Terms of Use
Effective April 2016
This website is owned and operated by, or on behalf of, the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science ("UCGIS"). These terms of use (the "Terms of Use") apply to the websites located at www.ucgis.org, ucgis.org/gis-projects, and all other websites owned and operated by UCGIS (collectively, the "Website"). Please read the Terms of Use before using the Website, as they govern your use of the Website and affect your legal rights and obligations, including, but not limited to, waivers of rights, limitations of liability, and your indemnification of UCGIS. By browsing and/or using the Website, including through a mobile device or application, and whether or not you register for an account, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by these Terms of Use, which together with our Privacy Policy and is hereby incorporated by reference, govern UCGIS's relationship with you with respect to the Website.
In connection with your use of the Website, you may be entitled to receive certain records, such as contracts, notices, and communications, in writing. To facilitate your use of the Website, you consent to receive these records electronically instead of in paper form. To withdraw this consent, you must cease using the Website and terminate your account.
If you do not approve of any part of these Terms of Use, please do not visit the Website. UCGIS may revise these Terms of Use at any time by posting the amended Terms of Use on the Website. Your continued use of the Website after changes have been posted will constitute your acceptance of such changes.
The GIS&T Project Portal
Part of the Website includes the GIS&T Project Portal located at ucgis.org/gis-projects (the "Project Portal"). The Project Portal is an online community in which students and clients find each other to work together on geographic information science ("GIS") research projects.
To access and use the Project Portal, you must register for an account on the Project Portal (the "Account"). To register for an Account, you must be either: (1) an individual, business, organization or agency involved in the GIS field (a "Client") who uses the Project Portal to post GIS research projects for interested students; or (2) a student who is currently enrolled part-time or full-time in a degree or certificate program at a UCGIS member institution (a "Student") and who uses the Project Portal to find GIS research projects for academic purposes. Further, you must be at least 18 years of age to register for an Account, and you agree to provide true, accurate, and complete information on all registration and other forms you access on the Project Portal or provide to us on the Website, and to update your information to maintain its truthfulness, accuracy, and completeness.
UCGIS reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to refuse, suspend, or revoke your access to the Website and the Project Portal upon discovery that any information you provided to UCGIS on the Website is not true, accurate, or complete, or such information or other conduct otherwise violates these Terms of Use, or for any other reason or no reason in UCGIS's sole discretion. Further, UCGIS reserves the right to remove the accounts of Students from any UCGIS member institution that fails to keep its membership status active by paying its annual dues, and to prohibit the creation of Accounts from that institution unless and until active membership status is resumed.
You expressly acknowledge, agree, and understand that: (1) the Project Portal is an online community in which Students and Clients find each other to work together on GIS research projects, and the role of UCGIS is merely to host and maintain the Website and Project Portal; (2) UCGIS is not a party to any arrangements or agreements between Students and Clients; (3) your use of the Project Portal and collaboration with any Student or Client does not create a partnership, joint venture, principal/agent relationship or employer/employee relationship between UCGIS and any Student or Client; (4) UCGIS shall have no liability or obligations related to any arrangements or agreements between Students and Clients; (5) UCGIS has no control or supervision over Students or Clients or the work performed under any arrangement or agreement between Students and Clients; and (6) UCGIS makes no representations as to the reliability, capability, or qualifications of any Student or Client or the quality or success of any collaboration between any Student or Client, and UCGIS disclaims any and all liability relating thereto.
Account Security
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the username and password you designate during the Account registration process, and you are solely responsible for all activities that occur under your username and password. You agree to immediately notify UCGIS of any disclosure or unauthorized use of your username or password or any other breach of security, and ensure that you log out from your Account at the end of each session.
Content Posted By You
You are solely responsible for the content and information that you post, upload, publish, link to, transmit, record, display or otherwise make available (hereinafter, "post") on the Website or post to other users on the Project Portal, including registration information, emails, text, video, image, pdf or other media, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted (collectively, the "Content"). UCGIS shall have no responsibility or liability for any use by third parties of the content or information you voluntarily post to other users on the Project Portal.
You understand and agree that UCGIS may, but is not obligated to, monitor or review any Content you post on the Website or on the Project Portal. UCGIS may delete any Content, in whole or in part, that in the sole judgment of UCGIS, is not consistent with the purpose of the Project Portal, violates the Terms of Use, or may harm the reputation of UCGIS or the Website.
By posting Content on the Website or on the Project Portal, you automatically grant to UCGIS an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, worldwide right and license to (1) use, copy, store, perform, display, reproduce, record, play, adapt, modify and distribute the Content, (2) prepare derivative works of the Content or incorporate the Content into other works, and (3) grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing in any media now known or hereafter created. You represent and warrant that any posting and use of your Content by UCGIS will not infringe or violate the rights of any third party.
Prohibited Activities
UCGIS reserves the right to investigate and/or terminate your Account and pursue any other lawful remedies if you have misused the Website or behaved in a way UCGIS regards as inappropriate or unlawful, including actions or communications that occur off the Website but involve users with whom you communicate or collaborate. The following is a partial list of the type of actions that are prohibited with respect to the Website and the Project Portal.
You shall not (1) use another person's Account, or otherwise misrepresent your identity, background or qualifications; (2) use the Project Portal to solicit other users to send you money or buy or sell any products or services; (3) express or imply that any statements you make are endorsed by UCGIS without our specific prior written consent; (4) copy, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, distribute, or publicly display any Website content (other than Content you have submitted to the Website), or any software code that is part of the Website, without the prior express written permission of UCGIS and the appropriate third party, as applicable; (5) interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper operation of the Website or any activities conducted on the Website; (6) attempt to bypass any measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Website or any subparts of the Website, including, without limitation, features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any content or enforce limitations on use of the Website or the content therein; (7) transmit spam, chain letters, or other unsolicited communications; (8) attempt to interfere with or compromise the system integrity or security or decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running the Website; (9) collect or harvest any personally identifiable information, including Account names, from the Website, for any purpose not consistent with the proper purpose of the Website or the Project Portal; (10) access any content on the Website through any technology or means other than those provided or authorized by the Website; (11) email or otherwise transmit any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment.
UCGIS Content
This Website contains material that is owned by UCGIS, copyrighted by UCGIS, or licensed to UCGIS. This material includes, but is not limited to, the content, trademarks, logos, text, photographs, design, layout, look and feel, appearance and graphics. Except as otherwise indicated on this Website, copying, reproduction, uploading, downloading, transmitting or any other use of this Website or of any content, in whole or part, without the express permission of UCGIS, is prohibited. You may download digital files where expressly permitted. Any unauthorized use of this Website and/or the contents may subject the user to criminal prosecution and/or civil liability under applicable law.
Copyright Policy
You may not post, distribute, or reproduce in any way any copyrighted material, trademarks, or other proprietary information without obtaining the prior written consent of the owner of such proprietary rights. If you believe that your work has been copied and posted on the Website in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide our Copyright Agent with the following information: (1) an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest; (2) a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed; (3) a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Website (and such description must be reasonably sufficient to enable UCGIS to find the alleged infringing material, such as a URL); (4) your address, telephone number and email address; (4) a written statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (5) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.
Notice of claims of copyright infringement should be provided to the UCGIS Copyright Agent at manageucgis_at_gmail.com or the following address: Copyright Agent c/o the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science, P.O. Box 612, Ithaca, NY 14851.
Representations and Warranties
In addition to any other representations and warranties made elsewhere under these Terms of Use, you represent and warrant to UCGIS that: (1) you have the legal right and capacity to enter into and comply with the Terms of Use; (2) you are not an individual, or an individual employed by or associated with an entity, identified on the U.S. Department of Commerce's Denied Persons or Entity List, the U.S. Department of Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals or Blocked Persons Lists, or the Department of State's Debarred Parties List or otherwise ineligible to receive items subject to U.S. export control laws and regulations or other economic sanction rules of any sovereign nation; (3) your use of the Website will at all times comply with these Terms of Use and you will not use the Website for any purpose or in any manner that infringes the rights of UCGIS or any third party; and (4) all information that you provide in connection with the Website (e.g., name, email address, and/or other information) is true and accurate.
Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability
ALL CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE IS PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. UCGIS MAKES NO WARRANTY AS TO THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR RELIABILITY OF ANY CONTENT AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WEBSITE. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR VERIFYING ANY INFORMATION BEFORE RELYING ON IT. USE OF THE PROJECT PORTAL, THE WEBSITE AND THE CONTENT AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. UCGIS MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT USE OF THE WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR TAKING ALL NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO ENSURE THAT ANY CONTENT YOU MAY OBTAIN FROM THE WEBSITE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL CODE.
YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF YOUR COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER USERS ON THE PROJECT PORTAL. UCGIS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE, OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY, OR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF ANY DATA, INFORMATION, MATERIALS, SUBSTANCE, OR CONTENT POSTED, TRANSMITTED, OR MADE AVAILABLE VIA THE PROJECT PORTAL. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED FROM UCGIS OR THROUGH THE PROJECT PORTAL, WILL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY MADE HEREIN.
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, UCGIS DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, AND FURTHER DISCLAIMS ALL LOSSES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR SPECIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR INTERATIONS WITH OTHER USERS ON THE PROJECT PORTAL, EVEN IF UCGIS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend and hold UCGIS and its directors, officers, agents, partners and employees harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of, based upon, or attributable to (1) your use of the Website; (2) violation of these Terms of Use; or (3) the inaccuracy or breach of any of the covenants, representations and warranties made by you under these Terms of Use.
Children
The Website is not directed toward children under 13 years of age nor does UCGIS knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you are under 13, please do not submit any personally identifiable information to UCGIS.
Links
The Website may contain links to websites operated by other parties. UCGIS provides these links to other websites as a convenience, and use of these websites is at your own risk. The linked websites are not owned or operated by or under the control of UCGIS, and UCGIS is not responsible for the content available on the other websites. Such links do not imply UCGIS's endorsement of information or material on any other website and UCGIS disclaims all liability with regard to your access to and use of such linked websites.
Choice of Law/Forum
All claims arising out of this Agreement or relating to the Website will be governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflicts of laws principles. Any legal action or proceeding arising out of this Agreement or relating to this Website shall be brought exclusively in a state or federal court located in Ithaca, New York.
Remedies
UCGIS reserves the right to seek all remedies available at law or in equity for violations of these Terms of Use, including without limitation the right to block access from a particular Internet address.
Miscellaneous
If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions shall be enforced. Headings are for reference purposes only and in no way define, limit, construe or describe the scope or extent of such section. UCGIS's failure to act with respect to any failure by you or others to comply with these Terms of Use does not waive UCGIS's right to act with respect to subsequent or similar failures. These Terms of Use, together with our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by reference, set forth the entire understanding and agreement between you and UCGIS with respect to the subject matter hereof. Any cause of action or claim you may have with respect to this Agreement or this Website must be commenced within six (6) months after the claim or cause of action arises or such claim or cause of action shall be barred.