Terms of Use for the ThinkQuest International Competition
INTRODUCTION
The Terms of Use set forth herein (“Terms of Use”) apply to your use of www.thinkquest.org (the “Site”) to compete in the ThinkQuest International Competition (the “Competition”). The Site is hosted by the Oracle Education Foundation (the “Foundation”), a California non-profit public benefit corporation with registered offices at 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, California, U.S.A. The Site serves as the on-line platform for teams participating in the Competition, including team coaches (“Coaches”), team members and their parents (as applicable), Foundation staff and other partners of the Foundation that visit or are registered for the Site in connection with the Competition (each a “User” and together “Users”). Certain areas of the Site are restricted to registered Users approved by the Foundation.
As used herein, “you” or “your” shall refer to you as a visitor to or User of the Site. “We” or “our” shall refer to the Foundation.
By using the Site, you accept and agree to comply with the Terms of Use. Your use of the Site also is subject to and contingent upon your agreement with the Competition Privacy Policy, which is hereby incorporated by reference. PLEASE READ AND AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF USE AND THE COMPETITION PRIVACY POLICY CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THE SITE.
PARENTAL CONSENT TO USE THE SITE
IF YOU ARE A MINOR, YOU MUST REVIEW THE TERMS OF USE AND OUR COMPETITION PRIVACY POLICY WITH A PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN, TEACHER OR ADULT GROUP LEADER BEFORE YOU USE THE SITE OR PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION. YOU ALSO MUST HAVE YOUR PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN SUBMIT A SIGNED PARENTAL CONSENT FORM IN ORDER TO USE THE SITE OR PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION.
The Foundation is aware that the nature of the Site means that a significant number of our Users are young people. We encourage all young Users to consult with their parents about how to best enjoy the Site. We recommend that parents supervise their children's online activities. For additional information on the Foundation’s privacy practices, please see below and also refer to the Competition Privacy Policy, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
ENROLLMENT
The Foundation receives entries for the Competition (“Entries”) via the on-line enrollment form accessible at http://www.thinkquest.org. Your participation in the Competition and the submission of Entries are governed by the Competition’s Rules and the Evaluation Guidelines, which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Only Coaches are allowed to enroll for the Competition and must complete all aspects of the enrollment process in order to enter the Competition. As part of the enrollment process, each Coach will receive a unique user name and password (together, an “ Account”).
You acknowledge and agree that the Foundation may block your use of the Site and/or terminate your Account if (i) your enrollment is not complete, (ii) any enrollment data that you provide is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or if the Foundation has reasonable grounds to believe that any enrollment data is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete and/or (iii) the Foundation is unable to verify any of your enrollment data.
ACCOUNT SECURITY
Coaches are responsible for keeping their Accounts secure. Coaches also are responsible for all activities that occur through their Accounts. By using the Site, each Coach hereby agrees to immediately notify the Foundation or his/her Organization of any unauthorized use of his/her Account or any breach of security. Unauthorized access to the Site is a breach of the Terms of Use and a violation of law.
RULES OF CONDUCT
As a User of the Site, you acknowledge and agree to the following rules of conduct (“Rules of Conduct”) for the Site:
No Bad Language, Pictures or Behavior. You agree not to post or distribute any material that is: (a) defamatory, abusive, harassing, insulting or threatening to any other person or that could be considered stalking; (b) bigoted, hateful or racially offensive; (c) vulgar, obscene or sexually explicit; or (d) illegal or promoting illegal activity. The Foundation, in it sole discretion, determines what violates this section.
Ask for Permission When Borrowing Other People's Work. You agree not to post or distribute any material that infringes and/or violates any right of a third party or any domestic or international law, including but not limited to: (a) copyright, patent, trademark or other proprietary rights; (b) rights of privacy or publicity (specifically, you must not post or otherwise distribute any other person's personal information); or (c) any confidentiality obligation.
No Advertising or Selling. You agree not to advertise or sell anything (whether or not for profit) or use the Site for commercial purposes of any kind.
No Viruses. You agree not to post or distribute a computer virus or other harmful component.
No Lies. You agree not to impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your identity.
No Mass Emails. You agree not to engage in antisocial, disruptive or destructive acts, including "flaming," "spamming," "flooding," "trolling" and "griefing" (as such terms are commonly understood and used on the Internet).
No Tampering. You agree not to delete any legal notice, disclaimer or proprietary notice, such as copyright or trademark symbols, or modify any logo that you do not own or have express permission to modify.
No Illegal Activity. You will not, intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, including but not limited to any regulation or law.
We may remove and/or notify law enforcement officials of any material that is in violation of any part of these Rules of Conduct. We also may remove material that we determine is not appropriate for the Site and terminate your Account at any time. We also reserve the right to cooperate with law enforcement officials regarding the identification of any User alleged to be using the Site in violation of any applicable law.
The Foundation may, at any time without prior notice, temporarily limit or suspend in whole or in part a User’s access to the Site and take reasonable actions to mitigate damages to the Foundation or other third parties if the User has engaged in conduct or activities prohibited by the Terms of Use or has violated any applicable law. The Foundation shall not have any liability to the User or to any third party in respect of any limitation or suspension of the User’s access to the Site.
PUBLIC COMMUNICATION AND THE COMPETITION PRIVACY POLICY
As part of participation in the Site, Users may, among other things, submit personal information (i) to enroll for the Competition and form a team; (ii) to use a non-public area of the Site; (iii) to register online for the ThinkQuest Live event; and/or (iv) to register to receive additional information from the Site.
You understand and acknowledge that anything that you submit to the Site is routed through the Site's servers and the Internet. You understand that all submissions to the Site are subject to the Competition Privacy Policy. You acknowledge that the information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages or other materials provided to you, by you or otherwise accessible by or to you during your visit to the Site posted on the Site (collectively, the "Content") may be viewed by other Users. Please keep in mind that whenever you post your personal information online, your personal information can be collected and used by people that you don't know. We cannot guarantee the security of any of the personal information that you disclose online. Except for the information that we collect in accordance with the Competition Privacy Policy, please do not submit any personal information via the Site. You make such disclosures at your own risk. You are responsible for your Content on the Site and we are not responsible for the Content posted or sent by Users. You use the Content on the Site at your own risk.
LICENSE GRANT
We do not claim ownership of any Content submitted or made available by you for inclusion on the Site. By agreeing to the Terms of Use, you grant the Foundation a world-wide, royalty-free and non-exclusive license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate and publicly display any such Content (in whole or in part) on the Site, solely for the purpose for which such Content was submitted or made available. This license is perpetual notwithstanding the removal of any Content submitted by you from the Site.
CONTENT TO BE USED FOR YOUR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
The Site is an online educational service provided to Users for educational and noncommercial use. The Content, other than any Content submitted or made available by you, may be protected by copyright, trademarks, service marks, trade secret or other laws or proprietary rights agreements and you are only permitted to use them only as expressly authorized by the Foundation. You agree to comply with any additional copyright notice or restriction contained in or accompanying such Content. Subject to the foregoing and all of the other provisions contained in these Terms of Use, you are permitted to download, publish, copy, distribute, perform, display, transmit and otherwise use any portion of the material on the Site for educational and noncommercial purposes only, including, by way of example, in the classroom for teaching or in relation to other education and noncommercial activities.
Other than as expressly permitted in the Terms of Use, you agree that you will not and will not permit others to: (i) publish, copy, transmit, transfer or sell, reproduce, distribute, perform, display or in any way exploit any of such Content in whole or in part; (ii) sublicense such Content to any third party or use such Content for any commercial purpose; (iii) alter such Content in any way (including without limitation, by removing copyright, trademark and other proprietary notices included with the same); (iv) create any derivative work of such Content; or (v) otherwise use such Content in a manner that is inconsistent with the Terms of Use.
LINKING TO THE SITE
You may link to the Site solely for noncommercial and educational purposes. For the avoidance of doubt and subject to the following, you may not link to the Site for, or in relation to, any for-profit and/or commercial activities. Entities or individuals wishing to link to the Site for uses other than noncommercial, educational purposes must first request and receive written permission from the Foundation. For questions or to request permission, please contact support@thinkquest.org. The foregoing notwithstanding, the Foundation reserves the right in its sole discretion to prohibit any entity or individual from linking to the Site.
To the extent permission is granted to website publishers, such publishers may not include a banner over the browser window of the linked page such that the URL of the Site or sub-page is not visible. In addition, the origin of the Site must be included in any description or listing of a Site (for instance, "a ThinkQuest site" or other language as may be required by the Foundation in its sole discretion).
LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES
These Terms of Use apply only to the Site. The Foundation and its affiliates and subsidiaries operate many other websites for different purposes and in multiple jurisdictions where local laws may apply. The Site may include links to certain affiliated sites and to other sites, including sites on which Competition entries are posted (“Other Sites”). When you click on a link to these Other Sites, you leave the Site. These Other Sites are not under the control of the Foundation and you acknowledge that the Foundation is not responsible for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality, decency or any other aspect of such Other Sites (whether or not such Other Sites are affiliated in any way with the Foundation). The inclusion of any link within the Site to any Other Site does not imply endorsement of such Other Site by us or any association with its operators. Prior to accessing Other Sites or non-Foundation content via the Site, we urge you to familiarize yourself with the terms of use and privacy policy for each Other Site prior to using such Other Sites. The Foundation takes no responsibility for the compliance or non-compliance by any Other Site with any privacy or other law, rule or regulation.
FOUNDATION'S USE OF SUBMISSIONS
The Foundation does not accept or consider unsolicited submissions or other content. Please do not send your unsolicited ideas or original materials to anyone at the Foundation. If, despite this request, you still send us your ideas or such materials, please understand that we make no assurances that your ideas or materials will be treated as confidential or proprietary and, upon submission, such ideas or materials become the sole and exclusive property of the Foundation.
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/, the Foundation has designated an agent to receive notifications of alleged copyright infringement associated with the Site. The Foundation will, upon receiving proper notice as set forth below, use commercially reasonable efforts to remove or disable access to any such material as set forth in the DMCA. If you believe that your copyrighted work or the copyrighted work of another party is being infringed, please notify DMCA (or it successor copyright agent) at:
Oracle
Education Foundation Copyright Agent
Email:
copyrightagent@thinkquest.org
Oracle
U.S.A.
500 Oracle Parkway
Mail Stop 5OP-8
Redwood Shores, CA
94065
When notifying the Foundation of alleged copyright infringement, please include all of the following information:
(i) A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner;
(ii) Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed;
(iii) Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to locate the material;
(iv) Information reasonably sufficient to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number and, if available, an electronic mail address;
(v) A statement that the complaining party has 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
(vi) 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.
If material is believed in good faith by the Foundation to infringe a copyright or otherwise violate any intellectual property right, the Foundation will remove or disable access to any such material. If you believe that a notice of copyright infringement has been wrongly filed against you and you would like to submit a counter-notification, you may file a Counter-Notification in Response to Claim of Copyright Infringement with the Foundation's Copyright Agent.
DISCLAIMER
THE USE OF THIS SITE IS AT THE USER’S SOLE RISK. THE SITE AND ALL MATERIALS ON THE SITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE SITE OR THE SERVERS THAT MAKE SUCH MATERIALS AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. WE DO NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATION REGARDING THE USE OF THE SITE OR THE MATERIALS ON THE SITE IN TERMS OF THEIR CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY OR OTHERWISE. APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, NEGLIGENCE, WILL THE FOUNDATION BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM THE USE OF, OR THE INABILITY TO USE, THE SITE OR MATERIALS, RESOURCES AND/OR FUNCTIONS ON THE SITE, EVEN IF THE FOUNDATION HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Foundation, its affiliates and their respective officers, directors, employees and agents from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses or expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of the Site, your violation of the Terms of Use or any Content you post or any posting by any other person using your Account of any objectionable material.
MODIFICATIONS TO THE SITE
The Foundation reserves the right to modify or discontinue the Site, or any part thereof, temporarily or permanently, with or without notice to Users. We are not obligated to support or update the Site. Users acknowledge and agree that the Foundation will not be liable to Users or any third party in the event that the Foundation modifies or discontinues the Site.
TERMINATION
The Terms of Use are effective until terminated by either you or us. You can terminate the Terms of Use at any time by discontinuing use of the Site. We may immediately terminate the Terms of Use as applied to you (including your access to the Site) without cause and without notice in our sole discretion. Upon termination by either you or the Foundation, you must stop using the Site.
APPLICABLE LAWS
All matters relating to your access to, and use of, the Site and Content provided on or through or uploaded to the Site shall be governed by U.S. federal law or the laws of the State of California. Any legal action or proceeding relating to your access to, or use of, the Site or Content shall be instituted in a state or federal court in San Francisco, San Mateo or Santa Clara County, California. You and the Foundation agree to submit to the jurisdiction of, and agree that venue is proper in, these courts in any such legal action or proceeding.
AMENDMENT
The Foundation reserves the right to revise, modify, add or delete portions of the Terms of Use at any time. We will provide notice of any material change to the Terms of Use by posting a “New Terms of Use” (or similar formulation) link on the Site’s home page. Each participating Organization is responsible for obtaining updated parental consent if material changes are made to the Terms of Use. Any change, modification, addition or deletion will be effective thirty (30) calendar days following our posting of the notice on the Site.
MISCELLANEOUS
Neither you nor the Foundation will be deemed to be a partner, employee, fiduciary, agent or representative of the other by your use of the Site. You may not sell, trade, lease, assign or otherwise transfer your rights hereunder to any third party. The Terms of Use do not create rights enforceable by third parties. The Foundation may assign its rights and duties under the Terms of Use without such assignment being considered a change to the Terms of Use and without notice to you. The Terms of Use are severable. In the event that any provision is determined to be unenforceable or invalid, such provision will still be enforced to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law and such determination will not affect the validity and enforceability of any other remaining provisions. If the Foundation fails to enforce any provision of the Terms of Use, it will not constitute a waiver of such provision. The Terms of Use will inure to the benefit of the Foundation’s successors, assignees and licensees. The Terms of Use and the Competition Privacy Policy and any modification by the Foundation to either or both of the foregoing, constitute the entire understanding between the Foundation regarding your access to, license and use of the Site and they supersede any prior agreement, statement or representation with respect to the same. The headings of the sections of the Terms of Use were added for convenience and are not to be deemed a part of the Terms of Use.
LANGUAGE
The parties confirm that the Terms of Use and all related documentation will be drafted in English. Les parties aux présentés confirment leur volonté que cette convention de même que tous les documents y compris tout avis qui s'y rattaché, soient redigés en langue anglaise.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TERMS OF USE
The Foundation welcomes your comments or questions. Please contact us via email by clicking on Contact Us or by sending us an email to support@thinkquest.org or by sending a letter to:
Oracle
Education Foundation
500 Oracle Parkway, MS 5OP890
Redwood
Shores, CA 94065
LAST UPDATED: August 25, 2010