Brand Chain Community Website Terms of Use
Updated version: 4/26/2023
The Community Website Terms of Use (“Terms of Use”) are defining the conditions under which you may access and use the Community Website and all the functionalities provided (hereinafter designated together the “Service”).
By accessing or using the Service or by logging into with your allocated User ID, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. The User undertakes to have legal ability and means required to access and use the Service and acknowledges to have read, understood and accepted without limitation or reservation the Terms of Use, which apply in addition to the Privacy Policy.
Please review these Terms of Service carefully prior to using the Service. If you do not agree with these Terms of Use, please do not use the Service.
The Service is provided by Brand Chain:
Brand Chain, Registered office: 330 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 2000 Chicago, IL 60611
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone number: 800.230.0175
Hosting:
Google Cloud Platform
Company located at Gordon House, 4 Barrow St, Dublin, Ireland
Registered in the Dublin Trade and Companies Register under the number: 752925594
Phone number: +353 1 436 1000
Community Website: the online platform edited by Hivebrite and provided by Brand Chain, allowing User to benefit from the Service.
Data Protection Law: means the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation)
User Account: means a dedicated online account opened by any visitor and providing an access to the Service.
Identifiers: means login and password or social login the User used to create the User Account.
Party or Parties: means the User and Brand Chain designated either individually or collectively.
Service: means the Community Website and all the functionalities provided thereto and described in the Terms and Conditions.
Service Content: any data, text, files, information, usernames, images, graphics, photos, profiles, audio and video clips, sounds, works of authorship, applications, links, and other content or materials made available during the Service.
User or Users: means any person authorized by Brand Chain to access and use of the Service after creation of a User Account.
User Content: any content created, posted, or shared by the User, on or through the Service including any information, data, photos and other content relating to the User.
The Terms of Service will come into effect on first access to the Service for the entire duration of use.
The Service enables Users to connect with each other, build communities, or also do networking.
The Service comprises a suite of online services provided by Brand Chain, allowing the User to:
These Terms of Service govern the use of each component of the Service.
Access to the Service shall be subject to the creation of a User Account.
The Service is available on the website or the mobile app Brand Chain that can be downloaded through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store
The User must ensure to has (the “User’s System”):
Users shall bear all the costs for accessing the Service.
This shall require the entering of personal identification data through the online registration form accessible at the following address: https://brandchaincommunity.org
The User shall enter user identification data such as [name, surname, allocated user ID and email] and is invited to choose its Identifiers. Or
The User can create a User Account by connecting through his or her Facebook/LinkedIn/Google account or his or her SSO account.
The User agrees to provide only accurate and complete information when creating or updating his/her Account information.
In order to benefit from the Services, the User must log-in with the Facebook/LinkedIn/Google account the User used to create the User Account. Identifiers are personal and confidential. Users are responsible for keeping it secret and not disclose it to any third party in any form and for any reason whatsoever.
The User’s login can only be changed at the request of the User or at the initiative of Brand Chain. The User’s password is modifiable by the User through the User’s Account. The User is solely and entirely responsible for the use of the User’s Identifiers and undertakes to do everything possible to keep it secret and not to disclose them to anyone, in any form whatsoever and for any reason whatsoever. If the User forgets her/his password, the User can generate a new one by clicking on the link “Reset my password”.
The User is solely responsible for the activity that occurs on its User Account and will be responsible to keep its Identifiers secure and for the use of his Identifiers by third-parties or for any actions or declarations made through his User Account, whether fraudulent or not, and guarantees Brand Chain against any request in this respect.
If the User has reason to believe that a person is fraudulently using identification elements or his User Account, she or he must immediately inform Brand Chain by e-mail at the following address [email protected].
The User is solely responsible for the improper access, damage, disruption, loss or theft and adverse consequences caused by its breach of the confidentiality of the Identifiers. In case of loss, misappropriation or unauthorized use of its password, the User shall immediately notify Brand Chain.
Users may not use another’s account without permission. A User Account may not be shared, transferred, or sold to other parties, nor are they to be used by or made available to any person or entity except the registered user.
The Service is available for free of charge, excluding any connection costs, whose price depends on your electronic communication service provider, and applicable membership or event costs.
The Service and the Service Content belong and shall remain the property of Brand Chain =or its licensors as appropriate, and is protected by copyright, patent when applicable, trade secret and other intellectual property laws.
The User shall not acquire any of such rights title and interest (including, without limitation, all intellectual property rights such as copies, modifications, extensions and derivative works thereof) save as otherwise expressly set out in this Article 7.2 and the User shall take all necessary measures to this effect. All rights not expressly granted to Users are reserved and retained.
Any reproduction, representation, distribution, modification, adaptation or translation of these various Service Content, in whole or in part, in any form and current or future medium is strictly prohibited, except within the limit of the Terms of Service or with prior express authorization of Brand Chain. Any use of these Service Content not expressly authorized by Brand Chain shall constitute a violation of the Terms of Use and a violation of intellectual property rights.
Except as specifically permitted by these Terms of Use, User may not use or register any name, logo, brand or insignia of Brand Chain or any of its schools or subdivisions for any purpose except with Brand Chain prior written approval and in accordance with any restrictions required by Brand Chain. These are the property of Brand Chain or are subject to rights to use, duplicate or represent/communicate to the public that have been granted to such.
Brand Chain is the producer of databases on the Community Website and Brand Chain is the owner of any databases made available. The User shall not extract or reuse a substantial qualitative or quantitative portion of the databases, including for private purpose.
Brand Chain grants the User a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable license to use the Service for User’s personal, non-commercial purposes. The User may only use the Community Website on devices that User owns or controls. User may use the Service and the Service Content only in the manner and for the purposes specified in these Terms of Use. Except as specifically permitted by these Terms of Use, User may not modify, transmit, produce, distribute, display, sell, license, broadcast, or otherwise make available in any form or by any means any part of the Service or the Service Content without the express written permission of Brand Chain.
In connection with the use of the Services and Service Content or User’s Content, the User is not authorized to, or cannot allow a third party to:
The User represents and warrants that she or he retains ownership of all of his intellectual property rights in the User Content or that this User Content is subject to a license granted to the User by a third party holding these rights, under conditions allowing the User to freely use and/or transfer these elements for the purpose of using the Service, under the conditions described in the Terms and Conditions. Brand Chain does not claim ownership of the User Content.
The User holds Brand Chain harmless from all claims or actions brought by third parties on the grounds of an infringement of their rights, including, without limitation, publicity rights, copyrights, trademark and/or other intellectual property rights or privacy rights in the User Content.
By using the Service, the User represents and warrants that she or he has the legal right and capacity to enter into these Terms of Use in the User’s jurisdiction.
Persons aged 13 years old or less are not authorized to access the Service.
Generally, the User is committed to use the Services in accordance with the privacy policy made available to the User.
User may not post content which includes, but is not limited to: (i) sexually explicit materials; (ii) obscene, misleading, libelous, slanderous, violent, hateful and/or unlawful content or profanity; (iii) content that infringes upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other personal or proprietary right, or that is deceptive or fraudulent; (iv) content that promotes the use or sale of illegal or regulated substances, tobacco products, ammunition and/or firearms; and (v) gambling, including without limitation, any online casino, sports books, bingo or poker (“Objectionable Content”)via the Service.
User may not defame, stalk, bully, abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate or intimidate people or entities and must not post private or confidential information via the Service, including, without limitation, the User or any other person's credit card information, social security or alternate national identity numbers, non-public phone numbers or non-public email addresses.
User must not create accounts with the Service through unauthorized means, including but not limited to, by using an automated device, script, bot, spider, crawler or scraper.
User must not attempt to restrict another User from using or enjoying the Service and must not encourage or facilitate violations of these Terms of Service.
User may only make non-commercial uses of the Service and Service Content. Use of Service or the Service Content for any commercial, public or political purpose is strictly prohibited. Prohibited activities include, but are not limited to: (1) activities that are illegal or fraudulent; (2) use that inaccurately implies endorsement, approval, or sponsorship by Brand Chain (or any individual officer or employee of Brand Chain); (3) use that can be confused with official communications of Brand Chain or its officers or employees; and (4) print or electronic mass mailings (sometimes known as "spamming"), solicitations for commercial services.
In order to ensure the Community Website provides the best experience possible for everyone, if a User sees any inappropriate content, she or he must use the “Report as offensive” feature found under each post.
Brand Chain has no general obligation to monitor User Content nor to investigate whether facts or circumstances are revealing illicit activities. Brand Chain has set up a reporting tool allowing any User to notify illegal, abusive and harmful content.
The knowledge of such content is deemed effective when the hosting provider is notified of following:
If a User Content is reported, Brand Chain reserves the right to withdraw the reported content and/or suspend or terminate the User Account of the User having originally published the reported content in the conditions set forth in Article 11.2.
At any time, the User may delete its User Account by contacting Brand Chain at the address or email address mentioned in Article 15.
Deletion is effective immediately and all the data collected upon the subscription as well as the content published by the User on the Community Website is deleted after a period consistent with the Privacy Policy.
Brand Chain retains the right to suspend User’s access to the Service to make all investigations necessary following a report made pursuant to Article 10 or in case of presumed breach of Terms of Use which may be remediated. The User whose User Account is suspended will be informed by Brand Chain of such a decision by email. The User has the possibility send an email to Brand Chain to obtain additional information on the reasons for the suspension as well as to provide explanations and/or any element in order to demonstrate that the breach has been remediated. If the violation of Terms of Use is not remedied within one (1) month from suspension notification, Brand Chain reserves the right to terminate the applicable User’s Account and right to use the Service, in addition to any other rights or remedies available.
Brand Chain will delete inactive accounts after a continuous period of 2 year the User has not used the Community Website.
By using the Service, User’s personal data, in the meaning of Data Protection Law, may be collected and processed by Brand Chain, in compliance with the Brand Chain Privacy Policy and the Cookie Policy, (collectively, “Privacy Policies”).
Brand Chain will treat User Content as confidential information in accordance in accordance with these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policies.
Brand Chain is not responsible for the User’s device compatibility nor if the User is unable to connect due to any technical problem related to the Internet network or a failure in the User's computer facilities and equipment.
Brand Chain shall not be responsible for User’s System nor any problems arising from or related to User’s System or caused by the Internet. User is responsible for the security of the User System and the security of its access to and connection with the Services.
Insofar as it has not been reported in the conditions of Article 10, any document, information, data, or elements available via the Service, including User Content (“Information”) is provided without any guarantees, notably that the Information is comprehensive or accurate.
The User is solely responsible for the use of the Information and bears all the risks arising from your reliance on this Information. The Information is provided on the condition that the User can determine its interest for a specific purpose before use. Under no circumstances Brand Chain accepts liability for injury arising from reliance on the said Information, its use or use of a product to which it refers.
The User is solely responsible for all User Content posted, and assumes all risks relating to its use by others and others’ reliance on its accuracy. The User acknowledges that, following the publication of the any content, its information will become accessible to all the Users on the Community Website and that as such, same information will be published, modified, translated, reproduced in any form and accessible, saved and reproduced by other Users and Brand Chain. Brand Chain will have no responsibility or liability in connection with the User Content.
Brand Chain expressly excludes any liability for events of any kind that may occur during any meeting organized between Users within the use of the Services.
The Community Website may provide links to websites operated by third parties or other internet sources/networks, as well as data/information coming from third-party servers. Brand Chain does not endorse or accept responsibility for the content or the use of third-party websites and cannot be held liable for any damage following or in relation with use or the fact of having trusted the content/data/results available on such third-party servers, external sources or internet sites.
If a User uses third-party sites or content from third-party servers, User does so solely at User’s own risk. Links do not imply that the Company is affiliated or associated with any linked site.
For any questions regarding the Terms of Use, especially use of the Service or any claim, please contact Brand Chain.
The User can use these contact details for any technical support request.
Change of Terms of Use. These Terms of Use are subject to change from time to time. Any changes will be posted to this page. Use of this Service or any Service Content after entering into force the new version of the Terms of Use will constitute the agreement to the modified Terms of Use. If the User disagrees with such modification of the Terms of Use, the User may terminate the Service and delete its User Account under the conditions set forth in Article 11.
Change of the Service. Brand Chain may further develop or modify the Service or the Service Content only to improve its quality. The User will be informed of such development/modification as soon as it is implemented.
Severability; Entire Agreement. Except in the case of invalidity of an essential clause, if any provision of these Terms of Use is held to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision, to the extent unenforceable, shall be struck, and shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions. These Terms of Use, including the Privacy Policies, set forth the entire understanding and agreement between the User and Brand Chain with respect to the subject matter hereof.
Convention of proof. Electronic documents exchanged by electronic means between the User and the Brand Chain shall be regarded as writings having the same probative force as writings on paper in the meaning of applicable law. They may constitute faithful and durable copies in accordance with applicable law, so that the User is invited to keep them.
Force majeure. In no case Brand Chain may be held liable for any breach of its contractual obligations resulting from a force majeure event as defined in applicable law and related jurisprudence.
Brand Chain (“us,” “our,” or "we") has created this privacy policy in order to demonstrate our commitment to your privacy and protection of personal information that we collect and process. The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices. Unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms “you” and “your” refer to both you individually and any entity on whose behalf you are accessing our Website.
This privacy policy applies to information we collect (our “Collection Places”):
· On this Website (including its integrated third party platforms);
· On other platforms we use to facilitate our management of the services we provide to you (e.g. conference registration sites); and
· In email, text, other electronic messages or by telephone or other communications between you and us and (if you are a member) between you and other members through the Website.
If you have questions or concerns regarding this policy, we welcome you to contact us [email protected].
1. Acknowledgement of this Privacy Statement
Your use of any of our Collection Places signifies that you have read and understand all of the terms of this privacy policy.
2. Personal Information You Provide Voluntarily
We collect personal information at our Collection Places that include, but is not limited to, name, telephone number, email address, employer, professional title, date of birth, home or business and mailing address, gender, details regarding your entity and business, your job title, username and password, company contacts for corporate members, photographs, and education.
The personal information you are asked to provide (including whether its provision is mandatory or not) is needed so that we may facilitate your access, purchase, use and/or participation in our service offerings, such as (collectively “Services”):
(a) Membership;
(b) Conferences & Events;
(c) Educational programs;
(d) Online forums;
(e) Certification/accreditation activities;
(f) Volunteer opportunities;
(g) Products for sale;
(h) Career services;
(i) Surveys; and
(j) Any other services and products that are updates or extensions to our Services or relate to other member benefits.
If you choose not to provide us with your personal information, you may not be able to enjoy certain components of our Services.
Additionally, we will also collect personal information when:
· You request us to contact you via mail, e-mail, or telephone to provide information, updates, or promotions about our Services;
· We enter into agreements for affiliated partnerships (e.g., exhibitors, sponsors, advertisers).
We will provide you with the choice and means for limiting the use and disclosure of your personal information before we use or disclose the information for a purpose that is materially different than the purpose described below.
At other times, we may collect information that cannot be used to identify you. For example, we may aggregate non-personal information about you and other customers who visit our Websites. Aggregated information will not contain any information that can be linked directly back to you.
For those Website users located outside the United States including the European Economic Area, we advise you that your information may at times be accessible by individuals who are located worldwide or other geopolitical regions have not been determined to provide the same level of data protection as in your country, province, territory or geopolitical region. By providing us with your personal information, you are consenting to our use of it in accordance with this privacy policy, including the transfer of your information across international boundaries to jurisdictions anywhere in the world as permitted by local law.
3. Personal Information We Collect Automatically
In addition to the Collection Places, we may use any number of tools to collect information about you, your computer access points, and the web browser that you use to connect to our Website. For example, cookies are tiny text files that we place on your computer’s hard drive when you visit our Website. We may use cookies to personalize your interactions with our Websites. You do not have to accept our cookies and you may set your browser to restrict their use and you may delete them after they have been placed on your hard drive. If you do not accept or delete our cookies, some areas of our Website may take more time to work, or may not function properly.
Under the laws of various EU countries, cookies may be served, as long as individuals have provided their consent, having been given clear and comprehensive information, in particular about the purposes for which their personal data will be processed. In at least the above-referenced countries, effective consent may be provided by using browser settings, as long as you take positive action. Before using our Website, you are advised to check your current browser settings to ensure that the settings reflect your consent for us to place cookies on your devices.
We may also collect additional information from your web browser each time you visit f our Website. We may collect information about the pages that you visit and the time spent on each web page or area of the Website, the promotions or advertisements that you click on, and other actions that you take while using our Website. This information may include your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, the type of browser, the time that your browser was used to access our Website, and the referring website’s address. We may also use tools such Google Analytics.
We may also collect information that cannot be used to identify you. For example, we may aggregate non-personal information about you and other individuals who visit our Website. Aggregated information will not contain any information that can be linked directly back to you.
Our Service Providers (defined below) may also use other standard web-based technologies to analyze your movements while accessing our Websites. The technologies include web “beacons,” “pixel tags,” and “clear gifs.” These technologies help us ascertain the effectiveness of our product and service campaigns and marketing programs, allow us to customize the services offered on or through our Website, and help determine the best use for Website content, and product and service offerings. Some of this information, including the IP address, may be stored on our Internet service provider’s server logs, and may be available for extended periods of time.
4. Choice
We will offer you the opportunity to choose (opt out) whether your personal information is: (a) to be disclosed to a third party and that third party intends to use the personal information for a purpose that is materially different from the purpose for which the personal information was originally collected; or (b) We intend the personal information to be used for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was originally collected or subsequently authorized by you.
5. Our Use of Your Personal Information
Brand Chain may use your personal information to:
(a) Provide information about our Services and affiliate partnerships;
(b) Fulfill your member benefits;
(c) Facilitate your attendance/participation at our conferences and events (both in person and virtual);
(d) Track your attendance at conferences and trade shows (including exhibitor spaces);
(e) Prepare invoices and process payments;
(f) Respond to any of your questions or requests or other communications you send to us;
(g) Carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contract entered between you and us;
(h) Fulfill any other purpose for which you provide information to us;
(i) Present our Website effectively to you; or
(j) Perform any other legitimate purpose reasonably consistent with your membership or affiliated partnership.
Additional uses of your non-personal and personal information will allow us to tailor our Services specific to your needs, to help organize and manage our relationship with you or your business, to conduct business, to provide you with support, and to perform functions that are described to you at the time of collection.
In general, we will use the personal information we collect from you only for the purposes described in this privacy policy or for purposes that we explain to you at the time we collect your personal information. However, we may also use your personal information for other purposes that are not incompatible with the purposes we have disclosed to you (such as archiving purposes in the public interest, research purposes, or statistical purposes) if and where this is permitted by applicable data protection laws.
6. Our Disclosure of Your Personal Information to Third Parties
We may share your personal information with the following categories of recipients:
· Third party service providers (“Service Providers”) who provide (without limitation) administrative/operational services; data processing; membership services; marketing & communication services; meeting management services; website hosting services; membership database services; credit card processing; conference registration; conference mobile applications; ; conference/event hotels and venues; or who otherwise process personal information for purposes that are described in this privacy policy or notified to you when we collect your personal information;
· Other Brand Chain members may receive certain items of your personal information as part of a membership directory or through collaboration portals. In addition, if you sign up to attend a member meeting or other Brand Chain-sponsored event, all other Brand Chain members who sign up for the event will be notified of your intended attendance at the event and may be given your full name, address, company name, and email address. We are not responsible for other members use or misuse of your personal information; and
· Affiliated partners, such as exhibitors, sponsors and advertisers, may receive membership lists or event attendance lists that include your full name, address, company name, and email address. We are similarly not responsible for the use or misuse of your personal information by our affiliated partners.
We may also disclose your personal information as is necessary to: (a) comply with a subpoena or court order; (b) cooperate with law enforcement or other government agencies; (c) establish or exercise our legal rights; (d) protect the property or safety of our company and employees, contractors, vendors, suppliers, and customers; (e) defend against legal claims; (f) help with internal and external investigations; or (g) as otherwise required by law or permitted by law. We may disclose your information in connection with the sale or merger of Brand Chain or any transaction that involves the sale or assignment of some or all of our assets.
7. Data Storage and Security
We make reasonable efforts to ensure that our Service Providers have implemented physical, electronic, and procedural security measures to assist with safeguarding your personal information, and to help protect against unauthorized access and disclosure. Notwithstanding our efforts, the Internet has inherent security risks. We cannot promise, and you should not expect, that your personal information, personal searches, and other communications will always remain secure. You should take care with regard to how you handle and disclose your personal information or any username or password that you are required to use to access all of our Collection Places.
We will not keep your personal information longer than necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. We will securely destroy or erase personal information from our systems when it is no longer required to accomplish the purpose for which it was collected. We also will endeavor to ensure the deletion and destruction of personal information stored and maintained by third parties. We may, however, retain some personal information in order to comply with applicable laws, regulations, rules and court orders.
8. Children and Data Collection
Our Website content is not directed toward children who are under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we or our Service Providers become aware that a child has provided us with personal information without parental consent, that information will be deleted from our databases. If you have questions about personal information that may have been submitted by a child, please email us at [email protected].
9. How You May Access and Change the Information that ACRONYM Collects
The first time that you provide us with registration information through our Website, you may be offered the opportunity to subscribe to and receive additional information about our products and services. Each commercial e-mail that we send to you will offer you the opportunity to opt-out of continuing to receive such messages. We may take up to 10 business days to process your opt-out requests. In some instances, we may have already shared your information with one of our authorized third parties before you changed your information preferences, and you may briefly continue to receive e-mail even after you have opted out. FTC e-mail compliance guidance allows us to send you transactional and relationship e-mail without offering you the opportunity to opt-out of receiving those types of e-mail.
For those Website users located in the European Union, we are required by law to advise you that your personal information may, at times, be accessible by individuals who are located worldwide including in countries that the European Commission has not determined provide the same level of data protection as in your country. By providing us with your personal information, you are consenting to our use of it in accordance with our privacy policy, including the transfer of your personal information across international boundaries to jurisdictions anywhere in the world as permitted by local law, including, without limitation the United States.
In some cases, the United States may not be deemed to have data privacy laws that afford an equal level of protection for your personal information as those laws legislated at the direction of the European Union, however, please be assured that we will continue to adhere to the principles stated in this privacy policy and in applicable laws in connection with any personal information. We will endeavor to preserve the integrity, confidentiality, and security of personal information and afford such personal information an adequate level of protection.
10. Rooms/Forums/Message Boards/News Groups
Our Website may make digital forums available to its users. Please remember that any information disclosed in these areas becomes public information, and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose information through these areas of the Website.
11. Enforcement
We use a self-assessment approach to assure compliance with this privacy policy and periodically verifies that the policy is accurate, comprehensive for the information intended to be covered, prominently displayed, completely implemented and accessible and in conformity with the EU privacy principles. We encourage interested persons to raise any concerns using the contact information provided and we will investigate and attempt to resolve any complaints or disputes regarding the use and disclosure of personal information in accordance with the principles.
If a complaint or dispute cannot be resolved through our internal process, we agree to dispute resolution using (an independent resourced mechanism) as a third party resolution provider.
12. General Information and Privacy Support Contact
We may update this privacy policy from time to time, and you should take the time to review it each time that you visit one of our Web sites. We are committed to protecting your personal privacy. If you have questions or comments about our efforts to protect your personal privacy, or if you require additional information about our privacy commitment, please contact us at [email protected].
