Knowledge Futures, Inc. (“Knowledge Futures,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a Massachusetts nonprofit organization that builds and operates open infrastructure for creating, publishing, and sharing knowledge. These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are a legal agreement between Knowledge Futures and you.
These Terms apply to the websites, applications, APIs, and other services that Knowledge Futures operates and that link to these Terms or to our Privacy Policy, including knowledgefutures.org and your Knowledge Futures account (collectively, the “Services”). If you use the Services on behalf of an organization, “you” refers to that organization, and you confirm that you have authority to accept these Terms on its behalf.
BY CREATING AN ACCOUNT, OR BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SERVICES, YOU ACCEPT THESE TERMS. If you do not agree to them, do not use the Services.
Which terms apply
Some Services have additional terms or policies of their own (“Service Terms”), which are presented within that Service and apply to your use of it alongside these Terms.
Some Services are operated by Knowledge Futures on behalf of a partner organization, such as a publisher, society, or university. On those Services, the partner organization’s own terms and policies (“Partner Terms”) also apply, and the partner may be responsible for the content and accounts on that Service. Organizations that operate spaces on the Services may also post Organization Policies, described below.
If these documents conflict, they apply in this order, and each one controls over those listed after it:
- A separate written agreement between you and Knowledge Futures that covers the Service;
- Service Terms, for that Service;
- These Terms, including the Acceptable Use Policy;
- Partner Terms and Organization Policies, which may add requirements but may not override the documents above.
How we handle personal information is described in our Privacy Policy, which follows the same order.
Eligibility
You must be at least 13 years old to use the Services. If a higher minimum age applies where you live, as described in our Privacy Policy, you must meet it.
Your account
A single Knowledge Futures account lets you sign in to many of our Services. You may create an account with an email address and password, or by signing in through a third-party provider such as Google, GitHub, or ORCID. When you sign in through a third-party provider, that provider’s terms also govern your use of it.
You must provide information that is accurate, current, and complete, and keep it up to date. You may use a pseudonym as your display name. You are responsible for keeping your password and sign-in credentials secure and for all activity under your account. You must notify us immediately at privacy@knowledgefutures.org of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security. We will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to protect your account.
Certain areas of the Services may require an account or ask you to provide information in order to participate. Providing that information is optional, but if you choose not to, you may not be able to use some features.
Acceptable use
You must follow our Acceptable Use Policy, which is part of these Terms. We may update it in the same way as these Terms, as described in Changes to these Terms. If you fail to follow it, we may immediately suspend or terminate your account, remove content, or limit your access to the Services.
Your content
The Services let you and others submit, post, and publish content, such as text, data, records, images, comments, and other materials (“User Content”).
You keep your rights. You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights you hold in your User Content.
License to operate the Services. You grant Knowledge Futures a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, copy, reproduce, display, distribute, and transmit your User Content, and to make technical modifications such as reformatting, solely as needed to operate, provide, secure, and improve the Services, and as directed by your settings and choices within the Services.
Licenses you choose. Some Services let you publish User Content under an open license, or apply a default license to published content. Where they do, the applicable license is shown in that Service, and content you publish under it is available to others on those license terms.
Your responsibilities. You represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to provide your User Content and to grant the licenses above, that your User Content does not infringe or violate the rights of any third party, and that it does not include personal information about others who have not authorized you to share it. User Content must carry any licensing and attribution information that its sources require.
Moderation. We, and any organization that operates a space on the Services (such as a community, journal, or project), may monitor User Content; may decline to publish it, remove it, or restrict access to it, at our or their discretion, without notice and for any reason; and will have no liability for doing so or for failing to do so. Beyond the technical modifications described above, we and they may edit User Content only to remove or redact material that violates these Terms or the law. We will not modify the substance of a scholarly work you submit for publication, but we or the relevant organization may decline to publish it in its entirety.
Other people’s content. Views and opinions expressed by other users are their own and should not be attributed to us. By using the Services, you may be exposed to User Content that is offensive, harmful, inaccurate, or otherwise inappropriate. We are not liable for any User Content, including any errors or omissions in it, or for any loss or damage incurred as a result of its use.
Organizations on the Services
Organizations such as publishers, societies, universities, and research groups may operate spaces on the Services and may post their own policies, such as terms of use or editorial policies, within those spaces (“Organization Policies”). Organization Policies may not conflict with these Terms, our Acceptable Use Policy, our Privacy Policy, or any applicable Service Terms, and each organization is solely responsible for enforcing its own Organization Policies. Conflicts are resolved as described in Which terms apply.
Organizations that operate spaces on the Services are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms to the extent of their interests, and may, working with us, enforce these Terms as they relate to their spaces and content. We will reasonably cooperate with them in doing so.
Site content
Except where otherwise noted, content that Knowledge Futures publishes on knowledgefutures.org is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Much of our software is open source and is licensed separately under the terms that accompany it.
Fees
Some Services may be offered for a fee under a separate agreement or order. If we terminate your access to a paid Service for a reason other than your breach of these Terms or our Acceptable Use Policy, we will refund a pro-rated portion of any prepaid fees for the remaining term.
Termination
You may stop using the Services and delete your account at any time.
We may suspend or terminate your account, or deny access to the Services to anyone, at any time and for any reason. We may refer suspected fraudulent, abusive, or illegal activity to appropriate law enforcement authorities.
Disclaimer of warranties
YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, KNOWLEDGE FUTURES AND THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT OPERATE SPACES ON THE SERVICES (COLLECTIVELY, THE “DISCLAIMING PARTIES”) DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES AND YOUR USE OF THEM, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT ANY CONTENT WILL BE STORED OR RETAINED. WE HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR THE DELETION OF, OR FAILURE TO STORE, ANY CONTENT.
Limitation of liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE DISCLAIMING PARTIES WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF DATA, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SERVICES, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY.
Indemnification
You will indemnify and defend Knowledge Futures, each organization that operates a space on the Services, and each of our and their affiliates, employees, governing board members, contractors, and agents (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”), and hold them harmless from and against any claim, and all related loss, damage, and expense, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising in connection with: (1) your use of the Services; (2) your User Content; (3) your breach of these Terms or of any representation or warranty you make in them; or (4) your violation of applicable law, in each case by you or by anyone you authorize to use your account.
The Indemnified Parties may, at their own expense, assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you.
Changes to these Terms
We may modify these Terms, including the Acceptable Use Policy, and change or discontinue features of the Services, at any time. We will post changes to these Terms at knowledgefutures.org/terms and notify registered users by email. We will use reasonable efforts to post changes at least 30 days before they take effect, but non-material changes, or changes necessary to address legal requirements or avoid liability, may take effect sooner. By continuing to use the Services after changes take effect, you agree to the modified Terms.
General
These Terms, including the Acceptable Use Policy and any applicable Service Terms, are the entire agreement between you and us regarding your use of the Services, and supersede any prior agreements on that subject, except for any separate written agreement described in Which terms apply.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. The state and federal courts located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of the Services, and you and we agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.
Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of our right to do so. If a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision invalid, it will be interpreted to have the broadest validity consistent with law, and the remaining provisions will remain in effect. Section headings are for convenience only and have no legal effect. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination of your access to the Services will survive it.
These Terms are personal to you and may not be assigned without our prior written permission. If you wish to transfer control of a space you administer on the Services, contact us. We may assign these Terms upon notice to you. These Terms are binding on, and benefit, permitted successors and assigns.
We may send notices to the email address associated with your account. You must keep that address up to date.
Contact
If you have questions about these Terms, contact us at privacy@knowledgefutures.org.