MEMBERSHIP TERMS

THE OPEN Foundation Community Platform Terms of Service

These terms were updated on 17 February, 2023. We are committed to modeling best practices as global privacy standards continue to evolve, with the goal of increasing transparency and strengthening consent across all of our systems, for all of our supporters worldwide. If you have questions or feedback regarding this process, please reach out to us at info@open-foundation.org. Hereafter, the term Platform refers to the OPEN Foundation Community Platform on Circle: https://community.open-foundation.org

1. Joining the OPEN Foundation Online Membership:

1. 1. Eligibility:

      1. To qualify for membership in the OPEN Foundation, you must be at least 18 years of age and possess the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement.

      2. The OPEN Foundation reserves the right to reject membership to any individual or entity for any reason, in its sole discretion.

   2. Membership:

      1. Upon being granted membership, you will have access to the OPEN Foundation Community Platform, where you will gain access to online resources, including but not limited to forums, newsletters, and special events.

      2. Membership is personal and non-transferable. You are not permitted to permit others to use your membership or any part of the OPEN Foundation Community Platform.

      3. The OPEN Foundation reserves the right to adjust membership benefits at any time and without notice.

   3. Fees and Payments:

      1. A membership fee is required to access the OPEN Foundation’s Community Platform. The current fee schedule can be found on the OPEN Foundation website.

      2. The membership fee must be paid in full and in advance for each membership term. The length of the membership term and payment options will be specified on the OPEN Foundation website.

      3. Failure to pay the membership fee in full may result in termination of your membership and access to the OPEN Foundation’s Community Platform

   4. Termination of Membership:

      1. You may cancel your membership at any time by giving written notice to the OPEN Foundation.

      2. The OPEN Foundation may terminate your membership at any time without notice if you breach any of these terms of service. 

      3. Termination of your membership will result in immediate termination of your access to the OPEN Foundation Community Platform

   5. Intellectual Property:

      1. All rights, title, and interest in and to the OPEN Foundation Community Platform, including but not limited to its logo, trademark, and copyrighted materials, are owned by the OPEN Foundation.

      2. You are not authorised to use the OPEN Foundation’s intellectual property without its prior written consent.

   6. Limitation of Liability:

      1. The OPEN Foundation makes no warranties or representations of any kind, either express or implied, as to the operation of its online resources or the information, content, materials, or products included on the OPEN Foundation website and the OPEN Foundation Community Platform.

      2. The OPEN Foundation will not be liable for any damages of any kind resulting from the use of its online resources, including but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, and consequential damages.

   7. General:

      1. These terms of service constitute the entire agreement between you and the OPEN Foundation and supersede all prior understandings and agreements, whether written or oral, relating to the subject matter of these terms of service.

      2. If any provision of these terms of service is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect. These terms of service are governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the OPEN Foundation is located.

   8. Changes to the Terms of Service:

      1. The OPEN Foundation reserves the right to amend these terms of service at any time without notice.

      2. Your continued use of the OPEN Foundation’s online resources and the OPEN Foundation Community Platform constitutes your acceptance of any changes to these terms of service.

2. User Responsibilities:

1. 1. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password, and for restricting access to your computer or device to prevent unauthorised access to your account.

   2. You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account, including any content that you upload or share through the OPEN Foundation Community Platform.

   3. You agree not to use the OPEN Foundation Community Platform for any illegal or unauthorised purpose, or to violate any laws in your jurisdiction.

   4. You agree not to transmit any viruses or malicious code that could harm the OPEN Foundation Community Platform or other users.

   5. You agree not to engage in any behaviour that could harm or disrupt the OPEN Foundation Community Platform or other users, including spamming, harassing, or impersonating others.

3. Privacy: 

1. 1. The OPEN Foundation is committed to protecting your privacy and personal data. We will collect, use, and protect your personal data in accordance with our privacy policy, which can be found on the OPEN Foundation website.

   2. By using the OPEN Foundation Community Platform, you agree to our privacy policy and the collection and use of your personal data in accordance with it.

   3. By using the OPEN Foundation Community Platform, you agree to subscribe to the OPEN-Minded Newsletter sent on a bi-weekly basis. You can easily unsubscribe from the footer of any email. 

   4. We may collect personal data such as your name, email address, and payment information, as well as information about your use of the OPEN Foundation Community Platform.

   5. We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, and we will not share or sell your personal data to third parties without your consent, except as required by law.

   6. You have the right to access, modify, or delete your personal data at any time by contacting the OPEN Foundation’s support team.

RESPONSIBILITY OF OPEN FOUNDATION

OPEN Foundation is responsible for the information presented in the Platform being reliable at the time of its publication. However, as time passes, new scientific and medical information arises that may cause the information shown on the Platform to lose its validity. Moreover, legal regulations with respect to the use of substances discussed on the Platform vary depending on the different jurisdictions of each country. It is recommended that the User carefully consult the appropriate sources in order to be informed of the current information in scientific, medical and legal matters. The contents of the Platform should not be used and are not intended to be used as a replacement for a personal consultation with doctors and lawyers.

The information offered on the Platform is exclusively for informational use and should not be used to diagnose a disease, medical condition or to prescribe any treatment whatsoever. The information contained on the Platform is not intended to encourage the use of ethnobotanicals. OPEN Foundation hereby warns specifically against the use of ethnobotanical materials without supervision of a professional guide, without adequate monitoring or without adequate personal evaluation with respect to potential damage or risk that their use could cause. OPEN Foundation declines any responsibility whatsoever for damages and losses of any kind that could arise with respect to any accident, injury or damage that could be suffered as a direct or indirect consequence of the use or application of any of the content appearing on the Platform.

OPEN Foundation will not be responsible for cases of interruption of service, connection errors, lack of availability or deficiencies in the internet access service, nor for interruptions in the internet connection or any other error or situation outside the control of OPEN Foundation.

OPEN Foundation is not responsible for security errors which could arise, nor for damages which could be caused to the User’s computer system (hardware and software) or to files or documents stored therein, as a consequence of:

• The presence of a virus on the User’s computer system or mobile terminal which could be used for the connection to the Platform’s services and content;
• Improper functioning of the browser;
• The use of outdated versions of this.

OPEN Foundation will not be responsible for the accuracy or legality of the information and content supplied by other Users.

OPEN Foundation assumes no liability whatsoever arising from linked content which allow the User access through the Platform to provisions and services offered by third parties, provided that these are outside the Platform itself. Therefore, OPEN Foundation is not responsible either for the information contained therein or for any effects which could arise from this information. If any User or third party should observe that such links may be contrary to law, morals or public order, he or she must make this known to us by emailing us at info@open-foundation.org.

Updating and Modification of the Platform

OPEN Foundation reserves the right to modify the Membership Terms of Service at any time and without prior notice. The Users must carefully read these Terms of Service by accessing to the Platform. In any case, the acceptance of the Terms of Service will be a prior and indispensable step for access to the services and content available through the Platform.

OPEN Foundation likewise reserves the right to carry out, at any time and without need for prior notice, updates, modifications or the deletion of information contained on its Platform, the configuration and presentation of this and the conditions for access, without assuming any responsibility whatsoever for this.

OPEN does not guarantee the non-existence of interruptions or errors in access to the Platform or its content, nor that this will always be updated. Nevertheless, as soon as it has knowledge of these errors, disconnections or lack of updating in the content, OPEN will carry out all the tasks necessary to correct the errors, re-establish communication and update the content, provided there are no reasons why this would be impossible or difficult to execute.