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Terms of Use

Terms of Service – Please read!

Welcome to the AGU Blogosphere, an Earth and space science blog network!

  1. The AGU Blogosphere (“Blog Network”) is sponsored by the American Geophysical Union (“AGU”) for bloggers and users to express their ideas and comments, as well as sharing ideas and information in the field of Earth and space sciences.
  2. By accessing, viewing, or using this Blog Network, You indicate that You understand and intend these Terms of Service to be the legal equivalent of a signed, written contract and equally binding, and that You accept such Terms of Service and agree to be legally bound by them. Please note that AGU reserves the right to change the Terms of Service under which this Blog Network extended to You. Your continued use of this Blog Network following such modifications will be conclusively deemed acceptance by You of any changes to these Terms of Service.
  3. This Terms of Service Agreement provides You with a personal, revocable, nonexclusive, nontransferable license to use this Blog Network conditioned on Your continued compliance with the Terms of Service. As a condition of use of this Blog Network, You warrant to AGU that You will not use this Blog Network for any purpose that is unlawful or otherwise prohibited by these Terms of Service.
  4. AGU accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted or circulated by the bloggers or users. AGU cannot warrant the accuracy of any information posted on the Blog Network and AGU disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted or circulated on the Blog Network.
  5. Use of this Blog Network is entirely at Your own risk and is subject to all applicable state, national and international laws and regulations. ALL CONTENT AND MATERIALS ON THIS BLOG NETWORK ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE OR NON INFRINGEMENT. Please note that some jurisdictions may not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to You.

    NEITHER AGU NOR ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AFFILIATES, EMPLOYEES, MEMBERS, AGENTS OR VOLUNTEERS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, WHETHER UNDER ANY CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH: (A) YOUR ACCESS TO, OR USE OF, THE BLOG NETWORK; (B) ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION, ACTIVITIES, AND/OR MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THE BLOG NETWORK; (C) ANY BREACHES OF SECURITY INVOLVING THE BLOG NETWORK OR YOUR ACCOUNT, OR ANY LACK OF AVAILABILITY OR OPERATIONAL PROBLEM OF, THE BLOG NETWORK; OR (D) ANY VIRUSES OR OTHER CODE THAT MAY AFFECT YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT OR OTHER PROPERTY AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE BLOG NETWORK. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the greatest extent permitted by law.

  6. Neither AGU nor its directors, officers, staff, members and/or volunteers accept any responsibility for the content of the postings on this Blog Network. The content of all postings is solely the responsibility of the bloggers or users. AGU reserves the right to delete, move or edit any communications at any time, for any reason or in its discretion, but has no obligation to review or remove any such content. In the event that any inappropriate or illegal posting is brought to AGU’s attention, AGU may exercise appropriate action.
  7. You agree not to use this Blog Network to post material that:
    1. contains vulgar, profane, abusive, racist or hateful language or expressions, epithets or slurs, text, photographs or illustrations in poor taste, inflammatory attacks of a personal, racial or religious nature;
    2. is defamatory, threatening, disparaging, grossly inflammatory, false, misleading, fraudulent, inaccurate, unfair, contains gross exaggeration or unsubstantiated claims, violates the privacy rights of any third party, is unreasonably harmful or offensive to any individual or community;
    3. violates any right of AGU, its officers, directors, employees, members or any third party;
    4. discriminates on the grounds of race, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation or disability, or refers to such matters in any manner prohibited by law;
    5. violates or inappropriately encourages the violation of any municipal, state, federal or international law, rule, regulation or ordinance;
    6. advertises, promotes or offers to trade any goods or services;
    7. You do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements);
    8. infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual property or proprietary rights of any party;
    9. contains software viruses, spyware or any other computer code, files or programs that interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; and/or
    10. “stalks,” “flames” or otherwise harasses another person or entity.
  8. You acknowledge, consent and agree that AGU may access, preserve and disclose your account information and Content if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access, preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce the Terms of Service; (c) respond to claims that any Content violates the rights of third parties; (d) respond to your requests for customer service; or (e) protect the rights, property or personal safety of AGU, its officers, directors, employees, members, agents, bloggers, other Blog Network users or the public.
  9. By posting content or material (“Content”), the posting party warrants and represents: (i) that it owns the copyright with respect to such Content or it has received permission from the copyright owner; and (ii) that the posting of such Content and/or its use by AGU will not infringe the intellectual property rights of, or otherwise violate the rights of any third party. In addition, any party posting comments on the Blog Network hereby grants AGU a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free and irrevocable right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, modify, edit, perform, adapt, sublicense, re-purpose or otherwise use such Content, in whole or in part, for any purpose in all languages and in all media now known or developed in the future.
  10. You agree to release and hold harmless AGU and its directors, officers, employees, members, volunteers, agents, successors, and assigns, from and against any and all claims, proceedings, damages, injuries, liabilities, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses), relating to or arising from Your use of the Blog Network, any breach by You of this Agreement, or any other matter for which You are responsible hereunder or under law.
  11. The trademarks, service marks, trade names, trade dress and logos (collectively, “Marks”) contained or described on the Blog Network are the sole property of AGU or the bloggers and may not be copied, imitated or otherwise used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of their respective owners. In addition, all page headers, custom graphics, button icons and scripts are the sole property of AGU and may not be copied, imitated or otherwise used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of AGU. AGU will enforce its intellectual property rights to the fullest extent of the law.
  12. This Agreement will take effect at the time You begin using this Blog Network (thereby indicating acceptance of these Terms and Conditions). AGU reserves the right at any time and for any reason to deny You access to the Blog Network or any portion thereof, and to terminate this Agreement. Termination will be effective without notice.
  13. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) provides recourse for copyright owners who believe that material appearing on the Internet infringes their rights under US copyright law. AGU reserves the right to remove any material on the Blog Network which allegedly infringes another person’s copyright. Notices to AGU regarding any alleged copyright infringement on the Blog Network should be sent to Maria-Jose Viñas at [email protected]. Please provide the following in your communication:
    1. a description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;
    2. a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Blog Network;
    3. your address, telephone number, and email address;
    4. a statement that the use of the copyrighted work is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
    5. a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner’s behalf; and
    6. an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest.
  14. Any disputes arising in connection with these Terms and Conditions shall be resolved by binding arbitration in the District of Columbia by a single arbitrator under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association. The award shall be enforceable in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The validity, construction, and performance of these Terms and Conditions Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the District of Columbia.

    This Blog Network is controlled and operated by AGU from its offices within the United States. AGU makes no representation that the content and materials on the Blog Network are appropriate or available for use in other locations, and access to them from territories where any of the contents of this Blog Network are illegal is prohibited. If You choose to access this Blog Network from other locations, You do so on Your own volition and are responsible for compliance with any applicable local laws.

  15. If any part of these Terms and Conditions is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and the liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most clearly matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of these Terms and Conditions shall continue in effect.
  16. No joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and AGU as a result of this Agreement or Your utilization of this Blog Network.
  17. These Terms and Conditions and AGU’s Blog Community Privacy Policy, which are hereby incorporated as if set forth fully in these Terms and Conditions, represent the entire agreement between You and AGU with respect to Your use of and material available on or through this Blog Network, and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral, or written between You and AGU with respect to this Blog Network. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.