- Acceptance of Terms. The Site is made available by OSI subject to this
Agreement. We reserve the right to update or make changes to this Agreement from time to
time in our sole discretion, which changes we may provide to you by any reasonable
means, including without limitation, by posting the revised version of this Agreement on
the Site. You can determine when this Agreement was last revised by referring to the
"LAST UPDATED" legend at the top of this Agreement. When using any Services (as defined
below), you agree that you are subject to any additional posted guidelines, rules, terms
and conditions applicable to such Services, which are hereby incorporated by reference
into this Agreement.
We reserve the right, at any time and from time to time,
temporarily or permanently, in whole or in part, to: modify or discontinue the Site,
with or without notice; charge fees in connection with the use of the Site; modify
and/or waive any fees charged in connection with the Site; and/or offer
opportunities to some or all users of the Site. You agree that neither we nor any
Soros Foundations Network Entity nor any of our affiliates (collectively,
"Affiliated Entities") shall be liable to you or to any third
party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Site, in whole or in
part, or of any Service, content, feature or product offered through the Site. Your
continued use of the Site after such changes will indicate your acceptance of such
changes.
- Jurisdictional Issues. The Site is controlled and operated by OSI from
the United States, and is not intended to subject OSI to the laws or jurisdiction of any
state, country or territory other than that of the United States. OSI does not represent
or warrant that the Site or any part thereof is appropriate or available for use in any
particular jurisdiction other than the United States. Those who choose to access the
Site do so on their own initiative and at their own risk, and are responsible for
complying with all local laws, rules and regulations. You are also subject to United
States export controls and are responsible for any violations of such controls,
including any United States embargoes or other federal rules and regulations restricting
exports. We may limit the Site's availability, in whole or in part, to any person,
geographic area or jurisdiction we choose, at any time and in our sole discretion.
- Description of the Services. We provide users of the Site with access
to certain content and services, which may include, without limitation, forums, bulletin
boards, wikis, photographs, graphics, images, text, data, user comments, opinions,
postings and messages and other similar content (such content and services,
collectively, the "Services").
- Information Submitted Through the Site. Your submission of information
through the Site is governed by OSI's Privacy Policy, which is located at https://karl.soros.org/legal (the
"Privacy Policy"). This Agreement incorporates by reference the
terms and conditions of the Privacy Policy. You represent and warrant that any
information you provide in connection with your use of the Site is and shall remain
true, accurate, and complete, and that you will maintain and update such information
regularly. You agree that if any information you provide is false, inaccurate, obsolete
or incomplete, we may terminate your use of the Site and/or any of the Services.
- Rules of Conduct. While using the Site you will comply with all
applicable laws, rules and regulations. In addition, we expect users of the Site to
respect the rights and dignity of others. Your use of the Site is conditioned on your
compliance with the following rules of conduct. You will not:
- Post, transmit, or otherwise make available, through or in connection with the
Site:
- Anything that is or may be (a) threatening, harassing, degrading,
hateful or intimidating; (b) defamatory; (c) fraudulent or tortious; (d)
obscene, indecent, pornographic or otherwise objectionable; or (e)
protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, right of publicity or
other proprietary right without the express prior consent of the owner
of such right.
- Any material that would give rise to criminal or civil liability; that
encourages conduct that constitutes a criminal offense; or that
encourages or provides instructional information about illegal
activities or activities such as "hacking," "cracking," or
"phreaking."
- Any virus, worm, Trojan horse, Easter egg, time bomb, spyware, or other
computer code, file, or program that is harmful or invasive or may or is
intended to damage or hijack the operation of, or to monitor the use of,
any hardware, software or equipment.
- Any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional material, "junk
mail," "spam," "chain letter," "pyramid scheme" or investment
opportunity, or any other form of solicitation.
- Use the Site for any fraudulent or unlawful purpose.
- Use the Site to defame abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the
legal rights of others, including without limitation others' privacy rights or
rights of publicity.
- Use the Site to harvest or collect personally identifiable information about
other users of the Site.
- Impersonate any person or entity, including without limitation any
representative of OSI or an Affiliated Entity; falsely state or otherwise
misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity in connection with the
Site; or express or imply that we endorse any statement you make.
- Interfere with or disrupt the operation of the Site or the servers or networks
used to make the Site available; or violate any requirements, procedures,
policies or regulations of such networks.
- Restrict or inhibit any other person from using the Site (including without
limitation by hacking or defacing any portion of the Site).
- Use the Site to advertise or offer to sell or buy any goods or services without
OSI's express prior written consent; provided, however, OSI may permit in its
sole discretion such advertising or sales offers through the Forums, such
advertising and sales offers to be in accordance with this Agreement and any
other rules applicable to the Forums adopted by us from time to time (in no
event shall such advertising or sales offers involve illegal goods or
services).
- Reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or otherwise exploit for any commercial
purposes, any portion of, use of, or access to the Site.
- Modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any portion
of the Site.
- Remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notice from the Site
or materials originating from the Site.
- Frame or mirror any part of the Site without OSI's express prior written
consent.
- Create a database by systematically downloading and storing Site content.
- Use any robot, spider, site search/retrieval application or other manual or
automatic device to retrieve, index, "scrape," "data mine" or in any way gather
Site content or reproduce or circumvent the navigational structure or
presentation of the Site without OSI's express prior written consent.
- Post, email or otherwise make available via the Site any of the following:
"lobbying" or "electioneering" materials within the meaning of the United States
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
- Registration; User Names and Passwords. You may be required to register
with OSI in order to access certain Services or areas of the Site. With respect to any
such registration, we may refuse to grant you, and you may not use, a user name (or
e-mail address) that is already being used by someone else; that may be construed as
impersonating another person; that belongs to another person; that violates the
intellectual property or other rights of any person; that is offensive; or that we
reject for any other reason in our sole discretion.
Your user name and password are
for your personal use only, and not for use by any other person. You are responsible
for maintaining the confidentiality of any password you may use to access the Site,
and agree not to transfer your password or user name, or lend or otherwise transfer
your use of or access to the Site, to any third party. You are fully responsible for
all interaction with the Site that occurs in connection with your password or user
name. You agree to immediately notify OSI of any unauthorized use of your password
or user name or any other breach of security related to your account or the Site,
and to ensure that you "log off"/exit from your account with the Site (if
applicable) at the end of each session. We are not liable for any loss or damage
arising from your failure to comply with any of the foregoing obligations.
- Profiles and Forums. You may post certain information and materials on
your "profile page" (your "Profile"). In addition, we and/or our third
party service provider(s) may make available through the Site services (for example,
message boards and forums, among other services) to which you are able to post
information and materials (each, a "Forum").
Information contained
in the Profiles and Forums may be provided by employees of OSI and the Affiliated
Entities as well as third party visitors to the Site. Please note that employees of
OSI or an Affiliated Entity are not required to use the Forums, and that any
messages or materials that such employees post to the Forums or otherwise make
available through the Site. Users of the Site who happen to be employees of OSI or
an Affiliated Entity are considered to be third party Site visitors for the purposes
of this Agreement.
Please note that Site visitors may post messages or make statements in connection
with Profiles and/or Forums that are inaccurate, misleading or deceptive. OSI and
the Affiliated Entities neither endorse nor are responsible for any opinion, advice,
information or statements made in Profiles and/or Forums by third parties. Without
limitation, OSI and the Affiliated Entities are not responsible for any information
or materials made available through Profiles and/or Forums (including without
limitation errors or omissions in postings or links or images embedded in messages)
or results obtained by using any such information or materials. Under no
circumstances will OSI, the Affiliated Entities or their respective sponsors,
employees, officers, directors, shareholders, affiliates, agents, representatives,
suppliers or members, be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on
such information or materials. The opinions expressed in Profiles and/or Forums
reflect solely the opinions of the individuals who submitted such opinions, and may
not reflect the opinions of OSI.
In addition, OSI and the Affiliated Entities have no control over, and shall have no
liability for, any damages resulting from, the use (including without limitation
republication) or misuse by any third party of information voluntarily made public
through your Profile, a Forum or any other part of the Site. IF YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE
ANY OF YOUR PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE OR OTHER INFORMATION PUBLICLY AVAILABLE IN A
PROFILE OR A FORUM OR OTHERWISE ON THE SITE, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK.
- License. For purposes of clarity, you will retain ownership of any
materials that you submit through or to your Profile, a Forum, or otherwise through the
Site (each, a "Submission"). You hereby grant to OSI, the Affiliated
Entities and their designees a worldwide, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free,
perpetual, irrevocable right and license, without compensation to you: (a) to use,
reproduce, distribute, adapt (including without limitation edit, modify, translate, and
reformat), create derivative works of, transmit, publicly display and publicly perform
such Submission, in any media now known or hereafter developed, for OSI's and the
Affiliated Entities' business purposes, and (b) to sublicense the foregoing rights,
through multiple tiers, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. For each
Submission, you represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary for you to
grant the license granted in this section, and that such Submission, and your provision
thereof to and through the Site, complies with all applicable laws, rules and
regulations.
- License-Back. here are certain items of so-called "wiki" content
available through the Site that are created collaboratively by members of the Site
community. If you submit material to such wiki content, your submission of such material
is governed by the license set forth in Section 8 above. In addition, subject to your
compliance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, OSI hereby grants to you a
limited, non-exclusive, revocable license to use the wiki content to which you have
submitted material (the "Licensed-Back Content") solely for
non-commercial purposes during the term of this Agreement, provided that you keep intact
all copyright and other proprietary notices, and that you not provide attribution to
OSI, except upon request by OSI. Upon any such request, you shall provide attribution to
OSI, using any wording requested by OSI, and by utilizing a method of attribution that
is reasonable to the medium you are using. Upon termination of this Agreement, this
license to you shall also terminate. Please note that the Licensed-Back Content is
provided to you "AS IS" without any representations or warranties of any kind, as
further set forth in Section 16 below. You agree that any use by you of such
Licensed-Back Content is at your own risk. In addition, if you do choose to use any
Licensed-Back Content licensed to you hereunder, you must disclaim all representations
and warranties with respect to such Licensed-Back Content, and state that such
Licensed-Back Content is provided "AS IS." The disclaimer you use must be at least as
robust as the language set forth in Section 16 below. Further, you may not distort,
mutilate, modify or take other derogatory action in relation to the Licensed-Back
Content which would be prejudicial to OSI's and/or the original author(s)' honor or
reputation.
- Monitoring. You acknowledge and agree that (a) we reserve the right
(but have no obligation) to evaluate each Submission before allowing it to be posted on
the Site or any Forum; and (b) we may do one or all of the following, at our discretion:
(i) monitor Submissions; (ii) alter, remove, or refuse to post or allow to be posted any
Submission; and/or (iii) disclose any Submissions, and the circumstances surrounding
their transmission, to any third party in order to operate the Site; to protect OSI, the
Affiliated Entities, and their respective sponsors, employees, officers, directors,
shareholders, affiliates, agents, representatives, suppliers and members, and the Site's
users and visitors; to comply with legal obligations or governmental requests; to
enforce this Agreement; or for any other reason or purpose.
- Confidential Information. Any Submissions posted on the Site and
designated as "private" or "confidential" (either at the time of posting or
subsequently) will be considered confidential information of OSI ("Confidential
Information"). You will not disclose the Confidential Information to a
third party without the prior, written consent of OSI. Any copies of Confidential
Information that you are authorized to make must contain the same notice that appears on
and in the Confidential Information obtained under this Agreement. In cases of highly
sensitive Confidential Information, we may impose further restrictions, such as limiting
the right to copy or store the information. You will notify us of any disclosure of
Confidential Information in violation of this Agreement, and you will cooperate with us
in remedying any such disclosure. These confidentiality restrictions do not apply to
information that is or becomes public knowledge without breach of this Agreement.
- Online Listings. We may allow you to post online listings, such as
items for sale, in the Forums. Please note that we allow users to provide listings in
connection with the Forums for our users' convenience. We are not responsible for the
actions or inactions of our users in connection with such listings. You acknowledge and
agree that we are not responsible for the accuracy, reliability, quality or legality of
the content of any listing made available in connection with the Forums, and that we are
not involved in any transactions that occur through the Forums and have no
responsibility for such transactions (or for any failure of a transaction to occur). We
cannot and do not guarantee that users will be able to pay for or provide the products
and services that are listed on the Forums. You acknowledge and agree that we have no
responsibility to you or any third party for any transaction that occurs (or fails to
occur) through the Forums. You should use discretion and caution in engaging in
transactions through the Forums. YOUR ACCESS TO, USE OF OR RESPONSE TO ANY LISTINGS IN
CONNECTION WITH THE FORUMS IS AT YOUR OWN RISK.
- OSI's Proprietary Rights. The information and materials made available
through the Site, including the Services, are and shall remain the property of OSI and
its licensors and suppliers, and are protected by copyright, trademark, patent, and/or
other proprietary rights and laws. Except as expressly authorized in advance by OSI in
writing, you agree not to reproduce, modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute, or
create derivative works based (whether in whole or in part) on, all or any part of the
Site or any materials made available through the Site.
Trade names, trademarks and
service marks of OSI include without limitation, "OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE," "OSI,"
"KARL" and any associated logos. All trademarks and service marks on the Site not
owned by OSI are the property of their respective owners. The trade names,
trademarks and service marks owned by OSI, whether registered or unregistered, may
not be used in connection with any product or service that is not ours. Nothing
contained on the Site should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel or
otherwise, any license or right to use any of OSI trade names, trademarks or service
marks without our express prior written consent.
- Links. The Site may provide links to other web sites and online
resources. Because OSI has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and
agree that neither OSI nor the Affiliated Entities are responsible for the availability
of such external sites or resources, and neither OSI nor the Affiliated Entities endorse
or are responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products or other materials
on or available through such sites or resources. Other web sites may provide links to
the Site with or without our authorization. You acknowledge and agree that OSI and the
Affiliated Entities do not endorse such sites, and are not and shall not be responsible
or liable for any links from those sites to the Site, any content, advertising, products
or other materials available on or through such other sites, or any loss or damages
incurred in connection therewith.
YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THIRD PARTY WEB SITES
AND RESOURCES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, YOUR USE OF ANY CONTENT, INFORMATION,
DATA, ADVERTISING, PRODUCTS, OR OTHER MATERIALS ON OR AVAILABLE THROUGH SUCH WEB
SITES AND RESOURCES, IS AT YOUR OWN RISK AND IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
OF USE APPLICABLE TO SUCH SITES AND RESOURCES.
OSI shall have the right, at any time and in its sole discretion, to block links to
the Site through technological or other means without prior notice.
- Rules for Contests and Similar Promotions. In addition to the terms and
conditions of this Agreement, any contests or similar promotions (collectively,
"Promotions") made available through the Site may be governed by
specific rules that are separate from this Agreement. By participating in any such
Promotion, you will become subject to those rules, which may vary from the terms and
conditions set forth herein. OSI urges you to review any specific rules applicable to a
particular Promotion, which will be linked from such Promotion, and to review our
Privacy Policy which, in addition to this Agreement, governs any information you submit
in connection with such activities. To the extent that the terms and conditions of such
rules conflict with this Agreement, the terms and conditions of such rules shall
control.
- Limitations of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranties. THE SITE AND ANY
MATERIALS OR SERVICES MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY
LICENSED-BACK CONTENT LICENSED TO YOU UNDER SECTION 9 HEREUNDER, ARE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS
IS" WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY. YOU AGREE
THAT YOU MUST EVALUATE, AND THAT YOU BEAR, ALL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF THE
SITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY RELIANCE ON THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR
USEFULNESS OF ANY MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE (INCLUDING ANY LICENSED-BACK
CONTENT LICENSED TO YOU UNDER SECTION 9 HEREUNDER). OSI AND THE AFFILIATED ENTITIES
DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE AND ANY PRODUCT, SERVICE (INCLUDING
WITHOUT LIMITATION, THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES) OR MATERIALS (INCLUDING WITHOUT
LIMITATION, ANY LICENSED-BACK CONTENT LICENSED TO YOU UNDER SECTION 9 HEREUNDER)
OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW,
INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE,
NONINFRINGEMENT, AND TITLE.
NEITHER OSI NOR ANY AFFILIATED ENTITY WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY CONTRACT,
NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR
LOSS OF PROFITS, USE, DATA, LOSS OF OTHER INTANGIBLES, LOSS OF SECURITY OF INFORMATION
YOU HAVE PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SITE, OR UNAUTHORIZED INTERCEPTION
OF ANY SUCH INFORMATION BY THIRD PARTIES, EVEN IF ADVISED IN ADVANCE OF SUCH DAMAGES OR
LOSSES. IN PARTICULAR, AND WITHOUT LIMITATION, NEITHER OSI NOR ANY AFFILIATED ENTITY
WILL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE
THE SITE OR FROM ANY MATERIALS POSTED ON THE SITE BY OSI OR ANY THIRD PARTY (INCLUDING
WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY LICENSED-BACK CONTENT LICENSED TO YOU UNDER SECTION 9
HEREUNDER). YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SITE IS TO STOP
USING THE SITE. THE MAXIMUM LIABILITY OF OSI FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES AND CAUSES OF
ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION NEGLIGENCE) OR
OTHERWISE, SHALL BE THE TOTAL AMOUNT, IF ANY, PAID BY YOU TO OSI TO ACCESS AND USE THE
SITE.
While we try to maintain the integrity and security of the Site and the servers from
which the Site is operated, we do not guarantee that the Site will be or remain secure,
complete or correct, or that access to the Site will be uninterrupted. The Site may
include inaccuracies, errors and materials that violate or conflict with this Agreement.
Additionally, third parties may make unauthorized alterations to the Site. If you become
aware of any unauthorized third party alteration to the Site, contact us at
karladmin@list.soros.org with a description of the material(s) at issue and the URL or
location on the Site where such material(s) appear.
- Indemnity. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless OSI and the
Affiliated Entities and their respective sponsors, employees, officers, directors,
shareholders, affiliates, agents, representatives, suppliers and members, from and
against all claims, losses, costs and expenses (including attorneys fees) arising out of
(a) your use of, or activities in connection with, the Site; or (b) any violation of
this Agreement by you or anyone using your username and/or password.
- Termination. This Agreement is effective until terminated. OSI, in its
sole discretion, may terminate your access to or use of the Site, at any time and for
any reason, including if OSI believes that you have violated or acted inconsistently
with the letter or spirit of this Agreement. Upon any such termination, your right to
use the Site will immediately cease. You agree that any termination of your access to or
use of the Site may be effected without prior notice, and that OSI may immediately
deactivate or delete your password and user name, and all related information and files
associated with it, and/or bar any further access to such information or files. You
agree that OSI and the Affiliated Entities shall not be liable to you or any third party
for any termination of your access to the Site or to any such information or files, and
shall not be required to make such information or files available to you after any such
termination.
- Governing Law; Jurisdiction. This Agreement is governed by and shall be
construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A., without regards
to its principles of conflicts of law. You agree to exclusive jurisdiction by the
federal and state courts located in the County of New York in the State of New York,
U.S.A., and waive any jurisdictional, venue or inconvenient forum objections to such
courts.
- Claims of Copyright Infringement. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act
of 1998 (the "DMCA") provides recourse for copyright owners who believe that material
appearing on the Internet infringes their rights under U.S. copyright law. If you
believe in good faith that materials available on the Site infringe your copyright, you
(or your agent) may send OSI a notice requesting that OSI remove the material or block
access to it. If you believe in good faith that someone has wrongly filed a notice of
copyright infringement against you, the DMCA permits you to send OSI a counter-notice.
Notices and counter-notices must meet the then-current statutory requirements imposed by
the DMCA. See http://www.copyright.gov/ for details. Notices and counter-notices should
be sent to: R. Castro, Open Society Institute, 400 West 59th Street, New York, NY 10019,
+1-212-548-0600.
We suggest that you consult your legal advisor before filing a notice or
counter-notice.
- Contact Us. If you have any questions regarding the meaning of
application of this Agreement, please direct such questions to karladmin@list.soros.org.
Please note that e-mail communications will not necessarily be secure; accordingly you
should not include credit card information or other sensitive information in your e-mail
correspondence with us.
- Miscellaneous. This Agreement does not, and shall not be construed to,
create any partnership, joint venture, employer-employee, agency or
franchisor-franchisee relationship between you and OSI. If any provision of this
Agreement is found to be unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, that provision
will be deemed severable from this Agreement and will not affect the validity and
enforceability of any remaining provision. You may not assign, transfer or sublicense
any or all of your rights or obligations under this Agreement without our express prior
written consent. No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder will be
deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default. Any heading,
caption or section title contained herein is inserted only as a matter of convenience,
and in no way defines or explains any section or provision hereof. This, together with
all policies referred to herein, is the entire Agreement between you and OSI relating to
the subject matter herein and supersedes any and all prior or contemporaneous written or
oral agreements or understandings between you and OSI relating to such subject matter.
Notices to you may be made via posting to the Site, by e-mail, or by regular mail, in
OSI's discretion. The Site may also provide notices of changes to this Agreement or
other matters by displaying such notices or by providing links to such notices. Without
limitation, you agree that a printed version of this Agreement and of any notice given
in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based
upon or relating to this Agreement to the same extent and subject to the same conditions
as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed
form. OSI will not be responsible for failures to fulfill any obligations due to causes
beyond its control.
KARL Site © 2007 Open Society Institute unless otherwise noted. All
rights reserved.