Terms and Conditions

By using the pages on this website, you signify your agreement to these Terms and Conditions, which, together with our Privacy Policy [5], govern NatureServe’s relationship with you in relation to our websites.

We reserve the right, at our discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of these terms at any time. Please check these terms periodically for changes. Your continued use of these sites following the posting of changes to these terms will mean you accept those changes.

Intellectual Property

The Site is owned and copyrighted by NatureServe. The content featured or displayed on the Site, including, but not limited to, still images, maps, map data, text, pictorial works, video images, still images of video, graphic designs, audio recordings, multimedia combinations, and computer programs, including web-based programs ("Content") is owned by NatureServe or used with permission of the copyright holder.

Pursuant to the copyright and trademark laws of the United States, you agree:

1. That you may only download Content that NatureServe designates as offered for download to any single computer a single copy of any Content for personal and noncommercial use, unless such use follows the Educational and Conservation Use of Content outlined below in this agreement.
2. To not reproduce, distribute, modify, re-post on another site (regardless of the server on which the Content is stored), or sell any Content without specific written authorization from NatureServe, unless such use is pursuant to Part III of this agreement (Educational and Conservation Use of Content).
3. To maintain any and all copyright or other proprietary notices embedded in or attached to any Content.
4. That by posting or submitting any text or other materials to the Site you grant NatureServe a royalty-free license for the use of such materials.
5. Pursuant to Title 17, United States Code, Section 512, notifications of claimed copyright infringement on the Site should be sent to our designated agent. If you believe that your work has been used in a way that may constitute copyright infringement, please provide NatureServe's designated agent the following information:

• An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;
• A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
• A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the site;
• Your address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
• A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
• A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.

NatureServe’s designated agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement on our websites is:

Peter C. Wolk, Esquire
1735 20th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 462-4500
fax (202) 462-1001
nonprofitlaw (at) aol.com

Educational and Conservation Use of Content

NatureServe seeks to provide the scientific basis for conservation and natural resource management. Accordingly, it is our intent to make available a variety of materials for download and use that are in furtherance of educational and conservation uses. With respect to Content designated as available for download for educational and conservation purposes, staff of non-profit conservation organizations and educational institutions are authorized to download, print, reproduce, and distribute such Content as may be beneficial for use in conservation and educational settings. Content used for any purpose must always maintain unaltered copyright and other proprietary notices. Content may not be re-posted, framed, or mirrored on any other Web sites or computer networks, regardless of educational use.

How To Contact Us

If you have any comments or questions regarding our Terms and Conditions, you can contact us from Monday to Friday between 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time at:

NatureServe
2550 South Clark Street, Suite 930A
Arlington, VA 22202
(703) 908-1802

You can also email us your question and we will respond as quickly as possible.

Liability

The Site and all material and information posted on it is provided to you "as is" without any warranties. You agree that you must evaluate and bear all risks associated with use of the Site, including those risks associated with reliance on the accuracy, thoroughness, or utility of any Content.

You acknowledge that due to the immediate nature of this medium, NatureServe does not review, censor, approve, edit, or endorse information placed on the Site by its users, and cannot guarantee that inappropriate material will not be posted. NatureServe will review user postings from time to time and will take steps to remove inappropriate postings that come to its attention.

The Site may provide, or third parties may provide, links to other sites or resources. Because NatureServe has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that NatureServe is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and are not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You further acknowledge and agree that NatureServe shall not be responsible or liable for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused in connection with use of or reliance on any such linked content, goods or services available on or through any such linked site or resource.

User Conduct

All users shall use the Site for lawful purposes only. You agree not to post or transmit through the Site any material that is unlawful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, vulgar, obscene, profane, which encourages criminal conduct, or that may give rise to civil liability. You agree not to post or transmit through the site any material or text which constitutes advertising or solicitation with respect to any product or service, unless expressly authorized in writing by NatureServe to do so.

Conduct by any user that, at the discretion of NatureServe, restricts or inhibits any other user from using or enjoying the Site will not be permitted. NatureServe reserves the right to refuse access to the Site to any user for any reason, including, without limitation, a reasonable belief that the user in question has violated these Terms or any of the copyright or trademark laws of the United States.

You agree to assume full and sole responsibility for any postings you make to the Site.

Miscellaneous

Any and all disputes, with the exception of copyright claims, arising out of, under or in connection with this Agreement, including without limitation, its validity, interpretation, performance, or breach, shall be settled by final and binding arbitration in Arlington, VA, pursuant to the rules of the American Arbitration Association. Judgment upon any award rendered may be entered in the highest court of the forum, state or federal, having jurisdiction. This agreement, its validity and effect, shall be interpreted under and governed by the laws of the state of Virginia, without regard to its conflict of laws provisions, and you agree that the arbitrators shall award all costs of arbitration, including reasonable attorneys' fees plus legal rate-of-interest, to the successful party. Copyright claims shall be brought in the Federal court having jurisdiction. If you are an agent for or an employee of a non-U.S. company but operate in a place of business in the U.S. or its territories, you expressly agree that any dispute regarding this contract shall be adjudicated within the U.S. in the manner 

described here. If NatureServe is obligated to go to court, rather than arbitration, to enforce any of its rights, you agree to reimburse NatureServe for its respective legal fees, costs, and disbursements if NatureServe is successful.

These Terms and any other operating rules or terms currently posted on the Site constitute the entire agreement between NatureServe and the users of the Site, and supersede all previous written or oral agreements between the parties with respect to such subject matter. No action of NatureServe or its partners on this Site may be construed as a waiver of any part of these Terms of Use. Should any of the above paragraphs be unenforceable, the other paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.