other users' ability to engage in real time exchanges;
14. provide links to websites, networks, Content, or resources that themselves violate the letter or spirit of this Member Agreement, or promote the violation of this Member Agreement or make available tools or information whose primary use constitutes a violation of the letter or spirit of this Member Agreement;
15. use your web pages or directory as storage for remote loading or as a door or signpost to another web page, whether inside or outside a Mattel website;
16. develop hidden pages or images (those not linked to from another accessible page), or restrict access to any pages other than through password protection mechanisms provided and approved by Mattel;
17. interfere with the operation or design of any elements that Mattel may add to users' pages, including, without limitation, toolbars, advertising banners, watermarks, logos, or other messages of any kind; or,
18. engage in commercial activities on the Service without enrolling in Mattel-approved affiliate programs, if any. Such prohibited commercial activities include, without limitation, soliciting for advertisers or providing a link to a commercial website outside of a Mattel-approved program.

5. Content Submitted to the Service

We don't claim ownership of the Content that you make available on the Service. You represent and warrant that you own all necessary rights, title, and, interests in and to any and all Content that you post, upload, transmit, or make available as a part of the Service, consistent with your use of such Content and consistent with your grant of rights to Mattel under this Member Agreement. By making the Content available as a part of the Service, you grant Mattel a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, non-exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, and otherwise exploit the Content by all means and in all media, now known or hereafter devised for any purpose.

6. Your Communications with Mattel

Unless it specifically requests them, Mattel does not accept or consider any ideas or suggestions relating to products, services, marketing plans, or any other matters. Therefore, please do not send to Mattel any unsolicited materials, such as ideas for toys, games, or other products, or any other suggestions, ideas, notes, drawings, inventions, techniques, models, designs, concepts, or other similar information or materials.

Any such submissions and any questions, comments, answers, suggestions, or the like submitted by you to Mattel via this website or by fax, mail, or otherwise, or transmitted, posted, or uploaded by you to this website (collectively, "Your Submissions") will be treated as non-confidential and nonproprietary, and Mattel will not assume any responsibility, obligation, or liability for them or for Mattel's receipt or non-receipt of them. Mattel's receipt of Your Submissions is not an admission by Mattel of their novelty, priority, or originality, and it does not impair Mattel's right to contest existing or future intellectual property rights relating to Your Submissions.

You grant Mattel a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and sublicensable right and license to reproduce, distribute, publish, transmit, modify, adapt, translate, display, distribute, sell, license, publicly perform, prepare derivative works based upon, and otherwise use or exploit Your Submissions throughout the world in any and all media. You represent and warrant that: (a) you have the right and authorization to make the foregoing grant without the consent of any third party, and (b) Your Submissions are accurate and, as permitted to be used by Mattel in this Member Agreement, do not and will not infringe any right of any third party.

When you send e-mails to us, you are communicating with us electronically and you consent to receive communications from us electronically. Furthermore, you agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

7. International Availability of this Website and Content

The Internet spans the world. Because of this, you must comply with all applicable local laws, rules, and regulations, whether those of other countries or of the individual states within the United States, regarding online conduct, acceptable Content, and your use of the Service. In addition, you must comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country from which you use the Service, including, without limitation, any and all restrictions on encryption technology.

8. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold Mattel (which includes Mattel's affiliates, subsidiaries, agents and service providers) harmless from all liabilities, losses, damages, costs, and expenses (including attorneys' fees) on account of any claim, suit, action, demand, or proceeding made or brought against any such party, or on account of the investigation, defense, or settlement thereof, arising in connection with your Content, your use of the Service, and/or your violation of this Member Agreement.

9. Absolute Right to Suspend or Terminate Your Use of the Service

We may, in our sole discretion, (a) suspend or terminate your account, (b) remove any Content, and (c) terminate or modify all or any portion of the Service. We may exercise these rights for any reason or no reason, all without notice or liability to you or anyone else.

10. Third Party Items

Any interactions, correspondence, and business dealings that you have with any other users of the Service or any advertisers and other third parties (collectively, "Third Parties") found on or through the Service, or your participation in any promotions or offered by a Third Party, including payment and delivery of related goods or services and any other terms, conditions, warranties, or representations associated with such activities, are solely and entirely between you and the Third Party. We will not be liable, and we disclaim all liability, in connection with any harm, loss, or damage of any kind that you may incur as a result of any such dealings.

11. Links to Other Website and Resources

We may provide links through the Service to other World Wide Web websites or resources that are not owned or controlled by Mattel (collectively, the "Third Party Resources"). We don't maintain such Third Party Resources, nor do we have any control over them. We don't endorse, approve, or sponsor any Third Party Resources, or any content, advertising, information, materials, products, services, or other items available from them (collectively, the "Third Party Materials"). We disclaim all liability for the availability, performance, accuracy, source, quality, integrity, and decency of the Third Party Resources and Third Party Materials, and the compliance of the Third Party Resources and Third Party Materials with any standard or law. We will not be liable, and we disclaim all liability, in connection with any harm, loss, or damage of any kind caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with your use of or reliance on any Third Party Materials or Third Party Resources.

12. Our Privacy Policy

Under our Privacy Policy, which is hereby incorporated into this Member Agreement, we may disclose to third parties certain aggregate information contained in your Registration Information or related information. We won't, however, disclose personally identifiable information about you to anyone outside our corporate family, except our agents and service providers, unless: (a) you specifically authorize us to do so, (b) we believe, in good faith, that such disclosure is necessary either to comply with the law or a legal process (including subpoenas and other court orders), or to enforce this Member Agreement, or (c) it's otherwise permitted under our Privacy Policy (which we may amend from time to time, without notice to you). For more information, please see our full Privacy Policy.

Note to International Visitors: This site and the servers that make this site available are located in the United States and personal data you submit to us may be further transferred by us outside the U.S. or your country of residence. Most countries, including the United States, have not formally been determined to operate under specific laws deemed "adequate" by the European Union (EU) for the transfer of personal data. Mattel, however, respects your privacy, and will handle your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy. By accepting this Member Agreement, you specifically acknowledge and consent to the collection, processing, transfer and use of your personal data as indicated in this Member Agreement and our Privacy Policy. To update your contact information and preferences on how we contact you, or access the personal information we hold about you, e-mail us at service@mattel.com.

13. Investigations; Cooperation with Law Enforcement

Mattel reserves the right to: (a) investigate any suspected breaches of its website security or its information technology or other systems or networks, (b) investigate any suspected breaches of this Member Agreement, (c) involve and cooperate with law enforcement authorities and other governmental agencies in investigating any matters deemed necessary or appropriate by Mattel, and (d) prosecute violators of this Member Agreement to the full extent of the law.

14. Mattel and Third Party Proprietary Rights

Except as expressly authorized in writing by Mattel or, where applicable, Third Parties, you agree not to, in whole or in part, copy, duplicate, create derivative works based on, modify, sell, distribute, lease, loan, rent, grant a security interest in, or reverse engineer the Service or any software used in connection with the Service or any content or other materials made available to you on or through the Service. Mattel grants to you a personal, non-transferable, and non-exclusive right and license to use the object code of its Software on a single computer. You may not access the Service by any means other than through the interface that's provided by Mattel for use in accessing the Service.

15. Mattel Isn't Responsible for Any Loss or Corruption of Data

We will not be responsible or liable for any loss or corruption of data that you may experience on the Service or otherwise, nor are we required to return to you any data that you have stored on the Service. This includes, without limitation, the loss or corruption of data resulting from the suspension, deletion, or modification of the Service or your access to it, or from outages, viruses, worms, or other security breaches.

16. Disclaimer of Warranties

YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES OF EVERY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE MAKE NO WARRANTY THAT (A) THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (B) THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, (C) YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE WILL ACHIEVE ANY PARTICULAR RESULT, OR (D) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE SERVICE (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY THIRD PARTY RESOURCES AND THIRD PARTY MATERIALS) WILL COMPLY WITH ANY LAW OR MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS. ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED AND ANY MATERIAL, PRODUCT, OR SERVICE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICE (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY THIRD PARTY RESOURCES AND THIRD PARTY MATERIALS) IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND YOU'LL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OF DATA AND DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM AND ANY OTHER ITEM THAT RESULTS FROM ANY SUCH ACTIVITY. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM MATTEL OR THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE WILL CREATE ANY WARRANTY. THE DISCLAIMERS CONTAINED IN THIS PARAGRAPH ARE A MATERIAL PART OF OUR AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE THE SERVICE TO YOU. Some jurisdictions may not permit the disclaimers contained in this paragraph, so some of the disclaimers in this paragraph may not apply to you.

17. Limitations of Liability

WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE, AND WE DISCLAIM ALL LIABILITY, IN CONNECTION WITH ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF WE'VE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (A) ANY USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE; (B) THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS AND SERVICES RESULTING FROM ANY GOODS, DATA, INFORMATION, OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR MESSAGES RECEIVED OR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE; (C) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (D) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT ON THE SERVICES OF ANY THIRD PARTY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY MODERATOR WHO IS NOT EMPLOYED BY MATTEL); OR (E) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SERVICE OR ANY THIRD PARTY RESOURCES, THIRD PARTY MATERIALS, OR THIRD PARTIES. THE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY CONTAINED IN THIS PARAGRAPH ARE A MATERIAL PART OF OUR AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE THE SERVICE TO YOU. Some jurisdictions may not permit the limitations of liability contained in this paragraph, so some of the limitations in this paragraph may not apply to you.

18. Services Relating to Financial Matters; No Reliance on Content

If you intend to create, join, subscribe to, or purchase any service or product through or in connection with the Service, then you must be particularly mindful of the disclaimers and the limitations of liability in this Member Agreement. Neither the Service and nor any Content included as a part of the Service may be relied upon in connection with any securities trading or investment purposes. We will not be responsible or liable under any circumstances for any trading or investment decisions made based on any use of the Service or Content.

19. Reporting Abuse

We encourage you to report to us, at service@mattel.com, any suspected violations of this Member Agreement, particularly as they relate to misuses of intellectual property and illegal or inappropriate behavior. Please be advised that Mattel is subject to the protections of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, specifically 17 U.S.C. § 512. If you own copyrights in a work and believe that your intellectual property rights in that work have been infringed by an improper posting or distribution of it via this Website, then send us a written notice that complies with Mattel's Procedure for Alleging Copyright Infringement.

20. General Provisions

This Member Agreement, along with the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Conditions of Website Use, constitutes the entire agreement between you and Mattel and governs your use of the Service, superseding any prior agreements, if any, between you and Mattel, including, without limitation, any prior versions of this Member Agreement. You also may be subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use affiliate or other Mattel services, Third Party Resources, and Third Party Content. Any controversy or claim relating to this Member Agreement and the Services not otherwise resolved between you and Mattel will be settled solely by binding arbitration in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), administered in accordance with the AAA's Supplementary Procedures for Consumer-Related Disputes. Any such controversy or claim will be arbitrated on an individual basis, and will not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any other party. The arbitration will be conducted in Los Angeles, California, and judgment on the arbitration award may be entered into any court having jurisdiction of it. Any claim or cause of action that you may have with respect to this Member Agreement and the Services must be commenced within one year after the claim or cause of action arises or it will be forever barred. Any action or proceeding by Mattel relating to your access to, or use of, the Services (including, without limitation, the Content) in accordance with this paragraph will be instituted in state or federal court in Los Angeles County, California. Accordingly, you consent to the personal jurisdiction of the courts in Los Angeles County, California with respect to all matters relating to your access to or use of the Services and waive your rights to removal or consent to removal. This Member Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflicts of law provisions. The foregoing provisions of this paragraph will not apply to any legal action taken by Mattel to recover damages for, or seek an injunction in connection with, any loss, cost, or damage (or any potential loss, cost, or damage) relating to the Services, any Content, Mattel's operations, and/or Mattel's products or services caused by your act or failure to act. Mattel's failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Member Agreement will not constitute a waiver or relinquishment of such right or provision, or any other right or provision. If any provision of this Member Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, you agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to your and our intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of this Member Agreement will remain in full force and effect.

© 2007 Mattel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.