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Policies
April 9, 2021

Terms and Conditions

The following Terms and Conditions govern the use of this Open Society Foundations (“the Foundations” or “OSF”) Site and any other site owned or operated by OSF that links to these Terms and Conditions (“the Foundations’ website” or “this Site”). By visiting this Site, you specifically and automatically agree to abide by these Terms and Conditions. The Open Society Foundations reserve the right to modify these Terms and Conditions at any time. You agree that neither the Foundations nor any affiliate of the Foundations (collectively, “Affiliated Entities”) shall be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of this Site, in whole or in part, or of any service, content, feature, or product offered through this Site. Your continued use of the Site after such changes, including but not limited to any changes to these Terms and Conditions, will indicate your acceptance of such changes.

Use of Materials on this Site

In keeping with the Open Society Foundations’ goals and mission, virtually all of the materials posted on this Site, except for (a) images, and (b) materials that contain a copyright notice for a third party other than the Foundations or the Open Society Institute, are licensed to the public through the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial-No Derivatives license. This license allows users to download those materials from this Site (that are not specifically restricted) and to share them as long as (a) the particular article, section, audio, or video clip is reproduced in its entirety in its original form and is not edited or modified in any way; (b) all copies include attribution to the original author (if noted) and the Open Society Foundations and contain a link back to www.opensocietyfoundations.org as the original source of the work; and (c) the copies are distributed only for noncommercial purposes and are distributed at no charge.

Other than as specifically described in the preceding paragraph, you may not copy, reproduce, distribute, modify, display, republish, transmit, repost, or otherwise use the content on this Site without prior written permission from the Open Society Foundations. To request such permission, please contact us. The name “Open Society Foundations,” “Open Society Institute,” the swirl logo, and all related indicia are the trademarked properties of the Open Society Institute, and in no event may they be reproduced separately from the textual content associated with them on this website. Nothing contained on the Site should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to use any of OSF’s trade names, trademarks, or service marks without our express prior written consent. All trademarks and service marks on the Site not owned by OSF are the property of their respective owners. The trade names, trademarks, and service marks owned by OSF, whether registered or unregistered, may not be used in connection with any product or service that is not ours.

Jurisdiction

The Site is controlled and operated by the Open Society Foundations from the United States, and is not intended to subject the Foundations to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country, or territory other than that of the United States. OSF 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.

Information Submitted Through the Site

Be aware that your decision to send personally identifiable information through your use of this Site will subject such information to the privacy laws and standards of the United States. Your submission of information through the Site is governed by OSF’s Privacy Policy, (the “Privacy Policy”). Your use of the Site is also subject to our Cookie Policy (the “Cookie Policy”). These Terms & Conditions incorporate by reference the terms and conditions of the Privacy Policy and Cookie 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. In addition, OSF 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 on the Site, you do so at your own risk.

Rules of Conduct

While using the Site you will comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, and with our Community Guidelines. 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 any 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 OSF 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 the Foundations’ express prior written consent;
  • 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 OSF’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; or
  • post, email, or otherwise make available via the Site any of the following: “lobbying” or “partisan political activities” materials within the meaning of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

Security

The Open Society Foundations work to maintain the privacy of any personally identifiable information (name, mailing address, email address, etc.) that may be collected through our websites. Please note, however, that, though this Site has security measures in place, the Foundations do not represent, warrant, or guarantee that personal information will be protected against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alterations. Similarly, the Foundations disclaim liability for personal information submitted through this Site. Users are hereby advised that they submit such personal information at their own risk.

No Liability for Third Party Content

Site visitors may not post messages or make statements in connection with profiles and/or forums that are inaccurate, misleading, or deceptive. OSF 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, OSF 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 OSF, 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 OSF.

Registration; Usernames and Passwords

You may be required to register with OSF 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 username (or email 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 username 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 username, 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 username. You agree to immediately notify OSF of any unauthorized use of your password or username 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.

License

For purposes of clarity, you will retain ownership of any materials that you submit through the Site (each, a “Submission”). You hereby grant to OSF, the Affiliated Entities, and their designees a worldwide, nonexclusive, 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 OSF’s and the Affiliated Entities’ nonprofit purposes, and (b) to sublicense the foregoing rights, through multiple tiers of distribution (i.e., viral media), to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. In addition, if you provide to us any ideas, proposals, suggestions or other materials (“Feedback”), whether related to this Site or otherwise, such Feedback will be deemed a Submission, and you hereby acknowledge and agree that such Feedback is not confidential, and that your provision of such Feedback is gratuitous, unsolicited, and without restriction, and does not place OSF or the Affiliated Entities under any fiduciary or other obligation. 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 are complete and accurate, and are not fraudulent, tortious, or otherwise in violation of any applicable laws, rules, or regulations, or any right of any third party. You further irrevocably waive any “moral rights” or other rights with respect to attribution of authorship or integrity of materials regarding each Submission that you may have under any applicable law under any legal theory.

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 OSF, 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.

The Site may provide links to other web sites and online resources. Because OSF has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that neither OSF nor the Affiliated Entities are responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and neither OSF 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 websites may provide links to the Site with or without our authorization. You acknowledge and agree that OSF 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.

OSF 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.

Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitations of Liability

THE SITE AND ANY MATERIALS OR SERVICES MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ARE PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN “AS IS,” “WHERE IS” AND “WHERE AVAILABLE” BASIS, 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 THIRD-PARTY CONTENT SUBMITTED). OSF 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 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 OSF NOR ANY AFFILIATED ENTITY WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING 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 OSF 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 OSF OR ANY THIRD PARTY. YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SITE IS TO STOP USING THE SITE. THE MAXIMUM LIABILITY OF OSF FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES AND CAUSES OF ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE, SHALL BE THE GREATER OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT, IF ANY, PAID BY YOU TO OSF TO ACCESS AND USE THE SITE, OR TEN DOLLARS ($10.00).

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 224 West 57th Street, New York, NY, 10019, United States, 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 OSF 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.

If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof and believe that any content posted by a user of this Site infringes upon your copyright, you may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) by providing our Copyright Agent with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C 512(c)(3) for further detail):

  • a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
  • identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
  • identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
  • information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an email address;
  • a statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
  • a statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

OSF’s designated Copyright Agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement is: contact@opensocietyfoundations.org. You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all of the requirements of this Section, your DMCA notice may not be valid.

Counter-Notice. If you believe that your posting that was removed (or to which access was disabled) is not infringing, or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner’s agent, or pursuant to the law, to post and use the content in your posting, you may send a counter-notice containing the following information to the Copyright Agent:

  • your physical or electronic signature;
  • identification of the content that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the content appeared before it was removed or disabled;
  • a statement that you have a good faith belief that the content was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or a misidentification of the content; and
  • your name, address, telephone number, and email address, a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal court in New York, New York, and a statement that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification of the alleged infringement.

If a counter-notice is received by the Copyright Agent, OSF may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing that person that it may replace the removed content or cease disabling it in 10 business days. Unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order against the content provider, member or user, the removed content may be replaced, or access to it restored, in 10 to 14 business days or more after receipt of the counter-notice, at our sole discretion.

Termination

This Agreement is effective until terminated. OSF, in its sole discretion, may terminate your access to or use of the Site, at any time and for any reason, including if OSF 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 OSF 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 OSF 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; Venue

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.

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 OSF or any Affiliated Entities. 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. OSF may assign, transfer, or sublicense any or all of its rights or obligations under this Agreement without restriction. 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 OSF relating to the subject matter herein and supersedes any and all prior or contemporaneous written or oral agreements or understandings between you and OSF relating to such subject matter. Notices to you may be made via posting to the Site, by email, or by regular mail, in OSF’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. OSF will not be responsible for failures to fulfill any obligations due to causes beyond its control.