Terms and conditions of use
BMEplanet is designed to encourage education, research, and innovation in biomedical engineering. By creating a user account, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of use defined here. Please read them before proceeding. By accessing BMEplanet, you accept, without limitation or qualification, these terms and conditions of use.
Modification of agreement
We maintain the right to modify these terms and may do so by posting modifications on our Web site (www.bmeplanet.org/legal/terms). Any modification is effective immediately upon posting the modification unless otherwise stated. Your continued use of BMEplanet following the posting of any modification signifies your acceptance of that modification. You should regularly review the terms and conditions of use.
Eligibility, registration, access, and termination
BMEplanet is restricted to individuals affiliated with organizations that are a part of our global bioengineering network and is to be used for the sole purpose of enhancing education, research, and innovation in bioengineering. Posting of spam or other illegitimate messages is a direct violation of these terms and may result in the termination of your account.
Certain portions of BMEplanet are restricted to registered users and/or allow a user to participate in online services by entering personal information. You agree that any information provided to BMEplanet in these areas will be complete and accurate, and that you will neither register under the name or attempt to enter BMEplanet under the name of another person or entity.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your username and password and for restricting access to your computer, and you agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account or password. BMEplanet does not authorize use of your username by third parties.
We may, in our sole discretion, terminate or suspend your access to and use of BMEplanet without notice and for any reason, including for violation of these terms and conditions of use or for other conduct that we, in our sole discretion, believe to be unlawful or harmful to others. In the event of termination, you are no longer authorized to access BMEplanet.
Privacy and confidentiality
We respect your privacy. We will only use your personal information to support and manage your use of BMEplanet, including the use of tracking cookies to facilitate BMEplanet security procedures. The University of Virginia and sponsors of BMEplanet may request BMEplanet usage statistics and other information. Usage of BMEplanet is monitored and usage statistics are collected and reported. BMEplanet also reserves the right to contact you (e.g., via e-mail alerts) to request additional information or to keep you updated on changes to your user account or BMEplanet. You may opt out of receiving non-essential communications. No information that would identify you personally and no confidential material (such as content that you post to a "private" collaborative project workspace) will be provided to sponsors or third parties without your permission.
All content uploaded to, transferred through, posted, processed, or entered into BMEplanet is available to other users of BMEplanet according to the visibility policies that you define. For example, upon creation of a collaborative project workspace, you are asked to specify whether to make that workspace-and its contents-accessible to only yourself, to a designated set of users whom you define, or to the entire BMEplanet community. We will make every attempt technically to keep any materials that you post into these workspaces private according to the terms that you specify, but the access privileges that we enforce are left to your discretion. All content uploaded to, transferred through, posted, processed, or entered into a privately-held workspace ("private" to you or you and a defined team of users) shall remain the sole property of its respective legal owner.
All material posted into non-private areas of the site (e.g., a non-private workspace or idea) is potentially available to all other users of BMEplanet. BMEplanet and its administrator, the University of Virginia, disclaim responsibility for, or capability of, the preservation of confidentiality of such information. Do not post or store information in a non-private space on BMEplanet if you expect to or are obligated to protect the confidentiality of that information. For example, all publicly viewable ideas should be non-enabling and have been cleared by your local technology transfer office.
Conduct
You are responsible at all times for using BMEplanet in a manner that is legal, ethical, and not to the detriment of others. You agree that you will not:
- Use e-mail addresses obtained or accessed through BMEplanet to transmit the same or substantially similar unsolicited message to multiple recipients without a valid purpose specifically related to the research and education mission of BMEplanet;
- Use BMEplanet to commit a criminal offense or to encourage others to conduct that would constitute a criminal offense or give rise to a civil liability;
- Violate any applicable law;
- Post or transmit any unlawful, threatening, libelous, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, pornographic, profane, or otherwise objectionable content;
- Use BMEplanet to impersonate other parties or entities;
- Use BMEplanet to upload any content that contains a software virus, "Trojan Horse," or any other computer code, files, or programs that may alter, damage, or interrupt the functionality of BMEplanet or the hardware or software of any other person who accesses BMEplanet, including automated systems such as "robots," "spiders," or "offline readers" that send more "request" messages to our servers in a given period of time than a single human can reasonably produce in the same time period by using a conventional online Web browser;
- Upload, post, e-mail, or otherwise transmit any materials that you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under a contractual relationship;
- Alter, damage, or delete any content posted on BMEplanet other than your own;
- Collect or harvest any personally identifiable information, including names and contact details, from BMEplanet, or use BMEplanet to contact users other than those who are personally known to you or for any reason other than to accelerate education, research, and innovation in bioengineering;
- Compile data about other people's use of BMEplanet, invade the privacy of others, misuse the personal data of others, attempt to access content intended to be stored in a "private" area through any means, or otherwise incite a person, persons, or entity to carry out such acts;
- Disrupt the normal flow of communication in any way;
- Claim a relationship with or speak for any business, association, or organization for which you are not authorized to claim such a relationship;
- Post or transmit any unsolicited advertising, promotional materials, or other forms of solicitation without a valid purpose specifically related to the research and education mission of BMEplanet; or
- Post any material that infringes or violates the intellectual property rights of another.
Disclaimers
BMEplanet AND ANY INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES ON IT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. The University of Virginia and BMEplanet do not warrant, and hereby disclaim warranties, either express or implied, with respect to the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any good, service, or information obtained from BMEplanet. The University of Virginia does not warrant that BMEplanet will operate in an uninterrupted or error-free manner or that BMEplanet is free of viruses or other harmful components. Use of BMEplanet is at your own risk.
You agree that BMEplanet and its administrator, the University of Virginia, shall have no liability for any consequential, indirect, punitive, special, or incidental damages, whether foreseeable or unforeseeable (including, but not limited to, claims for defamation, errors, loss of data, or interruption in availability of data), arising out of or relating to your use of BMEplanet or any resource that you access through BMEplanet.
BMEplanet hosts content from a number of authors. The statements and views of these authors are theirs alone and do not reflect the stances or policies of the University of Virginia or their sponsors, nor does their posting imply the endorsement of the University of Virginia or their sponsors.
Choice of law/forum selection/attorney fees
You agree that any dispute arising out of or relating to BMEplanet, whether based in contract, tort, statutory, or other law, will be governed by federal law and by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, excluding its conflicts of law provisions. You further consent to the personal jurisdiction of and exclusive venue in the federal and state courts located in and serving the County of Albemarle, Virginia, as the exclusive legal forums for any such dispute.
