Student Forums Terms of Service Agreement

Welcome to the Academy of Art University Student Forums, an online discussion board network that connects Academy students and alumni through the posting of electronic messages relating to our various Schools and activities. The Student Forums service is operated by the Academy of Art University ("Academy"). By using the Student Forums Web site (the "Web site") you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (this "Agreement"). If you wish to become a Member and communicate with other Members and make use of the Student Forums service (the "Service"), read these Terms of Service and indicate your acceptance of them by following the instructions on the Sign Up page.

This Agreement sets out the legally binding terms of your use of the Web site and your membership in the Service and may be modified by the Academy at any time and without prior notice, such modifications to be effective upon posting by the Academy on the Web site. This Agreement includes the Academy's Acceptable Use Policy for content posted on the Web site, the Academy's Privacy Policy, and any notices regarding the Web site. It also incorporates by reference the Academy's Student Grievance Procedure and Student Code of Conduct.

1. Eligibility - You must be sixteen or over to register as a member of the Service or use the Web site. Membership in the Service is void where prohibited. By using the Web site, you represent and warrant that you have the right, authority, and capacity to enter into this Agreement and to abide by all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
2. Term - This Agreement will remain in full force and effect while you use the Web site and/or are a Member. You may terminate your membership at any time, for any reason. Please contact the discussion board administrator by email to terminate your account. Also, the Academy may terminate your membership in the Service if you breach this Agreement. If your membership is terminated by either you or the Academy, the terms of this Agreement will remain in effect.
3. Proprietary Rights in Content on Student Forums. The Academy of Art University owns and retains all proprietary rights in the Web site and the Service. The Web site contains copyrighted material- including links and compilations of individual data, trademarks, and other proprietary information - of the Academy of Art University, and its licensors. Except for that information which is in the public domain or for which you have been given written permission, you may not copy, modify, publish, transmit, distribute, perform, display, or sell any such proprietary information.
4. Content Posted on the Site. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of the Academy or any entity associated with the Academy. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact the discussion board administrator immediately by email. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, so please realize that we may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately.
   1. You understand and agree that the Academy may review and delete any content, messages, photos, or profiles (collectively, "Content") that in the sole judgment of the Academy violate this Agreement or which might be offensive, illegal, or that might violate the rights, harm, or threaten the safety of Members.
   2. You are solely responsible for the Content that you publish or display (hereinafter, "Post") on the Service, or transmit to other Members.
   3. By posting Content to any public area of the Web site, you automatically grant (and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant) to the Academy an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, fully paid, worldwide license to use, copy, perform, display, and distribute such information and content; and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such information and content; and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing.
   4. The following is a partial list of the kind of Content that is illegal or prohibited on the Web site. The Academy reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action in its sole discretion against anyone who violates this provision, including (without limitation) removing the offending communication from the Service and terminating the membership of such violators. It includes Content that:
      • is patently offensive to the online community, such as Content that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred, or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
      • harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
      • involves the transmission of "junk mail," "chain letters," or unsolicited mass mailing (or "spamming");
      • promotes information that you know is false, misleading, or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory, or libelous;
      • promotes an illegal or unauthorized copy of another person's copyrighted work, such as providing pirated computer programs or links to them, providing information to circumvent manufacture-installed copy-protect devices, or providing pirated music or links to pirated music files;
      • displays pornographic or explicitly sexual material of any kind (However, we recognize that the human form is one of the oldest artistic expressions, and will allow nudity if it is central to the statement of the artist. The following guidelines shall be used to determine whether a submission containing nudity will be allowed to remain:
        1. Is the submitter the original author of the piece, or does the work contain copywritten material for which the artist has not received permission, and has failed to manipulate to a necessary degree as to not infringe on copyright law?
        2. Does the submission explicitly depict sexual acts?
        3. Is the individual depicted over the age of 18?
        4. Is the submission done in good taste?);
      • provides material that exploits people under the age of 18 in a sexual or violent manner, or solicits personal information from anyone under 18;
      • provides instructional information about illegal activities such as making or buying illegal weapons, violating someone's privacy, or providing or creating computer viruses;
      • solicits passwords or personal identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes from other users; and
      • even though all of this is strictly prohibited, there is a small chance that you might become exposed to such items. You further waive your right to any damages (from any party) related to such exposure.
   5. You must use the Service in a manner consistent with any and all applicable laws and regulations.
   6. You may not transmit any chain letters or junk email to other Members. Although the Academy cannot monitor the conduct of its Members off the Web site, it is also a violation of these rules to use any information obtained from the Service in order to harass, abuse, or harm another person. In order to protect our Members from any such harassment, the Academy reserves the right to restrict the number of emails that a Member may send to other Members in any 24-hour period - a number that the Academy defines as appropriate in its sole discretion.
5. Copyright Policy. You may not post, distribute, or reproduce in any way any copyrighted material, trademarks, or other proprietary information without obtaining the prior written consent of the owner of such proprietary rights. Without limiting the foregoing, if you believe that your work has been copied and posted on the Service in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please contact the bulletin board administrator by email.
6. Member Disputes. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other Forums Members. The Academy reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other Members. Personal, or private, issues between two or more members are to remain private and should not be aired using the Student Forums. The insistence on making such matters public may result in closed forum threads and policy warnings.
7. Privacy. Use of Student Forums and/or the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy.
8. Disclaimers. The Academy is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate Content posted on the Web site or in connection with the Service, whether caused by users of the Web site, Members, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Service. The Academy is not responsible for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any user of the Web site or Member of the Service. The Academy assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, or the theft, destruction, or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, user or Member communications. The Academy is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines; computer online systems, servers or providers; computer equipment; software; failure of email or players on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any Web site or combination thereof. This includes injury or damage to users and/or Members or to any other person's computer related to or resulting from participating or downloading materials in connection with the Web and/or in connection with the Service. Under no circumstances will the Academy be responsible for any loss or damage, including personal injury or death, resulting from anyone's use of the Web site or the Service, any Content posted on the Web site or transmitted to Members, or any interactions between users of the Web site, whether online or offline. The Web site and the Service are provided "as-is," and the Academy expressly disclaims any warranty of fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement. The Academy cannot guarantee and does not promise any specific results from use of the Web site and/or the Service. The service may be temporarily unavailable from time to time for maintenance or other reasons. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by the user from the Academy, or through or from the service, shall create any warranty not expressly stated herein.
9. Limitation on Liability. Except in jurisdictions where such provisions are restricted, in no event will the Academy be liable to you or any third person for any indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special, or punitive damages, including also lost profits arising from your use of the Web site or the Service, even if the Academy has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Academy's liability to you for any cause whatsoever, and regardless of the form of the action, will at all times be limited to the amount paid, if any, by you to Academy for the Service during the term of membership.
10. Disputes. If there is any dispute about or involving the Web site and/or the Service, by using the Web site, you agree that the dispute will be governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You agree to personal jurisdiction by and venue in the state and federal courts of the State of California, City of San Francisco.
11. Indemnity. You agree to indemnify and hold the Academy, its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, and other partners and employees harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorney's fees made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the Service in violation of this Agreement and/or arising from a breach of this Agreement and/or any breach of your representations and warranties set forth above. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code Section 1542, which says, "A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which, if known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the debtor."
12. No Agency. No agency, partnership, joint venture, employee-employer or franchisor-franchisee relationship is created between the Academy and any User of the Service solely by virtue of the User's use of the Service.
13. U.S. Export Controls. Software from this Web site (the "Software") is further subject to United States export controls. No Software may be downloaded from the Web site or otherwise exported or re-exported (i) into (or to a national or resident of) Cuba, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Iran, Syria, or any other Country to which the U.S. has embargoed goods; or (ii) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Commerce Department's Table of Deny Orders. By downloading or using the Software, you represent and warrant that you are not located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any such country or on any such list.
14. Other. This Agreement, accepted upon use of the Web site and further affirmed by becoming a Member of the Service, contains the entire agreement between you and the Academy regarding the use of the Web site and/or the Service. The failure of the Academy to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid, the remainder of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. The section titles in these Terms of Service are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.

Do you have any questions regarding this agreement? Send email to websupport@academyart.edu or call us at 415-263-5577 (Mon-Fri 8-5 PST)

I HAVE READ THIS AGREEMENT AND AGREE TO ALL OF THE PROVISIONS CONTAINED ABOVE.