Terms of use
Last updated on 28 January 2022
Agreement to terms
These terms of use constitute a legally binding agreement made between you, whether personally or on behalf of an entity (“you”), and IAS – the International AIDS Society – (“we”, “us” and “our”), owner and operator of the IAS websites, as well as any other media form, media channel, mobile website or mobile application related, linked or otherwise connected thereto (collectively, the “site”). We are registered in Switzerland and have our registered office at Avenue de France 23, 1202 Geneva. Our VAT number is CHE-111.717.829. You agree that by accessing the site, you have read, understood and agreed to be bound by all of these terms of use. If you do not agree with all of these terms of use, then you are expressly prohibited from using the site and you must discontinue use immediately.
Supplemental terms and conditions or documents that may be posted on the site from time to time, such as the data privacy policy and the cookies policy, are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to make changes or modifications to these terms of use from time to time. We will alert you about any changes by updating the “Last updated” date of these terms of use, and you waive any right to receive specific notice of each such change. Please ensure that you check the applicable terms every time you use our site so that you understand which terms apply. You will be subject to, and will be deemed to have been made aware of and to have accepted, the changes in any revised terms of use by your continued use of the site after the date such revised terms of use are posted.
The information provided on the site is not intended for distribution to our use by any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would subject us to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or country. Accordingly, those persons who choose to access the site from other locations do so on their own initiative and are solely responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable.
The site is intended for users who are at least 13 years of age. All users who are minors in the jurisdiction in which they reside (generally under the age of 18) must have the permission of, and be directly supervised by, their parent or guardian to use the site. If you are a minor, you must have your parent or guardian read, and agree to, these terms of use prior to your use of the site prior to you using the Site.
Intellectual property rights
Unless otherwise indicated, the site is our proprietary property and all source code, databases, functionality, software, website designs, audio, video, text, photographs and graphics on the site (collectively, the “content”) and the trademarks, service marks and logos contained therein (the “marks”) are owned or controlled by us or licensed to us, and are protected by copyright and/or trademark laws and/or other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws. The content and the marks are provided on the site “as is” for your information and personal use only. Except as expressly provided in these terms of use, no part of the site and no content or marks may be copied, reproduced, aggregated, republished, uploaded, posted, publicly displayed, encoded, translated, transmitted, distributed, sold, licensed or otherwise exploited for any commercial purpose whatsoever without our express prior written permission.
Provided that you are eligible to use the site, you are granted a limited licence to access and use the site and to download or print a copy of any portion of the content to which you have properly gained access solely for your personal, non-commercial use. We reserve all rights not expressly granted to you in and to the site, the content and the marks.
User representations
By using the site, you represent and warrant that:
- All registration information you submit will be true, accurate, current and complete.
- You will maintain the accuracy of such information and promptly update such registration information as necessary.
- You have the legal capacity and you agree to comply with these terms of use.
- You are at least 13 years old.
- You are not a minor in the jurisdiction in which you reside, or if you are a minor, you have received parental permission to use the site.
- You will not access the site through automated or non-human means, whether through a bot, script or otherwise.
- You will not use the site for any illegal or prohibited purpose/activity.
- Your use of the site will not violate any applicable law or regulation.
If you do not comply with the above conditions, we have the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the site (or any portion thereof).
User registration
You may be required to register with the site. You agree to keep your password confidential and will be responsible for all use of your account and password. We reserve the right to remove, reclaim or change a username you select if we determine, in our sole discretion, that such username is inappropriate, obscene or otherwise objectionable.
Prohibited activities
You may not access or use the site for any purpose other than that for which we make the site available. The site may not be used in connection with any commercial endeavours, except those that are specifically endorsed or approved by us.
As a user of the site, you agree not to:
- Systematically retrieve data or other content from the site to create or compile, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, database or directory without written permission from us.
- Trick, defraud or mislead us and other users, especially in any attempt to learn sensitive account information, such as user passwords.
- Circumvent, disable or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the site, including features that prevent or restrict the use or copying of any content or enforce limitations on the use of the site and/or the content contained therein.
- Disparage, tarnish or otherwise harm, in our opinion, us and/or the site.
- Use any information obtained from the site in order to harass, abuse or harm another person.
- Make improper use of our support services or submit false reports of abuse or misconduct.
- Use the site in a manner inconsistent with any applicable laws or regulations.
- Engage in unauthorized framing of the site.
- Upload or transmit (or attempt to upload or transmit) viruses, Trojan horses or other material, including excessive use of capital letters and spamming (continuous posting of repetitive text), that interferes with any party’s uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the site or modifies, impairs, disrupts, alters or interferes with the use, features, functions, operation or maintenance of the site.
- Engage in any automated use of the system, such as using scripts to send comments or messages, or using any data mining, robots or similar data gathering and extraction tools.
- Delete the copyright or other proprietary rights notice from any content.
- Attempt to impersonate another user or person or use the username of another user.
- Upload or transmit (or attempt to upload or to transmit) any material that acts as a passive or active information collection or transmission mechanism, including clear graphics interchange formats (“gifs”), 1x1 pixels, web bugs, cookies or other similar devices (sometimes referred to as “spyware” or “passive collection mechanisms” or “pcms”).
- Interfere with, disrupt or create an undue burden on the site or the networks or services connected to the site.
- Harass, annoy, intimidate or threaten any of our employees or agents engaged in providing any portion of the site to you.
- Attempt to bypass any measures of the site designed to prevent or restrict access to the site or any portion of the site.
- Copy or adapt the site’s software, including Flash, PHP, HTML, JavaScript or other code.
- Except as permitted by applicable law, decipher, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer any of the software comprising or in any way making up a part of the site.
- Except as may be the result of standard search engine or Internet browser usage, use, launch, develop or distribute any automated system, including any spider, robot, cheat utility, scraper or offline reader that accesses the site, or using or launching any unauthorized script or other software.
- Use a buying agent or purchasing agent to make purchases on the site.
- Make any unauthorized use of the site, including collecting usernames and/or email addresses of users by electronic or other means for the purpose of sending unsolicited email, or creating user accounts by automated means or under false pretences.
- Use the site as part of any effort to compete with us or otherwise use the site and/or content for any revenue-generating endeavour or commercial enterprise.
- Use the site to advertise or offer to sell goods and services.
- Sell or otherwise transfer your profile.
User-generated contributions
The site does not allow users to submit or post content. We may provide you with the opportunity to create, submit, post, display, transmit, perform, publish, distribute or broadcast content and materials to us or on the site, including text, writings, video, audio, photographs, graphics, comments, suggestions or personal information or other material (collectively, “contributions”). Contributions may be viewable by other users of the site and through third-party websites. As such, any contributions you transmit may be treated in accordance with the site data privacy policy. When you create or make available any contributions, you thereby represent and warrant that:
- The creation, distribution, transmission, public display or performance, and the accessing, downloading or copying of, your contributions do not and will not infringe the proprietary rights, including the copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or moral rights of any third party.
- You are the creator and owner of or have the necessary licences, rights, consents, releases and permissions to use, and to authorize us, the site, and other users of the site, to use your contributions in any manner contemplated by the site and these terms of use.
- You have the written consent, release and/or permission of each and every identifiable individual person in your contributions to use the name or likeness of each and every such identifiable individual person to enable inclusion and use of your contributions in any manner contemplated by the site and these terms of use.
- Your contributions are not false, inaccurate or misleading.
- Your contributions are not unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, pyramid schemes, chain letters, spam, mass mailings or other forms of solicitation.
- Your contributions are not obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, violent, harassing, libellous, slanderous or otherwise objectionable (as determined by us).
- Your contributions do not ridicule, mock, disparage, intimidate or abuse anyone.
- Your contributions are not used to harass or threaten any other person and to promote violence against a specific person or class of people.
- Your contributions do not violate any applicable law, regulation or rule.
- Your contributions do not violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party.
- Your contributions do not violate any applicable law concerning child pornography or otherwise intended to protect the health or well-being of minors.
- Your contributions do not include any offensive comments that are connected to race, national origin, gender, sexual preference or living with physical disabilities.
- Your contributions do not otherwise violate, or link to material that violates, any provision of these terms of use or any applicable law or regulation.
Contribution license
You agree that we may access, store, process, use and share any contribution, information and personal data that you provide following the terms of the data privacy policy and your choices (including settings), without any compensation to you.
By submitting suggestions or other feedback regarding the site, you agree that we can use and share such feedback for any purpose without compensation to you.
We do not assert any ownership over your contributions. You retain full ownership of all of your contributions and any intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights associated with your contributions. We are not liable for any statements or representations in your contributions provided by you in any area on the site. You are solely responsible for your contributions to the site and you expressly agree to exonerate us from any and all responsibility and to refrain from any legal action against us regarding your contributions.
Submissions
You acknowledge and agree that any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, feedback or other information regarding the site (“submissions”) provided by you to us are non-confidential and shall become our sole property. We shall own exclusive rights, including all intellectual property rights, and shall be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of these submissions for any lawful purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgement or compensation to you. You hereby waive all moral rights to any such submissions, and you hereby warrant that any such submissions are original with you or that you have the right to submit such submissions. You agree there shall be no recourse against us for any alleged or actual infringement or misappropriation of any proprietary right in your submissions.
Third-party website and content
The site may contain (or you may be sent via the site) links to other websites (“third-party websites”), as well as articles, photographs, text, graphics, pictures, designs, music, sound, video, information, applications, software and other content or items belonging to or originating from third parties (“third-party content”). Such third-party websites and third-party content are not investigated, monitored or checked for accuracy, appropriateness or completeness by us, and we are not responsible for any third-party websites accessed through the site or any third-party content posted on, available through or installed from the site, including content, accuracy, offensiveness, opinions, reliability, privacy practices or other policies of, or contained in, the third-party websites or third-party content. Inclusion of, linking to or permitting the use or installation of any third-party websites or any third-party content does not imply approval or endorsement thereof by us.
If you decide to leave the site and access the third-party websites or use or install any third-party content, you do so at your own risk, and you should be aware that these terms of use no longer govern. You should review the applicable terms and policies, including privacy and data-gathering practices, of any website to which you navigate from the site or relating to any applications you use or install from the site. Any purchases you make through third-party websites will be through other websites and from other companies, and we take no responsibility whatsoever in relation to such purchases, which are exclusively between you the applicable third party. You agree and acknowledge that we do not endorse the products or services offered on third-party websites and you shall hold us harmless from any harm caused by your purchase of such products or services. Additionally, you shall hold us harmless from any losses sustained by you or harm caused to you relating to or resulting in any way from any third-party content or any contact with third-party websites.
Site management
We reserve the right, but not the obligation, to:
- Monitor the site for violations of these terms of use.
- Take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in our sole discretion, violates the law of these terms of use, including reporting such user to law enforcement authorities.
- In our sole discretion and without limitation, refuse, restrict access to, limit the availability of or disable (to the extent technologically feasible) any of your contributions or any portion thereof.
- In our sole discretion and without limitation, notice or liability, to remove from the site, or otherwise disable, all files and content that are excessive in size or are in any way burdensome to our systems.
- Otherwise manage the site in a manner designed to protect our rights and property and to facilitate the proper functioning of the site.
Privacy policy
We care about data privacy and security. Please review our Data Privacy Policy. By using the site, you agree to be bound by our data privacy policy, which is incorporated into these terms of use. Please be advised that the site is hosted in Ireland. If you access the site from any other region of the world with laws or other requirements governing personal data collection, use or disclosure that differ from applicable laws in Ireland, then through your continued use of the site, you are transferring your data to Ireland, and you agree to have your data transferred to and processed in Ireland. Further, we do not knowingly accept, request or solicit information from children or knowingly market to children. Therefore, if we receive actual knowledge that anyone aged 13 and younger has provided personal information to us without the requisite and verifiable parental consent, we will delete that information from the site as quickly as is reasonably practical.
Copyright infringements
We respect intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that any material available on or through the site infringes upon any copyright you own or control, please immediately notify us using the contact information provided below (a “notification”). A copy of your notification will be sent to the person who posted or stored the material addressed in the notification. Please be advised that pursuant to applicable law you may be held liable for damages if you make material misrepresentations in a notification. Thus, if you are not sure that material located on or linked to by the site infringes your copyright, you should consider first seeking appropriate advice.
Term and termination
These terms of use shall remain in full force and effect while you use the site. Without limiting any other provision of these terms of use, we reserve the right to, in our sole discretion and without notice or liability, deny access to and use of the site (including blocking certain IP addresses) to any person for any reason or for no reason, including for breach of any representation, warranty or covenant contained in these terms of use or of any applicable law or regulation. We may terminate your use or participation in the site or delete your account and any content or information that you posted at any time, without warning, at our sole discretion.
If we terminate or suspend your account for any reason, you are prohibited from registering and creating a new account under your name, a fake or borrowed name, or the name of any third party, even if you may be acting on behalf of the third party. In addition to terminating or suspending your account, we reserve the right to take appropriate legal action, including pursuing civil, criminal and injunctive redress.
Modifications and interruptions
We reserve the right to change, modify or remove the contents of the site at any time or for any reason at our sole discretion without notice. However, we have no obligation to update any information on our site. We also reserve the right to modify or discontinue all or part of the site without notice at any time. We will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, price change, suspension or discontinuance of the site.
We cannot guarantee that the site will be available at all times. We may experience hardware, software or other problems or need to perform maintenance related to the site, resulting in interruptions, delays or errors. We reserve the right to change, revise, update, suspend, discontinue or otherwise modify the site at any time or for any reason without notice to you. You agree that we have no liability whatsoever for any loss, damage or inconvenience caused by your inability to access or use the site during any downtime or discontinuance of the site. Nothing in these terms of use will be construed to obligate us to maintain and support the site or to supply any corrections, updates or releases in connection therewith.
Governing law
These conditions are governed by and interpreted following the laws of Switzerland, without regard to its conflict of rules principles. The United Nations Convention of Contracts for the International Sale of Good is expressly excluded. If your habitual residence is in the EU and you are a consumer, you may additionally possess the protection provided to you by obligatory provisions of the law of your country of residence.
Dispute resolution
Informal negotiations
To expedite resolution and control the cost of any dispute, controversy or claim related to the site or these terms of use (each “dispute” and collectively, the “disputes”) brought by either you or us (individually, a “party” and collectively, the “parties”), the parties agree to first attempt to negotiate any dispute (except those disputes expressly provided below) informally for at least thirty (30) days before initiating arbitration. Such informal negotiations commence upon written notice from one party to the other party.
Binding arbitration
Any dispute shall be resolved by arbitration in accordance with the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration of the Swiss Arbitration Centre in force on the date on which the notice of arbitration is submitted in accordance with those rules.
The number of arbitrators shall be one. The seat of the arbitration shall be Geneva, Switzerland. The arbitral proceedings shall be conducted in English.
Corrections
There may be information on the site that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies or omissions, including descriptions, pricing, availability and various other information. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions and to change or update the information on the site at any time.
Disclaimer
The site is provided on an as-is and as-available basis, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of the site and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including warranties of performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. You agree that your use of the site and our services will be at your sole risk.
The information on the site is provided with the understanding that we are not herein engaged in rendering legal, accounting, tax, medical or other professional advice and services. As such, it should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional legal, accounting, tax, medical or other competent advisers.
The site may contain views, comments and opinions, which are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other author, agency, organization, employer or company, including us. Views, comments and opinions published by users are their sole responsibility and the users will take full responsibility, liability and blame for any libel or litigation that may result from something written in or as a direct result of something written in a comment. We are not liable for any comment published by users and reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason whatsoever.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, in connection with the site and your use thereof, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We make no warranties or representations about the accuracy or completeness of the site’s content or the content of any websites linked to the site and we will assume no liability or responsibility for any:
- Errors, mistakes or inaccuracies of content and materials
- Personal injury or property damage, of any nature whatsoever, resulting from your access to and use of the site
- Any unauthorized access to or use of our secure servers and/or any and all personal information and/or financial information stored therein
- Any interruption or cessation of transmission to or from the site
- Any bugs, viruses, Trojan horses or the like which may be transmitted to or through the site by any third party
- Any errors or omissions in any content and materials or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any content posted, transmitted or otherwise made available via the site
We do not warrant, endorse, guarantee or assume responsibility for any product or service advertised or offered by a third party through the site, any hyperlinked website or any website or mobile application featured in any banner or other advertising, and we will not be a party to or in any way be responsible for monitoring any transaction between you and any third-party providers or products or services. As with the purchase of a product or service through any medium or in any environment, you should use your best judgement and exercise caution where appropriate.
Limitations of liability
In no event will we or our directors, employees or agents be liable to you or any third party for any direct, indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special or punitive damages, including lost profit, lost revenue, loss of data or other damages arising from your use of the site, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold us harmless, including our subsidiaries, affiliates and all of our respective officers, agents, partners and employees, from and against any loss, damage, liability, claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, made by any third party due to or arising out of:
- Your use of the site
- Your breach of these terms of use
- Any breach of your representations and warranties set forth in these terms of use
- Your violation of the rights of a third party, including intellectual property rights
- Any overt harmful act toward any other user of the site with whom you connected via the site
Notwithstanding the foregoing, we reserve the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defence and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate, at your expense, without defence of such claims. We will use reasonable efforts to notify you of any such claim, action or proceeding, which is subject to this indemnification upon becoming aware of it.
User data
We will maintain certain data that you transmit to the site for the purpose of managing the performance of the site, as well as data relating to your use of the site. Although we perform regular routine backups of data, you are solely responsible for all data that you transmit or that relates to any activity you have undertaken using the site. You agree that we shall have no liability to you for any loss or corruption of any such data, and you hereby waive any right of action against us arising from any such loss or corruption of such data.
Electronic communications, transactions, and signatures
Visiting the site, sending us emails and completing online forms constitute electronic communications. You consent to receive electronic communications, and you agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications we provide to you electronically, via email and on the site, satisfy any legal requirement that such communication is in writing. You hereby agree to the use of electronic signatures, contracts, orders and other records, and to electronic delivery of notices, policies and records of transactions initiated or completed by us or via the site. You hereby waive any rights or requirements under any statutes, regulations, rules, ordinances or other laws in any jurisdiction which require an original signature or delivery or retention of non-electronic records or to payments or the granting of credits by any means other than electronic means.
Miscellaneous
These terms of use and any policies or operating rules posted by us on the site or in respect to the site constitute the entire agreement and understanding between you and us. Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these terms of use shall not operate as a waiver of such right or provision. These terms of use operate to the fullest extent permissible by law. We may assign any or all of our rights and obligations to others at any time. We shall not be responsible or liable for any loss, damage, delay or failure to act caused by any cause beyond our reasonable control. If any provision or part of a provision of these terms of use is determined to be unlawful, void or unenforceable, that provision or part of the provision is deemed severable from these terms of use and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. There is no joint venture, partnership, employment or agency relationship created between you and us as a result of these terms of use or use of the site. You agree that these terms of use will not be construed against us by virtue of having drafted them. You hereby waive any and all defences you may have based on the electronic form of these terms of use and the lack of signing by the parties hereto to execute these terms of use.
Contact us
In order to resolve a complaint regarding the site or to receive further information regarding use of the site, please contact us at:
International AIDS Society
Avenue de France 23
1202 Geneva
Switzerland
privacy@iasociety.org