Terms of Use

 

These Terms of Use (“Terms of Use”) govern your use of our website www.restoretheearth.org (the “Website”), any of its subdomains, or any related sites, content or online services (collectively the “Services”) offered by the Restore the Earth Foundation (“REF” or “we” or “us”).

BY USING THE SERVICES, YOU ACCEPT ALL OF THE PROVISIONS OF THESE TERMS OF USE AND REPRESENT TO US THAT YOU ARE LEGALLY COMPETENT TO ENTER INTO AND AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF USE.  IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THESE TERMS OF USE, THEN YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO USE ANY OF REF’s SERVICES.

For purposes of these Terms of Use, “you” and “your” means you as the user of the Services.  If you use the Services on behalf of a company, organization, or other entity, then (a) “you” includes you and that entity, and (b) you represent and warrant that you are an authorized representative of the entity with the authority to bind the entity to these Terms of Use, and that you agree to these Terms of Use on the entity’s behalf, and (c) your entity is legally and financially responsible for your use of the Services.

Please review the following carefully so that you understand the terms of these Terms of Use.  These Terms of Use describe your responsibilities, REF’s liability, and the liability of third parties related to the Services.  All users of REF’s Services must accept and comply with the terms and conditions set forth herein.  Certain portions of the Service may be subject to additional terms and conditions specified by us from time to time; your use of the Service is subject to those additional terms and conditions.  If you have any questions regarding these Terms of Use, please contact us by using the “Contact” tab on our Website [1].

These Terms of Use include a release by you of all claims for damage against us that may arise out of your use of the Services. By using any of THE SERVICES, you agree to THESE PROVISIONS.

I.  ABOUT THE SERVICES

1.               REF is committed to restoring the Earth’s essential forest and wetland ecosystems, enhancing resilient communities, and assuring a sustainable future for us all. With the generous support of our donors, we are able to use our elite REF Revolving Fund to generate a funding stream to propel and expand our work and impact. This enables us to work with our public and private partners to restore large tracts of degraded farmland in the Mississippi River Basin on a “landscape-scale.”[2]

2.               Our privacy practices in operating the Services are described in our Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) located on our Website. Please review the Privacy Policy to learn about:

·              what information we may collect about you;
·              what we use that information for;
·              what third-party information, if any, you are agreeing to share by using the Services; and
·              with whom we share that information.

II. TERMS APPLICABLE TO THE SERVICES

1.               License to Use Services.  Subject to your compliance with these Terms of Use, REF hereby grants to you, a personal, nonexclusive, nontransferable, revocable, limited license (without the right to sublicense) to access and use the Services (including updates and upgrades that replace or supplement it in any respect and which are not distributed with a separate license, and any documentation) solely on computers and devices that you own or control, and subject to the limitations set forth below. These Terms of Use are limited to the intellectual property rights of REF and its affiliates and licensors and do not include any rights to other patents or intellectual property. We reserve any and all rights not expressly granted to you pursuant to these Terms of Use. The limited rights granted to you to access and use the Services comprise a limited license and do not constitute the sale of any software program.

2.               Use Restrictions.

(a) You agree that: (i) you will not use the Services if you are not fully able and legally competent to agree to these Terms of Use; (ii) you will only use the Services for lawful purposes; (iii) you will not use the Services for sending or storing any unlawful material or for fraudulent purposes or to engage in any illegal, offensive, indecent or objectionable conduct; (iv) you will not use the Services to advertise, solicit or transmit commercial advertisements, including “spam”; (v) you will not use the Services to cause nuisance, annoyance or inconvenience; (vi) you will not impair the proper operation of the network; (vii) you will not try to harm the Services in any way whatsoever; (viii) you will not copy, or distribute the Services or other content without written permission from REF; (ix) you will only use the Services for your own use and will not resell it to a third party; (x) you will keep secure and confidential any identification we provide you which allows access to the Services; and (xi) you will provide us with whatever proof of identity we may reasonably request.

(b) You agree to protect the Services, and their proprietary content, information and other materials, from any unauthorized access or use, and you agree that you will not use the Services or such proprietary content, information or other materials except as expressly permitted herein or expressly authorized in writing by REF. Except as specifically permitted herein or expressly authorized in writing by REF, you agree that you will not directly or indirectly: (i) distribute, sell, assign, encumber, transfer, rent, lease, loan, sublicense, modify, time-share or otherwise exploit the Services in any unauthorized manner, including but not limited to by trespass or burdening network capacity; (ii) use the Services in any service bureau arrangement; (iii) copy, reproduce, adapt, create derivative works of, translate, localize, port or otherwise modify the Services, any updates, or any part thereof in any form or manner or by any means; (iv) harvest or scrape any content or data from the Service, or (v) permit any third party to engage in any of the acts described in clauses (i) through (iv).

(c)  You further understand and agree that you are not permitted to: (x) remove or alter any copyright or other proprietary rights notice or restrictive rights legend contained or included in the Services; (y) decompile, disassemble, reverse compile, reverse assemble, reverse translate or otherwise reverse engineer any part of the Services, any updates, or any part thereof (except as and only to the extent any foregoing restriction is prohibited by applicable law or to the extent as may be permitted by the licensing terms governing use of any open sourced components included with the Services); or (z) otherwise circumvent any functionality that controls access to or otherwise protects the Services. Any attempt to do any of the foregoing is a violation of the rights of REF and its licensors. If you breach these restrictions, you may be subject to prosecution and damages. You further agree not to use the Services in any manner to harass, abuse, stalk, threaten, defame or otherwise infringe or violate the rights of any other party.

3.               Third Party Services and Materials.

Certain Services may display, include or make available content, data, information, applications or materials from third parties (“Third Party Materials”) or provide links to certain third party web sites. By using the Services, you acknowledge and agree that REF is not responsible for examining or evaluating the content, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, validity, copyright compliance, legality, decency, quality or any other aspect of such Third Party Materials or web sites. REF does not warrant or endorse and does not assume and will not have any liability or responsibility to you or any other person for any third-party Services, Third Party Materials or web sites, or for any other materials, products, or services of third parties. Third Party Materials and links to other web sites are provided solely as a convenience to you. To the extent you choose to access such services or Third Party Materials, you do so at your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with any applicable laws, including but not limited to applicable local laws.

III.              Disclaimer of Warranties & Limitation of Liability.

1.               YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT USE OF THE SERVICES ARE AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND THAT THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO SATISFACTORY QUALITY, PERFORMANCE, ACCURACY AND EFFORT IS WITH YOU. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE SERVICES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY THIRD PARTY MATERIALS, THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE OR SERVICES) ARE PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, AND REF HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE (INCLUDING THE USE, PERFORMANCE AND SUPPORT THEREOF), EITHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND/OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OF ACCURACY, OF QUIET ENJOYMENT, TITLE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, INTERFERENCE WITH ENJOYMENT, COMPLETENESS, INTEGRATION, FREEDOM FROM DEFECTS OR DISABLING DEVICES, UNINTERRUPTED USE AND ALL WARRANTIES IMPLIED FROM ANY COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE. REF DOES NOT WARRANT THAT (I) THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (II) OPERATION OF THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR VIRUS- OR ERROR-FREE, (III) THE SERVICES WILL OPERATE OR BE COMPATIBLE WITH ANY OTHER APPLICATION OR ANY PARTICULAR SYSTEM OR DEVICE, OR (IV) DEFECTS IN THE SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED.  ANY ORAL OR WRITTEN ADVICE PROVIDED BY REF OR ITS AUTHORIZED AGENTS OR REPRESENTATIVES WILL NOT BE DEEMED TO CREATE ANY WARRANTY.  SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES SO SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

 

2.               TO THE EXTENT NOT PROHIBITED BY LAW, YOU AGREE THAT IN NO EVENT WILL REF BE LIABLE (I) FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR ANY OTHER  DAMAGES OR LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES), HOWEVER CAUSED AND UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER UNDER THESE TERMS OF USE OR OTHERWISE ARISING IN ANY WAY IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES OR THIS TERMS OF USE AND WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) EVEN IF REF HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE, OR (II) FOR ANY OTHER CLAIM, DEMAND OR DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM OR ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS TERMS OF USE OR THE DELIVERY, USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE SERVICES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. REF’s TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGES FINALLY AWARDED SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF FIFTY DOLLARS ($50.00). THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS WILL APPLY EVEN IF THE ABOVE STATED REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

3.               You agree that the above limitations of liability together with the other provisions in these Terms of Use that limit liability are essential terms of these Terms of Use and that REF would not be willing to grant you the rights set forth in these Terms of Use but for your agreement to the above limitations of liability; you are agreeing to these limitations of liability to induce REF to grant you the rights set forth in these Terms of Use.

4.               By entering into these Terms of Use and using the Services, you agree that you shall defend, indemnify and hold REF, its licensors and their respective parent organizations, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, members, employees, attorneys and agents harmless from and against any and all claims, costs, damages, losses, liabilities and expenses (including attorneys’ fees and costs) arising out of or in connection with: (a) your violation or breach of any term of these Terms of Use or any applicable law or regulation; (b) your violation of any rights of any third party; (c) any unauthorized use of the Services; or (d) your negligence or willful misconduct.

IV.              Ownership.

1.               The Services and their content, including their “look and feel” (e.g., text, graphics, images, logos), proprietary content, information and other materials, are protected under intellectual property and other laws.  You acknowledge and agree that REF and/or its licensors own all right, title and interest in and to the Services (including without limitation any and all patent, copyright, trade secret, trademark, show-how, know-how and any and all other intellectual property rights therein or related thereto) and you agree not to take any action(s) inconsistent with such ownership interests.  You do not acquire any rights or licenses under any of REF’s (or its licensors’) intellectual property rights on account of these Terms of Use.  You acknowledge and agree that the features and functionality of the Services, and all software, content, data, information and materials contained therein are the confidential and proprietary information of REF (or its licensors), and accordingly you agree to (i) maintain the confidentiality of such information using reasonable efforts and care (but in no event less than the same efforts and care you use to protect your own confidential and proprietary information) and not disclose such information to any third party without the prior written consent of REF, and (ii) only use such information for the purposes of using the Services provided by REF hereunder.

2.               Any and all (i) suggestions for correction, change and modification to the Services and other feedback (including but not limited to quotations of written or oral feedback), information and reports provided to REF by you (collectively “Feedback”), and all (ii) improvements, updates, modifications or enhancements, whether made, created or developed by REF or otherwise relating to the Services (collectively, “Revisions”), are and will remain the property of REF.  You acknowledge and expressly agree that any contribution of Feedback or Revisions does not and will not give or grant you any right, title or interest in the Services or in any such Feedback or Revisions.  All Feedback and Revisions become the sole and exclusive property of REF and REF may use and disclose Feedback and/or Revisions in any manner and for any purpose whatsoever without further notice or compensation to you and without retention by you of any proprietary or other right or claim.  You hereby assign to REF any and all right, title and interest that you may have in and to any and all Feedback and Revisions.  At REF’s request, you will execute any document, registration or filing required to give effect to the foregoing assignment.

V. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1.               Modifications. We may modify these Terms of Use at any time. Modifications become effective immediately upon your first access to or use of the Services after the “Last Revised” date at the top of these Terms of Use.  If we make changes that are material, we may use reasonable efforts to attempt to notify you, including by email or placing a prominent notice on the first page of the Website. However, it is your sole responsibility to review the Terms of Use from time to time to view any such changes.  Your continued access or use of the Services after the modifications have become effective will be deemed your conclusive acceptance of the modified Terms of Use. If you do not agree with the modifications, then please do not access or use the Services.

2.               Termination. If you breach any of these Terms of Use, all licenses granted by REF, including permission to use the Services, will terminate automatically.  All sections which by their nature should survive the termination of these Terms of Use shall continue in full force and effect subsequent to and notwithstanding any termination of this Agreement by REF or you.  Termination will not limit any of REF’s other rights or remedies at law or in equity.

3.               Taxes. You are solely responsible for any and all duties, taxes, levies or fees (including any sales, use or withholding taxes) imposed on or in connection with these Terms of Use by any authority.

4.               Injunctive Relief. You agree that a breach of these Terms of Use will cause irreparable injury to REF for which monetary damages would not be an adequate remedy and REF shall be entitled to equitable relief in addition to any remedies it may have hereunder or at law without a bond, other security or proof of damages.

5.               Miscellaneous.  These Terms of Use may not be modified except by a writing executed by the duly-authorized representatives of REF. No other act, document, usage or custom will be deemed to modify or amend these Terms of Use.  These Terms of Use will inure to the benefit of and will be binding upon each party’s successors and assigns. These Terms of Use and the licenses granted hereunder may be assigned or otherwise transferred by REF but may not be assigned or otherwise transferred by you without the prior express written consent of REF.  If any provision hereof is or becomes, at any time or for any reason, unenforceable or invalid, no other provision hereof will be affected thereby and the remaining provisions will continue with the same effect as if such unenforceable or invalid provisions will not have been inserted herein; provided that the ability of either party to obtain substantially the bargained-for performance of the other will not have thereby been impaired.  It is expressly understood that in the event either party on any occasion fails to perform any term hereof and the other party does not enforce that term, the failure to enforce on any occasion will not constitute a waiver of any term and will not prevent enforcement on any other occasion.  Nothing contained in these Terms of Use will be deemed to constitute either party as the agent or representative of the other party or both parties as joint venturers or partners for any purpose. In the event that either party is prevented from performing, or is unable to perform, any of its obligations under these Terms of Use due to any cause beyond the reasonable control of the party invoking this provision, the affected party’s performance will be extended for the period of delay or inability to perform due to such occurrence. The headings and captions contained herein will not be considered to be part of the Terms of Use but are for convenience only.  The laws of the State of New York[3], excluding its conflicts of law rules, govern these Terms of Use and your use of the Services. Your use of the Services may also be subject to other local, state, national, or international laws.

6.  Contact Us.  You may contact us regarding the Services or these Terms of Use at: Restore the Earth Foundation, 95 Brown Road, Suite 139, Ithaca, NY 14850 [4].  These Terms of Use set forth the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the matters contained herein and there are no promises, covenants or undertakings other than those expressly set forth herein.