Terms of Use and Privacy Policy (the quick version)
Lawyers, eh? Geograph Project's terms of use for the www.geograph.org.uk website can be boiled down to the following:
- We'll do no evil. We won't sell your personal details to spammers or abuse the copyright on your submissions.
- We want you to do no evil to us. Don't spider or leech the site and be respectful to other users of the site. Make sure you own the copyright on the images you submit and check the accuracy of the information you supply and/or choose to use.
- If there is a problem, you agree to contact us so that we can work it out together. We're just trying to build something worthwhile. Contact us with your concerns.
Below is a somewhat lengthier expression of the above. Make a nice cup of tea, put your feet up, and prepare to be riveted by a rollercoaster ride of legal boilerplate...
Geograph Project Ltd Detailed Terms of Use Agreement and Privacy Policy for the www.geograph.org.uk Website
Last updated: 14th July 2020
This site is run by Geograph Project Ltd, a Company limited by guarantee. The site contains images and information, information on geographing, forums and such other services as may be made available from time to time on www.geograph.org.uk (the Site). These Terms of Use form a legal agreement between the Accountholder and/or Site User (You) and Geograph Project Ltd.
1. Information Available at this Site
This Site contains general information about Geograph Project Ltd, its activities and its services. This Site also contains images and information published to the Site by users like You. Geograph Project Ltd does not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information available on this Site. You are solely responsible for verifying the accuracy of any information available on this Site. Geograph Project Ltd disclaims responsibility for Your reliance on information at this Site in Section 9 below.
2. Privacy Policy
Geograph Project Ltd is a data controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation. Based in the UK, our activities are regulated by the Information Commissioner's Office. The people within the Geograph Project Ltd responsible for data protection issues are the company Directors / Trustees. The Data Protection Officer is Mark Anderson.
Geograph Project Ltd will use Your personally identifiable information collected in connection with this Site, including Your name, e- mail address, or other information unique to You (Personally Identifiable Information), in the following ways:
- (a) Geograph Project Ltd may use Personally Identifiable Information to keep You notified of Geograph-related developments; to give You updates on changes to the Site; and to allow You to log Your Geographs and share Your experiences with other users of the Site.
- (b) Geograph Project Ltd may also use Personally Identifiable Information to statistically analyse usage of the Site; to improve Geograph Project Ltd's product and service offerings; to customize the Site's content and layout; and to otherwise improve the Site.
Geograph Project Ltd uses cookies and other types of Site user tracking technology to recognise Site visitors and to customise certain Site features and functions for repeat visitors. Information collected using cookies may be combined with Personal Information but may only be used as described in Section 3 below. Cookies are required in order to log Geographs on the Site, and disabling the use of cookies may impact on some of the Site features.
Geograph Project Ltd will not sell, rent, or otherwise knowingly disclose Personally Identifiable Information to any third party, except: (a) in accordance with Your freely given consent; or (b) where it is necessary for the Site to provide its services to You; or (c) in pursuance of the Site?s legitimate interests; or (d) as required by Court Order, search warrant, or other valid legislative or judicial process; or (e) in connection with any merger or acquisition of Geograph Project Ltd assets approved by the Trustees, including without limitation any restructuring activity with another legal entity.
You have the rights to access, rectify or erase your Personally Identifiable Information by using the Edit your profile function of the site. If you have a data protection query or request which cannot be achieved by this method, you can contact us. If you are unhappy with our response to a Data Protection issue, you can complain to the Information Commissioner.
3. Licence to Use Site; Restrictions
Geograph Project Ltd hereby grants You a non-exclusive, non- transferable, revocable licence to view and use the Site in accordance with this Agreement and any guidelines or policies posted on the Site. Geograph Project Ltd reserves the right to suspend or revoke, in its sole discretion, the licence hereunder and to prevent You from accessing all or any portion of the Site with or without notice or reason and without liability on the part of The Geograph Project Ltd.
Geograph Project Ltd may change, suspend, or discontinue any portion of the Site, or any service offered on the Site, at any time, including but not limited to any feature, database, application, or content. Geograph Project Ltd may also impose limits on certain features offered on the Site with or without notice.
The site source code is copyrighted by Geograph Project Ltd and available under the terms of the GNU General Public Licence. All submissions are copyright of their respective owners and licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. All rights not expressly granted by these licences and this Agreement are reserved by Geograph Project Ltd or by the respective owners of the intellectual property rights. Geograph Project Ltd reserves the right to impose additional terms and conditions upon Your use and viewing of the Site, and any such terms and conditions may be posted on the Site in connection with those Site Materials. If you have any questions, please contact us.
4. Use of Publishing Tools and Forums
Geograph Project Ltd Forums (accessible through the Site's navigation bar as well as through other links) are governed by this Agreement and are also subject to such additional terms and conditions as Geograph Project Ltd may, from time to time, post in the Geograph Project Ltd Forums area.
Material on Geograph must be relevant and appropriate to Geograph's aims as set out on the 'About Geograph' page and in the Geograph Project Ltd, Articles of Association.
You and not Geograph Project Ltd, are entirely responsible for all content that you upload, post or otherwise transmit via the Site. You agree not to:
- (a) Upload, post or otherwise transmit any content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, slanderous, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, embarrassing, or racially, ethnically or otherwise offensive to any other person or entity.
- (b) Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.
- (c) Upload, post or otherwise transmit any content that you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationship.
- (d) Upload, post or otherwise transmit any content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual property or proprietary rights of any person, including without limitation under any privacy or publicity rights.
- (e) Upload, post or otherwise transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation.
- (f) Upload, post or otherwise transmit any content that contains viruses or any other computer code, files or programs which interrupt, destroy, limit the functionality of, or cause damage to the Site or any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment.
- (g) Disrupt the normal flow of dialogue or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other users' ability to engage in real time exchanges.
- (h) Interfere with or disrupt the Site or servers or networks connected to the Site, or fail to comply with any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Site.
- (i) Violate any applicable local, national or international law.
- (j) "Stalk", harass, or otherwise harm another Site user.
- (k) Collect or store personal data about other Site users.
- (l) Promote or provide instructional information about illegal activities, promote physical harm or injury against any group or individual.
5. Access and Interference
Much of the information on the Site is updated on a real time basis. You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access the Site for any purpose without our express written permission. Additionally, you agree that you will not: (a) take any action that imposes, or may impose in our sole discretion an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure; or (b) interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site or any activities conducted on the Site or other measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Site.
6. Licence to Use Submissions
All comments, articles, tutorials, screenshots, pictures, graphics, tools, downloads, and all other materials submitted to Geograph Project Ltd in connection with the Site or available through the Site (collectively, Submissions) remain the property and copyright of the original author. If You submit Submissions to the Site, You must adhere to any applicable submission guidelines that may be posted from time to time on the Site. All submitted photographs and accompanying metadata are licensed under a Creative Commons Licence.
This means that anyone can copy and/or distribute and/or modify the image and its attached metadata, provided that they abide by the terms of the Creative Commons licence. It is important to note that the Creative Commons licence allows commercial use, including offering images for sale, and that you cannot object to anyone using your image where that use is allowed by the Creative Commons licence. If you are not happy for your images to be made available on these terms, you should not upload them to this Site.
For all other types of site submission, you grant Geograph Project Ltd a worldwide, non- exclusive, transferable, perpetual, irrevocable, fully-paid royalty-free licence and right to use, reproduce, distribute, import, broadcast, transmit, modify and create derivative works of, license, offer to sell, and sell, rent, lease or lend copies of, publicly display and publicly perform that Submission for any purpose and without restriction or obligation to You.
The foregoing licence rights are intended to provide to Geograph Project Ltd all rights under existing and future laws, including without limitation all rights under copyright and any other rights personal to You to publish the Submission on the Site, use the Submission in publicity and promotional materials for the Site and to create new Sites or derivative works (including without limitation by combining the Submission with other content) for public display or performance via any and all media or technology now known or later developed. The foregoing rights may be licensed and sublicensed through unlimited tiers of third parties.
7. Claims of Copyright Infringement
Geograph Project Ltd respects the intellectual property rights of others, and Geograph Project Ltd asks that all users of the Site do the same. If You believe that Your work has been published on the Site in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, You may notify Geograph Project Ltd's copyright agent by providing the following information:
- (a) Identification of the copyrighted work that You claim has been infringed.
- (b) Identification of the material that You claim is infringing and needs to be removed, including a description of where it is located on the Site.
- (c) Your address, telephone number, and, if available, e-mail address, so that The Geograph Project Ltd can contact You about Your complaint.
- (d) A signed statement that the above information is accurate; that You have a good faith belief that the identified use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and, under penalty of perjury, that You are the copyright owner or are authorised to act on the copyright owner's behalf in this situation.
Notices of copyright infringement claims should be sent to us via our contact page.
8. Logo Usage
Geograph Project Ltd and Geograph logos are proprietary to The Geograph Project Ltd, and Geograph Project Ltd retains all right, title, and interest in and to those logos. You agree that Your use, if any, of the The Geograph Project Ltd and Geograph logos will be in accordance with The Geograph Project Ltd logo usage guidelines posted at http://www.geograph.org.uk/help/terms, as the foregoing may be updated from time to time in Geograph Project Ltd's sole discretion, as well as any additional applicable guidelines that Geograph Project Ltd may post on the Site.
9. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold Geograph Project Ltd, its officers, employees, agents and volunteer administrators harmless against any and all losses, claims, damages, and expenses (including legal fees) that Geograph Project Ltd may incur in connection with: (a) Your breach of any of the terms of this Agreement; or (b) Your use of the Site.
10. No Warranties
Neither Geograph Project Ltd, nor any successor, predecessor, agent, officer, or employee of Geograph Project Ltd, warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information or downloads published to or otherwise accessible via the Site (Site Information). Geograph Project Ltd will not be liable for any damage or loss caused by Your reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of Site Information. Because of the number of possible sources of information available through the Site, and the inherent hazards and uncertainties of electronic distribution, there may be delays, omissions, or inaccuracies in the Site Information. The Site Information may include facts, views, opinions, and recommendations of individuals and organizations. Geograph Project Ltd does not endorse, assert, or guarantee the truthfulness or reliability of any such facts, views, opinions, or recommendations, nor any statements made by persons other than authorised The Geograph Project Ltd spokespersons, including, without limitation, information contained in the forum areas of the Site. The Site may also contain links to one or more internet sites outside of the Site. Geograph Project Ltd is not responsible for the content of such outside internet sites and does not warrant the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information or downloads posted on or obtained from such outside internet sites. You rely on the Site Information, as well as information found on outside internet sites linked to the Site, at Your own risk.
Geographing, hiking, backpacking, and other outdoor activities involve risk to both persons and property. There are many variables including, but not limited to, weather, fitness level, terrain features and outdoor experience, that must be considered prior to taking part in geographing activities. Be prepared for Your journey and be sure to check the current weather and conditions before heading outdoors. Always exercise common sense and caution. You assume all risks arising in connection with Geographing or any other related activity.
The Site, including without limitation the site information and all other content provided on the site, are provided to You as is, and You assume the entire risk as to Your use of the Site, the Site information and the results and performance of the Site. Geograph Project Ltd hereby disclaims all warranties, duties or conditions (if any), whether express or implied, with regard to the Site or any content provided on the Site, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, workmanlike effort, and negligence. Geograph Project Ltd gives no warranty against interference with Your enjoyment of the Site, against infringement, or as to title, or that information provided on the Site, the Site itself, or Geograph Project Ltd's efforts, will fulfill any of Your particular purposes or needs. Furthermore, Geograph Project Ltd gives no warranties as to the availability of the Site at any particular time; functionality; timeliness of services; accuracy or currency of content; lack of viruses; or any other warranty.
11. Limitation of Damages
To the fullest extent permitted by law, and regardless of the form or cause of action or the alleged basis of the claim, You agree that Geograph Project Ltd, its officers, employees, agents, and volunteer administrators will not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive, special, direct, or other damages whatsoever arising out of or relating to this Agreement or your use of the Site or the Site Information, even if they have been advised of the possibility of such damages, and even if the remedies otherwise provided under this Agreement, at law, or in equity, fail of their essential purpose. This limitation and exclusion of damages includes but is not limited to damages for loss of profits or confidential or other information, for business interruption, for loss of privacy, for failure to meet any duty including of good faith or of reasonable care, for negligence or negligent misrepresentation, and for any other pecuniary or other loss whatsoever, even in the event of the fault of Geograph Project Ltd, of tort (including negligence), strict or product liability, breach of contract, or breach of warranty.
Should a court of competent jurisdiction determine that the limitation above is not legally valid, Geograph Project Ltd, its officers, employees, agents and volunteer administrator's liability for any claims arising out of or relating to this Agreement (including any terms and conditions referenced in this Agreement) including for any direct damages arising from your reliance on Site Information, will be limited to £10.00 or the amount of direct damages incurred by you in reliance on this Site or on Site Information, whichever is less. You agree that this is your sole and exclusive remedy and you hereby release Geograph Project Ltd, its officers, employees, agents and volunteer administrators from all obligations, liability, claims or demands in excess of the limitation.
12. United Kingdom Law
This Agreement is governed by the law of the United Kingdom. You consent to jurisdiction of and venue in the courts in the United Kingdom in all disputes arising out of or in connection with this Agreement. Use of the Site is not authorised in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to all provisions of this Agreement. Geograph Project Ltd's performance under this agreement is subject to all applicable laws and regulations, and You agree that Geograph Project Ltd may comply with law enforcement or regulatory requests or requirements notwithstanding any contrary term of this agreement.
13. Legal Fees
In any formal action or suit to enforce any right or remedy under this Agreement or to interpret any provision of this Agreement, Geograph Project Ltd will be entitled to recover its costs, including reasonable legal fees.
14. Changes to this Agreement
Geograph Project Ltd reserves the right to revise the terms of this Agreement at any time and from time to time. Each time You use the Site, You are bound by the version of this Agreement that is in effect and posted on the Site at the time of Your use. Please review them.
15. Severability; No Waiver; Entire Agreement.
If any provision of this Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, the parties agree that the remaining provisions of the Agreement will remain in full force and effect, and the allocation of risk described herein will be given effect to the fullest extent possible. Geograph Project Ltd's failure to act with respect to a breach by You or others does not constitute a waiver of Geograph Project Ltd's right to enforce its rights with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. This Agreement, along with any Site guidelines or policies posted on the Site or otherwise provided to You by Geograph Project Ltd, constitutes the entire agreement between You and Geograph Project Ltd with regard to Your use of the Site.
Geograph Project Limited is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England and Wales, number 7473967. Registered office: Dept 1706, 43 Owston Road, Carcroft, Doncaster, South Yorkshire. DN6 8DA.