1. Purpose
The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (the “GS/OAS”) maintains the Inter-American Cooperation Network (“CooperaNet” or the “Platform”), as part of the efforts of the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development of the GS/OAS to provide a mechanism for the OAS member states cooperation authorities, built on the common interest of various actors to cooperate and share knowledge on cooperation for development, build alliances and networks, leverage development assistance and provide more targeted technical cooperation initiatives.
2. Agreement
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, by registering, accessing, or using this Platform, including: its services, the communication tools designed to facilitate this use, and any new tool made available by the GS/OAS that alters or improves your use of the Platform (collectively, the “Services”), and any content, data, or information provided as part of the Services (the “Materials”), you are subject to this agreement (these “Terms of Use”).
3. Usernames
In order to access certain portions and features of the Platform, you may have to create a “username” and complete an account registration process. If you do so, you agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information about yourself as prompted by the Platform's registration forms. You also agree to update your account information in a prompt manner in order to keep it true, accurate, current, and complete. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account password and username, and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your password or username.
4. No Warranties and Limitation on Liability
You use the Platform, Services, and Materials at your sole risk. The GS/OAS provides the Platform, Services, and Materials “as is” and “as available.” The GS/OAS expressly disclaims to the full extent permitted by law all warranties of any kind related to the Platform and its Services and Materials, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, suitability for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. The GS/OAS makes no warranty that:
- The Platform, Services, or Materials will meet your requirements;
- The Platform, Services, or Materials will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free;
- The results of the Platform, Services, or Materials will be accurate or reliable;
- The quality of any Services or Materials obtained by you through the Platform will meet your expectations; or
- The Platform, Services, Materials, or communications sent from the GS/OAS will be free of viruses or other harmful components. No information obtained by you from the GS/OAS or through this Platform shall create any warranty not expressly stated in these Terms of Use.
Under no circumstances shall the GS/OAS be liable for any loss, damage, liability, or expense incurred or suffered which is claimed to result from your use of this Platform, including without limitation, any fault, error, omission, interruption, or delay with respect thereto.
Under no circumstances, including, but not limited to, negligence, shall the GS/OAS be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages, even if the GS/OAS has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
You specifically acknowledge and agree that the GS/OAS is not liable for any conduct of any user. You hereby release the GS/OAS from claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, arising out of or in any way connected with the conduct of any user.
The GS/OAS shall not be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error, omission, interruption, timeliness, completeness, deletion, defect, failure of performance, computer virus, communication line failure, alteration of, or use of any Service or Material contained on this Platform, regardless of cause, for any damages resulting therefrom.
You agree to indemnify the GS/OAS from and against any and all actions, claims, losses, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of your use of this Platform, including without limitation, any claims alleging facts that if true would constitute a breach by you of these Terms of Use.
Other parties may have ownership interests in some of the Services or Materials contained on this Platform. The GS/OAS in no way represents or warrants that it owns or controls all rights in all Services or Materials, and the GS/OAS will not be liable to you for any claims brought against you by third parties in connection with your use of any Services or Materials.
5. Interactive Tools
This Platform contains interactive tools that enable you to “Post” (i.e., upload, post, make available, offer, communicate, send, share, or transmit) Services or Materials. You agree not to use these interactive tools to do any of the following:
- Violate any applicable law or encourage or provide instructions to another to do so.
- Defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten, or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others.
- Post any infringing, obscene, indecent, or unlawful material or information.
- Misrepresent your identity.
- Collect or store personal information about anyone.
- Send "spam" email messages to anyone.
- Upload or attach files that contain viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another's computer.
- Delete any author attributions, legal notices, or proprietary designations or labels in any file that is uploaded.
- Falsify the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is uploaded.
- Conduct or forward surveys, contests, or chain letters on the Platform.
- Download any file posted by another user that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally distributed in such manner.
The GS/OAS reserves the right to review, reject, or remove the Services or Materials that you Post at any time, for any or no reason whatsoever, and with or without notice to you.
6. No Endorsement
You acknowledge that exchanges using interactive tools are public and not private communications.
You acknowledge that postings by other users should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by the GS/OAS.
This Platform, through its Services and Materials, may contain advice, opinions, statements, findings, interpretations, and conclusions of other users or various content providers. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the OAS, its member states and the GS/OAS do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, finding, interpretation, conclusion, or other information provided by any user of this Platform, or any other person, entity, or content provider. Reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement, finding, interpretation, conclusion, or other information shall also be at your own risk.
You may not publicly represent or imply that the GS/OAS is participating in, or has sponsored, approved, or endorsed the manner or purpose of your use of the Services or the use or reproduction of the Materials contained in this Platform.
7. No Association
No agency, partnership, joint venture, employee-employer, or franchiser-franchisee relationship is intended or created by these Terms of Use. You agree not to make any public statements that assert or imply any relationship with the GS/OAS, unless you have the GS/OAS' prior written approval.
8. Intellectual Property Rights – Licenses
You grant the GS/OAS a royalty-free, irrevocable, transferrable, sublicensable, and non-exclusive perpetual license throughout the universe for use in any and all media whether now known or hereafter devised to use and exploit (including without limitation by reproduction, distribution, public display, adaptation, and/or public performance) any and all Materials that you post.
By using this Platform and any of the Materials made available through it, you agree to be bound to the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 IGO license (CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO), unless the specific terms under which those Materials may be used is explicitly noted in the same Materials. To access the complete text of the license agreement CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/igo/deed.en
9. Complaints Regarding Content and Possible Infractions
If you believe that your rights, or the rights of a third party, including any intellectual property rights, are being violated in any way by any Services or Materials on the Platform, please contact us at:
Executive Secretariat for Integral Development of the GS/OAS
Technical Cooperation Section/CooperaNet
1889 F Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
United States of America
Tel.: (1-202) 370- 4565
Electronic Mail: [email protected]
Also, please immediately notify the GS/OAS of any unauthorized use of your password or username or any other breach of security.
10. Termination
The GS/OAS reserves the right, at its sole discretion for any reason or no reason, at any time and from time to time, and with or without notice to you, to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Platform (or any part thereof) or to terminate your username and account and/or your access to the Site (or any part thereof).
11. Privileges and Immunities
Nothing in these Terms of Use constitutes an express or implied waiver of the privileges and immunities of the OAS, the GS/OAS, their personnel, and their assets, in accordance with the OAS Charter, relevant agreements, applicable national law, or the general principles and practices of international law.
12. Dispute Resolution and Applicable Law
Any dispute or complaint that may arise in conjunction with the application or interpretation of these Terms of Use shall be settled by direct negotiations between the GS/OAS and the user. If a solution satisfactory to both parties cannot be reached, then the parties shall submit their differences to arbitration pursuant to the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”) or of the Inter-American Commercial Arbitration Commission (“IACAC”) currently in effect. The place of arbitration shall be Washington D.C, U.S.A. The language in the proceedings shall be English unless the parties agree otherwise. The three arbitrators or, as the case may be, the one arbitrator shall decide the dispute as amiable compositeur or ex aequo et bono. The arbitrator’s decision shall be final, binding and not subject to appeal.
The law applicable to the arbitration proceedings and to this agreement shall be the law of the District of Columbia, USA.
13. General Provisions
13.1 Third-party Websites
This Platform may contain links to third-party web sites. The linked sites are not under the control of the GS/OAS, which is not responsible for the contents of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site. The GS/OAS does not endorse the links to other sites.
13.2 Use of OAS Logo and Name
You may not use the OAS logo and name without the GS/OAS's prior written consent.
13.3 Non-Exclusive Agreement
You acknowledge that these Terms of Use constitute a non-exclusive agreement. The GS/OAS may develop Services that compete with Services that you offer without incurring any liability.
13.4 Amendments
These Terms of Use may be amended by the GS/OAS from time to time at its sole discretion. Upon amendment, the GS/OAS will place a notice on CooperaNet’s homepage. Please periodically review the controlling version of these Terms of Use. By continuing to use the Platform subsequent to the SG/OAS making available an amended version of these Terms of Use, you thereby acknowledge, agree, and consent to such amendment.
Last updated: 04/10/2017