I've been contacting BLA because they have closed my account (I can still log in and approve/deny ads for some reason) for having material against their AUP. They are not going to pay me any earnings made for the site. Now, to this date, I've read this AUP about 10 times over and none of the content on my site was against it. I emailed them many times for this and they state that the TOS of Adbrite responds: "AdBrite prohibits ads from displaying on sites with the following content: * Any pornographic, adult, or mature content including animation and ads. " Now, I understand this, but my site is not part of the Adbrite network, but of BLA. I tell them this. They keep telling me that some drawings on my site were against their AUP. I tell them that it isn't and I've read it over 5 times. This is the First Amendment they are restricting. A Federal Right given to the people. To make a long story short, after about 7 emails, I get an email with a link to the AUP again. It has changed. I have a copy of their old terms of service prior to this one. Should I consider a legal battle against them? I believe they have wronged me personally and have singled me out. There are multiple sites on their network that now do not follow their new AUP and their TOS, and sites that didn't follow it during our communications. Any suggestions of how to proceed? Any idea of what kind of lawyer I should talk to? Thank you all for your time.
Are BLA ads and Adbrite associated in any way? You should be contacting BLA to see why they banned you, not Adbrite. Make sure that you are doing this and that they know which program you are under. It isn't a first amendment issue because private advertising companies can basically ban whatever publishers they choose to, for any reason. You can try to sue, but odds are you will lose. I would proceed by contacting BLA ads again to sort out exactly why you were banned from their program and if their is anything you can do to reverse it. If they still do not relent I would just move on to a new program.
For any reason yes. They told me the exact reason why I was kicked out of the program. That reason was not against their TOS or AUP. I believe I have a case for being singled out. They have since modified their terms so that my site is no longer eligible for their program, as would quite a few other publisher sites on their network. Those sites remain up, some since 2006. I believe I do have a case here, regardless of them saying they can remove me from their network for no reason. What the major problem is they have said they voided all earnings from my zones and will not pay me because of that reason. They can not do this, they have no right to.
Whether or not there are other remaining sites in "violation" isn't an issue. You can't argue that other sites did it, so you should also be able. The issue is whether or not your site alone violated their terms and gave them cause not to pay you. Unless you are talking about tens of thousands of dollars in lost earnings, it wouldn't be worth hiring an attorney from a financial standpoint. You would be out attorney fees even if you won unless there is a prevailing party clause in any contract you entered in with them. If you want to pursue the matter, get all the terms of the agreement and see an attorney. If they have a clause for termination without cause, then they can terminate you without any reason. Whether or not they have to pay you is going to depend on the wording of their TOS and affiliate agreement.
I guess some people still misunderstand that. Here's the exact wording: Does that part include private parties like AdBrite, you, and every member of this forum? If they're not allowed to do that, then does that mean you aren't allowed to do that to others as well for the items mentioned above?
Yes dave, this I understood after I made the post/sent the email, but decided not to send another one correcting myself. mjewel, I'm not making an argument that other sites do it so I should too. They terminated my account before the edit of their terms. They gave me the reason and yet, it appeared to only be my site they were targeting. The site did not violate their terms and did not give them reason to not pay me. With their current amended usage agreement, I would be in violation. I have since deleted all my zones as I do not comply with their terms for that site. The reason I am annoyed, and considering sending a nice little letter in the mail, is that they refuse to pay me. They are not going to pay me for a site that followed their terms given. They deactivated my zones weeks before they changed their TOS. They continued to serve advertisements AFTER I got the email saying my account was terminated. They are not going to pay. This can not be legal. Go ahead and terminate me for no reason at all (rather than one that didn't break any terms), but voiding my earnings because of something that didn't breach their TOS/AUP? I think not.
Let's assume you have a solid case to sue them for the earnings they owe you. You will spend thousands and thousands of dollars to file a lawsuit and go through a court case. If that is worth it to you, then you should retain an attorney. There is no way to force them to pay you without filing a civil action in court. Again, you need to read the terms of the affiliate agreement. They might have a clause for arbitration or venue.
No, it's probably not worth it fiscally. (They owe me ~400USD) Out of all of that, it would send a message that I am serious. Even if it is a letter letting them know what they'll have to face. They have no such words in their agreements. What does this mean? Can I take them to court in my state since they have not specified what location to handle all claims? (Like Disney World, YPN, etc?)
You mean Google not paying you? To give you an idea, look up the Bradley v. Google and Feldman v. Google cases, especially the first since Bradley made a similar claim as yours. Google won both.
Not Google, BlackLabelAds. I know I don't stand a chance against Google. They earn money in the billions. Someone smaller like BlackLabel it is possible. I'm confused at the point you are trying to make, Dave. I never said anything about click fraud or Google. The situations do not cross at any point other than money lost. They, BlackLabelAds, terminated my account because I supposedly had content on my site that was against their TOS/AUP. This was incorrect on their end as my site complied with their TOS. Obviously not anymore as they have updated it. Anyway, they said they are not paying me because it violated their terms. I could understand not being paid because of possible click fraud, but that is not what I'm saying, or they are saying, happened.
For $400, you lose the minute you hire an attorney. It would be far cheaper to buy a plane ticket and sue them in small claims court.