Website terms of use
1. TERMS
This page (together with the documents referred to on it) sets out the terms on which you may use this website (www.isaric.org referred to herein as the “site”) whether as a guest or a registered user. Please read these terms carefully before using the site: by using the site, you indicate that you accept these terms of use and you agree to abide by them. If you do not agree to these terms, you may not use this site.
2. INFORMATION ABOUT US
2.1 This site is operated by The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford (the “University”), acting as the International Severe and Acute Respiratory and emerging Infection Consortium (“ISARIC”). The University is a university with charitable status in the United Kingdom and has its administrative office at University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JD.
2.2 The University is committed to supporting world-class centres of excellence in learning, teaching and research. ISARIC is a project that is based within the University, but which relies upon the support and contributions from a large number of research institutions throughout the world.
3. ACCESSING THE SITE
3.1 Access to the site is permitted on a temporary basis, and the University reserves the right to withdraw or amend the service it provides on the site without notice. The University will not be liable for any reason in the event that the site is unavailable at any time or for any period.
3.2 From time to time, the University may restrict access to some parts of the site, or the entire site, to users who have registered with it.
3.3 If you choose, or are provided with, a user identification code, password or any other piece of information as part of the site’s security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential, and you must not disclose it to any third party. The University shall have the right to disable any user identification code or password, whether chosen by you or allocated by the University, at any time, if in its opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these terms of use. You should notify the University immediately (gsc@isaric.org) if you become aware of any unauthorised use of your identification code or password.
3.4 You are responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to access the site.
3.5 Use of the site by members of the University is also subject to the University’s Rules for Computer Use.
4. UPLOADING MATERIAL OR DATA TO THE SITE
4.1 Whenever you make use of a feature that allows you to upload data or material to the site, you must comply with the Terms of Submission. You warrant that any such contribution does comply with those standards, and you indemnify the University for any breach of that warranty.
4.2 Any material you upload to the site will be treated in accordance with the Terms of Submission.
4.3 The University will have the right to disclose your identity to any third party who claims that any material posted or uploaded by you to the site constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights, or their right to privacy.
4.4 The University will not be responsible, or liable to any third party, for the content and accuracy of any materials uploaded by you or any other user of the site.
5. PROHIBITED USES
5.1 You may use the site only for lawful purposes. In particular, you may not use the site:
5.1.1 in any way that breaches any applicable local, national or international law or regulation;
5.1.2 in any way that is unlawful or fraudulent, or has any unlawful or fraudulent purpose or effect;
5.1.3 for the purpose of harming or attempting to harm minors in any way;
5.1.4 to send or upload any material which does not comply with the site’s Terms of Submission;
5.1.5 to transmit, or procure the sending of, any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising or promotional material or any other form of similar solicitation (spam); and
5.1.6 to knowingly transmit any data, send or upload any material that contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time-bombs, keystroke loggers, spyware, adware or any other harmful programs or similar computer code designed to adversely affect the operation of any computer software or hardware.
5.2 You also agree:
5.2.1 not to reproduce, duplicate, copy or re-sell any part of the site in contravention of these terms;
5.2.2 not to access without authority, interfere with, damage or disrupt:
(a) any part of this site;
(b) any equipment or network on which the site is stored;
(c) any software used in the provision of the site; or
(d) any equipment or network or software owned by or used by any third party.
5.3 A breach of clause 5.1.6 or 5.2.2, may constitute a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. The University will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and it will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use the site will terminate immediately.
6. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
6.1 The University is the owner or licensee of all intellectual property rights in the site and in the content published on it. Those works are protected by national and international laws. All such rights are reserved.
6.2 Subject always to the remaining provisions of this clause 6, you may copy, modify, distribute and generally re-use the content on this site, unless expressly stated otherwise.
6.3 The University’s status (and that of any identified contributors) as the author(s) of content on the site must always be acknowledged.
6.4 You must not use any part of the content on the site for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence to do so from the University or its licensors.
6.5 If you breach any provision of this clause 6, your right to use the site and any content will cease immediately and you must, at the University’s option, return or destroy any copies of the content you have made.
7. RELIANCE ON INFORMATION
The commentary and other content published on the site are provided in the spirit of making the results of research freely available and are not intended to amount to advice on which reliance should be placed. No responsibility for its accuracy and correctness is assumed by the University, and the University disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such commentary or content by any visitor to the site, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its content.
8. CHANGES TO SITE
The University aims to update the site regularly, and may change content at any time. If the need arises, the University may suspend access to the site, or close it indefinitely. Any of the material on the site may be out of date at any given time, and the University is under no obligation to update such material.
9. THE UNIVERSITY’S LIABILITY
9.1 The University will make every effort to operate this site with reasonable care and skill. However, the University is a charitable foundation devoted to education and research; and in order to protect its assets for the benefit of those objects, the University imposes the following limits on the University’s liability.
9.2 To the extent permitted by law, the University expressly excludes:
9.2.1 all conditions, warranties and other terms which might otherwise be implied by statute, common law or the law of equity;
9.2.2 any liability for any indirect or consequential loss or damage incurred by any user in connection with the site or in connection with the use, inability to use, or results of the use of the site, any website linked to it and any materials posted on it, whether caused by tort (including negligence), breach of contract or otherwise, even if foreseeable; and
9.2.3 any liability for loss of income or revenue, loss of business, loss of profits or contracts, loss of anticipated savings, loss of data, loss of goodwill or wasted management or office time, in each case whether direct or indirect and whether caused by tort (including negligence), breach of contract or otherwise, even if foreseeable.
9.3 You undertake to make no claim in connection with the site or in connection with the use of the site against any employee, student, agent or appointee of the University (except for claims in relation to fraud or wilful misconduct). This undertaking is intended to give protection to individuals: it does not prejudice any right which you might have to claim against the University.
9.4 Nothing in these terms limits or excludes the University’s liability for: death or personal injury resulting from its negligence; any fraud; or any other liability which, by law, cannot be limited or excluded.
9.5 If any provision of this clause 9 is held to be invalid or unenforceable under any applicable statute or rule of law, then it shall be deemed to be omitted to the extent that it is invalid or unenforceable, and if as a result the University becomes liable for any loss or damage which would otherwise have been excluded then such liability shall be subject to the remaining provisions of this clause 9.
10. INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
10.1 The University processes information about you in accordance with this clause 10. By using the site, you consent to such processing and you warrant that all data provided by you is accurate.
10.2 This clause 10 does not apply to data that you may upload to the site in accordance with clause 4 and the Terms of Submission.
10.3 The University may collect and process the following information about you:
10.3.1 information you provide by filling in forms on the site: this includes information provided at the time of registering to use the site, uploading material or requesting further services;
10.3.2 any correspondence between the University and you; and
10.3.3 details of your visits to the site and the resources that you access.
10.4 The University may collect information about your computer, including (where available) your internet protocol address, operating system and browser type, for system administration. This is statistical information about our users’ browsing actions and patterns and does not identify an individual.
10.5 The University may obtain information about your general internet usage by using a cookie file which is stored on the hard drive of your computer. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive. They help the University to improve your use of the site.
10.6 You may refuse to accept cookies by activating the setting on your browser which allows you to refuse the setting of cookies. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of the site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, the site will issue cookies when you log on to it.
10.7 The University will use information held about you in the following ways:
10.7.1 to ensure that the site’s content is presented in the most effective manner for users’ computers;
10.7.2 to allow you to participate in the interactive features of the site, when you choose to do so; and
10.7.3 to contact you in the event of an enquiry relating to any data you may choose to upload in accordance with clause 4 and the Terms of Submission.
10.8 The University shall not use your personal information for marketing purposes.
10.9 We may disclose your personal information to third parties:
10.9.1 in the event that the ISARIC project is transferred to another entity, in which case personal information held by the University about the site’s users will be transferred to that entity; and
10.9.2 if the University is under a duty to disclose or share your personal information in order to comply with any legal obligation; or in order to enforce or apply these terms of use; or to protect the rights, property or safety of the University or others.
10.10 In the event that clause 10.9.1 applies, the information that the University collects from you may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic area (“EEA”). It may also be processed by staff operating outside the EEA who work for the new entity or for one of its contractors. By submitting information about yourself, you agree to this transfer, storing and processing. The new entity shall take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this clause 10.
10.11 You have a right to access information that the University holds about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Any access request may be subject to a fee to meet the University’s costs in providing you with details of the information we hold about you.
11. TRANSMISSION OF DATA
The transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although the University will use its best endeavours to protect any information you may submit to the site, it cannot guarantee the security of any information in transmission: any transmission is at your own risk. Once the University has received your information, it will use appropriate procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.
12. LINKING TO THE SITE
12.1 You may link to the site’s home page, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage the University’s reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on the University’s part where none exists.
12.2 You must not establish a link from any website that is not owned by you.
12.3 The site must not be framed on any other site, nor may you create a link to any part of the site other than the home page. The University reserves the right to withdraw linking permission without any notice. The website from which you are linking must have appropriate content standards.
12.4 If you wish to make use of any material on the site, other than set out above, please address your request to gsc@isaric.org.
13. LINKING FROM THE SITE
Where the site contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. The University has no control over the content of those sites or resources, and accepts no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.
14. JURISDICTION AND APPLICABLE LAW
14.1 These terms of use and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales.
14.2 The English courts will have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising from, or related to, a visit to the site, although the University retains the right to bring proceedings against you for breach of these terms in your country of residence or any other relevant country.
15. VARIATIONS
The University may revise these terms of use at any time by amending this page. You are expected to check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes the University makes: such changes are binding on you. Some of the provisions contained in these terms of use may also be superseded by provisions or notices published elsewhere on the site.
16. YOUR CONCERNS
If you have any concerns about these terms of use or any material which appears on the site, please contact gsc@isaric.org.