Terms of Use & Conditions of Service

Last updated: 24 August 2016

Scope and Acceptance of Terms of Use

These Terms of Use and Conditions of Service (the “Terms”) are a legal and binding agreement between you and the American Astronomical Society (the “the AAS”) governing your use of eclipse.aas.org (the “Site”) and each of its webpages and the information, products, and services contained therein. Please review the Terms fully before using the Site. By using the Site, you agree to be bound by the Terms. If you do not agree with the Terms, please discontinue using the Site. The AAS reserves the right to change the Terms at any time without prior notice. Your continued access to or use of the Site after such changes indicates your acceptance of the Terms, as modified. It is your responsibility to review the Terms regularly.

Your use of the Site is at your own risk. If you are dissatisfied with the Site or any of the content found on it or on websites to which it linked, or if you do not agree with and consent to these Terms, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue accessing and using the Site.

These Terms and any other rules or terms currently posted on the Site constitute the entire agreement between you and the AAS, and supersede all previous oral or written agreements between the parties with respect to use of the Site. No action of the AAS may be construed as a waiver of any part of these Terms. Should any of the provisions of these Terms be deemed unenforceable, the other provisions will remain in full force and effect.

These Terms do not govern your use of websites that are linked to from this Site and that are not owned or operated by the AAS. Please review those websites’ terms of use or terms of service and privacy policies for information concerning the rules governing your use of those websites.

Intellectual Property Issues

The Site and all of the content displayed on the site (other than advertisements for third-party entities) are owned or licensed by the AAS. Pursuant to the copyright and trademark laws of the United States, you agree:

  1. To use or download content on this site only for personal and noncommercial use;
  2. To not reproduce, distribute, modify, re-post on another website, or sell any content from this Site without specific written authorization from the AAS, unless such use is for educational purposes pursuant to the Educational or Research Use of Content section of these Terms.
  3. To maintain any and all copyright or other proprietary notices embedded in or attached to any content on this Site.
  4. To refrain from framing or mirroring any portion of the Site or using automated tools to “scrape” (i.e., copy) the content of this Site;
  5. That by posting or submitting any text or other materials to the Site, you grant the AAS a royalty-free permanent license to use or sublicense such materials worldwide without further review or participation by you and without any compensation to you. Such license shall include the right to exploit any proprietary rights in the posting or submission.
  6. Pursuant to Title 17, United States Code, Section 512, notifications of claimed copyright infringement on the Site should be sent to the AAS’s designated agent. If you believe that your work has been used in a way that may constitute copyright infringement, please provide the AAS’s designated agent the following information:
    1. An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;
    2. A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
    3. A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Site (such as the URL for the relevant webpage);
    4. Your address, telephone number, and email address;
    5. 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; and
    6. A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

The AAS’s designated agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement on the Site is:

By mail:
Rick Fienberg
AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force
American Astronomical Society
1667 K Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20006 USA

By email:
rick.fienberg@aas.org

This contact information is only for reporting alleged copyright infringements. Contact information for other matters is provided elsewhere on the Site.

Educational or Research Use of Content

Researchers, professors, librarians, teachers, support staff, administrators, and other staff of research or educational institutions are authorized to download, print, reproduce, and distribute such content of the Site as may be beneficial for use in scientific or other research or educational settings. Content subject to this section may not be disseminated beyond the user’s educational or research institution and may not be used for commercial purposes.

Content used for any purpose must maintain copyright and other proprietary notices without alteration. Content may not be re-posted, framed, or mirrored on any other website or computer network, regardless of the intended use, except on password-protected websites administered by the educational or research institution for the exclusive use of its researchers, students, professors, librarians, teachers, support staff, and administrators.

Purchase of Product or Service

Certain sections of this Site may allow you to purchase different types of products and services online that are provided by the AAS or third parties. You agree to abide by any relevant terms and conditions of purchase supplied by the AAS or any other party with whom you deal on or through the Site to purchase a product or service, including, but not limited to, payment of all amounts when due and compliance with all rules and restrictions regarding availability of the product or service. You agree that all the information you provide to the AAS or a third party in connection with any purchase made on or through the Site or through a third-party website linked to from this Site will be true and accurate to the best of your knowledge.

The AAS has no responsibility for the quality, accuracy, timeliness, reliability, or any other aspect of these products and services, whether provided by the AAS or a third party. If you make a purchase on the Site, or on a third-party website that you have accessed via a link on this Site, the information obtained during your visit to the relevant site, and the information that you give as part of the transaction, such as your credit card number and contact information, may be collected by both the merchant and the AAS and their contractors, partners, or affiliates. A third-party merchant may have privacy and data collection practices that are different from the AAS’s. The AAS has no responsibility or liability for these independent policies. In addition, when you purchase products or services on or through the Site or a third-party website linked to from this Site, you may be subject to additional terms and conditions that specifically apply to your purchase or use of such products or services. For more information regarding a third-party merchant, its online store, its privacy policies, and/or any additional terms and conditions that may apply, visit that merchant’s website. You hereby agree to release the AAS and its partners and affiliates and the AAS’s and its partners’ and affiliates’ directors, officers, employees, agents, members, licensors, and representatives from any damages that you incur, and agree not to assert any claims against the AAS or its partners or affiliates or the AAS’s or its partners’ or affiliates’ directors, officers, employees, agents, members, licensors, or representatives arising from your purchase or use of any products or services made available on this Site or on third parties’ websites.

You agree to be financially responsible for all purchases made by you or someone acting on your behalf through the Site or third-party websites linked to from this Site. You agree to use the Site, and to purchase services or products on this Site or on third-party websites linked to from this Site, for legitimate, non-commercial purposes only. You also agree not to make any purchases for speculative, illegal, false, or fraudulent purposes. You agree to purchase goods or services only for yourself or for another person for whom you are legally permitted to do so. When making a purchase for another person that requires you to submit that person’s personal information to the AAS or a third-party merchant, you represent that you have obtained the express consent of that person to provide his or her personal information.

Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability

The Site and all content posted on it are provided to you “as is” and for information purposes only, without any warranties or guarantees as to its accuracy, thoroughness, safety, or utility. You agree that you must evaluate and bear all risks associated with use of the Site or content found thereon. You further acknowledge and agree that the AAS, its partners and affiliates, and the AAS’s and its partners’ and affiliates’ directors, officers, employees, agents, members, licensors, and representatives shall not be responsible or liable for any damage or loss caused or alleged to have been caused in connection with use of or reliance on any content, goods, or services available on or through the Site.

The AAS expressly disclaims all warranties, express or implied, of any kind with respect to any products or services sold on or through the Site, including but not limited to, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. You agree that the AAS’s sole and exclusive maximum liability arising from any product or service sold on the Site shall be the price of the product ordered.

In no event shall the AAS, its affiliated entities or partners, or the AAS’s or its partners’ or affiliates’ directors, officers, employees, agents, members, licensors, or representatives be liable for special, indirect, consequential, punitive, or other damages or losses related to any content on the Site or any product or service sold on or through this Site.

The Site may also provide, or third parties may provide, links to other websites or resources. You acknowledge and agree that the AAS, its partners, affiliates, and the AAS’s and its partners’ and affiliates’ directors, officers, employees, agents, members, licensors, and representatives are not responsible for the availability or accuracy or safety of such external websites or resources, and do not endorse and are not responsible or liable for any content, products, or services on or available from or through such websites or resources. You further acknowledge and agree that the AAS, its partners, affiliates, and the AAS’s and its partners’ and affiliates’ directors, officers, employees, agents, members, licensors, and representatives shall not be responsible or liable for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused in connection with use of or reliance on any such linked content, goods or services available on or through any such linked site or resource.

Your interactions with companies, organizations, and/or individuals found on or through this Site, including any purchases, transactions, or other dealings, and any terms, conditions, warranties, or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such companies, organizations, and/or individuals. You agree that the AAS, its partners, affiliates, and the AAS’s and its partners’ and affiliates’ directors, officers, employees, agents, members, licensors, and representatives will not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings. You also agree that, if there is a dispute between users of this Site, or between a user and any third party, the AAS is under no obligation to become involved, and you agree to release the AAS, its affiliates and partners, and the AAS’s and its affiliates’ and partners’ respective officers, directors, and employees from any claims, demands, and damages of every kind or nature, known or unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to such dispute. All requests for service and support stemming from dealings with third-party product manufacturers or service providers should be made directly to such third party in accordance with their terms and conditions.

You also acknowledge that the AAS does not review, censor, approve, edit, or endorse information placed on the Site by its users or other third parties, and cannot guarantee that inappropriate or inaccurate material will not be posted or otherwise made available on the site. The AAS may review user and third-party postings and other information from time to time and may take steps to remove inappropriate or inaccurate postings or information that come to its attention.

User Conduct

Every user has full and sole responsibility for his or her use of the Site. You agree that you will use the Site for lawful and appropriate purposes only. You agree not to post or transmit through the Site any material that is unlawful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, vulgar, obscene, or profane; that encourages criminal conduct; that may give rise to civil or criminal liability; or that infringes on the copyright of a third party. You also agree not to post or transmit through the Site any material or text that constitutes advertising or solicitation with respect to any product or service, unless expressly authorized in writing by the AAS to do so.

You agree that you will not take any action to destroy or degrade the availability of the Site to other users; to change or delete any content on the Site; to transmit malicious or destructive code (“malware”) onto or through the Site; or to take any other steps that compromise the availability or integrity of the Site or information contained on it. Such conduct may make you subject to criminal and civil liability, and the AAS reserves the right to seek damages from, and criminal and civil and other legal recourse against, any person who engages in such conduct.

The AAS reserves the right to refuse access to the Site to any person or entity for any reason, including, without limitation, a reasonable belief that the user in question has violated these Terms or the law of the United States or of any state or country.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the AAS; its affiliates and partners; and the AAS’s and its affiliates’ and partners’ respective officers, directors, employees, agents, members, licensors, representatives, and third-party providers to the Site from and against all losses, expenses, damages, and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from any violation of these Terms. The AAS reserves the right to assume, at its sole expense, the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will fully cooperate with the AAS in asserting any available defenses.

Dispute Resolution

Any and all disputes, with the exception of copyright claims, arising out of, under or in connection with these Terms, including without limitation, their validity, interpretation, performance, or breach, shall be settled by final and binding arbitration in Washington, DC, pursuant to the rules of the American Arbitration Association. Judgment upon any award rendered may be entered in the highest court of the forum, state or federal, having jurisdiction. This agreement, its validity and effect, shall be interpreted under and governed by the laws of the District of Columbia, without regard to its conflict-of-laws provisions, and you agree that the arbitrators shall award all costs of arbitration, including reasonable attorneys’ fees plus legal rate-of-interest, to the successful party.

Copyright claims shall be brought in the Federal court having jurisdiction. If you are an agent for or an employee of a non-US company but operate in a place of business in the US or its territories, you expressly agree that any dispute regarding this contract shall be adjudicated within the US in the manner described here. If the AAS is obligated to go to court, rather than arbitration, to enforce any of its rights, you agree to reimburse the AAS for its respective legal fees, costs, and disbursements if the AAS is successful.

Notification of Changes

If we make material changes to our Terms, these changes will be posted to our Terms of Use & Conditions of Service page. You should review this page regularly for updates.