Disclaimer
THESE TERMS OF USE CREATE A LEGALLY BINDING CONTRACT. IT MAY CHANGE AS THE SERVICE CHANGES, AND YOU AGREE YOU WILL REVIEW ANY UPDATES REGULARLY.
Welcome and thank you for your interest in Focused Ultrasound Foundation (“Foundation”, “we”, “us” or “our”). This Terms of Use Agreement (“Terms of Use”, and together with any applicable Supplemental Terms (as defined in Section 1.1 (Supplemental Terms)), the “Agreement”) describes the terms and conditions that apply to your use of (i) the website located at https://www.fusfoundation.org/ and its subdomains (collectively, the “Website”), and (ii) the services, content, and other resources available on or enabled via our Website (collectively, with our Website, the “Service”).
PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY. THIS AGREEMENT GOVERNS THE USE OF THE SERVICE AND APPLIES TO ALL USERS VISITING OR ACCESSING THE SERVICE. BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SERVICE IN ANY WAY, ACCEPTING THIS AGREEMENT BY CLICKING ON THE “I ACCEPT” BUTTON, COMPLETING THE ACCOUNT REGISTRATION PROCESS OR BROWSING THE WEBSITE, YOU REPRESENT THAT: (1) YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT, (2) YOU ARE OF LEGAL AGE TO FORM A BINDING CONTRACT WITH FOUNDATION, (3) YOU ARE NOT BARRED FROM USING THE SERVICE UNDER THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES, YOUR PLACE OF RESIDENCE OR ANY OTHER APPLICABLE JURISDICTION; AND (4) YOU HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT PERSONALLY OR, IF YOU ARE ACCESSING OR USING THE SERVICE ON BEHALF OF AN ENTITY, ON BEHALF OF THE ENTITY IDENTIFIED IN THE ACCOUNT REGISTRATION PROCESS. IF THE INDIVIDUAL ENTERING INTO THIS AGREEMENT IS DOING SO ON BEHALF OF AN ENTITY, ALL REFERENCES TO “YOU” OR “YOUR” IN THIS AGREEMENT WILL ALSO BE DEEMED TO REFER TO SUCH ENTITY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF USE, YOU MAY NOT ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICE.
SECTION 15 (ARBITRATION AGREEMENT) CONTAINS PROVISIONS THAT GOVERN HOW TO RESOLVE DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND FOUNDATION. AMONG OTHER THINGS, SECTION 15 (ARBITRATION AGREEMENT) INCLUDES AN AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE WHICH REQUIRES, WITH LIMITED EXCEPTIONS, THAT ALL DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND US SHALL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING AND FINAL ARBITRATION. SECTION 15 ALSO CONTAINS A CLASS ACTION AND JURY TRIAL WAIVER. PLEASE READ SECTION 15 (ARBITRATION AGREEMENT) CAREFULLY. UNLESS YOU OPT OUT OF THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT (AS DEFINED IN SECTION 15) WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15.10 (30-DAY RIGHT TO OPT OUT): (1) YOU WILL ONLY BE PERMITTED TO PURSUE DISPUTES OR CLAIMS AND SEEK RELIEF AGAINST US ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS, NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR PROCEEDING, AND YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OR CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION; AND (2) YOU ARE WAIVING YOUR RIGHT TO PURSUE DISPUTES OR CLAIMS AND SEEK RELIEF IN A COURT OF LAW AND TO HAVE A JURY TRIAL.
THE AGREEMENT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE BY FOUNDATION IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION AT ANY TIME AS SET FORTH IN SECTION 17.6 (AGREEMENT UPDATES).
THE WEBSITE, SERVICE AND THE INFORMATION AND CONTENT AVAILABLE THROUGH THE FOREGOING ARE THE SOLE PROPERTY OF FOUNDATION. WE MAY IMPOSE LIMITATIONS ON YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE AND MAY UPDATE THE SERVICE AT ANY TIME.
- USE OF THE SERVICE. The Service and the information and content available on the Service are protected by applicable intellectual property (including copyright) laws. Unless subject to a separate license agreement between you and Foundation, your right to access and use the Service, in whole or in part, is subject to this Agreement.
1.1 Supplemental Terms. Your use of, and participation in, certain features and functionality of the Service may be subject to additional terms (“Supplemental Terms”). Such Supplemental Terms will either be set forth in the applicable supplemental Service or will be presented to you for your acceptance when you sign up to use the supplemental Service. If these Terms of Use are inconsistent with the Supplemental Terms, then the Supplemental Terms control with respect to such supplemental Service.
1.2 Updates. You acknowledge and agree that Foundation may update the Service with or without notifying you. You may need to update third-party software from time to time in order to continue to use the Service. Any future release, update or other addition to the Service shall be subject to this Agreement.
1.3 Chatbot. Foundation provides certain features, including a chatbot function that responds to user requests with automated replies, leveraging certain third party services or applications to power the Service’s chatbot function. By using these functions, you hereby consent and authorize Foundation to share any information you provide with one or more third party providers or such chatbot function to the minimum extent required to complete your request. YOU, AND NOT FOUNDATION, SHALL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR USE OF THESE FUNCTIONS. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT ANY CONDUCT YOU ENGAGE IN AS A RESULT OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE CHATBOT OR ANY OTHER AI-ENABLED FEATURE MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH FOUNDATION OR SUCH THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. BECAUSE CHATBOTS UTILIZE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU, OUR CHATBOT(S) MAY PROVIDE INFORMATION THAT IS AN INACCURATE RESPONSE TO YOUR REQUESTS IN ITS INTERACTIONS WITH YOU. YOU AGREE THAT FOUNDATION WILL NOT BE HELD LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR THE CHATBOT (OR ANY OTHER AI-ENABLED FEATURE MADE AVAILABLE BY THE FOUNDATION OR THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS) PROVIDING INACCURATE INFORMATION TO YOU.
1.4 Limitations of the Service. THE SERVICE IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR OTHER CLINICAL ADVICE TO USERS AND IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT FOUNDATION DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR OTHER CLINICAL ADVICE OF ANY KIND OR MAKE ANY MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR OTHER CLINICAL DECISIONS. THE SERVICE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL OR OTHER CLINICAL CARE, ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH PROVIDER WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING A MEDICAL, MENTAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR OTHER HEALTH CONDITION.
IN ORDER TO ACCESS OR USE CERTAIN FEATURES OF THE SERVICE, YOU MAY NEED TO REGISTER AN ACCOUNT. YOU AGREE TO PROVIDE TRUTHFUL, ACCURATE, AND COMPLETE INFORMATION. - REGISTRATION.
2.1 Registering Your Account. In order to access certain features of the Service, you may be required to register an account on the Service (“Account”).
2.2 Registration Data. In registering an account on the Service, you shall (i) provide true, accurate, current, and complete information about yourself as prompted by the registration form (the “Registration Data”), and (ii) maintain and promptly update the Registration Data to keep it true, accurate, current, and complete.
2.3 Your Account. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, you acknowledge and agree that you have no ownership or other property interest in your Account, and you further acknowledge and agree that all rights in and to your Account are and will forever be owned by and inure to the benefit of Foundation. Furthermore, you are responsible for all activities that occur under your Account. You shall monitor your Account to restrict use by minors, and you will accept full responsibility for any unauthorized use of the Service by minors. You may not share your Account or password with anyone, and you agree to notify Foundation immediately of any unauthorized use of your password or any other breach of security. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, incomplete or not current, or Foundation has reasonable grounds to suspect that any information you provide is untrue, inaccurate, incomplete or not current, Foundation has the right to suspend or terminate your Account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Service (or any portion thereof). You agree not to create an Account using a false identity or information, or on behalf of someone other than yourself. You shall not have more than one Account at any given time. Foundation reserves the right to remove or reclaim any usernames at any time and for any reason, including but not limited to, claims by a third party that a username violates the third party’s rights. You agree not to create an Account or use the Service if you have been previously removed by Foundation, or if you have been previously banned from any of the Service.
WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CONTENT POSTED ON THE WEBSITE OR THROUGH THE SERVICE. EACH USER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT SUCH USER SUBMITS. OUR SERVICE RELIES ON YOUR INPUT, AI, AND THIRD-PARTY SERVICES, AND FOUNDATION IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OUTPUTS PROVIDED TO YOU. - CONTENT.
3.1 Types of Content. Subject to your compliance with this Agreement, You may share or upload any information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages, tags and/or other materials (“Content”) through the Service, including by way of your prompts, comments, questions, and other input to the Service (collectively, “Input”). You, and not Foundation, are entirely responsible for all Input that you upload, share, post, email, transmit, query or otherwise make available through or to the Service. When you make available any Input on or to the Service, you represent that you own and/or have sufficient rights to use such Input in connection with the Service, including to grant the license set forth in Section 3.4 (License to Your Content). In response to any prompts, comments, questions, and other Input that you provide to the Service, the Service, together with AI Services may generate new Content (“Output”). You acknowledge that the Outputs are based on your Inputs, and that Foundation has no control over any such Inputs. Accordingly, all Outputs are provided “as is” and with “all faults”, and Foundation makes no representations or warranties of any kind or nature with respect to any Inputs or Outputs, including any warranties of accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, timeliness or suitability. You are solely responsible for your use of your Outputs created through the Service, and you assume all risks associated with your use of any Outputs, including any potential copyright infringement claims from third parties or any disclosure of your Outputs that personally identifies you or any third party.
3.2 Ownership of Content. The Foundation does not claim ownership of any Inputs or Outputs (collectively, “Your Content”). Subject to Section 3.3 (License to Your Content), as between the Foundation and you, you are the owner of all right, title and interest in Your Content. Notwithstanding the foregoing, given the nature of the Service, you acknowledge that: (a) Output may not be unique across users and the Service may generate the same or similar output for another user under similar terms; and (b) the Foundation does not represent or warrant that the Outputs are protectible by any intellectual property rights under applicable law.
3.3 License to Your Content. Subject to any applicable Account settings that may be made available to you, you grant Foundation a non-exclusive, transferable, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, fully-paid, royalty-free, sublicensable (through multiple tiers of sublicensees) right (including any moral rights) and license to use, copy, reproduce, modify, adapt, prepare derivative works from, translate, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display and derive revenue or other remuneration from Your Content (in whole or in part) for the purposes of operating and providing the Service to you and to our other users. Without limiting the foregoing, You acknowledge that Your Content may be used by the Foundation, or third-party providers of the AI Services, to train, develop, enhance, evolve and improve the Service and the underlying artificial intelligence models, algorithms and related technology, products and services (including for labeling, classification, content moderation and model training purposes), as well as for marketing and promotional purposes.
3.4 Content Provided by Other Users. The Service may contain User Content provided by other users (“User Content”). Foundation is not responsible for and does not control User Content. Foundation does not approve or endorse, or make any representations or warranties with respect to, User Content. You use all User Content and interact with other users at your own risk. If you submit Your Content to any area of the Service that is accessible by other users, other users may be able to search for, see, use, modify and/or reproduce any of Your Content on or off the Service. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users of the Service and any other parties with whom you interact through the Service; provided, however, that Foundation reserves the right, but has no obligation, to intercede in any disputes between you and any other users. You agree that Foundation will not be responsible for any liability incurred as the result of your interactions with other users.
3.5 AI Services. Our Service may utilize certain publicly available artificial intelligence and deep learning platforms, algorithms, tools and models (“AI Services”) to generate Output. You acknowledge and agree that Foundation may share your Inputs with the AI Services for this purpose and such AI Services may not be required to maintain the confidentiality of any of Your Content. Further, You understand that additional license requirements may apply to certain AI Services, including that such AI Services may retain certain rights to use or disclose Your Content, including to further train their algorithmic models. You must review and comply with such requirements for the AI Services used. You assume all risks associated with your use of such AI Services. Foundation will have no liability for the unavailability of any AI Services, or any third party’s decision to discontinue, suspend or terminate any AI Services.
3.6 Content Restrictions. Your use of the Service must comply at all times with any of the Foundation’s policies and any applicable AI Services terms. Without limiting the foregoing, you must not share Content on or through the Service, or attempt to create Output through the Service, that: (A) is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, fraudulent, invasive of another’s privacy, tortious, obscene, pornographic, offensive, or profane; (B) infringes or misappropriates any third party’s intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights; (C) contains any viruses, worms or other malicious computer programming codes that may damage the Service; (D) contains any personal information, such as financial, medical or other sensitive personal information such as protected health information, government IDs, passport numbers or social security numbers; or (E) involves commercial activities and/or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising, or pyramid schemes without Foundation’s prior written consent. Furthermore, Your Content may not contain nudity, violence, sexually explicit, obscene, or offensive subject matter as determined by Foundation in its sole discretion. You may not post or make available any Content that includes any identifiable person or any of their personal characteristics without that person’s permission.
3.7 Storage. Unless expressly agreed to by Foundation in writing elsewhere, Foundation has no obligation to store any of Your Content. Foundation has no responsibility or liability for the deletion or accuracy of any Content, including Your Content; the failure to store, transmit, or receive transmission of Content; or the security, privacy, storage, or transmission of other communications originating with or involving use of the Service. Certain features and functionality of the Service may enable you to specify the level at which the Service restricts access to Your Content. In such cases, you are solely responsible for applying the appropriate level of access to Your Content. If you do not choose a level of access, the system may default to its most permissive setting.
WE OWN THE SERVICE. IF YOU PROVIDE US WITH FEEDBACK, WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO USE THAT FEEDBACK WITHOUT PAYMENT OR OBLIGATION TO YOU. - OWNERSHIP.
4.1 The Service. Except with respect to Your Content, you agree that Foundation and its suppliers or licensors own all rights, title and interest in the Service (including but not limited to, any computer code, themes, objects, characters, character names, stories, dialogue, concepts, artwork, animations, sounds, musical compositions, audiovisual effects, methods of operation, moral rights, documentation, and Foundation software) and all improvements, enhancements and updates made thereto. You shall not remove, alter or obscure any copyright, trademark, service mark or other proprietary rights notices incorporated in or accompanying any Service.
4.2 Trademarks. The Foundation and all related stylizations, graphics, logos, service marks and trade names used on or with the Service are the trademarks of Foundation and may not be used without permission in connection with your, or any third-party’s, products or services. Other trademarks, service marks and trade names that may appear on or in the Service are the property of their respective owners.
4.3 Username. Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, by submitting Your Content to any forums, comments, or any other area on the Service, you hereby expressly permit Foundation to identify you by your username (which may be a pseudonym) as the contributor of Your Content in any publication in any form, media or technology now known or later developed in connection with Your Content.
4.4 Feedback. You agree that submission of any ideas, suggestions, documents, and/or proposals to Foundation through its suggestion, feedback, forum, or similar pages (“Feedback”) is at your own risk and that Foundation has no obligations (including without limitation obligations of confidentiality) with respect to such Feedback. You represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to submit the Feedback. You hereby grant to Foundation a fully paid, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive, and fully sublicensable right and license to use, reproduce, perform, display, distribute, adapt, modify, re-format, create derivative works of, and otherwise commercially or non-commercially exploit in any manner, any and all Feedback, and to sublicense the foregoing rights, in connection with the operation and maintenance of the Service and/or Foundation’s business.
AS A USER OF THE SERVICE, YOU ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS. PLEASE REVIEW THEM CAREFULLY PRIOR TO ACCESSING AND USING THE SERVICE. - USER CONDUCT AND CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS. As a condition of use, you agree not to use the Service for any purpose that is prohibited by this Agreement or by applicable law. You shall not (and shall not permit any third party) to: (i) license, sell, rent, lease, transfer, assign, reproduce, distribute, host or otherwise commercially exploit the Service or any portion of the Service; (ii) frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any trademark or logo located on the Service or any other portion of the Service (including images, text, page layout or form); (iii) use any metatags or other “hidden text” using Foundation’s name or trademarks; (iv) modify, translate, adapt, merge, make derivative works of, disassemble, decompile, reverse compile or reverse engineer any part of the Service except to the extent the foregoing restrictions are expressly prohibited by applicable law; (v) use any manual or automated software, devices or other processes (including but not limited to spiders, robots, scrapers, crawlers, avatars, data mining tools, or the like) to “scrape” or download data from any web pages contained in the Service (except that we grant the operators of public search engines revocable permission to use spiders to copy materials from the Service for the sole purpose of and solely to the extent necessary for creating publicly available searchable indices of the materials, but not caches or archives of such materials); (vi) remove or destroy any copyright notices or other proprietary markings contained on or in the Service; (vii) impersonate any person or entity, including any employee or representative of Foundation; or (viii) interfere with or attempts to interfere with the proper functioning of the Service or use the Service in any way not expressly permitted by this Agreement, including but not limited to violating or attempting to violate any security features of the Service, introducing viruses, worms, or similar harmful code into the Service, or interfering or attempting to interfere with use of the Services by any other user, host, or network, including by means of overloading, “flooding,” “spamming,” “mail bombing,” or “crashing” the Service. The rights granted to you in this Agreement are subject to your compliance with the restrictions set forth in this section. Any unauthorized use of the Service terminates the licenses granted by Foundation pursuant to this Agreement.
WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO INVESTIGATE ANY VIOLATION OF THIS AGREEMENT, AND WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFER THE MATTER TO, AND COOPERATE WITH LEGAL AUTHORITIES. IF WE DETERMINE THAT YOU HAVE VIOLATED THIS AGREEMENT, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE THE ACTIONS DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION. - INVESTIGATIONS, MONITORING, & NO OBLIGATION TO PRE-SCREEN CONTENT. Foundation may, but is not obligated to, investigate, monitor, pre-screen, remove, refuse, or review the Service and/or Content, including Your Content and User Content, at any time. You hereby provide your irrevocable consent to such monitoring. You acknowledge and agree that you have no expectation of privacy concerning the transmission of Your Content, including without limitation chat, text, or voice communications.
6.1 Without limiting the foregoing, Foundation reserves the right to: (a) remove or refuse to post any of Your Content for any or no reason in our sole discretion; (b) take any action with respect to any of Your Content that we deem necessary or appropriate in our sole discretion, including if we believe that such Content violates this Agreement, infringes any intellectual property right or other right of any person or entity, threatens the personal safety of users of the Service or the public, or could create liability for Foundation; (c) disclose your identity or other information about you to any third party who claims that material posted by you violates their rights, including their intellectual property rights or their right to privacy; (d) take appropriate legal action, including without limitation, referral to and cooperation with law enforcement and/or other applicable legal authorities, for any illegal or unauthorized use of the Service or if Foundation otherwise believes that criminal activity has occurred; and/or (e) terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Service for any or no reason, including without limitation, any violation of this Agreement. Upon determination of any possible violations by you of any provision of this Agreement, Foundation, may, at its sole discretion immediately terminate your license to use the Service, or change, alter or remove Your Content, in whole or in part, without prior notice to you.
6.2 If Foundation believes that criminal activity has occurred, Foundation reserves the right to, except to the extent prohibited by applicable law, disclose any information or materials on or in the Service, including Your Content, in Foundation’s possession in connection with your use of the Service, to (i) comply with applicable laws, legal process or governmental request, (ii) enforce this Agreement, (iii) respond to any claims that Your Content violates the rights of third parties, (iv) respond to your requests for customer service, or (v) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Foundation, its users or the public, and all enforcement or other government officials, as Foundation in its sole discretion believes to be necessary or appropriate.
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE MAY USE THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND YOUR USE OF THIRD-PARTY SERVICES IS GOVERNED BY ANY SUCH PROVIDER’S TERMS. WE MAY LINK TO CERTAIN WEBSITES NOT OWNED BY US, WHICH ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THESE TERMS. YOU ACCESS THOSE SITES AT YOUR OWN RISK. - THIRD-PARTY SERVICES.
7.1 Third-Party Websites, Applications and Ads. The Service may use AI Services, and/or contain links to third-party websites (“Third-Party Websites”), applications (“Third-Party Applications”) and advertisements for third parties (“Third-Party Ads”) (collectively, the “Third-Party Services”). Such Third-Party Services are not under the control of Foundation. Foundation is not responsible for any Third-Party Services. When you use a Third-Party Service, you become subject to the terms and conditions (including privacy policies) of another website or destination. Foundation does not review, approve, monitor, endorse, warrant, or make any representations with respect to Third-Party Services, or any product or service provided in connection therewith. You use all links in Third-Party Services at your own risk. When you leave our Service, this Agreement and our policies no longer govern. You should review applicable terms and policies, including privacy and data gathering practices, of any Third-Party Services, and make whatever investigation you feel necessary or appropriate before proceeding with any transaction with any third party.
(a) Sharing Your Content and Information Through Third-Party Services. Foundation may provide tools through the Service that enable you to export information, including Your Content, to Third-Party Services. By using one of these tools, you agree that Foundation may transfer that information to the applicable Third-Party Service. Foundation is not responsible for any Third-Party Service’s use of your exported information.
WE DO NOT CURRENTLY CHARGE FOR OUR SERVICE, BUT WE MAY IN THE FUTURE. - FEES AND PURCHASE TERMS. Foundation does not currently charge a fee for its Service. However, it reserves the right to charge such fees in the future.
YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIRD-PARTY CLAIMS AND RESULTING LIABILITY ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE. - INDEMNIFICATION. You shall indemnify and hold Foundation, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, employees, agents, partners, suppliers, and licensors (each, a “Foundation Party” and collectively, the “Foundation Parties”) harmless from any losses, costs, liabilities and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) relating to or arising out of any and all of the following: (i) Your Content, including any use of the Output by you; (ii) your use of, or inability to use, the Service; (iii) your violation of this Agreement; (iv) your violation of any rights of another party, including any user; or (v) your violation of any applicable laws, rules or regulations. Foundation reserves the right, at its own cost, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will fully cooperate with Foundation in asserting any available defenses. This provision does not require you to indemnify any of the Foundation Parties for any unconscionable commercial practice by such party or for such party’s fraud, deception, false promise, misrepresentation or concealment, or suppression or omission of any material fact in connection with the Service provided hereunder. You agree that the provisions in this section will survive any termination of your Account, this Agreement and/or your access to the Service.
YOU USE THE SERVICES AT YOUR OWN RISK. WE DO NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES. - DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES.
10.1 As Is. YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK, AND THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITH ALL FAULTS. THE FOUNDATION PARTIES EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS, AND CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT ARISING FROM USE OF THE SERVICE OR YOUR CONTENT.
(a) THE FOUNDATION PARTIES MAKE NO WARRANTY, REPRESENTATION OR CONDITION THAT: (1) THE SERVICE OR ANY OUTPUT WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS (SUCH AS THE QUALITY, EFFECTIVENESS, REPUTATION AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF SERVICE); (2) YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE; OR (3) THE OUTPUT, ADVICE, RESULTS, OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE SERVICE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE.
(b) ANY CONTENT DOWNLOADED FROM OR OTHERWISE ACCESSED THROUGH THE SERVICE IS ACCESSED AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR PROPERTY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM AND/OR ANY DEVICE YOU USE TO ACCESS THE SERVICE, OR ANY OTHER LOSS THAT RESULTS FROM ACCESSING SUCH CONTENT.
10.2 No Liability for Conduct of Third Parties. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF YOUR COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS WITH THIRD PARTIES ON THE SERVICE. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION PARTIES ARE NOT LIABLE, AND YOU AGREE NOT TO SEEK TO HOLD THE FOUNDATION PARTIES LIABLE, FOR THE CONDUCT OF THIRD PARTIES, INCLUDING OPERATORS OF EXTERNAL SITES, INCLUDING ANY THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS OF AI SERVICES, AND THAT THE RISK OF INJURY FROM SUCH THIRD PARTIES RESTS ENTIRELY WITH YOU. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT FOUNDATION MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICE PROVIDED BY THIRD PARTIES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR BE AVAILABLE ON AN UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE BASIS. FOUNDATION MAKES NO WARRANTY REGARDING THE QUALITY OF ANY SUCH GOODS OR SERVICE, OR THE ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, TRUTHFULNESS, COMPLETENESS OR RELIABILITY OF ANY USER CONTENT OBTAINED THROUGH THE SERVICE.
10.3 No Medical Advice.
(a) IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR HEALTH, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT WITH A PHYSICIAN OR OTHER HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONAL. DO NOT DISREGARD, AVOID OR DELAY OBTAINING MEDICAL OR HEALTH RELATED ADVICE FROM YOUR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL BECAUSE OF INFORMATION OR CONTENT AVAILABLE ON THE SERVICE. THE USE OF INFORMATION AND CONTENT PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
(b) NOTHING STATED OR POSTED ON THE SERVICE OR AVAILABLE THROUGH ANY SERVICES IS INTENDED TO BE, AND MUST NOT BE TAKEN TO BE, THE PRACTICE OF MEDICAL OR COUNSELING CARE. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS AGREEMENT, THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE AND COUNSELING INCLUDES, WITHOUT LIMITATION, PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY, PSYCHOTHERAPY, OR PROVIDING HEALTH CARE TREATMENT, INSTRUCTIONS, DIAGNOSIS, PROGNOSIS OR ADVICE.
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU UNDER THIS AGREEMENT FOR AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF $100. - LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.
11.1 Disclaimer of Certain Damages. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE FOUNDATION PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE OR DATA, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR DAMAGES OR COSTS DUE TO LOSS OF PRODUCTION OR USE, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, OR PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, IN EACH CASE WHETHER OR NOT ANY FOUNDATION PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT, THE SERVICE, OR ANY COMMUNICATIONS, INTERACTIONS OR MEETINGS WITH OTHER USERS OF THE SERVICE OR THIRD PARTIES, ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, INCLUDING TO THE EXTENT RESULTING FROM: (i) THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE; (ii) ANY GOODS, DATA, INFORMATION OR SERVICE PURCHASED OR OBTAINED; OR MESSAGES RECEIVED FOR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH THE SERVICE; (iii) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (iv) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICE; OR (v) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATED TO THE SERVICE, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, COPYRIGHT, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY. THE FOREGOING LIMITATION OF LIABILITY DOES NOT APPLY TO LIABILITY OF A FOUNDATION PARTY FOR (A) DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY CAUSED BY A FOUNDATION PARTY’S NEGLIGENCE; OR FOR (A) ANY INJURY CAUSED BY A FOUNDATION PARTY’S FRAUD OR FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION.
11.2 Cap on Liability. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE FOUNDATION PARTIES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR MORE THAN $100, OR IF APPLICABLE, THE STATUTORY REMEDY OR PENALTY IMPOSED BY THE STATUTE UNDER WHICH SUCH CLAIM ARISES. THE FOREGOING CAP ON LIABILITY DOES NOT APPLY TO LIABILITY OF A FOUNDATION PARTY FOR (A) DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY CAUSED BY A FOUNDATION PARTY’S NEGLIGENCE; OR (B) ANY INJURY CAUSED BY A FOUNDATION PARTY’S FRAUD OR FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION.
11.3 User Content. FOUNDATION ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE TIMELINESS, DELETION, MIS-DELIVERY OR FAILURE TO STORE ANY CONTENT (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, YOUR CONTENT AND USER CONTENT), USER COMMUNICATIONS OR PERSONALIZATION SETTINGS.
11.4 Exclusion of Damages. CERTAIN JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MIGHT HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.
11.5 Basis of the Bargain. THE LIMITATIONS OF DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN FOUNDATION AND YOU.
TELL US IF YOU THINK ANOTHER USER HAS VIOLATED YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ON THE SERVICES, OR IF YOU THINK ANOTHER USER MAY HAVE INCORRECTLY REPORTED THAT YOU VIOLATED SUCH USER’S INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. - PROCEDURE FOR MAKING CLAIMS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT INFRINGEMENT. It is Foundation’s policy to terminate membership privileges of any user who repeatedly infringes copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights upon prompt notification to Foundation by the respective intellectual property owner or their legal agent. Without limiting the foregoing, if you believe that your work has been copied and posted on the Service in a way that constitutes intellectual property rights infringement, please provide our designated intellectual property agent with the following information: (i) an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property right; (ii) a description of the copyrighted work, trademark, or other intellectual property right that you claim has been infringed; (iii) a description of the location on the Service of the material that you claim is infringing; (iv) your address, telephone number, and email address; (v) a written statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property right owner, its agent or the law; and (vi) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property right owner or authorized to act on the copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property right owner’s behalf. Contact information for Foundation’s designated agent for notice of claims of infringement is as follows: Focused Ultrasound Foundation, Attn: DMCA Agent, 12. 1230 Cedars Court, Suite 206, Charlottesville, VA 22903.
WE MAY TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT OR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON. YOU MAY TERMINATE THE SERVICES AT ANY TIME BY CONTACTING THE FOUNDATION OR BY CLOSING YOUR ACCOUNT. - TERM AND TERMINATION.
13.1 Term. The term of this Agreement commences on the date when you accept this Agreement (as described in the preamble above), and continues in full force and effect while you use the Service, unless terminated earlier in accordance with this Agreement.
13.2 Termination of Service by Foundation. Except as set forth above, the Service Subscription Fee for any Service is non-refundable. If you have materially breached any provision of this Agreement, or if Foundation is required to do so by law (e.g., where the provision of the Service is, or becomes, unlawful), Foundation has the right to, immediately and without notice, suspend or terminate any Service provided to you. Foundation reserves the right to terminate this Agreement or your access to the Service at any time without cause upon notice to you. You agree that all terminations for cause are made in Foundation’s sole discretion and that Foundation shall not be liable to you or any third party for any termination of your access to the Service and/or this Agreement.
13.3 Termination by You. If you want to terminate this Agreement, you may do so by (i) notifying Foundation at any time and (ii) if you have an Account, closing your Account for the Service. Your notice should be sent, in writing, to Foundation’s address set forth below.
13.4 Effect of Termination. Upon termination of the Service or the applicable feature or functionality thereof, your right to use the Service or the applicable feature or functionality thereof will automatically terminate, and we may delete Your Content associated therewith from our live databases. We may also bar your further use or access to the Service. Foundation will not have any liability whatsoever to you for any suspension or termination, including for deletion of Your Content. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive, will survive termination of Service, including without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, and limitations of liability.
13.5 No Subsequent Registration. If this Agreement is terminated for cause by Foundation or if your ability to access the Service is discontinued by Foundation due to your violation of any portion of this Agreement or for conduct otherwise deemed inappropriate, then you agree that you shall not attempt to re-register with or access the Service through use of a different member name or otherwise.
EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE SERVICE IN CERTAIN COUNTRIES OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE FOR USE IN THOSE COUNTRIES. - INTERNATIONAL USERS. The Service may be accessed from countries around the world and may contain references to services and Content that are not available in your country. These references do not imply that Foundation intends to announce such service or Content in your country. The Service is controlled and offered by Foundation from its facilities in the United States of America. Foundation makes no representations that the Service is appropriate or available for use in other locations. Those who access or use the Service from other countries do so at their own volition and are responsible for compliance with local law.
WE WILL USE ARBITRATION TO RESOLVE ANY CLAIMS BETWEEN US AND YOU CANNOT JOIN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OR OBTAIN A JURY TRIAL FOR ANY DISPUTES YOU HAVE WITH US RELATED TO THE USE OF THE WEBSITE AND SERVICES, SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITED EXCLUSIONS. - ARBITRATION AGREEMENT. Please read this section (the “Arbitration Agreement”) carefully. It is part of your contract with Foundation and affects your rights. It contains procedures for MANDATORY BINDING ARBITRATION AND A CLASS ACTION WAIVER.
15.1 Applicability of Arbitration Agreement. Subject to the terms of this Arbitration Agreement, you and Foundation agree that any dispute, claim, disagreements arising out of or relating in any way to your access to or use of the Service, any communications you receive, any products sold or distributed through the Service or this Agreement and prior versions of this Agreement, including claims and disputes that arose between you and us before the effective date of this Agreement (each, a “Dispute”) will be resolved by binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that: (i) you and Foundation may assert claims or seek relief in small claims court if such claims qualify and remain in small claims court; and (ii) you or Foundation may seek equitable relief in court for infringement or other misuse of intellectual property rights (such as trademarks, trade dress, domain names, trade secrets, copyrights, and patents). For purposes of this Arbitration Agreement, “Dispute” will also include disputes that arose or involve facts occurring before the existence of this or any prior versions of this Agreement as well as claims that may arise after the termination of this Agreement.
15.2 Informal Dispute Resolution. There might be instances when a Dispute arises between you and Foundation. If that occurs, Foundation is committed to working with you to reach a reasonable resolution. You and Foundation agree that good faith informal efforts to resolve Disputes can result in a prompt, low‐cost and mutually beneficial outcome (“Informal Dispute Resolution”). You and Foundation therefore agree that before either party commences arbitration against the other (or initiates an action in small claims court if a party so elects), we will personally meet and confer telephonically or via videoconference, in a good faith effort to resolve informally any Dispute covered by this Arbitration Agreement (“Informal Dispute Resolution Conference”). If you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you will also participate in the conference.
The party initiating a Dispute must give notice to the other party in writing of its intent to initiate an Informal Dispute Resolution Conference (“Notice”), which shall occur within forty-five (45) days after the other party receives such Notice, unless an extension is mutually agreed upon by the parties. Notice to Foundation that you intend to initiate an Informal Dispute Resolution Conference should be sent by email to info@fusfoundation.org or regular mail to our offices located at Focused Ultrasound Foundation, 1230 Cedars Court, Suite 206, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903. The Notice must include: (1) your name, telephone number, mailing address, e‐mail address associated with your Account (if you have one); (2) the name, telephone number, mailing address and e‐mail address of your counsel, if any; and (3) a description of your Dispute.
The Informal Dispute Resolution Conference shall be individualized such that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a Dispute, even if the same law firm or group of law firms represents multiple users in similar cases, unless all parties agree; multiple individuals initiating a Dispute cannot participate in the same Informal Dispute Resolution Conference unless all parties agree. In the time between a party receiving the Notice and the Informal Dispute Resolution Conference, nothing in this Arbitration Agreement shall prohibit the parties from engaging in informal communications to resolve the initiating party’s Dispute. Engaging in the Informal Dispute Resolution Conference is a condition precedent and requirement that must be fulfilled before commencing arbitration. The statute of limitations and any filing fee deadlines shall be tolled while the parties engage in the Informal Dispute Resolution Conference process required by this section.
15.3 Waiver of Jury Trial. YOU AND FOUNDATION HEREBY WAIVE ANY CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY RIGHTS TO SUE IN COURT AND HAVE A TRIAL IN FRONT OF A JUDGE OR A JURY. You and Foundation are instead electing that all Disputes shall be resolved by arbitration under this Arbitration Agreement, except as specified in Section 15.1 (Applicability of Arbitration Agreement). There is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is subject to very limited review.
15.4 Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief. YOU AND FOUNDATION AGREE THAT, EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED IN SECTION 15.9 (BATCH ARBITRATION), EACH OF US MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT ON A CLASS, REPRESENTATIVE, OR COLLECTIVE BASIS, AND THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE ALL RIGHTS TO HAVE ANY DISPUTE BE BROUGHT, HEARD, ADMINISTERED, RESOLVED, OR ARBITRATED ON A CLASS, COLLECTIVE, REPRESENTATIVE, OR MASS ACTION BASIS. ONLY INDIVIDUAL RELIEF IS AVAILABLE, AND DISPUTES OF MORE THAN ONE CUSTOMER OR USER CANNOT BE ARBITRATED OR CONSOLIDATED WITH THOSE OF ANY OTHER CUSTOMER OR USER. Subject to this Arbitration Agreement, the arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the party’s individual claim. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to, nor shall it, affect the terms and conditions under Section 15.9 (Batch Arbitration). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Arbitration Agreement, if a court decides by means of a final decision, not subject to any further appeal or recourse, that the limitations of this section are invalid or unenforceable as to a particular claim or request for relief (such as a request for public injunctive relief), you and Foundation agree that that particular claim or request for relief (and only that particular claim or request for relief) shall be severed from the arbitration and may be litigated in the state or federal courts located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. All other Disputes shall be arbitrated or litigated in small claims court. This section does not prevent you or Foundation from participating in a class-wide settlement of claims.
15.5 Rules and Forum. This Agreement evidences a transaction involving interstate commerce; and notwithstanding any other provision herein with respect to the applicable substantive law, the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., will govern the interpretation and enforcement of this Arbitration Agreement and any arbitration proceedings. If the Informal Dispute Resolution process described above does not resolve satisfactorily within sixty (60) days after receipt of your Notice, you and Foundation agree that either party shall have the right to finally resolve the Dispute through binding arbitration. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), in accordance with the Consumer Arbitration Rules (the “AAA Rules”) then in effect, except as modified by this section of this Arbitration Agreement. The AAA Rules are currently available at https://www.adr.org/sites/default/files/Consumer%20Rules.pdf.
A party who wishes to initiate arbitration must provide the other party with a request for arbitration (the “Request”). The Request must include: (1) the name, telephone number, mailing address, e‐mail address of the party seeking arbitration and the account username (if applicable) as well as the email address associated with any applicable Account; (2) a statement of the legal claims being asserted and the factual bases of those claims; (3) a description of the remedy sought and an accurate, good‐faith calculation of the amount in controversy in United States dollars; (4) a statement certifying completion of the Informal Dispute Resolution process as described above; and (5) evidence that the requesting party has paid any necessary filing fees in connection with such arbitration.
If the party requesting arbitration is represented by counsel, the Request shall also include counsel’s name, telephone number, mailing address, and email address. Such counsel must also sign the Request. By signing the Request, counsel certifies to the best of counsel’s knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances, that: (1) the Request is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of dispute resolution; (2) the claims, defenses and other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law; and (3) the factual and damages contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery.
Unless you and Foundation otherwise agree, or the Batch Arbitration process discussed in Section 15.9 (Batch Arbitration) is triggered, the arbitration will be conducted in the county where you reside. Subject to the AAA Rules, the arbitrator may direct a limited and reasonable exchange of information between the parties, consistent with the expedited nature of the arbitration. If the AAA is not available to arbitrate, the parties will select an alternative arbitral forum. Your responsibility to pay any AAA fees and costs will be solely set forth in the applicable AAA Rules.
You and Foundation agree that all materials and documents exchanged during the arbitration proceedings shall be kept confidential and shall not be shared with anyone except the parties’ attorneys, accountants, or business advisors, and shall be subject to the condition that they agree to keep all materials and documents exchanged during the arbitration proceedings confidential.
15.6 Arbitrator. The arbitrator will be either a retired judge or an attorney licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia and will be selected by the parties from the AAA’s roster of consumer dispute arbitrators. If the parties are unable to agree upon an arbitrator within thirty-five (35) days of delivery of the Request, then the AAA will appoint the arbitrator in accordance with the AAA Rules, provided that if the Batch Arbitration process under Section 15.9 (Batch Arbitration) is triggered, the AAA will appoint the arbitrator for each batch.
15.7 Authority of Arbitrator. The arbitrator shall have exclusive authority to resolve any Dispute, including, without limitation, disputes arising out of or related to the interpretation or application of the Arbitration Agreement, including the enforceability, revocability, scope, or validity of the Arbitration Agreement or any portion of the Arbitration Agreement, except for the following: (1) all Disputes arising out of or relating to Section 15.4 (Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief), including any claim that all or part of Section 15.4 (Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief) is unenforceable, illegal, void or voidable, or that such Section 15.4 (Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief) has been breached, shall be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator; (2) except as expressly contemplated in Section 15.9 (Batch Arbitration), all Disputes about the payment of arbitration fees shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator; (3) all Disputes about whether either party has satisfied any condition precedent to arbitration shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator; and (4) all Disputes about which version of the Arbitration Agreement applies shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator. The arbitration proceeding will not be consolidated with any other matters or joined with any other cases or parties, except as expressly provided in Section 15.9 (Batch Arbitration). The arbitrator shall have the authority to grant motions dispositive of all or part of any Dispute. The arbitrator shall issue a written award and statement of decision describing the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based, including the calculation of any damages awarded. The award of the arbitrator is final and binding upon you and us. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.
15.8 Attorneys’ Fees and Costs. The parties shall bear their own attorneys’ fees and costs in arbitration unless the arbitrator finds that either the substance of the Dispute or the relief sought in the Request was frivolous or was brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)). If you or Foundation need to invoke the authority of a court of competent jurisdiction to compel arbitration, then the party that obtains an order compelling arbitration in such action shall have the right to collect from the other party its reasonable costs, necessary disbursements, and reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred in securing an order compelling arbitration. The prevailing party in any court action relating to whether either party has satisfied any condition precedent to arbitration, including the Informal Dispute Resolution process, is entitled to recover their reasonable costs, necessary disbursements, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
15.9 Batch Arbitration. To increase the efficiency of administration and resolution of arbitrations, you and Foundation agree that in the event that there are one-hundred (100) or more individual Requests of a substantially similar nature filed against Foundation by or with the assistance of the same law firm, group of law firms, or organizations, within a thirty (30) day period (or as soon as possible thereafter), the AAA shall (1) administer the arbitration demands in batches of 100 Requests per batch (plus, to the extent there are less than 100 Requests left over after the batching described above, a final batch consisting of the remaining Requests); (2) appoint one arbitrator for each batch; and (3) provide for the resolution of each batch as a single consolidated arbitration with one set of filing and administrative fees due per side per batch, one procedural calendar, one hearing (if any) in a place to be determined by the arbitrator, and one final award (“Batch Arbitration”).
All parties agree that Requests are of a “substantially similar nature” if they arise out of or relate to the same event or factual scenario and raise the same or similar legal issues and seek the same or similar relief. To the extent the parties disagree on the application of the Batch Arbitration process, the disagreeing party shall advise the AAA, and the AAA shall appoint a sole standing arbitrator to determine the applicability of the Batch Arbitration process (“Administrative Arbitrator”). In an effort to expedite resolution of any such dispute by the Administrative Arbitrator, the parties agree the Administrative Arbitrator may set forth such procedures as are necessary to resolve any disputes promptly. The Administrative Arbitrator’s fees shall be paid by Foundation.
You and Foundation agree to cooperate in good faith with the AAA to implement the Batch Arbitration process including the payment of single filing and administrative fees for batches of Requests, as well as any steps to minimize the time and costs of arbitration, which may include: (1) the appointment of a discovery special master to assist the arbitrator in the resolution of discovery disputes; and (2) the adoption of an expedited calendar of the arbitration proceedings.
This Batch Arbitration provision shall in no way be interpreted as authorizing a class, collective and/or mass arbitration or action of any kind, or arbitration involving joint or consolidated claims under any circumstances, except as expressly set forth in this provision.
15.10 30-Day Right to Opt Out. You have the right to opt out of the provisions of this Arbitration Agreement by sending written notice of your decision to opt out to: Focused Ultrasound Foundation, 1230 Cedars Court, Suite 206, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, within thirty (30) days after first becoming subject to this Arbitration Agreement. Your notice must include your name and address, the email address associated with your Account (if you have one), and an unequivocal statement that you want to opt out of this Arbitration Agreement. If you opt out of this Arbitration Agreement, all other parts of this Agreement will continue to apply to you. Opting out of this Arbitration Agreement has no effect on any other arbitration agreements that you may currently have, or may enter in the future, with us.
15.11 Invalidity, Expiration. Except as provided in Section 15.4 (Waiver of Class or Other Non-Individualized Relief), if any part or parts of this Arbitration Agreement are found under the law to be invalid or unenforceable, then such specific part or parts shall be of no force and effect and shall be severed and the remainder of the Arbitration Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. You further agree that any Dispute that you have with Foundation as detailed in this Arbitration Agreement must be initiated via arbitration within the applicable statute of limitation for that claim or controversy, or it will be forever time barred. Likewise, you agree that all applicable statutes of limitation will apply to such arbitration in the same manner as those statutes of limitation would apply in the applicable court of competent jurisdiction.
15.12 Modification. Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, we agree that if Foundation makes any future material change to this Arbitration Agreement, we will notify you. Unless you reject the change within thirty (30) days of such change become effective by writing to Foundation at 1230 Cedars Court, Suite 206, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, your continued use of the Service, including the acceptance of products and services offered on the Service following the posting of changes to this Arbitration Agreement constitutes your acceptance of any such changes. Changes to this Arbitration Agreement do not provide you with a new opportunity to opt out of the Arbitration Agreement if you have previously agreed to a version of this Agreement and did not validly opt out of arbitration. If you reject any change or update to this Arbitration Agreement, and you were bound by an existing agreement to arbitrate Disputes arising out of or relating in any way to your access to or use of the Service, any communications you receive, any products sold or distributed through the Service or this Agreement, the provisions of this Arbitration Agreement as of the date you first accepted this Agreement (or accepted any subsequent changes to this Agreement) remain in full force and effect. Foundation will continue to honor any valid opt outs of the Arbitration Agreement that you made to a prior version of this Agreement.
THESE TERMS ARE GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF VIRGINIA. YOUR ELECTRONIC ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS CONSTITUTE A VALID AND BINDING AGREEMENT. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, YOU CAN CONTACT US AT INFO@FUSFOUNDATION.ORG. - GENERAL PROVISIONS.
16.1 Electronic Communications. The communications between you and Foundation may take place via electronic means, whether you visit the Service or send Foundation emails, or whether Foundation posts notices on the Service or communicates with you via email. For contractual purposes, you (i) consent to receive communications from Foundation in an electronic form; and (ii) agree that all terms and conditions, agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that Foundation electronically provides to you satisfy any legal requirement that such communications would satisfy if it were to be in writing. The foregoing does not affect your statutory rights, including but not limited to the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act at 15 U.S.C. §7001 et seq. (“E-Sign”).
16.2 Assignment. The Agreement, and your rights and obligations hereunder, may not be assigned, subcontracted, delegated or otherwise transferred by you without Foundation’s prior written consent. Foundation may, without your consent, freely assign and transfer this Agreement, including any of its rights, obligations, or licenses granted under this Agreement. Any attempted assignment, subcontract, delegation, or transfer in violation of the foregoing will be null and void.
16.3 Force Majeure. Foundation shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes outside its reasonable control, including, but not limited to, acts of God, war, terrorism, riots, embargos, acts of civil or military authorities, fire, floods, accidents, pandemics, strikes or shortages of transportation facilities, fuel, energy, labor or materials.
16.4 Questions, Complaints, Claims. If you have any questions, complaints or claims with respect to the Service, please contact us at: info@fusfoundation.org or Focused Ultrasound Foundation, 1230 Cedars Court, Suite 206, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903. We will do our best to address your concerns. If you feel that your concerns have been addressed incompletely, we invite you to let us know for further investigation.
16.5 Consumer Complaints. In accordance with California Civil Code §1789.3, you may report complaints to the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Service of the California Department of Consumer Affairs by contacting them in writing at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, CA 95834, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210.
16.6 Agreement Updates. When changes are made, Foundation will make a new copy of this Terms of Use and/or Supplemental Terms, as applicable, available on the Service, and we will also update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this Agreement. If we make any material changes and you have registered an Account with us, we will also send an email with an updated copy of this Agreement to you at the email address associated with your Account. Unless otherwise stated in such update, any changes to this Agreement will be effective immediately for users without an Account and thirty (30) days after posting for users with an Account. Foundation may require you to provide consent to the updated Agreement in a specified manner before further use of the Service is permitted. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ANY CHANGE(S) AFTER RECEIVING A NOTICE OF SUCH CHANGE(S), YOU SHALL STOP USING THE SERVICE.
16.7 Exclusive Venue. To the extent the parties are permitted under this Agreement to initiate litigation in a court, both you and Foundation agree that all claims and disputes arising out of or relating to this Agreement will be litigated exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Charlottesville, Virginia.
16.8 Governing Law. THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY ACTION RELATED THERETO WILL BE GOVERNED AND INTERPRETED BY AND UNDER THE LAWS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, CONSISTENT WITH THE FEDERAL ARBITRATION ACT, WITHOUT GIVING EFFECT TO ANY PRINCIPLES THAT PROVIDE FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF ANOTHER JURISDICTION. THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON CONTRACTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SALE OF GOODS DOES NOT APPLY TO THE AGREEMENT.
16.9 Notice. Where Foundation requires that you provide an email address, you are responsible for providing Foundation with a valid and current email address. In the event that the email address you provide to Foundation is not valid, or for any reason is not capable of delivering to you any notices required by this Agreement, Foundation’s dispatch of the email containing such notice will nonetheless constitute effective notice. You may give notice to Foundation at the following address: Focused Ultrasound Foundation, 1230 Cedars Court, Suite 206, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903. Such notice shall be deemed given when received by Foundation by letter delivered by nationally recognized overnight delivery service or first class postage prepaid mail at the above address.
16.10 Waiver. Any waiver or failure to enforce any provision of this Agreement on one occasion will not be deemed a waiver of any other provision or of such provision on any other occasion.
16.11 Severability. If any portion of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion must be construed in a manner to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intention of the parties, and the remaining portions must remain in full force and effect.
16.12 Export Control. You may not use, export, import, or transfer the Service except as authorized by U.S. law, the laws of the jurisdiction in which you obtained the Service, and any other applicable laws. In particular, but without limitation, the Service may not be exported or re-exported (i) into any United States embargoed countries, or (ii) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Denied Person’s List or Entity List. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that (A) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a “terrorist supporting” country and (B) you are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties. You also will not use the Service for any purpose prohibited by U.S. law, including the development, design, manufacture or production of missiles, nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. You acknowledge and agree that products, services or technology provided by Foundation are subject to the export control laws and regulations of the United States. You shall comply with these laws and regulations and shall not, without prior U.S. government authorization, export, re-export, or transfer Foundation products, services or technology, either directly or indirectly, to any country in violation of such laws and regulations.
16.13 Entire Agreement. The Agreement is the final, complete and exclusive agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes and merges all prior discussions between the parties with respect to such subject matter.
End of Agreement