Terms and Service
Last Modified: January 20, 2025
Table of Contents
Welcome
Welcome to CHF! These Terms of Service (these “Terms”) describe the terms and conditions by which you may access and/or use the website(s), including https://www.akcchf.org/ and any successor URL(s) (the “Website”), and any and all related software, documentation, and online, mobile-enabled, and/or digital services (collectively, including the Website, the “Services”) provided by American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation, Inc. (“CHF,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). By accessing or using the Services, or by clicking a button or checking a box marked “I Agree” (or something similar), you signify that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms, and you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Privacy Notice, as further described in Section 8.1. CHF reserves the right to modify these Terms and will provide notice of material changes as described below. These Terms apply to all visitors, users, and others who access the Services (collectively, “Users,” and, as applicable to you, “you” or “your”).
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY TO ENSURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND EACH PROVISION. THESE TERMS CONTAIN A MANDATORY INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION PROVISION IN SECTION 15.2 (THE “ARBITRATION AGREEMENT”) AND A CLASS ACTION/JURY TRIAL WAIVER PROVISION IN SECTION 15.3 (THE “CLASS ACTION/JURY TRIAL WAIVER”) THAT REQUIRE, UNLESS YOU OPT OUT PURSUANT TO THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT, THE EXCLUSIVE USE OF FINAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS TO RESOLVE DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND US, INCLUDING ANY CLAIMS THAT AROSE OR WERE ASSERTED BEFORE YOU AGREED TO THESE TERMS. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW (AS DEFINED BELOW), YOU EXPRESSLY WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO SEEK RELIEF IN A COURT OF LAW AND TO HAVE A JURY TRIAL ON YOUR CLAIMS, AS WELL AS YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS, COLLECTIVE, PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR PROCEEDING.
1. Our Services
1.1 Eligibility
This is a contract between you and CHF. You must read and agree to these Terms before using the Services. If you do not agree, you may not use the Services. You may use the Services only if you can form a binding contract with CHF, and only in compliance with these Terms and all applicable local, state, national, and international laws, rules, and regulations (“Applicable Law”). Any use of or access to the Services by anyone under 18 is strictly prohibited and in violation of these Terms. The Services are not available to any Users previously removed from the Services by CHF.
1.2 Limited License
Subject to the terms and conditions of these Terms, you are hereby granted a non-exclusive, limited, non-transferable, freely revocable license to use the Services solely for your personal, non-commercial use, only as permitted by the features of the Services. CHF reserves all rights not expressly granted herein in the Services and the CHF Content (as defined below). CHF may terminate this license at any time for any reason or no reason.
1.3 User Accounts
Your account on the Services (your “User Account”) gives you access to the services and functionality that we may establish and maintain from time to time and in our sole discretion. We may maintain different types of User Accounts for different types of Users. If you open a User Account on behalf of a company, organization, or other entity, then (a) “you” includes you and that entity, and (b) you represent and warrant that you are an authorized representative of the entity with the authority to bind the entity to these Terms, and that you agree to these Terms on the entity’s behalf.
You may never use another User’s User Account without such User’s permission. When creating your User Account, you must provide accurate and complete information, and you must keep this information up to date. You are solely responsible for the activity that occurs on your User Account, and you must keep your User Account password secure. We encourage you to use “strong” passwords (passwords that use a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols) with your User Account. You must notify CHF immediately of any breach of security or unauthorized use of your User Account. CHF will not be liable for any losses caused by any unauthorized use of your User Account.
You may control certain aspects of your interactions with the Services by changing the settings in your settings page. By providing CHF your email address, you consent to our using that email address to send you Services-related notices, including any notices required by Applicable Law, in lieu of communication by postal mail. We may also use that email address to send you other messages, including, without limitation, marketing and advertising messages, such as messages notifying you of changes to features of the Services and special offers (collectively, “Marketing Emails”). If you do not want to receive Marketing Emails, you may opt out of receiving them by contacting the CHF support team at chf@akcchf.org or by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link within a Marketing Email. Opting out will not prevent you from receiving Services-related notices.
1.4 Connecting Via Third-Party Services
By connecting to the Services via a third-party service, you give us permission to access and use your information from that service, as permitted by that service, and to store your log-in credentials and/or access tokens for that service.
1.5 Services Rules
You agree not to engage, and not to assist, permit, or enable any third party to engage, in any of the following prohibited activities: (a) copying, reproducing, distributing, republishing, publicly displaying, publicly performing, downloading, storing, modifying, creating derivative works of, or disclosing any part of the Services in any medium, including without limitation by any automated or non-automated “scraping”; (b) using any automated system, including without limitation “robots,” “spiders,” “offline readers,” etc., to access the Services in a manner that sends more request messages to servers running the Services than a human can reasonably produce in the same period of time by using a conventional on-line web browser (except that CHF grants the operators of public search engines revocable permission to use spiders to copy publicly available materials from the Services for the sole purpose of and solely to the extent necessary for creating publicly available searchable indices of the materials, but not caches or archives of such materials); (c) transmitting spam, chain letters, or other unsolicited email; (d) attempting to interfere with, compromise the system integrity or security or decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running the Services; (e) taking any action that imposes, or may impose at our sole discretion an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure; (f) uploading invalid data, viruses, worms, or other software agents through the Services; (g) collecting or harvesting any personally identifiable information, including account names, from the Services; (viii) using the Services for any commercial solicitation purposes; (h) impersonating another person or otherwise misrepresenting your affiliation with a person or entity, conducting fraud, hiding or attempting to hide your identity; (i) interfering with the proper working of the Services; (j) accessing any content on the Services through any technology or means other than those provided or authorized by the Services; or (k) bypassing the measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Services, including without limitation features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any content or enforce limitations on use of the Services or the content therein. Notwithstanding the foregoing:
- Your computer may temporarily store copies of materials found on the Website in RAM, incidental to your accessing and viewing those materials;
- You may store files that are automatically cached by your Web browser for display enhancement purposes only;
- You may print or download one (1) copy of a reasonable number of pages of the Website for your own personal, non-commercial use only and not for further reproduction, publication, or distribution, provided you do not: (i) modify any such copy, (ii) use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences, or any graphics separately from the accompanying text, and (iii) delete or alter any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights notices from any such copy; and
- If we provide desktop, mobile or other applications for download, you may download a single copy to your computer or mobile device solely for your own personal, non-commercial use, provided you agree to be bound by our end user license agreement for such applications.
If you print, copy, modify, download, or otherwise use or provide any other person with access to any part of the Services in breach of these Terms, your right to access and use the Services will cease immediately. and you will, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. Any use of the Services not expressly permitted by these Terms is a breach of these Terms and may violate copyright, trademark, and/or other Applicable Law.
1.6 Changes to the Services
We may, with or without prior notice, change the Services; stop providing the Services or features of the Services, to you or to Users generally; or create usage limits for the Services. We may, with or without prior notice, temporarily suspend or permanently terminate your access to your User Account and/or the Services without notice and liability for any reason, including if in our sole determination you violate any provision of these Terms, or for no reason. Upon their termination for any reason or no reason, you continue to be bound by these Terms.
1.7 Disputes with Other Users
You are solely responsible for your interactions with other Users. We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other Users. CHF shall have no liability for your interactions with other Users, or for any User’s action or inaction.
1.8 Services Location
The Services are controlled and operated from facilities in the United States. CHF makes no representations that the Services are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Those who access or use the Services from other jurisdictions do so at their own volition and are entirely responsible for compliance with all Applicable Law, including but not limited to export and import regulations. You may not use the Services if you are a resident of a country embargoed by the United States, or are a foreign person or entity blocked or denied by the United States government. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, all materials found on the Services are solely directed to individuals, companies, or other entities located in the United States.
2. User Content
Some areas of the Services allow Users to submit, post, display, provide, or otherwise make available content such as profile information, images, dog information, comments, questions, and other content or information (collectively, excluding Usage Data and Feedback (as each of those terms is defined below), “User Content”).
We claim no ownership rights over User Content created by you. The User Content you create remains yours. By submitting, posting, displaying, providing, or otherwise making available any User Content on or through the Services, you hereby expressly grant, and you represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to grant, to CHF a royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, worldwide license to use, reproduce, store, modify, publish, list information regarding, edit, translate, distribute, syndicate, publicly perform, publicly display, and make derivative works of all such User Content and your name, voice, and/or likeness as contained in your User Content, in whole or in part, and in any form, media or technology, whether now known or hereafter developed, for use in connection with the Services and CHF’s (and its successors’ and affiliates’) business, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the Services (and derivative works thereof) in any media formats and through any media channels, and to perform such other actions as described in our Privacy Notice or as authorized by you in connection with your use of the Services.
For the purposes of these Terms, “Intellectual Property Rights” means all patent rights, copyright rights, mask work rights, moral rights, rights of publicity, trademark, trade dress and service mark rights, goodwill, trade secret rights, and any and all other intellectual property rights and proprietary rights as may now exist or hereafter come into existence, and all applications therefor and registrations, renewals, and extensions thereof, under Applicable Law.
In connection with your User Content, you affirm, represent and warrant the following:
- You have the written consent of each and every identifiable natural person referred to or mentioned in the User Content, if any, to use such person’s name or likeness in the manner contemplated by the Services and these Terms, and each such person has released you from any liability that may arise in relation to such use.
- You have obtained and are solely responsible for obtaining all consents as may be required by Applicable Law to post any User Content relating to third parties.
- Your User Content and CHF’s use thereof as contemplated by these Terms and the Services will not violate any Applicable Law or infringe any rights of any third party, including but not limited to any Intellectual Property Rights and privacy rights.
- CHF may exercise the rights to your User Content granted under these Terms without liability for payment of any guild fees, residuals, payments, fees, or royalties payable under any collective bargaining agreement or otherwise.
- You will not upload or make available through the Services: nudity or other sexually suggestive content; hate speech, threats or direct attacks on an individual or group; content that is abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable content; content that contains self-harm or excessive violence; fake or impostor profiles; illegal content or content in furtherance of harmful or illegal activities; malicious programs or code; any person’s personal information without such person’s consent; and/or spam, machine-generated content, or unsolicited messages.
- To the best of your knowledge, all User Content and other information that you provide to us is truthful and accurate.
CHF TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY AND ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR ANY USER CONTENT THAT YOU OR ANY OTHER USER OR THIRD PARTY POSTS, SENDS, OR OTHERWISE MAKES AVAILABLE OVER THE SERVICES. YOU SHALL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR USER CONTENT AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF POSTING, PUBLISHING IT, SHARING IT, OR OTHERWISE MAKING IT AVAILABLE ON THE SERVICES, AND YOU AGREE THAT WE ARE ONLY ACTING AS A PASSIVE CONDUIT FOR YOUR ONLINE DISTRIBUTION AND PUBLICATION OF YOUR USER CONTENT. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOU MAY BE EXPOSED TO USER CONTENT THAT IS INACCURATE, OBJECTIONABLE, INAPPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN, OR OTHERWISE UNSUITED TO YOUR PURPOSE, AND YOU AGREE THAT CHF SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES YOU ALLEGE TO INCUR AS A RESULT OF OR RELATING TO ANY USER CONTENT.
3. Our Publicity Rights
We may identify you as a User in our promotional materials. We will promptly stop doing so upon receipt of your request sent to chf@akcchf.org.
4. Linking to the Website and Social Media Features
You may link to the Website, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part without our express, prior written consent, which you may request by emailing chf@akcchf.org.
This Website may provide certain social media features that enable you to:
- Link from your own or certain third-party websites to certain content on this Website.
- Send e-mails or other communications with certain content, or links to certain content, on this Website.
- Cause limited portions of content on this Website to be displayed or appear to be displayed on your own or certain third-party websites.
You may use these features solely as they are provided by us and solely with respect to the content they are displayed with, and otherwise in accordance with any additional terms and conditions we may provide with respect to such features. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, you will not cause the Website or portions of it to be displayed, or to appear to be displayed by, for example, framing, deep linking, or in-line linking, on any other site. You will cooperate with us in causing any unauthorized framing or linking to cease immediately upon you or us becoming aware of it. We reserve the right to withdraw the permissions granted in this Section 4 with or without notice.
We may disable all or any social media features and any links at any time without notice in our discretion.
5. Our Proprietary Rights
5.1 CHF Content
You understand and acknowledge that we (or our licensors (including other Users), as applicable) own and will continue to own all rights (including Intellectual Property Rights), title, and interest in and to the Services, all materials and content displayed or otherwise made available on and/or through the Services (including, without limitation, images, text, graphics, illustrations, logos, photographs, audio, videos, music, and User Content belonging to other Users; but, excluding your User Content), and all software, algorithms, code, technology, and intellectual property underlying and/or included in or with the Services (collectively and individually, “CHF Content”). Except as may be explicitly provided herein, nothing in these Terms will be deemed to create a license in or under any CHF Content, and you will not access, sell, license, rent, modify, distribute, copy, reproduce, transmit, display, perform, publish, adapt, edit, or create derivative works of any CHF Content. Use of any CHF Content for any purpose not expressly permitted by these Terms is strictly prohibited.
5.2 Trademarks
Without limiting the generality of Section 5.1, the “American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation, Inc.” name and all related names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans, including but not limited to, Canine Health Foundation®, For Pawsterity®, and Prevent Treat & Cure® are trademarks of CHF or its affiliates or licensors. The names and logos of AKC® and American Kennel Club® are registered trademarks of The American Kennel Club, Inc. and used on this Website under license. You must not use such marks without CHF’s and The American Kennel Club, Inc’s prior written permission. All other names, logos, product and service names, designs and slogans on this Website or the Services are the trademarks of their respective owners.
5.3 Usage Data
We may collect, or you may provide to us, diagnostic, technical, usage, and/or related information, including information about your computers, mobile devices, systems, and software (collectively, “Usage Data”). All Usage Data is and will be owned solely and exclusively by us, and, to the extent any ownership rights in or to the Usage Data vest in you, you hereby assign to us all rights (including Intellectual Property Rights), title, and interest in and to same. Accordingly, we may use, maintain, and/or process the Usage Data or any portion thereof for any lawful purpose, including, without limitation: (a) to provide and maintain the Services; (b) to improve our products and services (including the Services), and to develop new products, services, and/or features; (c) to monitor your usage of the Services; (d) for research and analytics, including, without limitation, data analysis, identifying usage trends, and/or customer research; and (e) to share analytics and other derived Usage Data with third parties, solely in de-identified or aggregated form. The Services may contain technological measures designed to prevent unauthorized or illegal use of the Services; you understand and acknowledge that we may use these and other lawful measures to verify your compliance with these Terms and to enforce our rights, including Intellectual Property Rights, in and to the Services.
5.4 Feedback
To the extent you provide us any suggestions, recommendations, or other feedback relating to the Services or to any other CHF products or services (collectively, “Feedback”), you hereby assign to us all rights (including Intellectual Property Rights), title, and interest in and to the Feedback. Accordingly, we are free to use the Feedback and any ideas, know-how, concepts, techniques, and/or other intellectual property contained in the Feedback, without providing any attribution or compensation to you or to any third party, for any purpose whatsoever, although we are not required to use any Feedback. Feedback is deemed our confidential information. You acknowledge that, by acceptance of your submission of Feedback, we do not waive any rights to use similar or related ideas previously known to us, or developed by our employees, or obtained from sources other than you.
5.4 CHF Property
The Services contain data, information, and/or other content, such as reputational or status indicators, in-world currency, and/or fictional property representing virtual achievements (for instance, badges, trophies, and/or powers) (collectively, “CHF Property”). Notwithstanding any terminology that may suggest you own or have any claims to any CHF Property, we solely and exclusively own all CHF Property and we reserve all rights to same, except that we hereby grant you a non-exclusive, limited, non-transferable, and freely revocable right to use certain CHF Property as permitted by the Services’ functionalities. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, (a) CHF Property is not redeemable for any sum of money or monetary value from CHF at any time, and (b) we have the absolute right to manage, regulate, control, modify, transfer, and/or delete CHF Property as we see fit, in our sole discretion, in any general or specific case, and we will have no liability to you based on our exercise of such right. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY VALUE ATTRIBUTED TO SUCH DATA BY YOU OR BY ANY THIRD PARTY, ANY DATA, USER ACCOUNT HISTORY, AND USER ACCOUNT CONTENT RESIDING ON THE SERVERS RUNNING THE SERVICES MAY BE ALTERED, TRANSFERRED, OR DELETED AT ANY TIME, FOR ANY REASON OR NO REASON, IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION, WITH OR WITHOUT NOTICE AND WITH NO LIABILITY OF ANY KIND. WE DO NOT PROVIDE OR GUARANTEE, AND WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM, ANY VALUE, CASH OR OTHERWISE, ATTRIBUTED TO ANY DATA RESIDING ON THE SERVERS RUNNING THE SERVICES.
6. Online Donations
6.1 Making a Donation
We accept non-refundable, online donations using various payment methods, including Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and cryptocurrency assets, which we may process directly or through third-party services such as PayPal and Crypto for Charity (each, a “Payment Processor”). To make online donations, you must submit the necessary contact and payment information, which includes or may include, without limitation, your name, billing and shipping addresses, credit card or other payment information, and email address. All information that you provide in connection with an online donation must be accurate, complete, and current. We may contact you (via email or phone) if additional information is required to accept and/or process your donation. We or Payment Processor will charge your chosen payment method to effectuate your donation. You agree to pay all charges incurred by users of your credit card, debit card, or other payment method used in connection with an online donation. All applicable donations are subject to the terms of this Agreement.
6.2 Payment Processor
We or Payment Processor will attempt to verify your payment method(s), and may do so by processing an authorization hold, which is standard practice. To the extent payment processor processes donation(s) made by you, you will be subject to terms and conditions governing the use of Payment Processor’s services. Please review such terms and conditions as well as Payment Processor’s privacy notice (each of which is available on Payment Processor’s website). You acknowledge and understand that Payment Processor may collect and retain a portion of your donation amount whenever you make a donation. If any of your account or payment method information changes, you will promptly update such information, so that we or Payment Processor may complete your transaction(s) and/or contact you, as needed.
6.3 Payment Representations and Warranties
You represent and warrant that: (a) the account and payment method information you supply to us and/or to Payment Processor, as applicable, is true, accurate, correct, and complete; (b) you are duly authorized to use the payment method(s) used in connection with your donation(s); (c) you will pay any and all charges incurred by users of your payment method in connection with the Services, including any applicable taxes; and (d) charges incurred by you will be honored by your payment method company.
6.4 Recurring Charges of Donation Fees
IF YOU SIGN UP FOR RECURRING DONATIONS, THE CORRESPONDING FEES AT THE RATE AS SET FORTH IN YOUR USER ACCOUNT AND/OR ON THE CHECKOUT PAGE WILL AUTOMATICALLY RENEW AT THE FREQUENCY YOU SELECT ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS UNTIL THE BILLING CYCLE THAT FOLLOWS THE BILLING CYCLE DURING WHICH YOU NOTIFY US, BY CALLING US AT (919) 334-4010 OR EMAILING chfdonate@akcchf.org, THAT YOU WANT TO CANCEL YOUR RECURRING DONATION. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT UNLESS AND UNTIL YOU NOTIFY US OF YOUR CANCELLATION, YOUR RECURRING DONATIONS AND ALL CORRESPONDING FEES WILL AUTOMATICALLY RENEW, AND YOU AUTHORIZE US OR PAYMENT PROCESSOR (WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU, UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW) TO CHARGE YOU THE APPLICABLE FEES AND ANY TAXES, USING ANY ELIGIBLE PAYMENT METHOD WE HAVE ON RECORD FOR YOU.
6.5 Disclaimer
WE DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO, AND YOU UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR: (a) ANY SECURITY OR PRIVACY BREACHES RELATED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD OR OTHER PAYMENT METHOD, (b) ANY FEES THAT MAY BE CHARGED TO YOU BY YOUR BANK IN CONNECTION WITH THE COLLECTION OF FEES, (c) ANY UNAUTHORIZED USE OF YOUR CREDIT CARD, DEBIT CARD, OR OTHER PAYMENT METHOD BY A THIRD PARTY, AND/OR (d) ANY TRANSACTIONS PROCESSED BY A PAYMENT PROCESSOR INVOLVING CRYPTOCURRENCY ASSETS.
7. Calls and Text Messaging
7.1 General
You may provide us with your telephone number as part of creating your User Account or otherwise. By providing a telephone number, you consent to receiving autodialed or prerecorded calls and/or text messages from us, or on our behalf, at such telephone number. We may place such calls or send such texts to (a) help keep your User Account secure through the use of multi-factor authentication (“MFA”); (b) help you access your User Account if you are experiencing difficulties; and/or (c) as otherwise necessary to service your account or enforce these Terms, our policies, Applicable Law, or any other agreement we may have with you. Part of the MFA identity-verification process may involve CHF sending text messages containing security codes to the telephone number you provided, and you agree to receive such texts from or on behalf of CHF.
7.2 Consent to Transactional Communications
You expressly consent and agree to CHF contacting you using written, electronic, and/or verbal means, including manual dialing, emails, prerecorded/artificial voice messages, and/or using an automatic telephone dialing system to call or text your mobile/cellular telephone number, as necessary to complete transactions requested by you and to service your account, and as permitted by Applicable Law, in each case even if the phone number is registered on any United States federal and/or state Do-Not-Call/Do-Not-email registry/ies. Message and data rates apply. For purposes of clarity, the text messages described in this paragraph are transactional text messages, not promotional text messages.
7.3 Consent to Promotional Messages
Additionally, we offer you the chance to enroll to receive recurring SMS/text messages from CHF. You may enroll to receive text messages about account-related news and alerts and/or Promotional Offers (including cart reminders) and marketing related to CHF products and/or services. By enrolling in CHF’s SMS/text messaging service, you agree to receive text messages from CHF to the mobile phone number provided by you, and you certify that such mobile number is true and accurate and that you are authorized to enroll such mobile number to receive such texts. You acknowledge and agree that the texts may be sent using an automatic telephone dialing system and that message and data rates apply. Check your mobile plan and contact your wireless provider for details. You are solely responsible for all charges related to SMS/text messages, including charges from your wireless provider. Message frequency varies. Consent is not required as a condition of purchase. To the extent permitted by Applicable Law, we are not responsible for any delays upon sending or receiving text messages.
7.4 Unsubscribing From Promotional Messages
You may opt out from promotional text messages at any time. To unsubscribe from promotional text messages, text “STOP,” “QUIT,” “END,” “CANCEL,” or “UNSUBSCRIBE” to (919) 334-4010 from the mobile device receiving the messages, or reply “STOP,” “QUIT,” “END,” “CANCEL,” or “UNSUBSCRIBE” to any promotional text message you receive from CHF. You consent that following such a request to unsubscribe, you may receive one (1) final text message from or on behalf of CHF confirming your request. For help, text “HELP” to (919) 334-4010 or contact us at chf@akcchf.org.
8. Privacy; Data Security
8.1 Privacy
We care about your privacy. By using the Services, you acknowledge that we may collect, use, and disclose your personal information and aggregated and/or anonymized data as set forth in our Privacy Notice, and that your personal information may be transferred to, and/or processed in, the United States.
8.2 Security
We care about the integrity and security of your personal information. However, we cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will never be able to defeat our security measures or to use your data for improper purposes. You acknowledge that you provide your data at your own risk.
9. Third-Party Links and Information
THE SERVICES MAY CONTAIN LINKS TO THIRD-PARTY SITES, MATERIALS, AND/OR SERVICES (COLLECTIVELY, INCLUDING THE PAYMENT PROCESSORS, “THIRD-PARTY SERVICES”) THAT ARE NOT OWNED OR CONTROLLED BY US, AND CERTAIN FUNCTIONALITIES OF THE SERVICES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE MAKING OF DONATIONS) MAY REQUIRE YOUR USE OF THIRD-PARTY SERVICES. IF YOU USE A THIRD-PARTY SERVICE IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES, YOU ARE SUBJECT TO AND AGREE TO, AND MUST COMPLY WITH, THE THIRD PARTY’S TERMS AND CONDITIONS MADE AVAILABLE VIA, OR AGREED IN CONNECTION WITH, ITS SERVICE. WE DO NOT ENDORSE OR ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY THIRD-PARTY SERVICES. IF YOU ACCESS A THIRD-PARTY SERVICE FROM THE SERVICES OR SHARE YOUR USER CONTENT ON OR THROUGH ANY THIRD-PARTY SERVICE, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THESE TERMS AND OUR PRIVACY NOTICE DO NOT APPLY TO YOUR USE OF ANY THIRD-PARTY SERVICE. YOU EXPRESSLY RELIEVE US FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY ARISING FROM YOUR ACCESS TO AND/OR USE OF ANY THIRD-PARTY SERVICE. ADDITIONALLY, YOUR DEALINGS WITH, OR PARTICIPATION IN PROMOTIONS OF, ADVERTISERS FOUND ON THE SERVICES, INCLUDING AS RELATES TO PAYMENT AND DELIVERY OF GOODS, AND ANY OTHER TERMS (SUCH AS WARRANTIES) ARE SOLELY BETWEEN YOU AND SUCH ADVERTISERS. YOU UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY SORT RELATING TO YOUR DEALINGS WITH SUCH ADVERTISERS.
10. Release
You hereby release us from all claims, damages (whether direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or otherwise), obligations, losses, liabilities, costs, debts, and expenses, in each case of every kind and nature, known and unknown, arising out of a dispute between you and a third party (including any other User) in connection with the Services. In addition, you waive any Applicable Law that says, in substance: “a general release does not extend to claims which the releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, which, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the released party.”
11. Indemnity
You will defend, indemnify, and hold us and our subsidiaries and affiliates, and our and their respective agents, suppliers, licensors, employees, contractors, officers, and directors (collectively, including CHF, the “CHF Indemnitees”) harmless from and against any and all claims, damages (whether direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or otherwise), obligations, losses, liabilities, costs, debts, and expenses (including, but not limited to, legal fees) arising from: (a) your access to and/or use of the Services; (b) your violation of any term of these Terms, including, without limitation, your breach of any of your representations and warranties set forth in these Terms; (c) your violation of any third-party right, including, without limitation, any privacy right or Intellectual Property Right; (d) your violation of any Applicable Law; (e) User Content or any content that is submitted via your User Account, including, without limitation, any misleading, false, or inaccurate information; (f) your willful misconduct; or (g) any third party’s access to and/or use of the Services with your username(s), password(s), or other authentication credential(s).
12. No Professional Advice
To the extent the Services provide information about a certain subject matter (for example, medical or veterinary information), such information is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice. NO ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN BASED UPON THE CHF CONTENT OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE SERVICES. YOU SHOULD SEEK INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL ADVICE FROM A PERSON WHO IS LICENSED AND/OR QUALIFIED IN THE APPLICABLE AREA, AND YOU SHOULD NOT USE THE CHF CONTENT OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE SERVICES TO REPLACE A RELATIONSHIP WITH A VETERINARIAN OR OTHER HEALTHCARE PROVIDER. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, CHF IS NOT A HEALTHCARE, MEDICAL, OR VETERINARIAN PROVIDER, AND THE SERVICES DO NOT CONTAIN OR CONSTITUTE, AND SHOULD NOT BE INTERPRETED AS, A MEDICAL SERVICE OR MEDICAL, VETERINARY, OR HEALTH CARE ADVICE. USE OF THE SERVICES DOES NOT CREATE A DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP. USE OF THE SERVICES IS NOT FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES. IF YOU ARE SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT OR EMERGENCY CARE, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER OR VETERINARIAN (AS APPLICABLE) OR CALL EMERGENCY SERVICES IMMEDIATELY. NO CHF CONTENT SHOULD BE INTERPRETED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR VETERINARIAN CONSULTATION, EVALUATION, OR TREATMENT, AND THE INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THE SERVICES SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON WHEN MAKING MEDICAL OR VETERINARY DECISIONS, OR TO DIAGNOSE OR TREAT A MEDICAL OR HEALTH CONDITION. WE DO NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL OR VETERINARY TREATMENT, ADVICE, OR DIAGNOSIS. TO THE EXTENT WE CAN DO SO UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, RELIABILITY, EFFECTIVENESS, USEFULNESS, OR CORRECT USE OF INFORMATION YOU RECEIVE THROUGH, OR THAT IS GENERATED BY, THE SERVICES. ANY RELIANCE YOU PLACE ON INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE SERVICES OR OBTAINED VIA THE SERVICES IS STRICTLY AT YOUR OWN RISK. WE DISCLAIM ALL LIABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY ARISING FROM ANY RELIANCE PLACED ON SUCH INFORMATION BY YOU OR ANY OTHER VISITOR OF THE WEBSITE, OR BY ANYONE WHO MAY BE INFORMED OF ANY OF ITS CONTENTS. YOU REPRESENT TO US (WHICH REPRESENTATION WILL BE DEEMED TO BE MADE EACH TIME YOU ACCESS AND/OR USE THE SERVICES) THAT YOU ARE NOT USING THE SERVICES FOR THE PURPOSE OF SEEKING MEDICAL OR VETERINARY ATTENTION.
13. No Warranty
The Services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. Use of the Services is at your own risk. To the maximum extent permitted by Applicable Law, the Services are provided without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by you from CHF or through the Services will create any warranty not expressly stated herein. Without limiting the foregoing, none of the CHF Indemnitees warrants that any content or any other information contained in, or available via, the Services is accurate, comprehensive, reliable, useful, or correct; that the Services will meet your requirements; that the Services will be available at any particular time or location, uninterrupted or secure; that any defects or errors will be corrected; or that the Services are free of viruses or other harmful components. Any content downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of the Services is so obtained at your own risk, and you will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or mobile device or loss of data that results from same or your use of the Services.
Further, CHF does not warrant, endorse, guarantee, recommend, or assume responsibility for any product or services advertised or offered by any third party through the Services or any hyperlinked website or services, and CHF will not be a party to or in any way monitor any transaction between you and third-party providers of products or services.
United States Federal law and some states, provinces, and other jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion and limitations of certain implied warranties, so the above exclusions may not apply to you. These Terms give you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights, which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The disclaimers and exclusions under these Terms will not apply to the extent prohibited by Applicable Law.
14. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by Applicable Law, in no event shall any CHF Indemnitee be liable for any indirect, punitive, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages, including without limitation damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, or data, or other intangible losses, arising out of or relating to the use of, or inability to use, the Services. Under no circumstances will CHF be responsible for any damage, loss or injury resulting from hacking, tampering or other unauthorized access to or use of the Services or your User Account or the information contained therein.
To the maximum extent permitted by Applicable Law, CHF assumes no liability or responsibility for any (a) errors, mistakes, or inaccuracies of content; (b) personal injury or property damage, of any nature whatsoever, resulting from your access to or use of the Services; (c) any unauthorized access to or use of the servers running the Services and/or any and all personal information stored therein; (d) any interruption or cessation of transmission to or from the Services; (e) any bugs, viruses, trojan horses, or the like that may be transmitted to or through the Services by any third party; (f) any errors or omissions in any content or for any loss or damage incurred as a result of the use of any content posted, emailed, transmitted, or otherwise made available through the Services; and/or (g) User Content or the defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of any third party. In no event shall any CHF Indemnitee be liable to you for any claims, proceedings, liabilities, obligations, damages, losses or costs in an amount exceeding the amount you paid or donated (as applicable) to CHF hereunder or $50.00, whichever is greater.
This limitation of liability section applies whether the alleged liability is based on contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or any other basis, even if CHF has been advised of the possibility of such damage.
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you. These Terms give you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The disclaimers, exclusions, and limitations of liability under these Terms will not apply to the extent prohibited by Applicable Law.
15. Governing Law, Arbitration, and Class Action/Jury Trial Waiver
15.1 Governing Law
You agree that: (a) the Services shall be deemed solely based in New York; and (b) the Services shall be deemed a passive one that does not give rise to personal jurisdiction over us, either specific or general, in jurisdictions other than New York. These Terms shall be governed by the internal substantive laws of the State of New York, without respect to its conflict of laws principles. The parties acknowledge that these Terms evidence a transaction involving interstate commerce. Notwithstanding the preceding sentences with respect to the substantive law governing these Terms, the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. §§ 1-16) (as it may be amended, “FAA”) governs the interpretation and enforcement of the Arbitration Agreement and preempts all state laws (and laws of other jurisdictions) to the fullest extent permitted by Applicable Law. If the FAA is found to not apply to any issue that arises from or relates to the Arbitration Agreement, then that issue shall be resolved under and governed by the law of the U.S. state where you live (if applicable) or the jurisdiction mutually agreed upon in writing by you and us. The application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly excluded. You agree to submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the federal and state courts located in New York for any actions for which we retain the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of our data security or Intellectual Property Rights, as set forth in the Arbitration Agreement below, including any provisional relief required to prevent irreparable harm. You agree that New York is the proper and exclusive forum for any appeals of an arbitration award or for trial court proceedings in the event that the Arbitration Agreement below is found to be unenforceable.
15.2 Arbitration Agreement
READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT REQUIRES THE PARTIES TO ARBITRATE THEIR DISPUTES AND LIMITS THE MANNER IN WHICH YOU CAN SEEK RELIEF FROM CHF. This Arbitration Agreement applies to and governs any dispute, controversy, or claim between you and CHF that arises out of or relates to, directly or indirectly: (i) these Terms, including the formation, existence, breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation, validity, or enforceability thereof; (ii) access to or use of the Services, including receipt of any advertising or marketing communications; (iii) any transactions through, by, or using the Services; or (iv) any other aspect of your relationship or transactions with CHF, directly or indirectly, as a consumer (each, a “Claim,” and, collectively, “Claims”). This Arbitration Agreement shall apply, without limitation, to all Claims that arose or were asserted before or after your agreement to these Terms.
If you are a new CHF user, you can reject and opt-out of this Arbitration Agreement within 30 days of accepting these Terms by emailing CHF at chf@akcchf.org with your full, legal name and stating your intent to opt-out of the Arbitration Agreement. Note that opting out of this Arbitration Agreement does not affect any other part of these Terms, including the provisions regarding controlling law or in which courts any disputes must be brought.
For any Claim, you agree to first contact us at chf@akcchf.org and attempt to resolve the Claim with us informally. In the unlikely event that CHF has not been able to resolve a Claim after sixty (60) days, we each agree to resolve any Claim exclusively through binding arbitration by AAA before a single arbitrator (the “Arbitrator”), under the Expedited Procedures then in effect for AAA (the “Rules”), except as provided herein. In the event of any conflict between the Rules and this Arbitration Agreement, this Arbitration Agreement shall control. AAA may be contacted at www.adr.org, where the Rules are also available. The arbitration will be conducted in the U.S. county where you live (if applicable) or New York County, unless you and CHF agree otherwise. If you are using the Services for commercial purposes, each party will be responsible for paying any AAA filing, administrative fees and Arbitrator fees in accordance with the Rules, and the award rendered by the Arbitrator shall include costs of arbitration, reasonable attorneys’ fees and reasonable costs for expert and other witnesses. If you are an individual using the Services for non-commercial purposes: (i) AAA may require you to pay a fee for the initiation of your case, unless you apply for and successfully obtain a fee waiver from AAA; (ii) the award rendered by the Arbitrator may include your costs of arbitration, your reasonable attorneys’ fees, and your reasonable costs for expert and other witnesses; and (iii) you may sue in a small claims court of competent jurisdiction without first engaging in arbitration, but this does not absolve you of your commitment to engage in the informal dispute resolution process. Any judgment on the award rendered by the Arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. You and CHF agree that the Arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve any disputes relating to the scope, interpretation, applicability, enforceability, or formation of this Arbitration Agreement, including any claim that all or any part of this Arbitration Agreement is void or voidable. The Arbitrator shall also be responsible for determining all threshold arbitrability issues, including issues relating to whether these Terms are, or whether any provision of these Terms is, unconscionable or illusory and any defense to arbitration, including waiver, delay, laches, unconscionability, or estoppel.
Nothing in this Arbitration Agreement shall be deemed as: preventing CHF from seeking injunctive or other equitable relief from the courts as necessary to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of our data security or Intellectual Property Rights; or preventing you from asserting claims in a small claims court, if your claims qualify and so long as the matter remains in such court and advances on only an individual (non-class, non-collective, and non-representative) basis.
If this Arbitration Agreement is found to be void, unenforceable, or unlawful, in whole or in part, the void, unenforceable, or unlawful provision, in whole or in part, shall be severed. Severance of the void, unenforceable, or unlawful provision, in whole or in part, shall have no impact on the remaining provisions of this Arbitration Agreement, which shall remain in force, or the parties’ ability to compel arbitration of any remaining Claims on an individual basis pursuant to the Arbitration Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Class Action/Jury Trial Waiver is found to be void, unenforceable, or unlawful, in whole or in part, because it would prevent you from seeking public injunctive relief, then any dispute regarding the entitlement to such relief (and only that relief) must be severed from arbitration and may be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction. All other claims for relief subject to arbitration under this Arbitration Agreement shall be arbitrated under its terms, and the parties agree that litigation of any dispute regarding the entitlement to public injunctive relief shall be stayed pending the outcome of any individual claims in arbitration.
15.3 Class Action/Jury Trial Waiver
BY ENTERING INTO THESE TERMS, YOU AND CHF ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY OR TO BRING, JOIN, OR PARTICIPATE IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS ACTION, COLLECTIVE ACTION, PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION, OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING OF ANY KIND AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER. THE FOREGOING APPLIES TO ALL USERS (BOTH NATUAL PERSONS AND ENTITIES), REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU HAVE OBTAINED OR USED THE SERVICES FOR PERSONAL, COMMERCIAL, OR OTHER PURPOSES. THIS CLASS ACTION/JURY TRIAL WAIVER APPLIES TO CLASS ARBITRATION, AND, UNLESS WE AGREE OTHERWISE, THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT CONSOLIDATE MORE THAN ONE PERSON’S OR ENTITY’S CLAIMS. YOU AND CHF AGREE THAT THE ARBITRATOR MAY AWARD RELIEF ONLY TO AN INDIVIDUAL CLAIMANT AND ONLY TO THE EXTENT NECESSARY TO PROVIDE RELIEF ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL CLAIM(S). ANY RELIEF AWARDED MAY NOT AFFECT OTHER USERS.
16. California Residents
The provider of services is set forth herein. If you are a California resident, in accordance with Cal. Civ. Code §1789.3, you may report complaints to the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs by contacting them in writing at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112 Sacramento, CA 95834, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210 or (916) 445-1254.
17. General
17.1 Assignment
These Terms, and any rights and licenses granted hereunder, may not be transferred or assigned by you, but may be assigned by CHF without restriction. Any attempted transfer or assignment in violation hereof shall be null and void.
17.2 Notification Procedures and Changes to these Terms
CHF may provide notifications, whether such notifications are required by Applicable Law or are for marketing or other business-related purposes, to you via email notice, written or hard copy notice, or through posting of such notice on the Website, as determined by CHF in our sole discretion. CHF reserves the right to determine the form and means of providing notifications to Users, provided that you may opt out of certain means of notification as described in these Terms. CHF is not responsible for any automatic filtering you or your network provider may apply to email notifications we send to the email address you provide us. CHF may, in its sole discretion, modify or update these Terms from time to time, and so you should review this page periodically. When we change these Terms in a material manner, we will update the ‘last modified’ date at the top of this page and notify you that material changes have been made to these Terms. Your continued use of the Services after any such change constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms of Service. If you do not agree to any of these terms or any future Terms of Service, do not use or access (or continue to use or access) the Services.
17.3 Entire Agreement/Severability
These Terms, together with any amendments and any additional agreements you may enter into with CHF in connection with the Services, shall constitute the entire agreement between you and CHF concerning the Services. Except as otherwise stated in the Arbitration Agreement, if any provision of these Terms is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these Terms, which shall remain in full force and effect.
17.4 No Waiver
No waiver of any term of these Terms shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or any other term, and CHF’s failure to assert any right or provision under these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.