Terms of Use
Effective as of June 18, 2015
Please carefully read the following General Terms of Use ("Terms of Use") and our Privacy Policy before using this website ("Site"). By using this Site, you agree to these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy of The International Gem Society ("IGS"). In order to use this Site, you must be at least 18 years of age and be able to form legally binding agreements.
These Terms of Use, the Privacy Policy as well as the information and materials contained in the Site are subject to change from time to time without prior notice. IGS may periodically modify these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy, and any such modifications will be effective immediately upon posting. The Terms of Use and Privacy Policy in effect during a particular use of the Site govern. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use or the Privacy Policy, do not use this Site.
IGS provides paid access to certain content on its website. Our billing system is set up to automatically renew each member on an annual recurring basis. Each year, on the anniversary date of your membership, you will be billed for the next year of membership. If you do not wish to be re-billed, you can simply cancel your membership by visiting the following page (you will have to login) at any time. You will still be able to access all of the content for the remaining term of your membership. If you were automatically re-billed and you did not want to be, and you do not wish to continue as an IGS member, you can visit the cancellation page to cancel your membership, and then contact us at support@gemsociety.org and we will promptly give you a refund.
Purchases of other Goods or Services
When you purchase an item or service, you and the seller enter into a binding contract that both parties are expected to honor. IGS may provide the vehicle for communication, negotiation, and confirmation of a bid between a buyer and seller, and all users agree that any such bids are binding obligations once proposed by the seller and accepted by the buyer. The users agree to IGS is not involved in the actual transaction between buyers and sellers and is not a party to the contract. You will promptly deliver payment for an item or service purchased by you unless (a) the seller has materially misrepresented the item, or (b) you cannot authenticate the seller's identity.
Access Subject to Local Restrictions
The Site and all information and functionality contained within it are not directed at or intended for use by any person resident or located in any jurisdiction where (1) the distribution of such information or functionality is contrary to the laws of such jurisdiction or (2) such distribution is prohibited without IGS obtaining the necessary licenses or authorizations and which have not been obtained.
Limited License and Restrictions on Use
IGS grants you a limited, revocable, nonexclusive, nontransferable license to view, store, bookmark, download and print the pages within this Site solely for your personal, informational and noncommercial use or as expressly authorized by IGS in writing. Individual pages and/or sections of the Site may be printed for personal or internal use only, provided that such print outs retain all applicable copyright or other proprietary notices. You are responsible for obtaining and maintaining all equipment, services, and other materials that you need to access this Site. IGS reserves all rights not expressly granted in these Terms of Use.
Except as otherwise stated in these Terms of Use or as expressly authorized by IGS in writing, you may not:
• Loan, share, publish, republish, copy, reproduce, disclose, transmit, display, sell, license, lease or distribute any portion of the Site or any data thereon to any third-party, or use the Site as a basis for a directory or database prepared for commercial sale, commercial use, or distribution;
• Remove any copyright, watermark, trademark or other proprietary notices contained in the Site;
• Disassemble, decode, decompile or otherwise reverse engineer any software (the "Software") used in providing, accessing, storing, serving, or viewing the Site;
• Access, download, transfer or manipulate data or databases comprising the Site using protocols or interfaces other than those provided by IGS as part of the Site. This includes the use of programming scripts, robots, spiders, crowdsourced human intelligence, or any other automated method to automatically obtain the contact information of our subscribers and any programming scripts or third-party software or crowdsourced human intelligence which automatically downloads or copies image or textual content from any portion of the Site;
• Hire any type of crowdsourced or outsourced labor to utilize the Site in any way;
• Utilize any automated method of contacting subscribers or other users through the Site;
• Contact other users or subscribers to the Site with offers to consume any commercial service or purchase any product;
• Have access to or make any use of the source code for the Site;
• Take any action inconsistent with IGS's ownership of and rights in the Site and the Software; or
• Violate any law or regulations concerning data protection.
In addition, by using the Site, you agree:
• not to disrupt or interfere with the security of, or otherwise abuse, the Site, or any services, system resources, accounts, servers or networks connected to or accessible through the Site or affiliated or linked websites;
• not to disrupt or interfere with any other user's permitted enjoyment of the Site or affiliated or linked websites;
• not to upload, post or otherwise transmit through or on the Site any viruses or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files;
• not to use, frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any IGS trademark, logo, content or other proprietary information (including the images found at the Site, the content of any text or the layout/design of any page or form contained on a webpage) without the express written consent of IGS;
• not to use meta tags or any other "hidden text" utilizing a IGS name, trademark, or product name;
• not to create or use a false identity on the Site;
• not to collect or store personal data about others obtained through the Site;
• not to attempt to obtain unauthorized access to portions of the Site that are restricted from general access;
• not to take any action that will or could impose unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our Site or our other infrastructure;
• not to post any material that is false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy or otherwise in violation of any applicable local, state, national, or international law, statute, regulation, ordinance or other means of establishing legal rights and obligations in any geographic area (collectively, "Applicable Law");
• not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or you have obtained permission from the copyright holder, which posting shall be deemed consent by you of the publication of such copyrighted material on the Site;
• not to take any action that may undermine any feedback or rating systems; and
• to comply with all applicable laws that relate to your use of or activities on the Site including but not limited to United States export restrictions.
Reputation Management and Review Functionality
The Site may provide, as a service to its subscribers and users, review and reputation management functionality, surveys, blogs, a glossary of terms and a presence on social media sites (collectively, the "Boards"). IGS is not responsible for any material posted on the Boards, or the accuracy of such material, by any third party. If such Boards are established, IGS would merely be administering the material on the Boards and providing access to such material as a service to you. The Boards shall be used only in a non-commercial manner. In using any Boards, you agree not to upload, transmit, distribute or otherwise publish on such Boards any material that is, to the best of your knowledge, libelous, defamatory, obscene, abusive, pornographic, threatening, inaccurate, an invasion of privacy; an infringement of the intellectual property rights, including, but not limited to, copyrights and trademarks, of any person or entity; material that is illegal in any way or advocates illegal activity under any applicable law; an advertisement or solicitation of funds, goods or services (unless otherwise permitted on the Board); a message posted by you impersonating another; personal information such as messages which identify personal phone numbers, account numbers, personal addresses, or employer references; or chain letters or serial communications of any kind. You also agree to indemnify IGS for any claims or suits arising from your posting of such material on any such Boards. IGS reserves the right to monitor and delete any postings deemed inconsistent with its policies or these Terms of Use. IGS does not assume any obligation to monitor materials in the Board or any liability for failing to either monitor the Boards or remove specific material.
Intellectual Property Rights
The Site and any and all content on the Site are protected by copyright and/or other intellectual property laws and any unauthorized use of such intellectual property or information or the Site may violate such laws related to their protection. Except as expressly provided herein, IGS does not grant any express or implied right or license of any kind to you under any patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets or other intellectual property rights.
License to IGS
When you send any emails through the Site or post any content on a Board, You grant IGS a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicensable (through multiple tiers) license to exercise any and all copyright, trademark, publicity, and database rights you have in the emails and content, in any media known now or in the future.
No Warranty
The information and materials contained in the Site have been gathered by IGS from sources believed by it to be reliable. The information and materials are provided "as is" and IGS makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the information and materials contained in the Site, including without limitation warranties of title, non-infringement, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Without limiting the foregoing, IGS does not warrant the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, reliability or availability of the Site or the information or results obtained from use of the Site, or that the Site is virus-free or error-free. IGS has no obligation to audit, validate or otherwise verify any information contained in the Site.
No Guarantee
IGS does not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted access to the Site, and operation of the Site may be interfered with by numerous factors outside IGS's control.
Viruses
IGS does not assume any responsibility, and shall not be liable for any damages to, or viruses that may infect, your equipment or other property on account of your access to or use of the Site.
Links
IGS disclaims all liability for the quality, content, nature, or reliability of sites accessible by hyperlink from the Site, or sites linking to the Site. The linked sites are not under the control of IGS and IGS shall not be responsible for the content of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site, or any review, changes, or updates to such sites. The inclusion of any link does not imply any affiliation, endorsement or adoption by IGS of a linked site or any information contained therein. When leaving the Site for another site, you should be aware that these Terms of Use no longer govern, and therefore you should review the applicable terms and policies, including privacy and data-gathering practices, of that other site. IGS disclaims all liability for content of websites linking to or framing the Site.
Electronic Communication (E-Mail)
The Internet is a universally accessible medium. Ordinary E-mail messages sent over the Internet are neither confidential nor secure. They may be viewed by third parties, lost, intercepted or altered. E-mails may circulate across national borders, even if both sender and recipient are located in the same country. You are therefore recommended to communicate with IGS by using a secure channel if such channel is provided by IGS. In no event should you use ordinary E-mail to transmit personal or confidential information such as any account related data. IGS shall not be liable to you or anybody else for any damages incurred in connection with any messages sent to IGS or to other users of the Site using ordinary E-mail or any other electronic messaging system.
Release
You release IGS (and our officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, contractors, suppliers and employees) from any and all claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, arising out of or in any way connected with any disputes you have with one or more users of the IGS Site.
Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, in no event shall IGS or any of its directors, employees, agents, suppliers or others with whom it may collaborate to provide the Site have any liability whatsoever to any person for any direct or indirect loss, liability, cost, claim, expense or damage of any kind, whether in contract or in tort, including negligence, or otherwise, arising out of or related to the use of all or part of the Site, even if IGS has been advised of the possibility of such damages. HOWEVER, IN THE EVENT IGS IS FOUND LIABLE, IGS'S LIABILITY, AND (AS APPLICABLE) THE LIABILITY OF IGS'S SUBSIDIARIES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, SUPPLIERS AND CONSULTANTS, TO YOU IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT OF FEES YOU PAID TO IGS IN THE 12 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACTION GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY, AND (B) $100.
SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold IGS and (as applicable) IGS's parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, consultants, suppliers, agents and employees harmless from an claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys; fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your breach of the Terms and Conditions, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.
Conflict with Additional Terms
Certain web pages or areas on the Site may contain additional terms, conditions, disclosures and disclaimers (together "Additional Terms"). In addition, you may enter into one or more other agreements with IGS (the "Other Agreements"). In the event of a conflict, the terms of the Other Agreements shall take precedence, followed by the Additional Terms, which are followed by these Terms of Use.
Termination
The rights granted to you herein terminate immediately upon any violation by you of these Terms of Use. IGS, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to temporarily or permanently terminate your access to and use of this Site at any time and for any reason whatsoever, without notice or liability. IGS will not be liable to you or any third party for any suspension or termination of your access to or use of this Site.
Applicable Law and Dispute Resolution
The laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to its principles of conflict of laws, govern these Terms of Use and any dispute that might arise between you and IGS. In the event there is any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use (any such claim, a "Dispute"), you and IGS shall first attempt in good faith to settle by mediation administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Commercial Mediation Procedures then in effect. At least thirty (30) days prior to initiating such mediation, the party seeking to mediate ("Demanding Party") shall give the other party written notice describing the claim and the amount as to which it intends to initiate the action, as well as providing all supporting documentation available to the Demanding Party. Any Dispute that has not been resolved by mediation within forty-five (45) days after initiation of the mediation procedure shall be finally resolved by binding arbitration administered by the AAA under its Commercial Arbitration Rules and Supplementary Procedures for Online Arbitration then in effect. The arbitrator(s) will have no authority to award punitive damages nor any other damages not measured by a prevailing party's actual damages, and may not, in any event, make any ruling, finding or award that does not conform to the terms and conditions of these Terms of Use. Neither any party nor the arbitrator(s) may disclose the existence or results of any arbitration hereunder without the prior written consent of all parties. Each Party shall be responsible for the payment of all of its costs associated with the resolution of said dispute whether in arbitration or before a court of law, including but not limited to any filing fees, arbitrator fees, its attorneys' fees and other costs incurred in such proceeding, provided that if a dispute is initiated in bad faith, as determined by the arbitrator(s), the party initiating the dispute shall be responsible for all of the other party's defense costs.
Severability Clause
If any part of these Terms of Use is held to be unenforceable, such holding shall not affect the validity of the other provisions of the Terms of Use, which shall remain in full force and effect.
General
This Agreement sets forth the entire understanding and agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions remain enforceable. You and IGS are independent contractors, and no agency, partnership, joint venture, employee-employer or franchiser-franchisee relationship is intended or created by this Agreement. IGS may assign this Agreement by providing notice to you. You may not assign this Agreement, nor any of its rights or obligations, without IGS's prior written consent. No waiver shall be deemed a waiver of any prior or subsequent default hereunder.
The following Sections survive any termination or expiration of this Agreement: License to IGS, No Warranty, Limitation of Liability, Release, Indemnity, Applicable Law and Dispute Resolution, and General.
Notice and Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement
If You believe that your work has been copied and posted on our Site in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide our Copyright 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 interest; (ii) a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed; (iii) a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on our Site; (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 owner, its agent, or the law; (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 owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf. IGS's Copyright Agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement can be reached as follows: The International Gem Society, Attention: Lisa Rosen, 145 Lincoln Road, PO Box 466, Lincoln, MA 01773.