Terms and Conditions of Use
Last Revised: November 19, 2009
Member Username and Password, Authority to Act and Confidentiality
Privacy of Information
Member Rules, Restrictions and Obligations
License
Trademark Notice
Copyrights and Copyright Infringement
Warranty and Liability Disclaimers
Indemnification
Communications between RA and Forum Members
Termination
Links
Miscellaneous Provisions
The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Forum ("Forum") is offered by Eco-Index®, a service of Rainforest Alliance ("RA", "we" or "us"), to governmental and non-governmental conservation professionals and individuals with an interest in Neotropical migratory bird conservation. This policy applies to the Forum located at http://www.eco-index.org/forums/nmbc_forum.cfm. Forum content is accessible to the general public. Individuals who wish to identify publicly as members of the Forum, receive emails regarding recent postings, or post content on the Forum ("Entries") or responses to Entries posted by others ("Responses"), must create member accounts with usernames and passwords ("Members" or "you"). Before obtaining a username and password for a Member account, you must first represent that you have read and understood, and agree to abide by, all of the terms and conditions of use contained herein (the "Agreement"). Your use of the Forum indicates your acceptance of these terms and conditions of use and the privacy policy of the Forum.
RA may change or modify the Forum or this Agreement at any time. RA advises you to review this Agreement periodically for changes, because your continued use of the Forum indicates your acceptance of any changes.
1. Member Username and Password, Authority to Act and Confidentiality.
(a) Members agree to provide RA with current, complete and accurate information when completing RA's on-line "Create an Account" form. If an individual creates an account on behalf of a business or governmental entity as a Member, the individual unconditionally warrants that he/she is legally authorized to act on behalf of the Member and to bind it to the terms of this Agreement. Individuals obtaining and using Member usernames and passwords must be at least 18 years of age.
(b) Once assigned an account username and password, Members may change their password and select a password of their own choosing. Members are responsible for keeping their usernames and passwords confidential, and are further responsible for exercising complete control over all activities that occur on their accounts, including but not limited to the uploading, posting and transmittal of information to, on and through the Forum.
(c) Members agree to notify RA immediately of any errors or information, or any security breaches such as unauthorized use of an account. RA may terminate an account if fraudulent, abusive, or other illegal activity occurs on the account, and may, at its discretion, refer such activity to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
2. Privacy of Information. RA understands the desire of Members to know how their individual information and professional affiliation is used and secured, and is committed to taking all reasonable and appropriate measures to safeguard against unauthorized disclosures of information. Our privacy policy, which explains RA's on-line information practices and data security on the Forum and is hereby incorporated herein, can be found at http://www.eco-index.org/forums/nmbc_privacy.cfm.
3. Member Rules, Restrictions and Obligations. Members are prohibited from:
(a) uploading, posting or transmitting information to, on and through the Forum or using the Forum, except as permitted under the terms and conditions stated in this Agreement;
(b) obtaining unauthorized access to other Members' information or data, or otherwise breaching or attempting to breach the security of Member information or data;
(c) misrepresenting themselves and their professional affiliations in connection with their use of the Forum, or knowingly uploading, posting or transmitting incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete information in Entries or Responses;
(d) permitting unauthorized access to the Forum or use of Members-only features of the Forum by third party non-members;
(e) uploading, posting, transmitting or disseminating any information that is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, vulgar, abusive, harassing, threatening, harmful to others or otherwise objectionable;
(f) uploading, posting, transmitting or disseminating any personally identifiable information of others without first obtaining such person's consent to do so;
(g) infringing upon the copyrights, privacy rights, trademarks or other intellectual property rights, rights in confidential information or trade secrets of RA, any other Member or any other person;
(h) interfering with or disrupting the use of the Forum by RA, other Members or the general public;
(i) altering or tampering with the Forum's software, appearance or functionality;
(j) uploading, posting or transmitting a computer virus, worm or other contamination which causes the Forum to become inaccessible, inoperable or contaminated, or which is designed to be destructive, harmful or threatening to others;
(k) engaging in unlawful activities in connection with the Forum, or in activities which place RA or other Members at risk of civil or criminal liability;
(l) reproducing, duplicating, copying, selling, commercially exploiting access to the Forum or any of the content made available on the Forum (except for content You posted), or otherwise using the Forum for commercial uses or purposes;
(m) using the Forum or the publicly available information about Members contained on the Forum in connection with surveys, contests, pyramid schemes, chain letters, junk mail, spamming, unsolicited messages, or off-topic messages; and
(n) promoting the Forum through "spam" messages to third parties.
4. License. By submitting content to the Forum, Members who post an Entry or Response, or any modification thereto, grant a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license (a) to RA to use, reproduce, modify, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, transmit, perform and display the posting (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate into other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist in such content or information, subject to these terms and conditions of use and the privacy policy referenced herein, and (b) to any and all visitors to the Forum to reproduce the content you posted for personal, internal and non-commercial purposes. Any visitor to the Forum who seeks to use content posted by a Member for purposes other than those covered by the license granted herein, must obtain the necessary permission from the owner of such content.
5. Trademark Notice. Rainforest AllianceT, Eco-Index®, the RA logo, the Rainforest Alliance CertifiedT seal, and other names of RA products, services and programs referenced in this Forum are protected trademarks or registered trademarks of RA. All rights reserved.
6. Copyrights and Copyright Infringement.
(a) All Forum content posted by RA is protected Copyright © 2009 by the Rainforest Alliance, Inc. All rights reserved. Forum content posted by RA may not be reproduced without RA's prior written permission, with the following exception: Members may print copies for their own business use, provided that the content of the copies may not be altered and the appropriate copyright and/or trademark notice must be affixed to each copy printed, where applicable.
(b) RA disclaims all copyrights to, ownership rights to, responsibility and liability for Forum content posted by Members. RA reserves the right to review, pre-screen and approve any Member Entries or Responses and to remove Entries or Responses without notice. Members are solely responsible for the accuracy, validity or legitimacy of the Entries and Responses that they post. Members posting Entries or Responses represent and warrant that they own or have sufficient rights to content to grant the licenses provided herein.
(c) Members agree not to infringe the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of any other Members or users of the Forum or anyone who submits information or content to the Forum. Members must report immediately to RA any actual or suspected violations of copyright or intellectual property rights of which it becomes aware, whether such actual or suspected violation involves RA's rights, the Member's rights, the rights of another Member of the Forum or a third party.
7. Warranty and Liability Disclaimers.
(a) Except as limited by law, RA makes no representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect to the Forum or any portion thereof, including any warranties of merchantability, suitability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, or non-infringement of copyright, trademark or patent rights of others. RA does not represent or warrant that the information or data available on the Forum will be accurate or error-free.
(b) Except as limited by law, RA makes no representations or warranties, express or implied, that the files or functions contained in the Forum or made available for downloading are free from computer viruses, worms or other harmful contamination, or that users of the Forum will have uninterrupted and error-free access to the Forum. Members who use the Forum are responsible for implementing their own procedures and protections against possible damage to hardware, software and systems. You use the Forum at your own risk.
(c) In no event shall RA be liable for any loss, claim or damages, direct or indirect, consequential or incidental, punitive or other, arising from (1) the use of or failure to use the Forum, (2) any failure or delay in including updated materials on the Forum, (3) any errors, omissions, inaccuracies or typographical errors on the Forum, (4) any libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, vulgar, abusive, harassing, threatening, harmful or otherwise objectionable or illegal content on the Forum transmitted to or placed on the Forum, (5) any infringement of another's rights, including intellectual property rights, (6) any unauthorized access to or alteration of transmissions of data on the Forum or failure of information or data to transmit, or (7) any decisions made or actions taken in reliance upon information found on the Forum.
(d) Any opinions expressed in Entries or Responses on the Forum are the personal opinions of the original authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of RA.
(e) RA reserves the right to make changes or improvements to the Forum, or to update information or data on the Forum, at any time.
(f) You agree and acknowledge that Members participate in this Forum as individuals interested in migratory bird conservation, not as representatives of any governmental body. Any opinions expressed by Members in Entries or Responses on the Forum are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect or express the views of any government.
8. Indemnification. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless RA, its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, employees and agents, against any claims, actions, demands, liabilities or damages (including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs), whether direct or indirect, consequential or incidental, asserted or awarded against RA or its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, employees and agents, by any third party, which arise from your use of the Forum, including but not limited to your breach of any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, your negligence, gross negligence or willful misconduct, or your breach of any warranty, representation or covenant contained herein. You shall use your best efforts to cooperate with RA in the defense of any such claims.
9. Communications between RA and Forum Members. RA may send electronic mail to Members regarding changes or additions to the Forum in accordance with the Member's preferences indicated in his or her account. RA may also send electronic mail to Members for the purpose of obtaining feedback on Members' use of the Forum. Information obtained by RA through communications with Members will be used to improve the Forum and better understand Members' needs.
10. Termination.
(a) By Member: You may terminate your account at any time by sending an electronic mail to RA at eco-index@ra.org requesting a termination of membership and stating the reason for your request. RA will respond within five business days and will confirm by electronic mail the termination of registration and membership.
(b) By RA: RA may, at its discretion, terminate or suspend a Member's access to the Forum for any reason, at any time, including but not limited to, breach of any of the terms and conditions contained within this Agreement. RA may also terminate or suspend a Member account due to inactivity (i.e. failure to sign in to the Forum for an extended period of time, as determined by RA). In the event of such a termination, RA will send an electronic mail notification to the Member which states the basis for the termination. Access to Members-only features of the Forum will be denied immediately once membership is terminated.
11. Links. The Forum may contain links to other web sites not operated by RA. These web sites are not controlled by RA and the links are provided only as a convenience. RA does not endorse any other web sites and is not responsible for their content or availability. RA recommends that you review terms and conditions of use and privacy policies when visiting other web sites.
12. Miscellaneous Provisions.
(a) The terms and conditions contained herein shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
(b) Members agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or other legal action arising out of or related to use of the Forum must be filed within one year after the reason for the claim or other legal action arose. In addition, the claim or other legal action must be filed in a court located in the County of New York, State of New York, U.S.A.
(c) Members agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment or agency relationship exists between you and RA as a result of this Agreement or use of this Forum.
(d) In the event that any portion of this Agreement is deemed to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set forth above, the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.
(e) RA's failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision contained in this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.
(f) This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and RA regarding the use of this Forum, and supersedes all prior writings or understandings between you and RA with respect to this Forum.
(g) RA reserves the right to, and may from time to time, change or modify the terms and conditions under which it offers Members access to and use of the Forum. It is your responsibility to review this Agreement periodically, because your continued use of the Forum signifies your acceptance of any changes to this Agreement. The date on which this Agreement was last modified shall be posted at the top of the Agreement.
Any questions about these terms and conditions of use of the Forum may be directed to the Forum administrator by emailing eco-index@ra.org.
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