Terms of Use
Agreement Governing this Site
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF SERVICE CAREFULLY. THE TERMS OF SERVICE MAY HAVE CHANGED SINCE YOUR LAST VISIT TO THIS WEBSITE. BY ACCESSING OR USING THIS WEBSITE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF SERVICE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS OF SERVICE, DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITE.
Effective Date: The Terms of Service were last updated on February 12, 2014.
The Institute for Open Economic Networks ("I-Open") provides individuals, businesses and organizations with tools to share information with other I-Open users (the "Service") through the use of our website and all linked pages (the "Site"). The following are the Terms of Service for access to this Site and use of the Service. By registering with or visiting I-Open, you agree to accept the Terms of Service.
1. Acknowledgements
You hereby acknowledge and agree that:
2. Service
The Service is provided subject to the Terms of Service, as they may be amended from time to time, and any guidelines, rules or operating policies that may be established and published from time to time, including without limitation our Privacy Policy. The Terms of Service may modified, revised or discontinued (in whole or in part) in our sole discretion by publishing updated versions on the Site, or otherwise providing notice to you. You must complete the registration form on the sign up webpage in order to submit content. You acknowledge and represent that the information which you provide about yourself in that registration form is true, accurate, current and complete. Children under the age of 18 are not permitted to register on this Service. If you do not qualify, you are not permitted to submit content.
3. Content and Data
You acknowledge and agree that certain technical processing of information may be required in the ordinary course of business and that we may access all data and other tools of the Service as necessary to identify or resolve technical problems or to respond to service complaints.
4. Prohibited Content and User Conduct
Images hosted on the Site may only be used in connection with the Service and for no other purpose whatsoever.
We prohibit the use of the Service or Site to publish any information or send any messages that, in our sole discretion, we determine may do any of the following:
You will not use the Service with the intention of artificially inflating or altering the "vote count," comments, or any other I-Open Service, including by way of creating separate user accounts for the purpose of artificially altering our Services; giving or receiving money or other consideration in exchange for votes; or participating in any other organized effort that in any way artificially alters the results of our Services.
You will not impersonate or attempt to impersonate another user or person.
You will not sell or otherwise transfer your profile.
We reserve the right to suspend, terminate or otherwise disable your access to the Site, immediately and without giving any notice to you and without paying an compensation to you, at any time, for no reason or for any reason whatsoever, including but not limited to, if we believe in our sole discretion that you are not in compliance with all of the provisions of the Terms of Service.
5. Compliance with Laws; Monitoring
You shall use the Service only in compliance with the Terms of Service, the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and all other applicable laws (including but not limited to policies and laws related to spamming, privacy, obscenity, defamation and child protective email address registries). Although we have no obligation to monitor the content provided by you or your use of the Service, we may do so and we may block any email messages, remove any content or prohibit any use of the Service that we believe may be in violation of the Terms of Service.
6. Username and Password; Identity
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and your identity as well as your passwords and files. We will accept the instructions of any individual who claims to be authorized to direct changes to your account so long as such person presents your username and password online, by email or by telephone. We have no knowledge of your personal relationships (if you registered for the Service as a person) or your organizational structure (if you registered as an entity). We are not responsible for the actions of any individuals who misuse or misappropriate your contact lists, identity or other assets using your username and password.
7. Intellectual Property Rights in User Content
By uploading, submitting or otherwise disclosing or distributing content for display or inclusion on the Site, you represent and agree that: (i) your submissions are non-confidential for all purposes; (ii) you own all rights in the content; (iii) your submissions do not infringe, misappropriate or violate the intellectual property rights of any other person; and (iv) you are granting I-Open (and its assignees) a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, create derivative works from, transfer, and sell your submissions to the Site (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate your submissions in other works in any form, media, or technology whether now known or later developed.
8. Hyperlinks
This Site may contain hyperlinks to non-I-Open websites. These links are provided to you as a convenience, and we are not responsible for the content or availability of any linked website. We have no control over the content of any independent websites accessed from this Site. We are not responsible or liable for any damage or loss caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such site or resource.
9. No Implied Endorsements
In no event shall any link or other reference to any third party or third party content, product or service be construed as an approval or endorsement by I-Open of that third party or of any content, product or service provided by a third party.
10. Indemnification
You hereby agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless I-Open, its owners, officers, directors, employees, business partners, assignees, licensors, distributors, agents and third-party suppliers and providers against any damages, losses, liabilities, settlements, and expenses (including without limitation costs and reasonable attorneys' fees) in connection with any claim or action that: (i) arises from any alleged breach of the Terms of Service; (ii) arises from any content or messages you submit or distribute using the Service; or (iii) otherwise arises from or relates to your use of the Service. In addition, you acknowledge and agree that we have the right to seek damages when you use the Service for unlawful purposes, in an unlawful manner, and/or in a manner inconsistent with the Terms of Service, and that such damages may include, without limitation, direct, indirect, special, incidental and consequential damages.
11. Warranty Disclaimer
USE OF THE SERVICES AND ANY RELIANCE BY YOU UPON THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE; NOR DO WE MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE SERVICES. THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
12. Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL I-Open, ITS OWNERS OR ANY OF ITS UNDERLYING SERVICE PROVIDERS, BUSINESS PARTNERS, INFORMATION PROVIDERS, ACCOUNT PROVIDERS, LICENSORS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, DISTRIBUTORS OR AGENTS (COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION AS "I-Open") BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY MONEY DAMAGES, WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF I-Open SHALL HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN THE EVENT THAT, NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, I-Open IS FOUND LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES FROM ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER, THE MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF I-Open TO YOU ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE TERMS OF SERVICE SHALL BE LIMITED TO $100. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF DAMAGES, SO THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
13. Notice and Take Down Procedures; Copyright Agent
We respect the intellectual property rights of others. Pursuant to 17 USC § 512 as amended by Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the "DMCA"), the Site has instituted procedures to receive written notification of claimed infringements and to process such claims in accordance with the DMCA. If you believe your copyrights are being infringed, you may file a notification of such infringement with the following Designated Agent:
Betsey Merkel, Co-Founder & Director
The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open)
2563 Kingston Road
Cleveland OH 44118-4347
To be effective, your notification of claimed infringement must be in writing, provided to the Designated Agent and include substantially the following information:
Any notification of a claimed infringement that fails to substantially comply with the above provisions will not be considered as providing actual knowledge or an awareness of facts or circumstances from which infringing activity is apparent.
Please file a notice of infringement each time you wish to report alleged acts of infringement.
Please note that we will terminate, in appropriate circumstances, the account of any user who repeatedly submits infringing material on the Site.
Please also note that the information provided in your notification, including any personal information contained therein, may be forwarded to the person who has provided the allegedly infringing content, and sending us such notification constitutes your consent to share this information with the alleged infringer.
Please also note that if you make any material misrepresentation in your notification that the material or activity is infringing, you will be liable for all damages, including costs and attorneys' fees, incurred by us, the alleged infringer, the copyright owner or any authorized licensee of the copyright owner as the result of our relying upon such misrepresentation in removing or disabling access to the material or activity claimed to be infringing, or in replacing the removed material or ceasing to disable access to it.
We may give notice of a claim of copyright infringement to our users by means of a general notice on the Site, electronic mail to a user's email address in our records, or by written communication sent by first-class mail to a user's address in our records.
14. Trademark Information
"I-Open," the I-Open logo, buttons, widgets and any other visual elements relating to I-Open appearing in this Site are trademarks of The Institute for Open Economic Networks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
15. Miscellaneous
15.1 If any provision of the Terms of Service is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the Terms of Service will otherwise remain in full force and effect.
15.2 I-Open and you agree that the Terms of Service are the complete and exclusive statement of the mutual understanding of the parties and supersedes and cancels all previous written and oral agreements, communications, and other understandings relating to the subject matter of the Terms of Service, and that all waivers and modifications must be in a writing signed by both parties, except as otherwise provided herein. No delay or omission by either party in exercising any right or remedy under the Terms of Service or existing at law or equity shall be considered a waiver of such right or remedy.
15.3 No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship is created as a result of the Terms of Service, and you do not have any authority of any kind to bind I-Open in any respect whatsoever.
15.4 In any action or proceeding to enforce rights under the Terms of Service, the prevailing party will be entitled to recover its costs and attorney’s fees.
15.5 The Terms of Service shall be governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, USA without regard to its choice or law or conflict of laws provisions. All legal actions in connection with the Terms of Service shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Cleveland, Ohio.
16. Additional Information About Us
The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) owns and operates the I-Open website. You may contact us directly if you have any questions regarding the content and material on the Site or if you have any questions about our Terms of Service. Please contact us by email at or contact us at:
The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open)
ATTN: Terms of Service
2563 Kingston Road
Cleveland OH 44118-4347
Terms of Service updated: February 12, 2014
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF SERVICE CAREFULLY. THE TERMS OF SERVICE MAY HAVE CHANGED SINCE YOUR LAST VISIT TO THIS WEBSITE. BY ACCESSING OR USING THIS WEBSITE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF SERVICE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS OF SERVICE, DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITE.
Effective Date: The Terms of Service were last updated on February 12, 2014.
The Institute for Open Economic Networks ("I-Open") provides individuals, businesses and organizations with tools to share information with other I-Open users (the "Service") through the use of our website and all linked pages (the "Site"). The following are the Terms of Service for access to this Site and use of the Service. By registering with or visiting I-Open, you agree to accept the Terms of Service.
1. Acknowledgements
You hereby acknowledge and agree that:
- The Service may only be used for lawful purposes; and
- You will comply with the restrictions on content of published messages and activities using the Service as set forth in the Terms of Service.
2. Service
The Service is provided subject to the Terms of Service, as they may be amended from time to time, and any guidelines, rules or operating policies that may be established and published from time to time, including without limitation our Privacy Policy. The Terms of Service may modified, revised or discontinued (in whole or in part) in our sole discretion by publishing updated versions on the Site, or otherwise providing notice to you. You must complete the registration form on the sign up webpage in order to submit content. You acknowledge and represent that the information which you provide about yourself in that registration form is true, accurate, current and complete. Children under the age of 18 are not permitted to register on this Service. If you do not qualify, you are not permitted to submit content.
3. Content and Data
You acknowledge and agree that certain technical processing of information may be required in the ordinary course of business and that we may access all data and other tools of the Service as necessary to identify or resolve technical problems or to respond to service complaints.
4. Prohibited Content and User Conduct
Images hosted on the Site may only be used in connection with the Service and for no other purpose whatsoever.
We prohibit the use of the Service or Site to publish any information or send any messages that, in our sole discretion, we determine may do any of the following:
- Advertise or solicit, whether directly or indirectly by including links in submitted content or otherwise, any user to engage in commercial activity such as buying or selling any products or services. It is also a violation of these rules to use any information obtained from the Service in order to contact, advertise to, solicit, or sell to any user without their prior explicit consent.
- Be considered unwanted email ("spam").
- Introduce viruses, worms, harmful code and/or Trojan horses on the Internet.
- Link to affiliate programs, multi-level marketing schemes, sites/blogs repurposing existing stories (source hops), or off-topic content.
- Obtain password, account or private information from any user of this Service.
- Display, market or link to any content, services or products relating to: pornography or illicitly pornographic sexual products; escort services; illegal goods; illegal drugs; illegal drug contraband; pirated computer programs; or instructions on how to assemble or otherwise make bombs, grenades or other weapons.
- Exploit, display, market or link to material that exploits children under 18 years of age.
- Display, market or link to material that is grossly offensive, including blatant expressions of bigotry, prejudice, racism, hatred or excessive profanity or submit any obscene, lewd, lascivious, excessively violent or otherwise objectionable content.
- Disclose any personally identifying information or private information about children under 18 years of age without the consent of their parent/legal guardian.
- Engage in any libelous, defamatory, scandalous, threatening or harassing activity.
- Advocate, promote or otherwise encourage violence against any governments, organizations, groups or individuals or provide instruction, information or assistance to further the carrying out such violence.
- Violate any laws (including but not limited to intellectual property laws).
You will not use the Service with the intention of artificially inflating or altering the "vote count," comments, or any other I-Open Service, including by way of creating separate user accounts for the purpose of artificially altering our Services; giving or receiving money or other consideration in exchange for votes; or participating in any other organized effort that in any way artificially alters the results of our Services.
You will not impersonate or attempt to impersonate another user or person.
You will not sell or otherwise transfer your profile.
We reserve the right to suspend, terminate or otherwise disable your access to the Site, immediately and without giving any notice to you and without paying an compensation to you, at any time, for no reason or for any reason whatsoever, including but not limited to, if we believe in our sole discretion that you are not in compliance with all of the provisions of the Terms of Service.
5. Compliance with Laws; Monitoring
You shall use the Service only in compliance with the Terms of Service, the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and all other applicable laws (including but not limited to policies and laws related to spamming, privacy, obscenity, defamation and child protective email address registries). Although we have no obligation to monitor the content provided by you or your use of the Service, we may do so and we may block any email messages, remove any content or prohibit any use of the Service that we believe may be in violation of the Terms of Service.
6. Username and Password; Identity
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and your identity as well as your passwords and files. We will accept the instructions of any individual who claims to be authorized to direct changes to your account so long as such person presents your username and password online, by email or by telephone. We have no knowledge of your personal relationships (if you registered for the Service as a person) or your organizational structure (if you registered as an entity). We are not responsible for the actions of any individuals who misuse or misappropriate your contact lists, identity or other assets using your username and password.
7. Intellectual Property Rights in User Content
By uploading, submitting or otherwise disclosing or distributing content for display or inclusion on the Site, you represent and agree that: (i) your submissions are non-confidential for all purposes; (ii) you own all rights in the content; (iii) your submissions do not infringe, misappropriate or violate the intellectual property rights of any other person; and (iv) you are granting I-Open (and its assignees) a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, create derivative works from, transfer, and sell your submissions to the Site (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate your submissions in other works in any form, media, or technology whether now known or later developed.
8. Hyperlinks
This Site may contain hyperlinks to non-I-Open websites. These links are provided to you as a convenience, and we are not responsible for the content or availability of any linked website. We have no control over the content of any independent websites accessed from this Site. We are not responsible or liable for any damage or loss caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such site or resource.
9. No Implied Endorsements
In no event shall any link or other reference to any third party or third party content, product or service be construed as an approval or endorsement by I-Open of that third party or of any content, product or service provided by a third party.
10. Indemnification
You hereby agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless I-Open, its owners, officers, directors, employees, business partners, assignees, licensors, distributors, agents and third-party suppliers and providers against any damages, losses, liabilities, settlements, and expenses (including without limitation costs and reasonable attorneys' fees) in connection with any claim or action that: (i) arises from any alleged breach of the Terms of Service; (ii) arises from any content or messages you submit or distribute using the Service; or (iii) otherwise arises from or relates to your use of the Service. In addition, you acknowledge and agree that we have the right to seek damages when you use the Service for unlawful purposes, in an unlawful manner, and/or in a manner inconsistent with the Terms of Service, and that such damages may include, without limitation, direct, indirect, special, incidental and consequential damages.
11. Warranty Disclaimer
USE OF THE SERVICES AND ANY RELIANCE BY YOU UPON THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE; NOR DO WE MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE SERVICES. THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
12. Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL I-Open, ITS OWNERS OR ANY OF ITS UNDERLYING SERVICE PROVIDERS, BUSINESS PARTNERS, INFORMATION PROVIDERS, ACCOUNT PROVIDERS, LICENSORS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, DISTRIBUTORS OR AGENTS (COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION AS "I-Open") BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY MONEY DAMAGES, WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF I-Open SHALL HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN THE EVENT THAT, NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, I-Open IS FOUND LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES FROM ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER, THE MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF I-Open TO YOU ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE TERMS OF SERVICE SHALL BE LIMITED TO $100. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF DAMAGES, SO THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
13. Notice and Take Down Procedures; Copyright Agent
We respect the intellectual property rights of others. Pursuant to 17 USC § 512 as amended by Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the "DMCA"), the Site has instituted procedures to receive written notification of claimed infringements and to process such claims in accordance with the DMCA. If you believe your copyrights are being infringed, you may file a notification of such infringement with the following Designated Agent:
Betsey Merkel, Co-Founder & Director
The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open)
2563 Kingston Road
Cleveland OH 44118-4347
To be effective, your notification of claimed infringement must be in writing, provided to the Designated Agent and include substantially the following information:
- Identification of the copyrighted work you claim to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that Site.
- Identification of the material that you claim to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material, such as its URL.
- Your name, address, telephone number, and if available, email address.
- A statement that you have a good faith belief that the complained of use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law.
- A statement that the information that you have supplied in the notification is accurate, and indicating under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
- A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or authorized representative.
Any notification of a claimed infringement that fails to substantially comply with the above provisions will not be considered as providing actual knowledge or an awareness of facts or circumstances from which infringing activity is apparent.
Please file a notice of infringement each time you wish to report alleged acts of infringement.
Please note that we will terminate, in appropriate circumstances, the account of any user who repeatedly submits infringing material on the Site.
Please also note that the information provided in your notification, including any personal information contained therein, may be forwarded to the person who has provided the allegedly infringing content, and sending us such notification constitutes your consent to share this information with the alleged infringer.
Please also note that if you make any material misrepresentation in your notification that the material or activity is infringing, you will be liable for all damages, including costs and attorneys' fees, incurred by us, the alleged infringer, the copyright owner or any authorized licensee of the copyright owner as the result of our relying upon such misrepresentation in removing or disabling access to the material or activity claimed to be infringing, or in replacing the removed material or ceasing to disable access to it.
We may give notice of a claim of copyright infringement to our users by means of a general notice on the Site, electronic mail to a user's email address in our records, or by written communication sent by first-class mail to a user's address in our records.
14. Trademark Information
"I-Open," the I-Open logo, buttons, widgets and any other visual elements relating to I-Open appearing in this Site are trademarks of The Institute for Open Economic Networks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
15. Miscellaneous
15.1 If any provision of the Terms of Service is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the Terms of Service will otherwise remain in full force and effect.
15.2 I-Open and you agree that the Terms of Service are the complete and exclusive statement of the mutual understanding of the parties and supersedes and cancels all previous written and oral agreements, communications, and other understandings relating to the subject matter of the Terms of Service, and that all waivers and modifications must be in a writing signed by both parties, except as otherwise provided herein. No delay or omission by either party in exercising any right or remedy under the Terms of Service or existing at law or equity shall be considered a waiver of such right or remedy.
15.3 No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship is created as a result of the Terms of Service, and you do not have any authority of any kind to bind I-Open in any respect whatsoever.
15.4 In any action or proceeding to enforce rights under the Terms of Service, the prevailing party will be entitled to recover its costs and attorney’s fees.
15.5 The Terms of Service shall be governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, USA without regard to its choice or law or conflict of laws provisions. All legal actions in connection with the Terms of Service shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Cleveland, Ohio.
16. Additional Information About Us
The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) owns and operates the I-Open website. You may contact us directly if you have any questions regarding the content and material on the Site or if you have any questions about our Terms of Service. Please contact us by email at or contact us at:
The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open)
ATTN: Terms of Service
2563 Kingston Road
Cleveland OH 44118-4347
Terms of Service updated: February 12, 2014