Terms of Use

Welcome to The National Center for Biomedical Ontology site (the "Site").

By using the Site, you agree to follow and be bound by the following terms and conditions concerning your use of the Site ("Terms of Use") and our Privacy Policy. We may modify or terminate our services from time to time, for any reason, and without notice. We reserve the right to modify the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy from time to time, for any reason, without notice. Please review the Terms of Use and Privacy Statement periodically so that you will be apprised of any changes.

Use of Web Site Information

You may download, view, copy and print documents and graphics incorporated in these documents (the "Documents") from the Site subject to the following:

  1. The Documents may be used solely for personal, informational, non-commercial and non-clinical purposes.
  2. The Documents may not be modified or altered in any way. Except where your use constitutes "fair use" under copyright law, you may not otherwise use, download, upload, copy, print, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, post, transmit or distribute any information from this Web site in whole or in part without the express authorization of The National Center for Biomedical Ontology.

Use of Ontologies

Any ontology submitted to The National Center for Biomedical Ontology and uploaded into BioPortal will be freely available for public use. All content will be indexed and made available for search and visualization to all BioPortal users worldwide.  BioPortal may provide a Universal Resource Identifier for each class within an ontology to enable them to be referenced in semantic Web applications.  Only the submitter of the ontology (either an individual or organization who is the authorized owner of the ontology content) will be able to modify it or submit new versions.  The ontologies provided by the Center may be used without restriction provided that their origin is acknowledged and their content is not altered, or, if their content is altered, that they are not distributed under the same name.

Use of Software

Any software that is made available to download from the Site ("Software") is the copyrighted work of The National Center for Biomedical Ontology and/or its collaborators. Use of the Software is governed by the terms of the Software Distribution Agreement which accompanies or is included with the Software ("License Agreement"), or as expressly stated on the website pages accompanying the software. The Software is made available for download solely for use by end users according to the License Agreement. Absent a License Agreement that accompanies the Software, use of the Software will be governed by the Terms of Use.

Use of Documents and Publications on the Site

Except as expressly prohibited on the Site, you are permitted to view, copy, print and distribute publications and documents within this Site, subject to your agreement that:

  1. Your use of the information is for informational, personal, and non-commercial purposes only
  2. You will not modify the documents, publications or graphics
  3. You will not copy or distribute graphics separate from their accompanying text and you will not quote materials out of their context
  4. You will display the copyright notice and other proprietary notices pertaining to the individual ontologies if you redistribute or use them

Use of Forums and Public Communication

"Forum" means a discussion group, chat area, bulletin board, news group, letter to The National Center for Biomedical Ontology, its staff or associates, or e-mail function offered as part of the Site. You agree not to upload, email, post, publish or otherwise transmit through a Forum any content that:

  1. Is false or misleading
  2. Is defamatory
  3. Is harassing or invades another's privacy, or promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual
  4. Is obscene
  5. Infringes another's rights, including but not limited to intellectual property rights
  6. Constitutes unsolicited bulk e-mail, "junk mail," "spam" or chain letters
  7. Violates any applicable laws or regulations.

Forums shall be used in a non-commercial manner only.

You shall not distribute or otherwise publish any content containing a solicitation of funds, promotion, advertising, solicitation for goods or services, or other commercial matter. You agree not to solicit other users of the Site to use or join or become members of any commercial online or offline service or other organization. Except where expressly authorized by The National Center for Biomedical Ontology, you agree not to collect or store personal data about other users. By uploading, emailing, posting, publishing or otherwise transmitting content to any Forum or submitting any content to The National Center for Biomedical Ontology, you automatically grant (or warrant that the owner of such rights has expressly granted) The National Center for Biomedical Ontology a perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable, nonexclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, transmit and distribute such content on in any form, medium, or technology now known or later developed. In addition, you warrant that all so-called moral rights in the content have been waived.

Passwords and Security

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any password(s) you are given to access the Site, and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your password(s). You agree to notify The National Center for Biomedical Ontology immediately of any unauthorized use of your password(s). The National Center for Biomedical Ontology is concerned about the security of personal information we have collected from you and has taken reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized access to that information.

Termination of Use

You agree that The National Center for Biomedical Ontology may terminate or suspend your access to the Site and any account(s) for Cause, wherein Cause shall mean (1) misconduct by the user of the NCBO Web site, (2) material breach of any provision of the Terms of Use, if such breach is susceptible to cure, such breach is not cured within 10 days of notice to the user, and (3) fraud or any other illegal or wrongful conduct by the user. In the event of terminating a user account, the user will receive notice stating the reasons for the termination or suspension. Access to the Site may be monitored by The National Center for Biomedical Ontology for research purposes as well as to enforce provisions of the Terms of Use.

Third Party Web Sites, Content, Products and Services

The Site provides links to Web sites and access to content, products and services from third parties, including users, advertisers, affiliates and sponsors of the Site. You agree that The National Center for Biomedical Ontology is not responsible for the availability of, and content provided on, third party Web sites. You should refer to the policies posted by other Web sites regarding privacy and other topics before you use them. You agree that The National Center for Biomedical Ontology is not responsible for third party content accessible through the Site, including opinions, advice, statements and advertisements, and understand that you bear all risks associated with the use of such content. If you choose to purchase any products or services from a third party, your relationship is directly with the third party. You agree that The National Center for Biomedical Ontology is not responsible for:

  1. The quality of third party products or services
  2. Fulfilling any of the terms of your agreement with the seller, including delivery of products or services and warranty obligations related to purchased products or services

You agree that The National Center for Biomedical Ontology is not responsible for any loss or damage of any sort you may incur from dealing with any third party.

Medical/Clinical Use Disclaimer

Materials on this Site have not necessarily been reviewed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. All materials on this Site are provided for informational and review purposes. It is not intended to and does not in any way substitute for professional medical advice.

The materials should not be relied upon for medical diagnosis or treatment, nor should you disregard the advice of your physical or other health care provider or delay seeking such advice due to anything you have read on or accessed through the Site. The National Center for Biomedical Ontology assumes no responsibility for any injury and/or damage to person(s) or property as a matter of products and/or services liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, service, instruction or ideas contained in the material provided by the Site.

Disclaimer

EXCEPT WHERE EXPRESSLY PROVIDED OTHERWISE, THE SITE, AND ALL CONTENT, MATERIALS, INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES PROVIDED ON THE SITE, ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR BIOMEDICAL ONTOLOGY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR BIOMEDICAL ONTOLOGY MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT:

  1. THE SITE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS
  2. THE SITE WILL BE AVAILABLE ON AN UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE BASIS (though NCBO will undertake best-efforts to ensure continual uptime and availability of its ontology content)
  3. THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SITE OR ANY SERVICES OFFERED THROUGH THE SITE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE
  4. THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE SITE WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS

ANY CONTENT, MATERIALS, INFORMATION OR SOFTWARE DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SITE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK. THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR BIOMEDICAL ONTOLOGY SHALL HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY CONTENT, MATERIALS, INFORMATION OR SOFTWARE. THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR BIOMEDICAL ONTOLOGY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES OR UPDATES TO THE SITE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE.

Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT SHALL THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR BIOMEDICAL ONTOLOGY BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA OR USE, INCURRED BY YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT OR TORT, ARISING FROM YOUR ACCESS TO, OR USE OF, THE SITE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless The National Center of Biomedical Ontology, its staff and associates, 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.

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