Effective January 1, 2021. Last Revised January 1, 2021
Please also see the RHIZAL.ORG Privacy Policy and other related pages in the links above.
WELCOME TO RHIZAL.ORG. We (RHIZAL, a non-profit organization based in Eugene, Oregon, USA) hope you find it useful. By accessing or otherwise interacting with our servers, services, websites, or any associated content/postings (together, “RHIZAL.ORG”), you agree to these Terms of Use (“TOU”) (last updated January 1, 2021). You acknowledge and agree RHIZAL.ORG is a private site owned and operated by RHIZAL. If you are accessing or using RHIZAL.ORG on behalf of a business or organization, you represent and warrant to RHIZAL.ORG that you have authority to accept the TOU on behalf of that business or organization and that that business or organization agrees to the TOU. If you do not agree to the TOU, you are not authorized to use RHIZAL.ORG. We may modify the TOU at any time in our sole discretion. You are responsible for periodically checking for changes and are bound by them if you continue to use RHIZAL.ORG. Our (Privacy Policy) and all other policies, site rules, and agreements referenced below or on RHIZAL.ORG, are fully incorporated into this TOU, and you agree to them as well.
LICENSE. If you agree to the TOU and (1) are of sufficient age and capacity to use RHIZAL.ORG and be bound by the TOU, or (2) use RHIZAL.ORG on behalf of a business, thereby binding that business to the TOU, we grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-assignable license to use RHIZAL.ORG in compliance with the TOU; unlicensed use is unauthorized. You agree not to display, “frame,” make derivative works, distribute, license, or sell, content from RHIZAL.ORG.
USE. Unless licensed by us in a separate written or electronic agreement, you agree not to use or provide software (except general purpose web browsers and email clients) or services that interact or interoperate with RHIZAL.ORG, e.g. for downloading, uploading, creating/accessing/using an account, posting, flagging, emailing, searching, or mobile use. You agree not to copy/collect RHIZAL.ORG content via robots, spiders, scripts, scrapers, crawlers, or any automated or manual equivalent (e.g., by hand). Misleading, unsolicited, and/or unlawful postings/communications/accounts are prohibited, as is buying or selling accounts. You agree not to collect RHIZAL.ORG user information or interfere with RHIZAL.ORG. You agree we may moderate RHIZAL.ORG access/use in our sole discretion, e.g., by blocking, filtering, re-categorizing, re-ranking, deleting, delaying, holding, omitting, verifying, or terminating your access/license/account. Unless licensed by us in a separate written or electronic agreement, you agree not to (i) rent, lease, sell, publish, distribute, license, sublicense, assign, transfer, or otherwise make available RHIZAL.ORG, (ii) copy, adapt, create derivative works of, decompile, reverse engineer, translate, localize, port or modify any website code, or any software used to provide RHIZAL.ORG, (iii) combine or integrate RHIZAL.ORG with any software, technology, services, or materials not authorized by us, (iv) circumvent any functionality that controls access to or otherwise protects RHIZAL.ORG, or (v) remove or alter any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices. You agree not to use RHIZAL.ORG in any manner or for any purpose that infringes, misappropriates, or otherwise violates any intellectual property right or other right of any person, or that violates any applicable law.
LIQUIDATED DAMAGES. You further agree that if you violate the TOU, or you encourage, support, benefit from, or induce others to do so, you will be jointly and severally liable to us for liquidated damages as follows for: (A) collecting/harvesting RHIZAL.ORG users’ information, including personal or identifying information – $1 per violation; (B) publishing/misusing personal or identifying information of a third party in connection with your use of RHIZAL.ORG without that party’s express written consent – $1,000 per violation; (C) misrepresenting your identity or affiliation to anyone in connection with your use of RHIZAL.ORG – $1,000 per violation; (F) sending an unauthorized/unsolicited email to an email address obtained from RHIZAL.ORG – $25 per violation; (J) distributing any software to facilitate violations of the USE Section – $1,000 per violation; (K) aggregating, displaying, framing, copying, duplicating, reproducing, making derivative works from, distributing, licensing, selling, or exploiting RHIZAL.ORG content for any purpose without our express written consent – $3,000 for each day you engage in such violations; (L) requesting, viewing, or accessing more than 1,000 pages of RHIZAL.ORG in any 24-hour period – $0.25 per page during the 24 hour period after the first 1,000 pages; (M) bypassing or attempting to bypass our moderation efforts – $4 per violation. You agree that these amounts are (1) a reasonable estimate of our damages (as actual damages are often difficult to calculate), (2) not a penalty, and (3) not otherwise limiting on our ability to recover under any legal theory or claim, including statutory damages and other equitable relief (e.g., for spam, we can elect between the above liquidated damages or statutory damages under the anti-spam statute). You further agree that repeated violations of the USE section will irreparably harm and entitle us to injunctive or equitable relief, in addition to monetary damages.
DISCLAIMER & LIABILITY. To the full extent permitted by law, , and its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, affiliates, and successors in interest (“RHIZAL.ORG Entities”) (1) make no promises, warranties, or representations as to RHIZAL.ORG, including its completeness, accuracy, availability, timeliness, propriety, security or reliability; (2) provide RHIZAL.ORG on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis and any risk of using RHIZAL.ORG is assumed by you; (3) disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including as to accuracy, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement, and all warranties arising from course of dealing, usage, or trade practice; and (4) disclaim any liability or responsibility for acts, omissions, or conduct of you or any party in connection with RHIZAL.ORG. RHIZAL.ORG Entities are NOT liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, incidental, special, punitive, or other losses, including lost profits, revenues, data, goodwill, etc., arising from or related to RHIZAL.ORG, and in no event shall such liability exceed $100. Some jurisdictions restrict or alter these disclaimers and limits, so some may not apply to you.
CLAIMS & INDEMNITY. Any claim, cause of action, demand, or dispute arising from or related to RHIZAL.ORG (“Claims”) will be governed by the internal laws of Oregon, without regard to conflict of law provisions, except to the extent governed by US federal law. Any Claims will be exclusively resolved by courts in Eugene, OR (except we may seek preliminary or injunctive relief anywhere). You agree to (1) submit to the personal jurisdiction of courts in Eugene, OR; (2) indemnify and hold RHIZAL.ORG Entities harmless from any Claims, losses, liability, or expenses (including attorneys’ fees) that arise from a third party and relate to your use of RHIZAL.ORG; and (3) be liable and responsible for any Claims we may have against your officers, directors, employees, agents, affiliates, or any other party, directly or indirectly, paid, directed or controlled by you, or acting for your benefit.
MISC. Unless you have entered into a separate written or electronic agreement with us that expressly references the TOU, this is the exclusive and entire agreement between us and you, and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations, and warranties, both written and oral. Users complying with prior written licenses may access RHIZAL.ORG thereby until authorization is terminated. Our actions or silence toward you or anyone else does not waive, modify, or limit the TOU or our ability to enforce it. The USE, LIQUIDATED DAMAGES, and CLAIMS & INDEMNITY sections survive termination of the TOU, and you will remain bound by those sections. If a TOU term is unenforceable, it shall be limited to the least extent possible and supplemented with a valid provision that best embodies the intent of the parties. The English version of the TOU controls over any translations.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). If you reasonably believe your copyright has been infringed, or your intellectual property rights otherwise violated, please provide our Agent with each of the following: a) Identification of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site; b) Identification of the material on the RHIZAL.ORG site that you claim is infringing, with enough detail so that we may locate it (must include https://rhizal.org/ posting ID and/or URL); c) A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; d) A statement by you declaring under penalty of perjury that (1) the above information in your Notice is accurate, and (2) that you are the owner of the copyright interest involved or that you are authorized to act on behalf of that owner; e) Your address, telephone number, and email address; and f) Your physical or electronic signature. Your Notice will be subject to The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Under appropriate circumstances, RHIZAL.ORG may terminate the accounts of repeat infringers. Your notification (which must include items a-f as shown above) may be sent to: info@rhizal.org