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Terms of Service

Welcome to YIVO Online Education

Use of the Site

In order to participate in YIVO online courses or access any online resources offered by YIVO you must first carefully read and agree to these Terms of Service, Honor Code and Privacy Policy (collectively "Terms"). BY ACCESSING AND PARTICIPATING IN THE SITE, YOU HAVE INDICATED THAT YOU HAVE READ THESE TERMS AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY AND COMPLY WITH THEM. If you do not agree to be bound by these Terms, please promptly exit the Site.

YIVO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY THESE TERMS AT ANY TIME AND WILL PUBLISH NOTICE OF ANY MODIFICATIONS ON-LINE AT THIS SITE. BY CONTINUING TO ACCESS A SITE AFTER NOTICE OF SUCH MODIFICATIONS HAS BEEN PUBLISHED, YOU SIGNIFY YOUR AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND BY THEM.

User Age and Eligibility

Participation in the Site and YIVO online Courses is restricted to those individuals who have registered, who are 18 years of age and over, emancipated minors, or those who possess parental or legal guardian consent, and who are fully able and competent to enter into these terms, conditions, obligations, affirmations, representations and warranties herein. By accessing the Site you affirm that you are at least 13 years old and meet the eligibility requirements.

Access to the Site

While portions of the Site may be available to the general public, portions of the Site are restricted to registered users who meet eligibility criteria. You agree that you will not access any registration-only portions of the Site if you do not meet the eligibility requirements. YIVO is not responsible for any delay, inability or failure to access the Site due to any cause, including but not limited to acts of God, natural disasters, government orders, labor unrest, malfunction of user hardware or software, interruption in internet service, loss or corruption of data, and unanticipated suspension or cessation of service from any underlying service provider.

User Accounts

Site Registration. In order to fully participate in all Site activities, you must register and create a User Account. You are required to provide a valid email address ("Email Address") and create a user password ("User Password") and a unique username, which will be publicly visible on the forum and other locations on the Site. In setting up your User Account, you may also be prompted or required to enter additional information, including but not limited to your name, location or other information required to confirm your identity.

Course Registration. In order to participate in an online course you may be required to register in the course by selecting the course from the list of offered courses. You may be required to provide additional information at the time of registration including, without limitation, evidence of eligibility or of successful completion of prerequisite courses

You understand and agree that all information provided by you is accurate, current and complete and that you will maintain and update your information to keep it accurate, current and complete. You acknowledge that if any information provided by you is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, we reserve the right to refuse access to the selected course or to terminate your use of the Site. You agree that you will never divulge or share access or access information to your User Account with any third party for any reason.

Course Modification or Cancellation

The Site, including the course materials, may contain errors and omissions. We reserve the right to correct errors or omissions without prior notice. We also reserve the right to cancel, discontinue, reschedule, delay, change instructors or modify any course or service. You acknowledge that the course content of the online course does not reflect the complete curriculum of a course that may be offered to students enrolled at YIVO.

License to use Site Materials

Unless otherwise indicated, the Site and all its content, such as text, images, and the HTML used to generate the pages ("Material") are the property of YIVO or that of our suppliers or licensors and are protected by patent, trademark and/or copyright under US or foreign laws. In consideration for your agreement to the terms and conditions contained here, YIVO grants you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use the Site and the Material. Registered users may download Material from the Site only for such user's own personal, non-commercial use. No user may otherwise copy, reproduce, duplicate, retransmit, distribute, publish, scrape, download in bulk, sell, resell, commercially exploit or otherwise transfer any Material or modify or create derivative works of the Material. The burden of determining that use of any information, software, material or any other content on the Site is permissible rests with User. Some content on the Site is provided by third parties, and the use of that content is subject to rules and restrictions as indicated on the Site. You agree to be bound by all such rules and restrictions.

Modifications to Site

YIVO reserves the right, for any reason or no reason, in our sole discretion and without notice, to terminate, change, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Site, including without limitation, information, data, text, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages, courses, Materials, features and/or hours of availability, and we will not be liable to you or to any third party for doing so. We may also impose rules and limits on the use of the Site or restrict your access to part, or the entire, Site without notice or penalty.

Rules for online Conduct

You agree to use the Sites in accordance with all applicable laws. You are responsible for your own communications, including the upload, transmission and posting of information, and are responsible for the consequences of their posting on or through the Site. You further agree that you will not email or post malicious or harmful content anywhere on the Site, or on any other YIVO computing resources including without limitation the following:

  • Content that defames or threatens others
  • Harassing statements or content that violates federal or state law
  • Content that discusses illegal activities with the intent to commit them
  • Content that is not your own, or infringes another's intellectual property, including, but not limited to, copyrights, trademarks or trade secrets
  • Content related to partisan political activities
  • Material that contains obscene (i.e. pornographic) language or images
  • Advertising or any form of commercial solicitation or promotion, including links to other sites
  • Content that is otherwise unlawful
  • Intentionally incomplete, misleading or inaccurate content
  • Violations of Honor Code
  • Copyrighted material, including without limitation software, graphics, text, photographs, sound, video and musical recordings, may not be placed on the Site without the express permission of the owner of the copyright in the material, or other legal entitlement to use the material.

Content Disclaimer

The text and other material on the Sites may include the opinion of the specific instructor and are not statements of advice, endorsement, opinion, or information of YIVO. If you feel you might be offended by the content of the Sites, you should not continue.

Sites may also include the personal opinions and other expressions by Users who post entries on a wide range of topics. Neither the content of the forums, nor the links to other web sites, are screened, approved, reviewed or endorsed by YIVO or any other related entity. YIVO is not a publisher of any of the content of the forums, or of any content that may be available through links to and from them.

User Content

You may be permitted to submit and distribute materials in connection with an online course ("User Content"). You represent and warrant that any material you submit to the Site, instructors or other Users is accurate and complete and will not violate or infringe the rights of any third party, including without limitation privacy, publicity, intellectual property and any other proprietary rights, such as copyright, trademark and patent rights. You represent and warrant that you have all the necessary rights and licenses to use the material and to permit use of the material by YIVO and other researchers.

You agree that, if a third party claims that any material you have contributed to a Site is unlawful, you will bear the burden of establishing that the material complies with all applicable laws. Although YIVO does not monitor the content of the Site, YIVO has the right to remove material from the Site, block access, or take other action with respect to the material in its sole discretion.

Grant of license. By your submission of any material in connection with this course, you hereby grant YIVO an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty free, fully transferable, worldwide license to use, disclose, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, publicly perform, publicly display and provide to other researchers any such submission. You hereby grant Users in your online course a license to use your User Content (including the right to copy, modify and distribute such content) in conjunction with their participation in the course.

User Status and Statement of Accomplishment

You agree and acknowledge that your access to the Site, participation in an online course and your agreement to these Terms do not confer any right to access or use the resources of YIVO or establish any relationship with YIVO or its instructors beyond the Site, that you are not enrolled, admitted or in attendance at YIVO and that you are not entitled to any student or academic grievance procedures. You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between YIVO and you as a result of these Terms or your use of the Site.

International Use and Consent to Processing

YIVO controls and operates this Site within the United States of America, and all information is collected, transmitted, processed and stored within the United States. We do not represent that materials on the Site are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Persons who choose to access the Site from other locations do so on their own initiative, and are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable. You agree to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations in connection with your use of the Site. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside. By providing any personal information to the Site, all users, including without limitation users in the European Union, fully understand and unambiguously consent to the collection, transmission processing and storage of such information in the United States and the use of such information for research by YIVO and other U.S. and international researchers.

Links to Other Sites

The Site may include hyperlinks to sites maintained or controlled by others. YIVO is not responsible for and does not routinely screen, approve, review or endorse the contents of or use of any of the products or services that may be offered at other sites. These links do not imply YIVO's endorsement of or association with the linked sites. YIVO is not responsible for and shall in no event be liable, directly or indirectly, to anyone for any loss or damage arising from or occasioned by the creation or use of the linked sites or the information or material accessed through those linked sites. If you choose to use Social Auth login, we may receive from the authenticator your name, email, and public profile information, and the authenticator is notified of your login to this site.

Choice of Law/Forum Selection

The Sites are managed by YIVO, located in New York, New York. You agree that any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or any content posted to a Site, including copies and republication thereof, whether based in contract, tort, statutory or other law, will be governed by the laws of the State of New York, excluding its conflicts of law provisions. You further consent to the personal jurisdiction of and exclusive venue in the federal and state courts located in and serving New York County, New York as the legal forum for any such dispute. Excluding claims for injunctive or other equitable relief, for claims related to the Site where the total amount sought is less than ten thousand U.S. Dollars ($10,000.00 USD), either you or YIVO may elect at any point during the dispute to resolve the claim through binding, non-appearance-based arbitration. The dispute will then be resolved using an established alternative dispute resolution ("ADR") provider, mutually agreed upon by you and YIVO. The parties and the selected ADR provider shall not involve any personal appearance by the parties or witnesses, unless otherwise mutually agreed by the parties; rather, the arbitration shall be conducted, at the option of the party seeking relief, online, by telephone or via written submissions alone. Any judgment rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Any claim or cause of action you may have with respect to YIVO or the Site must be commenced within one (1) year after the claim or cause of action arose.<[?

Disclaimer of Warranties

THESE SITES AND ANY INFORMATION, PRODUCTS OR SERVICES THEREIN ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR USE OF A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT.

YIVO DOES NOT WARRANT, AND HEREBY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY SITE, INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM A SITE, OR LINK TO A SITE. YIVO DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL OPERATE IN AN UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE MANNER OR THAT THE SITE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. USE OF INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM OR THROUGH THE SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, YIVO DOES NOT WARRANT THAT (A) THE SITE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR EXPECTATIONS OR ACHIEVE THE INTENDED PURPOSES, (B) THE SITE WILL BE FREE OF OUTAGES, INTERRUPTIONS, DELAYS, SECURITY FLAWS, AND ERRORS, (C) THE INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM THE SITE WILL BE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, CURRENT, ERROR-FREE, COMPLETELY SECURE OR RELIABLE, (D) THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TRANSMIT OR RECEIVE INFORMATION FROM OR THROUGH THE SITE OR (E) THAT DEFECTS IN OR ON THE SITE WILL BE CORRECTED.

Limitation of Liability

YOU AGREE THAT YIVO WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGES, EITHER ACTUAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS, OR TO YOUR (OR ANY THIRD PARTY/'S) USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, OR TO YOUR PLACEMENT OF CONTENT ON THE SITE, OR TO YOUR RELIANCE UPON INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM OR THROUGH THE SITE. IN PARTICULAR, YIVO WILL HAVE NO LIABILTY FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, WHETHER FORESEEABLE OR UNFORESEEABLE, (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, CLAIMS FOR DEFAMATION, ERRORS, LOSS OF DATA, OR INTERRUPTION IN AVAILABILITY OF DATA), ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS, YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, OR YOUR PLACEMENT OF CONTENT ON A SITE, OR TO YOUR RELIANCE UPON INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM OR THROUGH A SITE, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STATUTORY OR OTHER LAW, EVEN IF YIVO OR ITS REPRESENTATIVES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF YIVO TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION ARISING FROM THE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE SITE EXCEED, IN THE AGGREGATE, $100.00.

Termination Rights

You agree that: YIVO, in its sole discretion, may terminate your use of the Site or your participation in an online course activity, for any reason or no reason and at any time; YIVO shall not have any liability to you for the termination; and that you are not entitled to any course credit or to any student or academic grievance procedures in connection with such a termination.

Proprietary Rights

The logos, names and graphics on the Site of YIVO or any of its affiliates, may be trademarks of YIVO or its affiliates. Use, reproduction, copying or redistribution of YIVO trademarks, without the prior written permission of YIVO or its affiliates, is prohibited. All other trademarks or servicemarks appearing on the Site are the marks of their respective owners.

Except as otherwise provided herein, use of the Site does not grant you a license to any content, features or Material you may access on the Site, and you may not modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works of such content, features or Material, in whole or in part. Any commercial use of the Site is strictly prohibited except as allowed herein or otherwise approved by us. You may not download or save a copy of any of the content or screens for any purpose except as otherwise provided by YIVO. If you make use of the Site, other than as provided herein, in doing so you may violate copyright and other laws of the United States, other countries, as well as applicable state laws and may be subject to liability for such unauthorized use. We do not grant any license or other authorization to any user of our trademarks, registered trademarks, service marks, other copyrightable material or any other intellectual property by including them on the Site.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold YIVO and its instructors, trustees, officers, agents, employees, and assignees, harmless from any claims, actions, demands, losses or damages, including legal fees, arising out of, resulting from or in any way related to your participation in an online course, use of a Site, placement of any content onto a Site or violation of these Terms. You further agree to fully cooperate in YIVO's defense against any such claims.

Notices

Notices to you will be made via email. Notices to YIVO should be directed to jyoung@yivo.cjh.org. The Site may also provide notices of changes to these Terms or other matters by displaying notices or links to notices to you on the Site.

General Information

YIVO's failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of the Terms is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Terms remain in full force and effect.

You may not assign the Terms or any of your rights or obligations under the Terms without YIVO's express prior written consent.

The Terms inure to the benefit of YIVO's successors, assigns and licensees. The section titles in the Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.