Terms of Use.

PLEASE READ ALL OF THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE (“TOU”) FOR THE DAKOTA-PROJECT.ORG WEB SITE (“Website”) BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE. By continuing to access, link to, or use this Website, including but not limited to text, content, photographs, video, audio and graphics, services, and goods (the “Service”), you signify YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE TOU. The Dakota Project and each of their respective affiliates, Suppliers (as defined below), partners and representatives, as applicable (“we” or “us”) reserves the right to modify the TOU at any time, and such modifications shall be effective immediately. Please continue to review the TOU whenever accessing, linking to, or using this Website. Your access, link to, or use of the Website, or any service on this Website, after the posting of modifications to the TOU will constitute YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE TOU, as modified. If, at any time, you do not wish to accept the TOU, you may not access, link to, or use this Website.

1. USE AND RESTRICTIONS:

(a) References to “you” mean the user of the Service individually (unless otherwise stated on the Service or on the TOU) and, if applicable, any entity or individual who is the employer of the user or for whom the user acts as an agent (“employer”). You represent, warrant, and covenant that you are authorized by your employer to use the Service.

(b) You acquire absolutely no rights or licenses in or to the Service and materials contained within the Service other than the limited right for you to access and use the Service in accordance with the TOU.

(c) You represent, warrant, and covenant that you are (i) at least eighteen (18) years old; and (ii) shall use the Service only as set forth in this TOU. If you are at least eighteen (18) years old and you have not reached the age of majority in your jurisdiction, you may only use the Services if your parent or guardian consents to your use of the Services, assumes the obligations provided in the TOU, and assumes full responsibility for your use of the Services. You agree to comply with any other applicable terms and conditions of use set forth on the Service. When using the Service, you shall not impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity. This Website is controlled and operated within the United States. We do not represent that materials in the Service are appropriate or available for use in any particular location. Those who choose to access the Service do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with all applicable laws.

(d) You may not use the Service for any illegal purpose, to facilitate the violation of any law or regulation, or in a manner inconsistent with this TOU. You agree that your use of the Service is solely for your own personal, non-commercial purposes and benefit and, if applicable, for your employer’s own non-commercial purposes and benefit. You may not reproduce, recompile, decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, distribute, publish, display, perform, modify, upload to, create derivative works from, download, or in any way exploit any part of the Service, except as set forth in the TOU or as explicitly specified in the Service.

(e) You may not access, monitor, or copy any content or information on the Service using any robot, spider, scraper, web crawler, or other automated means or any similar manual process. You may not violate the restrictions in any robot exclusion headers on the Service, if any, or bypass or circumvent other measures employed to prevent or limit access to the Service. You may not violate the security of the Service or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service or computer systems or networks connected to the Service through any means.

2. SUBMISSIONS:

(a) When using the Service, including but not limited to the sharing functions, you shall not send, submit, upload, post, or other otherwise make available any material that (i) infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party; (ii) is unlawful, harassing, libelous, offensive, obscene, hateful, pornographic, violent, insulting, threatening, abusive, misleading, deceptive, or racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable; (iii) contains any commercial, promotional, or solicitation information; (iv) contains software viruses, worms, or any other harmful, invasive, or corrupted files, including but not limited to those designed to interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer; or (v) contains personally identifiable information of another person.

(b) If you send, submit, upload, post, or otherwise make available material to the Service or its representatives, including, without limitation, photographs, comments, information, text, video, feedback, creative ideas, suggestions, or other materials (each a “Submission” and collectively, the “Submissions”), unless we indicate otherwise, you hereby grant us a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, and display any Submission, in whole or in part, throughout the world in any form, media, or technology now known or hereafter developed, including all promotion, marketing, publicity, and any other uses thereof, without notice or attribution to you or any other entity or person and without obtaining any further permission or license or making any payment whatsoever, and you acknowledge that we have no obligation to use your Submission. You grant us the right to use the name, voice, and/or likeness that you submit in connection with such Submission and all intellectual property and other proprietary rights included in the Submission. Our long-standing company policy does not allow us to accept, view, or consider unsolicited Submissions. In connection with any Submissions – whether or not solicited by us – you agree that creative ideas, suggestions, or other materials you submit are not being made in confidence or trust and that no confidential, contractual, or fiduciary relationship is intended or created between you and us in any way, and that you have no expectation of review, compensation, or consideration of any type. You explicitly agree and acknowledge that any unsolicited Submission is in no way conditioned on an express or implied promise to pay for the idea if used, and we do not and will not accept any unsolicited Submissions under such conditions.

(c) You represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the Submission, and that you have a valid and enforceable license from all creators of such materials, and all persons identified in your Submission to use and sublicense such materials herein; that the Submission is truthful and accurate; and that use of the material you supply does not violate the TOU and will not cause injury to any person or entity. You represent and warrant that you will indemnify us and our respective owners, members, agents, directors, officers, employees, representatives, affiliates, successors, and assigns for all claims resulting from the Submission. You hereby waive all copyright, trademark, right of publicity or privacy, and all other claims or causes of action against us and our respective owners, members, agents, directors, officers, employees, representatives, affiliates, successors, and assigns. We take no responsibility and assume no liability for any Submission by you or any third party. You agree that any physical copy of your Submission shall be deemed, and shall remain, our property. You agree that you shall not be entitled for any reason to terminate or rescind this license and release, nor to enjoin, restrain, or otherwise impair the exercise of any rights and privileges granted hereunder.

(d) We retain the right, which we may or may not exercise in our sole discretion, to review, edit, or delete any material submitted which we, in our sole discretion, deem illegal, offensive, abusive, in violation of the TOU, or otherwise inappropriate or unacceptable. Any material you submit to this Service or its representatives or partners is not confidential or proprietary and we shall be under no obligation to maintain the confidentiality of any content you submit.

3. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:

The Service is protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, international treaties, and/or other proprietary rights and laws of the U.S. and other countries. The Service is also protected as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and treaties. All individual articles, columns, and other elements making up the Service are also copyrighted works. You agree to abide by all applicable copyright and other laws, as well as any additional copyright notices or restrictions contained in the Service. 

4. LINKING AND FRAMING:

You may not frame this Website or any portion or page of this Website. You may not archive, cache, or mirror any page or portion of a page of this Website. You may not include a link(s) on your website to this Website, or any page or portion of the Website, without our written permission. To request permission to link to this Website, please contact connect@dakota-project.org. If you receive permission to link to this Website, you may not link to this Website any website containing inappropriate, profane, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, or unlawful topics, names, or material or information that violates any applicable intellectual property, proprietary, privacy, or publicity rights. If you link to this Website, you may not portray any person or subject in a false or misleading light. 

6. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES/LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY:

(a) YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” AND THAT WE MAKE NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE SERVICE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, MERCHANTABILITY, NON- INFRINGEMENT, TITLE, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE.

(b) We do not warrant that the Service is compatible with your equipment or that the Service, or email sent by us or our representative, is free of errors or viruses, worms or “Trojan horses,” or any other harmful, invasive, or corrupted files, and we shall not be liable for any damage you may suffer as a result of such destructive features. You agree that we and our respective owners, members, agents, directors, officers, employees, representatives, affiliates, successors, and assigns shall have no responsibility or liability for: (i) any injury or damages, whether caused by our negligence or that of our respective owners, members, agents, directors, officers, employees, representatives, affiliates, successors, and assigns or otherwise arising in connection with the Service and shall not be liable for any lost profits, losses, punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, or any claim against us; or (ii) any fault, inaccuracy, omission, delay, or any other failure in the Service caused by your computer equipment or arising from your use of the Service on such equipment.

(c) The content of other websites, services, goods, or advertisements that may be linked to or from the Service is not maintained or controlled by us. We are therefore not responsible for the availability, content, or accuracy of other websites, services, or goods that may be linked to or from the Service. 

(d) UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO NEGLIGENCE, SHALL WE OR OUR RESPECTIVE OWNERS, MEMBERS, AGENTS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, AFFILIATES, SUCCESSORS, AND ASSIGNEES BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED SPECIFICALLY OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, ARISING FROM USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE OR ANY LINKS OR ITEMS ON THE SERVICE OR ANY PROVISION OF THE TOU. APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.

(e) In the event you have a dispute with one or more users of the Website, you release us and our respective owners, members, agents, directors, officers, employees, representatives, affiliates, successors, and assignees from any claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorney’s and expert’s fees, arising out of or in connection with such dispute.

7. INDEMNIFICATION:

You agree, at your own expense, to indemnify, defend and hold us and our respective owners, members, agents, directors, officers, employees, representatives, affiliates, successors, and assigns against any claim, suit, action or other proceeding, from and against any and all claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorney’s and expert’s fees, arising out of or in connection with the Service, or any links on the Service, including, but not limited: (a) any breach or violation of the TOU by you or someone using your computer; (b) material entered into or transmitted through the Service with the use of your computer; (c) your use or someone using your computer’s use of the Service; (d) a claim that any use of the Service by you or someone using your computer infringes any Intellectual Property Right of any third party, or any right of privacy or publicity, is libelous or defamatory, or otherwise results in injury or damage to any third party; or (e) any deletions, additions, insertions or alterations to, or any unauthorized use of, the Service by you or someone using your computer. You agree to pay any and all costs, damages, and expenses, including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs awarded against or otherwise incurred by or in connection with or arising from any such claim, suit, action, or proceeding attributable to any such claim. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will fully cooperate with us in asserting any available defense.

8. TERM AND TERMINATION:

(a) You may terminate the TOU, with or without cause and at any time, by discontinuing your use of the Service and destroying all materials obtained from the Service.

(b) We shall have the right immediately to terminate the TOU in the event of any breach by you of the TOU. We may discontinue the Service, or change its availability to you, at any time in our sole discretion. You accept that we have the right to change the content or technical specifications of any aspect of the Service at any time in our sole discretion. You further accept that such changes may result in your being unable to access the Service.

(c) We shall not be liable to you or any third party for the termination or suspension of the Service, or any claims related to the termination or suspension of the Service. Upon termination of the TOU by you or us, you must discontinue your use of the Service and promptly destroy all materials obtained from the Service and any copies thereof.
 
10. GOVERNING LAW:

The TOU shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States and the State of New York, without giving effect to conflicts-of-law principles thereof. You agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in New York County in the State of New York with respect to any legal proceedings that may arise from or are in any way connected to the Service, or from a dispute as to the interpretation or breach of the TOU, and you hereby waive any objection to the propriety or convenience of venue is such courts.

11. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS:

When you visit this Website and when you communicate with us electronically, you consent to receive communications from us electronically and electronically to sign documents. You agree that all notices, disclosures, and other communications we provide to you electronically shall satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. You agree that you have the ability to store such electronic communications such that they remain accessible to you in an unchanged form. We will retain a copy of any agreement or document you sign electronically, including through this Website, and you are responsible for retaining a copy of any agreement or document you sign electronically, including through this Website.

12. ASSIGNMENT/DELEGATION:

You may not assign or transfer the TOU or the rights hereunder, including but not limited to, the limited right for you to access or use the Service in accordance with the TOU. We may assign the TOU to an affiliated entity, partner, or any third party. You acknowledge and agree that we may delegate certain of our responsibilities, obligations, and duties under or in connection with the TOU to an affiliated entity, partner, or any third party, which may discharge those responsibilities, obligations, and duties on behalf of us.

13. PARTIES/THIRD-PARTY BENEFICIARIES:

You recognize that we and our affiliated entities (together, the “Covered Entities”), each have rights with respect to the Service, including the information and other items provided by us and the Covered Entities by reason of your use of the Service. The TOU shall be for the benefit of the Covered Entities and the respective affiliates, successors, assigns, officers, directors, employees, Suppliers, and representatives of the Covered Entities.

14. TRADEMARKS:

You may not use any of our trademarks, trade names, service marks, copyrights, or logos, or our licensors’, the Covered Entities’, or their licensors’ trademarks, trade names, service marks, copyrights, or logos, including without limitation, THE DAKOTA PROJECT, in any manner that creates the impression that such items (a) belong to or are associated with you or indicate the sponsorship or approval of us, our licensors, any Covered Entity, or their licensors; or (b) except as otherwise provided herein, are used with our, our licensors’, the Covered Entities’, or their licensors’ consent, and you acknowledge that you have no ownership rights in or to any of such items.

15. GENERAL:

The TOU and any other terms and conditions of service on the Service, and its successor, constitute the entire agreement between you and us and govern your use of the Service. The section titles in the TOU are used solely for the convenience of you and us and have no legal or contractual significance. Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the TOU shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of the TOU is found invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the other provisions of the TOU will remain in force.

Privacy Policy.

This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) applies to information collected through www.dakota-project.org, and other products and services, including websites, mobile apps, registration forms, and other digital properties, as expressly indicated by The Dakota Project (as defined below) such as through a link or other display of this Privacy Policy (collectively, “this Site”). By visiting and/or using this Site, you have agreed to this Privacy Policy.

The Dakota Project (“we” or “us”) reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time by posting revisions to this Site. Such changes will be effective upon posting.

WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

We and third parties working on our behalf collect personal information through this Site, which may include, but is not limited to, when you fill out the “Contact Us” form or provide information for a grant application or event registration. Personal information may include, but is not limited to, name, address, e-mail address, IP address, or other similar identifiers. If you do not provide certain personal information, not all functionality on this Site may be available.

We, third parties working on our behalf (e.g., service providers), and third parties with whom we work (e.g., our partners), may place, view, and/or use “cookies,” web server logs, web beacons, and other electronic mechanisms to collect information about your use of this Site, and other digital properties. This information may include, but is not limited to, information about the IP address of your computer, browser type, language, device information, location data, operating system, the state or country from which you accessed this Site, the web pages and content visited, the date and the time of a visit, the sites you visited immediately before and after visiting this Site, the number of links you click within this Site, the functions you use on this Site and other information about how you use this Site.

We and the third parties and partners with whom we work may use the information collected for various reasons, including research, analysis, to better serve visitors to this Site, to compile or use aggregate and anonymous information about usage of this Site, other statistics etc. Most browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually set your browser to disable cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. However, note that portions of this Site may not function properly if you disable cookies.

We require that users under 18 years of age or under the age of majority in their jurisdiction not submit personal information. In accordance with the U.S. federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”), we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. We encourage parents to participate actively in their children’s Internet experience.

Do not provide information about others unless you are authorized to do so and consent to have all information used, disclosed, and transferred in accordance with this Privacy Policy. By submitting the information about others, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to do so and that you have received authorization from the person about whom you are providing the information and that person has consented to have all information used, disclosed, and transferred in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

USE AND DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We may share your information with designated service providers, including for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We may share with other third parties information about our Site users, such as your use of this Site, other sites and digital properties, and the services provided on this Site, other sites and other digital properties, but only on an unattributed and aggregate basis.

We may also disclose your information if we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary: (a) to comply with the law or in response to a subpoena, court order, government request, or other legal process; (b) to produce relevant documents or information in connection with litigation, arbitration, mediation, adjudication, government, or internal investigations, or other legal or administrative proceedings; (c) to protect the interests, rights, safety, or property of us, any member of us, or others; (d) to monitor compliance with and enforce any terms of service on this Site; (e) to provide our services and products (including in connection with the transfer of any assets or allowing a purchaser or successor of us or any member of us, any organization, or this Site to continue to serve you), and to perform other activities related to such services and products; (f) to provide you with information about our products and services and those of third parties that may be of interest to you; or (g) to operate the systems that provide our services and products properly.

We may share your personal information with third parties who perform services on our behalf and to respond to your request or inquiry. We may also share your personal information with partners, affiliates, and/or third parties interested in serving you or informing you about their companies or organizations. You may instruct us at any time not to share your personal information with such partners, affiliates, and/or third parties by contacting us at connect@dakota-project.org.

We are not responsible for the collection, use, and/or disclosure of your information by affiliates and third parties, including, but not limited to, our partners. Such collection, use, and/or disclosure by partners, affiliates, or third parties are governed by their privacy policies.

If you participate in certain features of this Site, please note that any information you or others voluntarily disclose through use of these features becomes available to the public and/or other users whom you have designated and will be visible to such individuals for their use. We are not responsible for the information that you or others choose to disclose publicly on this Site, and neither our use nor others’ use of such information is subject to this Privacy Policy.

We may use or disclose on this Site or elsewhere the information and contents of the material you submit, post, upload, or otherwise make available on this Site, such as in a grant application. You understand and agree that such information and contents of the material will not be treated as confidential by us. You further understand and agree that the outcome of any grant application that you submit will not be treated as confidential.

ACCURACY, SECURITY, AND RETENTION OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

Personal information is retained for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it is collected, including legitimate business reasons, and/or legal and regulatory requirements.

RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

Depending on the jurisdiction, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or restrict use of certain personal information covered by this Privacy Policy. Depending on the jurisdiction, you may also have the right to request that we refrain from processing personal information. Please bear in mind that if you make such a request this may affect our ability to provide our products and services. For inquiries about your personal information, please contact us at connect@dakota-project.org. Please include the following information in all requests: first name, last name, and e-mail address and “Privacy” in the Subject line. While we will make reasonable efforts to accommodate your request, we also reserve the right to impose certain restrictions and requirements on such requests, if allowed or required by applicable laws. Please note that it may take some time to process your request, consistent with applicable law.

TRANSFER OF PERSONAL INFORMATION TO OTHER COUNTRIES

Some of the uses and disclosures mentioned in this Privacy Policy may involve the transfer and processing of your personal information to and in various countries that may have different levels of privacy protection than your country. By using our products and services, you acknowledge and agree to the transfer of your information to the United States and other countries around the world that may not guarantee the same level of protection for such information as your country and to the processing of your information in these countries.

LINKS TO THIRD-PARTY SITES

This Site may contain links to third-party sites, including to social networking sites. We are not responsible for any personal information you may provide while on such sites. Any information provided on such sites is governed by the privacy policies of the third-party sites.

QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS PRIVACY POLICY

If you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at connect@dakota-project.org.