Terms of Service

Preamble

Please read the following Terms of Service (hereinafter “Agreement”) carefully before accessing or using this website (hereinafter “Website”).
The Website is offered subject to your acceptance without modification of all of the terms and conditions contained herein and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne’s Blue Brain Project (EPFL-BBP) Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines and procedures that may be published from time to time on this Website by Ecole Polythechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (collectively, the “Agreement”).
By accessing or using any part of the Website, you (hereinafter “You” or “User”) agree to become bound by the terms and conditions of this Agreement. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, THEN YOU MAY NOT ACCESS THE WEBSITE, POST MATERIAL ON THE WEBSITE OR DOWNLOAD MATERIAL ON THE WEBSITE OR USE ANY SERVICES.

Ownership and Operation of Website

The Website is owned and operated by the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Blue Brain Project (EPFL-BBP), Switzerland.

Scope of the Terms of Service

The following terms and conditions of this Agreement govern all use of the forum.humanbrainproject.eu website and all content, services and products available at or through the website, including, but not limited to, forum.humanbrainproject.eu Forum Software, forum.humanbrainproject.eu Support Forums (taken together, the Website).

Amendments to the Terms of Service

EPFL reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace any part of this Agreement at any time, without prior notice. It is your responsibility to check this Agreement periodically for changes. YOUR CONTINUED USE OF OR ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE FOLLOWING THE POSTING OF ANY CHANGES TO THIS AGREEMENT CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF THOSE CHANGES. EPFL may also, in the future, offer new services and/or features through the Website (including, the release of new tools and resources). Such new features and/or services shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

Purpose of the Website

The Website for the sole purpose of informal information exchange for scientific collaboration with other users. Use of the website for other purposes is allowed at the discretion of the operator. Use of the site for scientific collaboration does not constitute a formal research collaboration or imply any other relationship between site users.

Creation of an account – user’s responsibility

Some of the services available on this Website require prior registration. You must provide correct and complete information when registering, and update it if necessary. You must not misuse any access authorisation granted to You (for example by transferring data to unauthorised third persons). By registering, You agree to being contacted by the EPFL-BBP by e mail.
If You create an account on the Website, You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and You are fully responsible for all activities that occur under the account. You must immediately notify EPFL-BBP of any unauthorized uses of your account or any other breaches of security. EPFL-BBP will not be liable for any acts or omissions by You, including any damages of any kind incurred as a result of such acts or omissions.

User contributions

If You post material to the Website, post links on the Website, or otherwise make (or allow any third party to make) material available by means of the Website (any such material, “Content”), You are entirely responsible for the content of, and any harm resulting from, that Content, regardless the format of the Content (e.g. text, graphics, an audio file, or computer software).

In particular:

• If part of a Human Brain Project (HBP) Partner, You must ensure that You have complied with all obligations arising out of any agreement related to the HBP before posting any Content on the Website (e.g. confidentiality obligations, obligations related to review of planned publications, obligations related to intellectual property);
• You must ensure that you have fully complied with any third-party licenses relating to the Content, and have done all things necessary to successfully pass through to end users any required terms;
• You must ensure that, if your employer has rights to intellectual property You create, You have either (i) received permission from your employer to post or make available the Content, including but not limited to any software, or (ii) secured from your employer a waiver as to all rights in or to the Content;
• You may not upload or transmit any material that infringes or misappropriates any person’s or entity’s copyright, patent, trademark, or trade secret, or disclose via the the Website any information the disclosure of which would constitute a violation of any confidentiality obligations You may have;
• You have, in the case of Content that includes computer code, accurately categorized and/or described the type, nature, uses and effects of the materials, whether requested to do so by EPFL or otherwise;
• You may not upload any viruses, worms, Trojan horses, or other forms of harmful computer code, nor subject the Website’s network or servers to unreasonable traffic loads, or otherwise engage in conduct deemed disruptive to the ordinary operation of the Website;
• You are strictly prohibited from communicating on or through the Website any unlawful, harmful, offensive, threatening, abusive, libelous, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, profane, hateful, fraudulent, or otherwise objectionable material of any sort, including, but not limited to, any material that encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national, or international law.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, EPFL-BBP does not want to receive confidential or proprietary information from You through the Website. Any material, information, or other communication You transmit or post to the Website will be considered non-confidential.

EPFL-BBP has the right (though not the obligation) to, at EPFL-BBP’s sole discretion, (i) refuse or remove any content that, in EPFL-BBP’s reasonable opinion, violates any EPFL-BBP policy or is in any way harmful or objectionable, or (ii) terminate or deny access to and use of the Website to any individual or entity for any reason.

Links to other websites

The Website may have links to third party websites. Such links to third party websites lie outside the scope of responsibility of EPFL-BBP.
By linking to a non-forum.humanbrainproject.eu website or webpage, EPFL-BBP does not represent or imply that it endorses such website or webpage. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. EPFL-BBP disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from your use of non-forum.humanbrainproject.eu websites and webpages. Access and use of such websites occurs entirely at the your own risk. EPFL-BBP expressly states that it has no influence whatsoever over the content of any linked site. Responsibility for information and services of linked sites rests entirely with the relevant third parties. EPFL-BBP can in no case be held liable in respect of the content of such websites.

Intellectual Property

This Agreement does not transfer from EPFL-BBP to You any EPFL-BBP or third party intellectual property on or license to use any Content, and all right, title and interest in and to such property will remain solely with EPFL-BBP or such third party as the case may be. Your use of the Website grants You no right or license to reproduce or otherwise use any EPFL-BBP or third-party trademarks.

General warranty by User

You represent and warrant that (i) your use of the Website will be in strict accordance with the EPFL-BBP Privacy Policy, Community Guidelines, with this Agreement and with all applicable laws and regulations and (ii) your use of the Website will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party.

Indemnification by User

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless EPFL-BBP, and its respective directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any and all claims and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of your use of the Website, including but not limited to your violation of this Agreement.

No warranty

The Website and its Content are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. EPFL-BBP makes no warranty of any kind, express or implied, as to the Website, including, but not limited to:

  • warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose;
  • warranties of non-infringement of intellectual property;
  • warranties that the Website will meet your requirements;
  • warranties that your use of the Website will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error free;
  • warranties as to the results that may be obtained from the use of the Website.
  • warranties as to the operation of the Website or the information, Content, materials, or products included on the Website.

By operating the Website, EPFL-BBP does not represent or imply that it endorses the material there posted, or that it believes such material to be accurate, useful or non-harmful. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. The Website may contain content that is offensive, indecent, or otherwise objectionable, as well as content containing technical inaccuracies, typographical mistakes, and other errors. The Website may also contain material that violates the privacy or publicity rights, or infringes the intellectual property and other proprietary rights, of third parties, or the downloading, copying or use of which is subject to additional terms and conditions, stated or unstated.

You understand and agree that any content downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of the Website is at your own discretion and risk and that you will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data or business interruption that results from the download of content. EPFL-BBP shall not be responsible for any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information or ideas contained, suggested or referenced in or appearing on the Website. Your participation in the Website is solely at your own risk. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by you from EPFL-BBP or through EPFL-BBP, its employees, or third parties shall create any warranty not expressly made herein. You acknowledge, by your use of the Website, that your use of the Website is at your sole risk.

Limitation of liability

In the event that under applicable law, EPFL-BBP may be liable for any direct damages arising out of this Agreement, such liability will be limited to acts of fraud or gross negligence.
Under no circumstances and under no legal or equitable theory, whether in tort, contract, negligence, strict liability or otherwise, will EPFL-BBP, its suppliers or licensors be liable to user or to any other person for any indirect, special, incidental or consequential losses or damages of any nature arising out of or in connection with the use of or inability to use the Website or for any breach of security associated with the transmission of sensitive information through the Website or for any information obtained through the website, including, without limitation, damages for lost profits, loss of goodwill, loss or corruption of data, work stoppage, accuracy of results, or computer failure or malfunction, even if an authorized representative of EPFL-BBP has been advised of or should have known of the possibility of such damages.

Severability

If any provision of this Agreement is for any reason held to be illegal, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the provisions shall continue to be valid and enforceable.

Termination

EPFL-BBP may terminate your access to all or any part of the Website at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. If You wish to terminate this Agreement or your forum.humanbrainproject.eu account (if you have one), you may simply discontinue using the Website. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

Governing law/jurisdiction

This Agreement is governed by the substantive laws of Switzerland, without regards to principles of conflicts of laws thereof.
Any controversy, claim or dispute between EPFL-BBP and you arising out of or in relation with this Agreement shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the ordinary courts of the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland.