Accessing PeerConnect’s Websites and Public Material (“Terms of Use”)
Version of 15 May 2023
This section presents the Terms and Conditions of Use (hereinafter referred to as the “Terms”) for visitors to PeerConnect Websites regarding their use of the material on these Websites. Your use of any of these Websites means and amounts to express agreement of these Terms in full.
1. Introduction
1.1 PeerConnect is an initiative of PeerConnect Knowledge Solutions LLP, a Limited Liability Partnership registered in New Delhi India (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”). The Company offers its Client Entities a suite of Services comprised of online software platforms they can install and run, together with PeerConnect business processes, to create and build vibrant affinity groups (“Communities”) of professionals with a common profession or programme goal for the purpose of improving individual effectiveness and collective influence.
1.2 The Company’s Client Entities are those organizations, agencies, associations or other legally recognized entities who have entered into a legally binding agreement to accept the Terms of Engagement with the Company to install some or all of PeerConnect’s suite of Services and to apply PeerConnect’s systems and business processes in accordance with the terms and conditions specified therein.
1.3 Client Entities appoint or engage Community Facilitators to manage their PeerConnect Websites and Services. Community Facilitators have full administration rights and permissions for their PeerConnect installations; they also moderate their Community’s interactive forums and carry out other work relating to Community activities and Member relations. Company staff (PeerConnect Administrators) have full administration rights for and oversee operations of all PeerConnect Communities.
1.4 Full access to PeerConnect’s Services is available only to professionals subscribed to one or more participating Communities (referred to as “Members”), gaining access through a username and password. Community Members are subject to a separate agreement, “Terms of Participation” spelling out their rights and obligations.
1.5 The Company and its Client Entities allow access to visitors from the general public to their PeerConnect sites to view and use content from the following specific areas:
Content included in the pages of PeerConnect’s public Websites maintained by the Company and its Client Entities.
Content included in PeerConnect’s “Collect” Document Repository, accessed through the public Websites.
These two areas have specific Terms of Use that are detailed separately, below.
2. Use of PeerConnect’s Public Websites
2.1 The purpose of the information provided on the public PeerConnect Websites of the Company and its Client Entities is to increase public visibility and recognition for PeerConnect or a specific PeerConnect Community, disseminate to the wider public news, views and information of general interest posted by PeerConnect Administrators, Community Facilitators and Members, and encourage an entity to create or professionals to join a PeerConnect Community.
2.2 The Company’s PeerConnect Website is controlled and offered by the Company from its facilities in India, and the PeerConnect Websites of its Client Entities are controlled and offered by their respective facilities in the countries or international jurisdictions where they are located. The Company makes no representations that these Websites are appropriate or available for use in other locations. If you are accessing or using these Websites from other jurisdictions, you do so at your own risk and you are responsible for compliance with local law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, these Websites may contain or provide links to content hosted on Websites located in other jurisdictions.
2.3 Other than the statistical information presented with respect to PeerConnect’s performance and impact, content published on these Websites is only indicative or illustrative in nature and not intended as validated facts. Further, the Company and its Client Entities have the right to change the content of the Website at their sole discretion at any time, without any notice.
2.4 Company and Client Entity Websites contain links or pointers to other websites, but you should not infer or assume that the Company operates, controls, or is otherwise connected with these other websites. When you click on a link within a Company or Client Entity Website, the Company or Client Entity may not warn you that you have left their Website and are subject to the terms and conditions (including privacy policies) of another website. Please be careful to read the terms of use and privacy policy of any other website before you provide any confidential information or engage in any transactions. You should not rely on these Terms to govern your use of another website.
3. Use of PeerConnect’s “Collect” Document Repository
3.1 PeerConnect’s “Collect” Document Repository (the “Repository”) is an indexed compilation of documents, products, references and other resource material contributed by Community Members and Facilitators through the PeerConnect Share, Consult, Collaborate and Engage services. It is hosted and managed by the Company and made available through a search engine to Community Members as well as to public visitors to the Company and Client Entity Websites. Each item in the Repository retains its association with the name, organization and location of the Member contributing the resource, and the Community and context (document; message) in which it was contributed. The Repository is designed to disseminate for wider use by professionals PeerConnect knowledge products and resources that may either be of direct interest or lead through cross-referencing to other potentially useful material.
3.2 Public visitors accessing the Repository must adhere to the above Terms of Use for public PeerConnect Websites, as well as the following Terms specifically relating to use of the Repository. By accessing the Repository and clicking the “I agree” box on its opening page, you agree to be bound by these terms.
3.3 All content in the Repository is the property of the Company and, unless otherwise specified, is freely accessible to all visitors under the Creative Commons copyright regime “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike” (CC-BY-NC-SA). This license lets you use, copy and distribute a contributed work, except for commercial purposes, as long as you credit PeerConnect and the contributor. The citation to be applied in this instance is “source: [contributor], in [document; message (with weblink)], [Community], PeerConnect Knowledge Services, New Delhi; [date]. Licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 international license.”
3.4 You are also allowed to adapt and build on the contributed work, provided that you license your new creation under the identical terms, and all new works based on yours carry the same license.
3.5 For additional details on PeerConnect’s application of its Creative Commons license, and instances where it would not be applied, refer to the Copyright Sections 5 and 6 of the Terms of Participation as a Community Member.
3.6 Material accessed from but not located in the Repository retains the intellectual property rights bestowed on it, and if used, copied, or distributed, must be referenced accordingly.
3.7 In the event that you use material contained in or accessed from the Repository, it is your duty to inform all third parties about the terms and conditions that apply to such material from this agreement as well as those arising out of the Creative Commons license.
3.8 As a visitor to the Repository, you are invited to contribute comments on material posted and to add a rating (from one to five “stars”) signifying your opinion of its significance. Comments must be respectful, relevant and informative, and must be considered and approved by an authorized Community Facilitator before posting. To submit a comment, you will be required to provide your name and location, which will be prefaced to your contribution, and an email contact, which will not be disclosed.
3.9 In approving or rejecting a comment submitted by a visitor to the Repository, the Community Facilitator reserves the right, on behalf of the Company, to exercise discretion over whether or not it is appropriate and complies with these Terms, and to reject it without explanation if they determine it does not, or to remove it without notice or explanation if on further review it is determined to be inappropriate.
4. Privacy Policy
4.1 To help us to constantly improve our services and understand the needs of our users, the Company and its Client Entities may implement software on their Websites that enables us to track information about the nature of usage and navigation through these sites. The Company may also record your IP address and information such as your browser type and operating system, which enables us to learn about the geographical distribution of our Websites’ visitors and the technology they use to access our sites. Information may also be collected through small data pieces known as cookies, stored on the Company’s servers, which may also be written to your computer system. (A cookie is a small piece of information stored by a website on your computer’s hard drive. Cookies are extensively used by most websites as a convenient way to store information it knows about you.) The information collected would be used internally only for website traffic analysis. If the user specifically provides unique identifying information, such as name, address and other information on forms stored on this site, such information would only be used for statistical purposes and published for general access in the aggregate, with all data anonymized.
4.2 Data generated from visitor use of the Website, such as user attributes, volume of traffic etc., will be used by the Company for analytical and reporting purposes, and for promotional material. PeerConnect officers may also from time to time seek your feedback through a survey of users in the form of numeric ratings or statements. This data will be anonymized and published in the aggregate and will not contain any identifying information of individual visitors.
4.3 To help us improve PeerConnect and foster a positive user experience, we may ask visitors to our sites for their opinion on areas related to our performance. We may document your feedback and use it for reporting purposes, but we would not reveal its source without your permission. We would also seek your permission to use solicited or unsolicited feedback, including submissions through the “Contact Us” facility, for promotional purposes such as testimonials and quotations for our Website, brochures and leaflets.
4.4 The Company and its Client Entities will use the information provided by you only for bona fide purposes and will not commercialize or otherwise make it available to any database service provider.
5. Restrictions
5.1 You agree that your access to this and other PeerConnect Websites will be limited by the Company and its Client Entities. Further, you agree to abide by the following restrictions that would be placed on your access to these websites.
5.2 You agree not to:
5.2.1 Sell, rent or sub-license material from any PeerConnect Website or the Repository
5.2.2 Use these Websites, the Repository, or information or data collected therefrom, in relation to advertising and marketing including but not limited to e-mail marketing, SMS marketing, direct marketing and/or telemarketing
5.2.3 Use these Websites or the Repository in any way that causes, or may cause, damage or impairment of their availability or accessibility; or in any way which is unlawful, illegal, fraudulent or harmful, or in connection with any unlawful, illegal, fraudulent or harmful purpose or activity
5.2.4 Circumvent, remove, alter, deactivate, degrade or thwart any of the content protections in the Websites or Repository
5.2.5 Either directly or through the use of any device, software, internet website, web-based service or other means copy, download, stream capture, reproduce, duplicate, archive, distribute, upload, publish, modify, translate, broadcast, perform, display, sell, transmit or retransmit content from these Websites or Repository except as authorized under their Creative Commons copyright regime “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike” (CC-BY-NC-SA) 4.0 international license, unless expressly permitted by the Company
5.2.6 Either directly or through the use of any device, software, internet website, web-based service, or other means remove, alter, bypass, avoid, interfere with, or circumvent any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices marked on the Websites or Repository content or any digital rights management mechanism, device, or other content protection or access control measure associated with this content, including geo-filtering mechanisms
5.2.7 Use these Websites or the Repository in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair and not to undertake any action which is harmful or potentially harmful to any servers of the Company or its Client Entities, or to the network(s), computer systems / resource connected to any of these servers, or interfere with any other person´s use and enjoyment of the Websites or the Repository
5.2.8 Obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available through the Websites or the Repository
5.2.9 Carry out any denial of service (DoS, DDoS) or any other harmful attacks on application or internet service or use the Websites or the Repository for illegal or unlawful purposes
5.2.10 Disrupt, place unreasonable burdens or excessive loads on, interfere with or attempt to make any unauthorized access to these Websites or the Repository
5.2.11 Forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any content transmitted through these Websites or the Repository
5.2.12 Attempt to gain unauthorized access to restricted PeerConnect Services, other accounts and computer systems through hacking, password mining or any other means
5.2.13 Incorporate these Websites or the Repository into, or retransmit via, any hardware or software application or make it available via frames or in-line links unless expressly permitted by the Company in writing
5.2.14 Create, recreate, distribute or advertise an index of any significant portion of these Websites or Repository unless authorized by the Company
5.2.15 Use or launch any robots, spiders, offline readers etc. or any other automated system, that accesses these Websites or the Repository in a manner that sends numerous automated requests to their servers in a given period of time, which a human cannot reasonably send in the same period by using conventional web browsing application or tool(s) for similar purposes
5.2.16 Submit for posting in these Websites or Repository any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, email, junk mail, spam, chain letters or other form of solicitation, such as requesting Community Member login information or access to their account
5.2.17 Use these Websites, the Repository or their content for any commercial purpose or the benefit of any third party or in any manner not permitted by these Terms of Use
5.2.18 Impersonate or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity
5.2.19 Encourage or enable any other individual to do any of the foregoing
5.2.20 Create derivative works or materials that otherwise are derived from or based on the Repository content in any way, including montages, mash-ups and similar videos, wallpaper, desktop themes, greeting cards, and merchandise, unless it is expressly permitted and is further used and shared under the Company’s Creative Commons license. This prohibition applies even if you intend to give away the derivative materials free of charge
5.2.21 Not misconduct yourself in any manner which may lead to any criminal prosecution or legal proceedings.
5.3 Use of these PeerConnect Websites or the Repository for any unauthorised purpose may result in civil and criminal penalties. Further, in case of any misconduct between the user interacting with a Community Member based on information posted by the Member on a PeerConnect Website, the Company shall not be responsible, however, the Company may facilitate or assist in any legal proceedings that may be initiated due to such behaviour by providing any material/data which may be subject matter as evidence in such proceedings.
5.4 Users of the material available through these Websites hereby agree that the Company or its Client Entities shall not have any special relationship of agency with, or any fiduciary duty to the user. Users acknowledge that they shall not be entitled to use any trademark, any sign or symbol of PeerConnect without the prior written permission of the Company, except to provide credit while using or distributing any material or information, as mandated by this agreement.
6. Disclaimer of Warranties and Liability
6.1 You understand and agree that the Company and its Client Entities provide their PeerConnect Websites and the Collect Document Repository on an as-is basis, with all faults and as available. You agree that use of these Websites and the Repository is at your risk. All warranties for the title and non-infringement are disclaimed and excluded.
6.2 The views and opinions contributed by Members and incorporated in the Consolidated Replies and other resources in the Repository do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Company or its Client Entities.
6.3 The Company or its Client Entities are not responsible for content provided by Community Members, which may be incorporated into Consolidated Replies and other resources in the Repository. You understand that by using the Repository you may be exposed to content that you may find offensive, objectionable or incorrect. You agree that under no circumstances will the Company or its Client Entities be liable in any way for any content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of your use of any content.
6.4 No representations, warranties or guarantees whatsoever are made by the Company and its Client Entities as to the following with respect to the information on the PeerConnect Websites and Repository content:
(a) the accuracy, adequacy, reliability, completeness, suitability or applicability to a particular situation;
(b) that the quality will meet your expectations or requirements;
(c) that any errors or omissions will be corrected;
(d) warranties against infringement of any third-party intellectual property or proprietary rights; or
(e) warranties relating to performance, non-performance, or other acts or omissions of the officers, directors, employees, affiliates, agents, licensors, or suppliers of the Company and its Client Entities.
6.5 You warrant that you have all the necessary skill and judgment required to understand the knowledge and information available on the Community Websites and Repository. You acknowledge that use of this knowledge, information and material requires you to use your own judgement, and that you shall be solely liable for all decision, opinions, recommendations, forecasts or comments made or any action taken in reliance on such knowledge and information.
6.6 Community Facilitators engaged by the Company’s Client Entities exercise care that messages posted do not contain potentially offensive or slanderous comments, plagiarized content, or proprietary publications unauthorized for dissemination. The cautions notwithstanding, the Company and/or the Client Entities (including their respective personnel) can neither warrant against nor be made liable for any cases where this contravened content or material appears in products and resources uploaded to the Repository.
6.7 The Company does not warrant that any of the software used and/or licensed in connection with the Websites and the Repository will be compatible with other third-party software or devices, nor does it warrant that operation of the Websites, the Repository and the associated software will not damage or disrupt other software or hardware.
6.8 The Company employs the latest and best technologies to protect user information. However, the Company and/or its Client Entities assume no responsibility for the security of this information.
6.9 The Company or its Client Entities cannot assure that access to PeerConnect Services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, nor can they be responsible for any delay in transmission due to any technical issues at the end of the users of these Services.
6.10 The Company, its Client Entities, affiliates, successors, and assigns, and each of their respective funders, directors, officers, employees, agents, and suppliers (including distributors and content licensors) shall not be liable, at any time for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special or consequential damages arising out of or in any way connected with the use of the PeerConnect Websites or the Repository, whether based on contract, tort, strict liability, or other theory. THIS MUTUAL WAIVER AND RELEASE OF INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES APPLIES ONLY TO SUCH DAMAGE CLAIMS ASSERTED BY AND BETWEEN THE PARTIES AND DOES NOT APPLY TO CLAIMS ASSERTED AGAINST A PARTY BY A PERSON OR ENTITY THAT IS NOT A PARTY.
6.11 The Company and its Client Entities reserve the right to change, suspend, or discontinue temporarily or permanently, some or all of the features or content in its Websites and the Repository (including the devices through which these are accessed), with respect to any or all users, at any time without notice. You acknowledge that the Company and Client Entities may do so in their sole discretion. You also agree that the Company and Client Entities will not be liable to you for any modification, suspension, or discontinuance of said features and Repository content.
6.12 The Company and its Client Entities are not responsible for the content or practices of any external website even if it links to a PeerConnect Website and even if the website is operated by a company affiliated or otherwise connected with the Company or a Client Entity. You acknowledge and agree that the Company and its Client Entities are not responsible or liable to you for any content or other materials hosted and served from any website other than their Websites.
6.13 The Company and its Client Entities will not be responsible for any delay in transmission due to any technical issues at the end of the users of this Website.
6.14 In the event you reside in a jurisdiction which does not allow the exclusion of certain types of warranties or limitations on applicable statutory rights of a consumer, then some or all of the above exclusions and limitations may not apply to you. However, in such a case the exclusions and limitations set forth in this section shall be applied to the greatest extent enforceable under applicable law.
6.15 The Company and its Client Entities claim no ownership interest in any third-party content and expressly disclaims any liability concerning those materials.
7. Indemnification
7.1 You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless, the Company, its Client Entities, affiliates, successors, and assigns, and each of their respective funders, directors, officers, employees, agents, and suppliers (including distributors and content licensors) from and against any losses, claims, damages, liabilities, including legal fees and expenses arising out of any claim, due to or arising out of your violation of these Terms, including but not limited to:
(a) a claim arising out of a breach of your representations or warranties made hereunder;
(b) your use or misuse of or access to the Websites or the Repository;
(c) your violation of any law, regulation or third-party right, including without limitation any copyright, property, or privacy right; or
(d) any claim that you have caused damage to a third party.
7.2 The Company and its Client Entities reserve the right, at their own expense, to employ separate counsel and assume the exclusive defence and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, and you agree to cooperate with the Company´s or Client Entities’ defence of these claims.
7.3 In case, when providing messages through the “Contact Us” facility on the PeerConnect Websites, comments and ratings on Repository resources, or feedback to user surveys, any information that should have been revealed is not revealed and/or is concealed whether purposefully or not, and such non-disclosure or partial disclosure of information causes any loss or damage either to you or to the Websites or Repository, then in such a scenario the Company and its Client Entities would not be liable to indemnify you; however, you would be liable to indemnify us for any such loss.
8. General Terms
8.1 Force Majeure
Neither the Company and its Client Entities nor you shall have any liability for any interruption or delay, to access the Website due to a Force Majeure Event. For the purposes of this clause, “Force Majeure Event” means any event or circumstance or combination of events and circumstances which is reasonably beyond the control of the person affected thereby and which causes or results in default or delay in performance by such affected person of any of its obligations under this agreement and includes but is not limited to an act of God, closure due to epidemics and / or pandemics, war, hostilities, civil commotion, strikes, lockouts and other industrial disputes.
8.2 Applicable Law
With respect to the Company, these Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India without giving effect to principles of conflict of law. In the event of any dispute or claim by you against the Company, you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of courts at Delhi, India. With respect to the Company’s Client Entities, these Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the country or jurisdiction, and for any dispute or claim you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the relevant court.
8.3 Non-Waiver
Any express waiver or failure to exercise promptly any right under this agreement will not create a continuing waiver or any expectation of non-enforcement.
8.4 Entire Agreement
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and the Company or its Client Entities with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes and replaces all prior or contemporaneous understandings or agreements, written or oral, regarding such subject matter.
9. Acceptance of Terms of Use
9.1 These Terms apply in full force to and govern your use of this and all other PeerConnect Websites, including all webpages thereof. Use of this Website means and amounts to express agreement of these Terms in full.
9.2 YOUR ACCESS OR USE OF PEERCONNECT WEBSITES SHALL MEAN THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS. If you do not agree to the Terms, you are not authorized to use these Websites.
9.3 The Company reserves the right, at its discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of these Terms at any time by posting the amended Terms. Please check these Terms periodically for changes. Your continued use of PeerConnect Websites after the posting of changes constitutes your binding acceptance of such changes.