Terms of Use

TERMS OF USE

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY:

By using EcosystemCommons.org or EcosystemCommons.com (“Commons”), you accept and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions (“Terms of Use”).

The Institute for Natural Resources (INR) reserves the right to update or modify the Commons and will periodically do so, with or without notice, to better serve the needs of the community of users or to address the needs of Oregon State University (OSU) or INR.  INR may modify these Terms of Use at any time with or without notice, and you may review the most current version of these Terms of Use online at any time at /terms_of_use. If you continue to use the Commons, you are agreeing to accept the modifications and to follow the Terms of Use effective at the time of your use.  INR reserves the right to discontinue any and all aspects of the Commons at any time.

Membership

The Commons is open to all interested parties to engage in professional communication and information sharing related to ecosystem services.  INR reserves the right to cancel your Commons membership for any of the following reasons:

  1. Use of the Commons outside its defined scope of professional communication and information sharing related to ecosystem services.
  2. Use of the Commons for commercial solicitation purposes.
  3. Use of the Commons for illegal purposes.
  4. Use of the Commons that violates the Acceptable Use of Computing Resources policy at http://oregonstate.edu/fa/manuals/book/export/html/593.
  5. Interference with or disruption of the Commons or INR’s or OSU’s servers or networks.
  6. Submission of content that falsely expresses or implies that such content is sponsored or endorsed by INR, OSU or any other organization.
  7. Creation of user accounts by automated means or under false or fraudulent pretenses.

Cancellation of Commons membership does not waive any other remedy or action that may be taken by INR or OSU in response to misuse of the site.

Confidentiality and Personal Information

Your posts and submissions to the Commons or INR are accessible to other Commons members and OSU employees and are not confidential.  Moreover, records and documents in the possession or control of OSU and INR are subject to the Oregon public records law at ORS 192.410-192.505.

INR does not collect personal information (e.g., name, mailing address or telephone number) unless you voluntarily provide it to us by sending email, participating in a survey or completing an online form.

When you visit the Commons website, INR automatically collects certain information, such as:

  • Domain, country, IP address                                                                                                                                                                                                          
  • Browser, platform, resolution                                                                                                                                                                                             
  • Entrance-Exit Pages, Referrals                                                                                                                                                                                    
  • Date, Time                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
  • Search Terms and Search Engines

INR collects this information to evaluate how it can adapt the site to best serve your needs.

Copyright

You agree to post only that content for which you own copyright or have the permission of the copyright holder. INR or OSU will respond promptly to content “take down” requests from copyright holders, and these requests may lead to cancellation of membership due to illegal copyright infringement.

Endorsement and Accuracy of Content

Information in the Commons is provided by many different people. INR does not guarantee the accuracy of any of the content on the site. If you see something that should be corrected or updated, please contact the author of the specific content directly. Please provide the author with the URL address where you found the error.  If you cannot determine the author, please notify the website administrators using the email contact form.  INR may attempt to contact the author and remedy errors, but it is not obligated to do so and takes no responsibility for the accuracy of Commons content.

Unless otherwise noted, content on the Commons does not represent statements or views of INR, OSU, project partners, or those organizations that provided funds to develop or maintain the Commons website.  Additionally, content and comments provided by individuals do not necessarily represent the views or positions of the individual’s employer(s) or any organizations with which an individual is affiliated. Use information here at your own risk.

This site also contains links to external sites. INR, OSU, project partners, or those organizations that provided funding to develop or maintain this website are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such sites.

Release and Indemnification

You agree to be responsible for all damage, injury, loss or expense that is caused by or results from your willful or negligent acts or omissions relating to your use of the Commons.  You agree to save, defend, indemnify and hold harmless OSU, INR, the Oregon state Board of Higher Education, and the State of Oregon from all claims, suits, and actions resulting from or arising out of your willful or negligent acts or omissions relating to your use of the Commons.

Applicable Law; Jurisdiction and Venue

These Terms of Use are governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Oregon, without resort to any other jurisdiction’s conflict of law rules or doctrines. 

Any claim, action or suit between you and OSU or INR that arises out of or relates to your use of the Commons must be brought and conducted solely and exclusively within the Circuit Court for Marion County, for the State of Oregon. 

Notwithstanding the above paragraph, if a claim must be brought in a federal forum, it must be brought solely and exclusively in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.  This applies to a claim brought against INR or OSU only to the extent Congress has validly abrogated OSU’s sovereign immunity and is not consent by OSU to be sued in federal court.  This paragraph is also not a waiver by OSU of any form of immunity, including without limitation sovereign immunity and immunity based on the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution.

You consent to in personam jurisdiction in the above courts and waive any objection to venue and any objection that the forum is inconvenient.