Open Architecture Network

This document sets forth the terms of use (the “Terms”) of the Open Architecture Network (the “Network”), a project of Architecture for Humanity, Inc., a public charity described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“AFH”). In these Terms, “we,” “us,” “its” and “ours” refers to the Network and/or AFH as the context requires, and “you” and “your” refers to you.

What is the Network?

The purpose of the Network is to provide the public with a common Project to develop architectural solutions to humanitarian problems. Users of the Network will be able to establish separate Projects, with public or limited access (each a “Project” and collectively the “Projects”), on which users will be able to collaborate on and exchange ideas regarding their Projects.

General provisions regarding your rights and our rights on the Network.

By using the Network, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you are not permitted to use the Network. If you violate any of these Terms, you automatically forfeit your right to use the Network, regardless of any actions we take or don’t take to enforce such forfeiture.

We reserve the right, at our discretion, to change, modify, add or remove portions of these Terms. Such modifications shall be effective immediately upon posting of the modified Terms to the Network. Your continued use of the Network following the posting of changes to these Terms will mean that you accept those changes.

In addition, each user's use of a particular Project may be subject to specific guidelines or rules ("Project Rules") established and enforced by the user(s) who moderate the Project (the “Moderator”). To the extent the Project Rules are in conflict with the Terms, the Terms shall prevail.

The Network and all information contained on it is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. The Network reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Network or any Project or Project thereon (or any part thereof), with or without notice. We will not be liable to you, any other user or any third party for any direct or indirect damages you may incur as a result of such modification, suspension or discontinuance. Please see “Our Potential Liability to You is Strictly Limited” below for further information.

In general, you will be able protect your rights in content you post to the Network through use of a “Creative Commons license.” Please go to the Creative Commons website (http://creativecommons.org/) to get more information on the Creative Commons licensing system and how you may use it to protect content you post to the Network. Please also note that Creative Commons licenses apply to content located on the Network.

You may not use the Network in a manner that violates any applicable law.

By using the Network, you covenant that (a) any content you provide to the Network is provided free of any trademark rights, licenses or other intellectual property rights that prevent such content from being used on the Network in the manner contemplated by these Terms (or any applicable Project Rules), and (b) you will not use the Network or any content obtained therefrom for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms (or any applicable Project Rules).

You must be legally competent to use the Network.

By using the Network, you represent that you are at least 18 years of age, are legally competent to form a binding contract and are not a person barred from receiving services under the laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdiction. You also agree to: (a) provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the Network’s registration form (such information the "Registration Data") and (b) maintain and promptly update the Registration Data to keep it true, accurate, current and complete at all times. If you fail to comply with this requirement, we have the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Network (or any portion thereof).

You will receive a password and account designation upon submitting your Registration Data. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the password and account, and are fully liable for all activities occurring thereunder. We will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to maintain the confidentiality of your account.

Content located on the Network may be the property of another person.

All information, data, text, software, music, sound, images, sketches, diagrams, photographs, graphics, renderings, CAD files, video, messages or any other materials whatsoever (collectively, "Content"), however posted to, maintained on, or transmitted via the Network, is the sole responsibility and property of the person from which such Content originated (the “Author”). This means that the Author, and not the Network or AFH, is entirely responsible for all Content that he or she uploads, posts, or transmits via the Network. In the event any Content is deemed illegal under applicable law, we will cooperate fully with applicable authorities in removing such Content and identifying its Author.

Except as they may provide pursuant to a “Creative Commons” license or otherwise, and except as provided below with respect to the rights of the Network to Content posted therein, Authors retain all patent, trademark, and copyright rights to all Content they post. We are not responsible for protecting the rights of any Author to his or her Content, and Authors are not entitled to our assistance in protecting such Content. Although we claim no ownership over any Content, by making Content available in the publicly accessible areas of the Network you grant us a world-wide, royalty free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully sublicensable license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, publicly perform and publicly display such Content solely for the purposes of providing and promoting the Network.

Please note that all Content posted to the Resources area of the Network is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Content is not investigated, screened, or warranted for any particular purpose.

We generally will not screen Content and we are under no obligation to do so. We may, however, investigate complaints regarding Content. After investigating a complaint, we may call upon an Author to retract, modify, or protect (by means of Project settings or otherwise) the Content in question. If the Author fails to satisfy such a request, we delete the Content in question, terminate of the account of the Author, or take other appropriate action.

Although Content may contain information that is prepared by a member of a profession or a skilled trade, Content is for general informational purposes only and is not specific professional advice rendered to you in your particular circumstances. By accessing Content, no contract is created between you or any other person, including the Author, the Network or AFH. In addition, neither the Network, AFH or any Author make any representations or warranties regarding the fitness or quality of Content or its appropriateness for any particular use, its compliance with applicable laws or regulations (including building codes), or its consistency with prevailing practices in any particular location. Specifically, local building codes and requirements are subject to change at any time, and complete and accurate building code information can only be obtained directly from the relevant governmental agency in your jurisdiction. You are advised to consult with an architect or other relevant professional licensed to practice in your jurisdiction prior to making use of any Content.

Communications between users do not create enforceable rights between users.

From time to time users may be able to access an “Ask a Guru” or similar wiki-like function. "Ask a Guru" refers simply to Authors with multiple postings or specific interest in a particular topic, and we do not review any of the comments or users and we have no legal duty to perform any such review. By accessing an “Ask a Guru” or similar function, no contract is created between you or any other person, including the Author, the Network or AFH. In addition, neither the Network, AFH or any Author make any representations or warranties regarding the fitness or quality of any information provided through the “Ask a Guru” function, its appropriateness for any particular use, its compliance with applicable laws or regulations (including building codes), or its consistency with prevailing practices in any particular location.

You agree to abide by the following general rules of conduct.

If you violate any of the following, the Network may take any corrective action, the nature of which will be determined by the Network in its sole and absolute discretion.

You agree to NOT use the Network to:

a. Upload, post or otherwise transmit any content that is in the Network’s opinion unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive to another's privacy (up to, but not excluding any address, email, phone number, or any other contact information with out the written consent of the owner of such information), hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;

b. Harm minors in any way;

c. Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;

d. Manipulate data in order to disguise the origin of any Content transmitted through the Network;

e. Upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements);

f. Upload, post or otherwise transmit any content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party;

g. 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;

h. Upload, post or otherwise transmit any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;

i. Interfere with or disrupt the Network, or servers or networks connected to the Network, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Network;

j. Intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, or any regulations having the force of law;

k. "Stalk" or otherwise harass another person or company;

l. Collect or store personal data about other users for business purposes;

m. Use the Network as a forwarding service to another website;

n. Allow usage by others in such a way as to violate the Terms;

o. Sell, resell, or offer any Project or any portion of the Network (including use of or access to the Network) for any commercial purposes.

We may terminate your right to use the Network at any time.

You agree that we, in our sole discretion, may terminate your password, account, and remove and discard any content within the Network, for any reason. You agree that any termination of your access to the Network under any provision of these Terms may be effected without prior notice, and acknowledge and agree that we may immediately deactivate or delete your account and all related information and files. We reserve the right to bar any further access to such files or the Network. You agree that we will not be liable to you or any third-party for any termination of your access to the Network. Payments received for access to the Network will be refunded only at our discretion.

You are obligated to indemnify us in certain circumstances.

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold the Network, AFH, and its subsidiaries and affiliates and their respective officers, employees and agents, and each of our website partners harmless from any and all claims, demands, damages, costs and liabilities, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your acts or omissions, including claims arising out of your use of the Network, your posting of Content, and your violation of these Terms.

Our potential liability is strictly limited.

You agree that we are not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data or other intangible losses (whether or not we have been informed of the possibility of such damages) resulting from (a) your inability to use the Network, (b) any costs you incur in connection with your access of information from the Network (whether as replacement of information you obtained from the Network or otherwise), (c) unauthorized access to or alteration of your transmissions or Content, or (d) the conduct of any other user relating to your use of the Network.

In particular, please note the following regarding the limited nature of our obligations to you:

1. You use the Network at your own risk. We expressly disclaim any warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement, whether with respect to the Network itself or any content contained therein. In particular, we are not responsible for any damage to your computer system or data that results from your use of the Network.
2. We disclaim any warranty that (i) the Network will meet your requirements, (ii) the Network will not experience temporary interruptions or will not be terminated in its entirety, (iii) the quality of any services or products obtained by using the Network will be satisfactory, or (iv) any problems or errors in the Network will be corrected.
3. No information or advice you obtain from the Network shall create a contract between you and us (or between you and the provider of such information or advice), and any such information or advice is provided free of all warranties.
4. Nothing herein shall be deemed to create an agency, partnership, joint venture, employer-employee, franchisor-franchisee or other relationship between you and us or any other person.

You release any claims you may have against us in your disputes with others.

In the event that you have a dispute with one or more Network users, you release us (and our officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, parent corporation, joint ventures and employees) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes. In particular, you waive any rights you may have under California Civil Code §1542 or any other similar provision of the applicable law of any other jurisdiction.

The software that comprises the Network is proprietary.

You acknowledge and agree that the Network and any necessary software used in connection with the Network ("Software") contain proprietary and confidential information that is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws. You further acknowledge and agree that Content presented to you through the Network is protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents or other proprietary rights and laws. You agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on the Network or the Software, in whole or in part.

We grant you a personal, non-transferable and non-exclusive right and license to use the object code of the Software on a single computer; provided that you do not (and do not allow any third party to) copy, modify, create a derivative work of, reverse engineer, reverse assemble or otherwise attempt to discover any source code, sell, assign, sublicense, grant a security interest in or otherwise transfer any right in the Software. You agree not to modify the Software in any manner or form, or to use modified versions of the Software, including (without limitation) for the purpose of obtaining unauthorized access to the Network. You agree not to access the Network by any means other than through the interface that is provided by us for use in accessing the Network.

We have rights in our trademarks.

The Open Architecture Network, Architecture for Humanity, their logos and other insignia and names (the “Marks”) are trademarks of Architecture for Humanity. All other names and designs may be trademarks of their respective owners. Without our prior permission, you agree not to display or use in any manner, the Marks.

Our designated agent to receive notice pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 is:

Steven R. Meier
Jenner & Block LLP
330 N. Wabash Avenue, Suite 4000
Chicago, IL 60611

Other items relevant to the Terms.

Choice of Law and Forum. The Terms and the relationship between you and us shall be governed by the laws of the State of Illinois without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in Cook County, Illinois.

Waiver and Severability of Terms. Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of the Terms is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Terms remain in full force and effect.

No Right of Survivorship and Non-Transferability. You agree that your Network account is non-transferable and any rights to your Registration Data or contents within your account terminate upon your death. Upon receipt of a copy of a death certificate, your account may be terminated and all contents therein permanently deleted.

Statute of Limitations. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of the Network must be filed within 90 days after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.