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Terms of Use

Website Terms of Use

These Website Terms of Use (the “Terms”) govern the use of the websites, web applications and other properties, including our interactive services and other services provided through such properties (for ease of reference, collectively each a “Website”) operated by the Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics (SCCE) (DBA- Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA), and/or Compliance Certification Board (CCB)) headquartered at 6462 City West Parkway Eden Prairie, MN 55344 and our group companies, subsidiaries and associated offices worldwide (“HCCA”, “we”, “us”, “our”, etc.) by visitors and other users directly or indirectly accessing any Website (each a “User”, “you”, “your”, etc.).

 

Availability

We do not guarantee that our Website, or any content on it, will always be available or be uninterrupted. We may suspend or withdraw or restrict the availability of all or any part of our Website for business and operational reasons.

 

Our Agreement  

These Terms incorporate by reference:

·  Privacy Statement; and
·  DMCA Take Down Policy.

By using our Website, you confirm that you accept these Terms without modification and that you agree to comply with them. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use our Website. We recommend that you print a copy of these Terms for future reference.

Please refer to our Privacy Statement for information about how we process your personal information in connection with your use of our Website.

We may modify these Terms in whole or part, in our sole discretion, by posting amended terms to the Website. Every time you wish to use our Website, please check these Terms to ensure you understand the Terms that apply at that time. Your continued use of the Website indicates your acceptance of the amended Terms, including but not limited to the charges associated with the use of the Website.

 

Your Obligations

As a condition of your use of our Website, you warrant to us that you will:

  • comply with our Acceptable Use standards set out below;
  • assume personal responsibility for your contributions posted on our Website;
  • be courteous and professional in the communications you transmit on our Website; 
  • fully comply with all restrictions that apply to your reproduction, dissemination or any other use of User contributions; and
  • ensure that all persons who access our Website through your internet connection fully comply with these Terms.

If you notice any unlawful or prohibited use or abuse of our Website or any contribution that does not comply with our Acceptable Use standards, we would be grateful if you would notify us by email to subscriptions@hcca-info.org.

 

Your User account

You may browse the Website without registering for an account, but to use some of our features you will need to create an account using your email address and a password. To create an account, you must be 18 or older.  

Do not disclose your login information to any third party and, in order to improve the security of your account, we would advise that you must choose a strong password to protect your account information and change it regularly at reasonable intervals. Furthermore, you must exit from your User account at the end of each session, not allow your browser to save your login details and secure and limit access to your personal devices.

We have the right to disable any User identification code or password, whether chosen by you or allocated by us, at any time, if in our reasonable opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these Terms.

 

Interactive Services 

We may from time to time provide interactive services on our Website, including, without limitation:

  • chat rooms,
  • bulletin boards,
  • news groups,
  • forums,
  • communities,
  • personal web pages,
  • calendars, and/or
  • other message, communication or networking facilities designed to enable you to communicate with the public at large or with a group of Users; (each an “interactive service”).

Please note that all discussion posts are public and may be indexed by internet search engines. Use caution when posting a new message. Private messages to individual Users are not indexed by search engines.

We are under no obligation to oversee, monitor or moderate any interactive service we provide on our Website, and we expressly exclude our liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of any interactive service by a User in contravention of our Acceptable Use standards, whether the service is moderated or not.

 

User generated content

Any and all material which you post, send, upload, transmit, or otherwise make available on, or in connection with, our Website (each a “contribution”) must comply with our Acceptable Use standards set out below.

By posting, uploading, inputting, providing or submitting your contributions you are granting us and our Users permission to use your contributions in connection with the operation of business and to draw attention to our Website including, without limitation, the rights to copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, translate and reformat your contributions

Unless otherwise stated by the contributing User, each contribution will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. We also have the right to disclose your identity to any third party who is claiming that any contribution provided by you constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights, or of their right to privacy. We reserve the right at all times to disclose any information necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request.

We reserve the right to review your contributions and we have the right to remove any contribution, in whole or in part, from our Website if, in our opinion, your post does not comply with the content standards set out in our Acceptable Use standards. We are not responsible for viruses and you must not introduce them in your contributions. You are solely responsible for securing and backing up your contributions.

You warrant that (i) all your contributions comply with these Terms, including our Acceptable Use standards, and (ii) you have all necessary authority, licenses and consents to provide your contributions and to grant us and our Users the license mentioned above. You will be liable to us and indemnify us and our officers, directors, employees, and agents, for any breach of these warranties. This means you will be responsible for any loss or damage that we or our officers, directors, employees, and agents suffer as a result of your breach of your warranties.

No compensation will be paid with respect to the use of your contributions. We are under no obligation to post or use any contributions you may provide and may remove any contribution at any time in our sole discretion

We do not control or endorse the content, messages or other contributions found in any interactive service and we are not responsible for any contributions or the acts of our Users. We specifically disclaim any liability with regard to your participation in any interactive service. Contributors are not our authorized spokespersons, and their views do not necessarily reflect our views.

 

Acceptable Use

The following Acceptable Use standards apply to every User:

  • You may print off one copy, and may download extracts, of any page(s) from our Website for your personal use, and, where enabled, you may share our content on social media with other professionals in order to draw the attention of others within your professional circles to content posted on our Website. 

  • You may copy, revise, customize and use the forms, templates, and checklist that form part of the content available on COSMOS. 

If you print off, copy, download or otherwise use any part of our Website or contact any User in breach of these Terms, your right to use our Website will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. 

All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. 

PROHIBITED USES

You may use our Website only for lawful purposes. You may not use our Website:

  • in any way that breaches any applicable laws;
  • in any way that is unlawful or fraudulent, or has any unlawful or fraudulent purpose or effect;
  • for the purpose of harming or attempting to harm other Users in any way;
  • to send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use or re-use any material which does not comply with our content standards set out below;
  • to transmit, or procure the sending of, any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising or promotional material or any other form of similar solicitation; and
  • to knowingly transmit any data, send or upload any material that contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time-bombs, keystroke loggers, spyware, adware or any other harmful programs or similar computer code designed to adversely affect the operation of any computer software or hardware.

You also agree:

  • not to reproduce, duplicate, copy or re-sell any part of our Website in contravention of the provisions of our Terms;
  • not to harvest or otherwise collect information about others, including e-mail addresses, without their consent;
  • not to use our Website for conducting any private business or commercial activity without our prior written consent. Commercial activities include, but are not limited to, job postings, surveys, promotional announcements, re-sale of content, product-related press releases, advertising, promoting social media groups, or promoting professional associations;
  • not to download any file posted by another User of an interactive service that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally distributed in such manner;
  • not to falsify or delete any author attributions, legal or other proper notices or proprietary designations or labels of the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is uploaded;
  • not to create your own independently searchable database of content; 
  • not to access without authority, interfere with, damage or disrupt:
  • any part of our Website;
  • any equipment or network on which our Website is stored;
  • any software used in the provision of our Website; or
  • any equipment or network or software owned or used by any third party.

CONTENT STANDARDS 

You must comply with the spirit and the letter of the following standards which apply to each contribution or any part of it.

Contributions must:

  • be accurate (where they state facts);
  • be genuinely held (where they state opinions);
  • comply with applicable law, including the law in any country from which they are posted;
  • comply with data privacy laws and respect the data privacy rights of any individuals who are referred to in a contribution or whose personally identifiable information is included in a contribution. Please refer to our Privacy Statement for further information about PII; and
  • communicate in an appropriate manner any mandatory notices or use restrictions that apply to your contributions to enable us and our Users to comply with the same.

 

Contributions must not:

  • contain any material which is defamatory of any person;
  • contain any material which is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory;
  • promote sexually explicit material;
  • promote violence;
  • promote discrimination based on race, sex, ethnicity, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, age or political affiliation;
  • infringe any copyright, database right or trade mark of any other person;
  • be likely to deceive any person;
  • be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence;
  • promote any illegal activity;
  • be threatening, abuse or invade another’s privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety;
  • be likely to harass, upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy any other person;
  • be used to impersonate any person, or to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person;
  • give the impression that they originate from us, if this is not the case;
  • advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse;
  • advertise or offer to sell or buy any goods or services for any business purpose, without our prior written consent;
  • conduct or forward surveys, contests, pyramid schemes or chain letters; or
  • be likely to restrict or inhibit any other User from using and enjoying the Website or otherwise interfere with the operation of the Website.

Our content

We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our Website, and in the material published on it. Those works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved.

The content on our Website including any User contributions is provided for general information only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our Website. Although we make reasonable efforts to update the information on our Website, we make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content on our Website is accurate, complete or up to date

The predominant purpose of the content on our Website is to share information among compliance, legal and other professionals. You must not use any part of the content on our Website for any commercial purposes whatsoever without obtaining a license to do so from us or our licensors. For the avoidance of doubt, the use of our directory information for marketing or recruitment purposes is strictly prohibited. 

You may print off one copy, and may download extracts, of any page(s) from our Website for your personal use, and, where enabled, you may share our content on social media with other professionals in order to draw the attention of others within your professional circles to content posted on our Website.

Links to Third Party Properties

Our Website may contain links or other access points to third party websites, services and resources (each a "Third Party Property"). Such Third Party Properties are not under our control and we are not responsible for the contents or availability of any Third Party Property, including without limitation any link contained in a Third Party Property, or any changes or updates to a Third Party Property. We provide links and other access to Third Party Properties to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply our endorsement of the site or any association with its operators. We shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with your use of or reliance on any content, goods or services available on or through any Third Party Property. Please refer to the terms and conditions in connection with your use of any Third Party Property.

 

Suspension and Termination  

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to our Website and to remove any contribution at any time without notice for any reason whatsoever.

In addition, failure to comply with our Acceptable Use standards constitutes a material breach of the Terms upon which you are permitted to use our Website, and may result in our taking all or any of the following actions:

  • immediate, temporary or permanent withdrawal of your right to use our Website;
  • immediate, temporary or permanent removal of any contributions uploaded by you to our Website;
  • issue of a warning to you;
  • legal proceedings against you for reimbursement of all costs on an indemnity basis (including, but not limited to, reasonable administrative and legal costs) resulting from the breach;
  • further legal action against you;
  • disclosure of such information to law enforcement authorities as we reasonably feel is necessary; and
  • any other action we reasonably deem appropriate.

We exclude liability for actions taken in response to breaches of our Terms.

 

Liability Disclaimer

We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, all information, software, products, services, content and related graphics are provided on our Website "as is" without warranty or condition of any kind including without warranty about the suitability, reliability, availability, timeliness, and accuracy. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we and our licensors hereby disclaim all warranties and conditions with regard to this information, software, products, services, content and related graphics, including all implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement.

You agree that we and our licensors will not be responsible to you for any indirect, consequential, special or punitive damages or losses you may incur in connection with our Website whatsoever or any content, data, contributions or other materials made available through or in connection with our Website, whether based on contract, tort, negligence, strict liability or otherwise, even if we or our licensors have been advised of the possibility of such damage or loss.

Because some states and countries do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitations may not apply to you.

Where applicable, the example companies, organizations, products, people and events depicted herein are fictitious. No association with any real company, organization, product, person, or event is intended or should be inferred.

If you are dissatisfied with any portion of the Website, or with any of these terms of use, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using the Website.

 

Copyright and Trademark Notices

All content of the Website are: Copyright © 2022 by Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics and/or its licensors. All rights reserved. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

 

Notices and Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement

Pursuant to Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(2), notifications of claimed copyright infringement under United States copyright law should be sent to Service Provider's Designated Agent. ALL INQUIRIES NOT RELEVANT TO THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURE WILL RECEIVE NO RESPONSE. See our DMCA Take Down Policy for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement.

 

Miscellaneous

Which law applies to disputes? Our Website has participants from all over the World. Each state and country has a different set of laws and we cannot keep track of them. Because of this, you agree that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, the laws of Minnesota USA will apply to all matters relating to our Website. You also agree and consent that if there is ever any legal action against us, the state and federal courts of Hennepin County, Minnesota USA will have exclusive jurisdiction and be the exclusive venue for any such legal action.

Our relationship. You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and us as a result of this contract or your use of the Website.

Legal obligations. Our performance of this contract is subject to existing laws and legal process, and nothing contained in this agreement is in derogation of our right to comply with governmental, court and law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of the Website or information provided to or gathered by us with respect to such use.

Nobody else has any rights under this contract. This contract is between you and us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms. Neither of us will need to get the agreement of any other person in order to end the contract or make any changes to these Terms.

Even if we delay in enforcing this contract, we can still enforce it later. If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these Terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking this contract, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date. For example, if you miss a payment and we do not chase you but we continue to provide the products, we can still require you to make the payment at a later date.

Severability. If any part of this contract is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of the agreement shall continue in effect.

Entire Agreement. Unless otherwise specified herein, these Terms constitute the entire agreement between the User and us with respect to the Website and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral or written, between the User and us with respect to the Website. In entering into these Terms neither party has relied on, and neither party will have any right or remedy based on, any statement, representation or warranty, whether made negligently or innocently, except those expressly set out in these Terms. Nothing in this clause shall exclude or limit liability which cannot be excluded by law.

Evidence. A printed version of the Terms and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to these Terms to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form. It is the express wish to the parties that these Terms and all related documents be drawn up in English.

Transfer of this contract. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms to another organization. We will always tell you in writing if this happens and we will ensure that the transfer will not affect your rights under the contract.

 

DMCA Take Down Policy

We make a conscious effort to ensure all content posted is in compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). We understand that, while we take appropriate measures to ensure that all posted content is compliant with the DMCA, cases that violate the DMCA may still occur. In the event that copyrighted material is posted without the express permission of the copyright holder, we shall remove said content upon the request of the copyright holder.


A copyright holder or a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright holder may request the removal of any infringing material by submitting a DMCA take down request.

The DMCA take down request must provide:

1. A physical or electronic signature (i.e., /s/NAME) of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright that is allegedly infringed.

2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed.

3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material.

4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted.

5. A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner.

6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright that is allegedly infringed.

Requests must be sent to subscriptions@hcca-info.org

Updated: 6.9.22