These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your use of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars website (catholicscholars.org) and any other website or online service that link to these Terms (collectively, the “Services”). These Terms are a legal contract between you and the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars (“we” or “us”) so it is important that you review them carefully before using the Services.
Please review these Terms carefully before using the Services. We may change these Terms or modify any features of the Services at any time. The most current version of the Terms can be viewed by clicking on the “Terms of Use” link posted through the Services. You accept the Terms by using the Services, and you accept any changes to the Terms by continuing to use the Services after we post the changes.
I. Personal Uses Permitted
The Services are an online information exchange service for use by the general public. You shall not post, publish, transmit, reproduce, distribute, or in any way use or exploit the Services for commercial purposes or otherwise use the Services in a manner that is inconsistent with these Terms.
II. Prohibited Conduct
You may not access or use, or attempt to access or use, the Services to take any action that could harm us or any third party, interfere with the operation of the Services, or use the Services in a manner that violates any laws. For example, and without limitation, you may not:
• impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation or the origin of materials you transmit; engage in unauthorized spidering, “scraping,” or harvesting of content or personal information, or use any other unauthorized automated means to compile information;
• take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our network or infrastructure; use any device, software, or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Service or any activity conducted on the Service or attempt to probe, scan, test the vulnerability of, or breach the security of any system or network;
• attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse-engineer any of the software comprising or in any way making up a part of the Service;
• distribute any unauthorized materials or advertise or promote goods or services without our permission (including, without limitation, by sending spam); or
• engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits any person from using or enjoying the Services, or that, in our sole judgment, exposes us or any of our users, affiliates, or any other third party to any liability, damages, or detriment of any type.
Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability. We may investigate and work with law enforcement authorities to prosecute users who violate the Terms. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services for any or no reason at any time without notice.
III. Intellectual Property
Trademarks and Service Marks. All rights in the product names, company names, trade names, logos, service marks, trade dress, slogans, product packaging, and designs used on the Services, whether or not appearing with a trademark symbol, belong exclusively to us or our members or licensors, and are protected from reproduction, imitation, dilution, or confusing or misleading uses under national and international trademark and copyright laws. The use or misuse of these trademarks or any materials, except as permitted herein, is expressly prohibited, and nothing stated or implied on the Services confers on you any license or right under any patent or trademark of ours or any third party.
Copyrights. We aim to provide you with helpful information and resources, but the Services are protected under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries. All copyrights in the Services are owned by us or our third-party partners to the full extent permitted under the United States Copyright Act and all international copyright laws. Except for content that you have posted on the Services, you may not publish, reproduce, distribute, display, perform, edit, adapt, modify, or otherwise exploit any part of the Services without our written consent.
We respect intellectual property rights. If you believe in good faith that your work has been reproduced or is accessible on the Services in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, you may notify our designated Copyright Agent by email at services@catholicscholars.org. Please provide the Copyright Agent with the following information in writing:
• identification of the copyrighted work or a representative list of copyrighted works claimed to have been infringed; identification of the allegedly infringing material and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material; your name, address and daytime telephone number, and an e-mail address if available, so that we may contact you if necessary;
• a statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
• a statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
• a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Upon receipt of a notice of claimed infringement (or any statement in conformance with 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3)), we will expeditiously remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing content. We will terminate the privileges of users who repeatedly infringe copyright. Please note that United States law provides significant penalties for falsely submitting a notice of copyright infringement.
IV. Links To Third-Party Content
The Services may contain links to third-party content. We do not control, endorse, sponsor, recommend, or otherwise accept responsibility for such content. Use of any linked third-party content is at the user’s own risk.
V. Disclaimer of Warranties; Limitation of Liability
Your use of the Services is at your own risk. The Services are provided “as is” without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or other violation of rights. We do not warrant the adequacy, currency, accuracy, likely results, or completeness of the Services or any third-party sites linked to or from the Services, or that the functions provided will be uninterrupted, virus, or error-free. We expressly disclaim any liability for any errors or omissions in the content included in the Services or any third-party sites linked to or from the Services. Some jurisdictions may not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you.
In no event will we, or our subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, and assigns be liable for any direct or indirect, special, incidental, consequential or punitive damages, lost profits, or other damages whatsoever arising in connection with the use of the Services, any interruption in availability of the Services, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, loss of data, or use, misuse, reliance, review, manipulation, or other utilization in any manner whatsoever of the Services or the data collected through the Services, even if one or more of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages or loss. Any claim arising out of or connected with the Services will be limited to the greater of $100 or the amount that you paid to access the Services.
VI. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend and hold us and our subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents and assigns harmless from and against any and all loss, costs, expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses), claims, damages and liabilities related to or associated with your use of the Services and any alleged violation by you of these Terms. We reserve the right to assume the exclusive defense of any claim for which We are entitled to indemnification under this section. In such event, you shall provide us with such cooperation as we reasonably request.
VII. Choice of Law and Forum
These Terms shall be governed by the laws of the United States and the District of Columbia. For any dispute arising out of these Terms or your use of the Services, you agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of and exclusive venue in the state and federal courts located in the District of Columbia. By using the Services, you waive any claims that may arise under the laws of other states, countries, territories or jurisdictions.
VIII. Miscellaneous
Entire Agreement. Unless otherwise specified herein, the Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and us and govern your use of the Services. If any portion of the Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intention of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.
Termination. We may terminate this agreement for any reason at any time. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to and use of the Services, with or without prior notice. Otherwise applicable sections of the Terms shall survive termination. In addition to any termination rights, we reserve the right to enforce and prosecute any violations of these Terms.
No Waiver. Our failure to enforce any provisions of the Terms or to respond to a breach by you or other parties shall not in any way waive its rights to enforce subsequently any terms or conditions of the Terms or to act with respect with similar breaches.
