Terms of Use

ABFO WEBSITE TERMS OF USE

Effective Date: December 31, 2018

These Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy govern your use of websites available at www.abfointernational.org and www.norcalabfo.org (together, the “Site”) and constitutes a legally binding agreement between you and the Association of Bioscience Financial Officers (“ABFO,” “we,” “us” or “our”); please read them carefully. BY USING THE SITE, YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO BE BOUND AND ABIDE BY THESE TERMS OF USE AND OUR PRIVACY POLICY.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF USE OR THE PRIVACY POLICY, YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO USE THE SITE.

Binding Arbitration.  These Terms of Use provide that all disputes between you and us will be resolved by BINDING ARBITRATION. ACCORDINGLY, YOU AGREE TO GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO GO TO COURT (INCLUDING IN A CLASS ACTION PROCEEDING) to assert or defend your rights under these Terms of Use (except for matters that may be taken to small claims court). Your rights will be determined by a NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR and NOT a judge or jury and your claims cannot be brought as a class action. Please review the section below entitled, “Dispute Resolution; Arbitration Agreement” for the details regarding your agreement to arbitrate any disputes with us.

1.                  Copyright and Trademark Information

The Site, and the information, files, documents, text, photographs, images, audio, and video which it contains and any material made available for download on the Site (collectively, the “Content”) are the property of us or our licensors, as applicable. The Site and Contents are protected by United States and international copyright and trademark laws. The Content may not be copied, distributed, modified, reproduced, published or used, in whole or in part, except for purposes authorized or approved in writing by us. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved to us and our licensors.

2.                  Use of Our Content; Security and Restrictions

We authorize you to view or download the Content on the Site solely for your personal, noncommercial use if you do not remove the copyright and other proprietary rights notices which are contained in the Content. You may not copy, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, reproduce, publish or use, in whole or in part, any Content except for purposes explicitly authorized by these Terms of Use or approved in writing by us. Content and features are subject to change or termination without notice in our editorial discretion.

You are prohibited from violating or attempting to violate the security of the Site, including, without limitation, by (a) accessing data not intended for such user or logging onto a server or an account which the user is not authorized to access; (b) attempting to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system or network or to breach security or authentication measures without proper authorization; (c) accessing or using the Site or any portion thereof without authorization; or (d) introducing any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful.

You agree not to use the Site:

·         In any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local or international law or regulation;

·         To engage in any conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of the Site, or which, as determined by us, may harm us or users of the Site or expose them to liability;

·         Use the Site in any manner that could disable, overburden, damage, or impair the Site or interfere with any other party’s use of the Site;

·         Use any robot, spider or other automatic device, process or means to access the Site for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any of the material on the Site;

·         Use any manual process to monitor or copy any of the material on the Site or for any other unauthorized purpose without our prior written consent;

·         Use any device, software or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Site; or

·         Otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site.

You agree that you will not use any membership or roster information available on the Site for any marketing or solicitation purposes whatsoever.

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold us harmless from and against all third party claims, damages and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) against or incurred by us arising out of your breach of these Terms of Use or violation of applicable law, your use of, or access to, the Site, or access to the Site by anyone using your user ID and password.

In the event access to the Site or a portion thereof is limited by requiring a user ID and password (“Protected Areas”), you agree to access Protected Areas using only your user ID and password as provided to you by us.

If you violate any of these Terms of Use, your permission to use the Content automatically terminates and you must immediately destroy any copies you have made of any portion of the Content.

3.                  Protected Areas

ABFO may utilize a number of precautions to help keep your log-in credentials secure, including without limitation, a password, security questions, and a security image/caption. However, you should keep your log-in credentials secure at all times and are ultimately responsible for their security. Please remember to log out of your secured sessions on the Site and close your Internet browser following the session. If at any time you believe your log-in credentials have been compromised and you wish to change your account registration information, you will be provided with an opportunity to do so on the Site. In the event that you suspect any unauthorized activity has occurred in connection with your account, please contact ABFO immediately. ABFO will never request information regarding your log-in credentials in an unsolicited telephone call or e-mail. You agree to protect the confidentiality of your user ID and password, and not to share or disclose your user ID or password to any third party. You agree that you are fully responsible for all activity occurring under your user ID. Your access to the Site may be revoked by us at any time with or without cause.

4.                  Other Products and Services

You may be able to purchase other products and/or services on the Site. We accept credit and debit cards issued by U.S. banks and other payment and billing methods that may be designated by us at the time of purchase. If a credit or debit card account is being used for a transaction, we may obtain preapproval for an amount up to the amount of the payment.  You represent and warrant that if you are making online payments that (a) any credit card, debit card and bank account information you supply is true, correct and complete, (b) charges incurred by you will be honored by your credit/debit card company or bank, (c) you will pay the charges incurred by you in the amounts posted, including any applicable taxes, and (d) you are the person in whose name the card was issued and you are authorized to make a purchase or other transaction with the relevant credit card and credit card information.

5.                  Links to Other Sites

From time to time we may provide links to third party websites and services that we think may be of interest to you. We makes no representations whatsoever about any other website that you may access through this Site. When you access third party websites, please understand that they are independent from this Site and us, and that we have no control over the content on that website. In addition, a link to a third party website does not mean that we endorse or accept any responsibility for the Content, or the use, of the linked website. It is up to you to take precautions to ensure that whatever you select for your use or download is free of such items as viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other items of a destructive nature. If you decide to access any of the third party websites linked to this Site, you do this entirely at your own risk.

6.                  Limitation of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranties

WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SITE WILL BE CORRECTED. THIS SITE, INCLUDING ANY CONTENT CONTAINED WITHIN IT, ANY SITE-RELATED SERVICE, OR PRODUCT OR SERVICE PURCHASED THROUGH THE SITE IS PROVIDED “AS IS,” WITH ALL FAULTS, WITH NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, QUALITY OF INFORMATION, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND TITLE/NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR TIMELINESS OF THE INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE.

YOU ASSUME TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR YOUR USE OF THIS SITE, SITE-RELATED SERVICES, AND LINKED SITES. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT FILES AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD WILL BE FREE OF VIRUSES, WORMS, TROJAN HORSES OR OTHER DESTRUCTIVE PROGRAMMING. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING PROCEDURES SUFFICIENT TO SATISFY YOUR NEEDS FOR DATA BACK UP AND SECURITY.

WE AND ANY THIRD PARTIES MENTIONED ON THIS SITE ARE NEITHER RESPONSIBLE NOR LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR OTHER DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE RESULTING FROM LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO THE SITE, SITE-RELATED SERVICES, CONTENT, INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THE SITE, ANY LINKED SITE, OR ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES PURCHASED THROUGH THE SITE, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY AND WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. YOUR SOLE REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SITE, SITE-RELATED SERVICES, CONTENT, INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THE SITE, ANY LINKED SITE, OR ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES PURCHASED THROUGH THE SITE IS TO STOP USING THE SITE AND/OR THOSE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. TO THE EXTENT ANY ASPECTS OF THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY ARE NOT ENFORCEABLE, OUR MAXIMUM LIABILITY TO YOU WITH RESPECT TO YOUR USE OF THIS SITE AND ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES PURCHASED BY YOU THROUGH THE SITE IS ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100.00). THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS APPLY EVEN IF THE REMEDIES UNDER THESE TERMS OF USE FAIL OF THEIR ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

Some states do not allow the disclaimer of certain warranties or limitation of certain liabilities so the foregoing disclaimers and warranties may not apply to you.

Any claims arising in connection with your use of the Site, any Content or any products or services purchased through the Site must be brought within one (1) year of the date of the event giving rise to such action occurred.

7.                  Indemnification

By using the Site, you agree to indemnify and hold us, our officers, managers, directors, employees, affiliates, agents, attorneys, representatives and members harmless from any and all losses, damages, liabilities, claims, demands, suits, or causes of action (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs) arising from your use or misuse of the Site or any payments made through the Site.

8.                  Dispute Resolution; Arbitration Agreement

We and you agree that any disputes arising from or relating to the Site or any relationship or dispute between you and us or you and any company or person employed by or which is affiliated with us, these Terms of Use and/or any policies or practices of any of the above mentioned companies or persons (a “Dispute”) shall only be resolved subject to FINAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION as set forth in this section, and may only be resolved through an individual arbitration governed by the Federal Arbitration Act or by the applicable sections of California law to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. In no event shall you commence a chargeback dispute with your credit or debit card issuer relative to the products or services purchased hereunder or regarding any amounts forfeited hereunder or similar charge reversal. You further agree that we shall not have a legal obligation to mitigate any of its potential or actual losses sustained hereunder. PARTIES TO THIS AGREEMENT GIVE UP THEIR RESPECTIVE RIGHTS TO GO TO COURT in connection with any Dispute and that such rights will be determined by a NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR, NOT A JUDGE OR JURY. NO PARTY TO WHICH THIS AGREEMENT APPLIES SHALL BRING OR PARTICIPATE IN ANY CLASS ACTION OR OTHER CLASS PROCEEDING IN CONNECTION WITH ANY DISPUTE. No party bound by this Agreement agrees to class arbitration or any other arbitration proceedings where a person brings a dispute as a representative of other persons.

The parties shall participate in non-binding mediation before commencing any arbitration (or taking any other action). If the parties are unable to resolve a Dispute by informal means, the arbitration of Disputes will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) in Menlo Park, California in accordance with Commercial Arbitration Rules, and if deemed appropriate by the arbitrator, the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer-Related Disputes. Any proceeding to enforce this arbitration agreement must be brought in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California or in any California state court of competent jurisdiction with venue lying in San Mateo County, California to the exclusion of all other forums.

9.                  Governing Law

All matters relating to the Site and these Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

10.                  Waiver

No waiver by us of any term or condition set forth in these Terms of Use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or a waiver of any other term or condition, and any failure of us to assert a right or provision under these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

11.                  Severability

If any provision of these Terms of Use is found to be invalid by any court having competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use, which shall remain in full force and effect. No waiver of any of these Terms of Use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or any other term or condition.

12.                  Complete Agreement

These Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between you and us with respect to the use of the Site and Content. Your use of the Site is also subject to the ABFO Privacy Policy.

13.                  Effective Date and Changes to These Terms of Use

The Effective Date of these Terms of Use is set forth at the top of this webpage. We may change these Terms of Use from time to time in our discretion. Changes will be posted to this webpage. We encourage you to return to this webpage frequently so that you are aware of our current Terms of Use. Your continued use of the Site after the Effective Date constitutes your acceptance of the amended Terms of Use. The amended Terms of Use supersede all previous versions.

14.                  Survival

The provisions of these Terms of Use which by their nature should survive the termination of these Terms of Use shall survive such termination.

15.                  Contact Information

Please send all questions, comments and notices regarding these Terms of Use to: genie@norcalabfo.org.