Terms of Service

UPDATED: January 19, 2022

This is a legal agreement between you and The University of Chicago (the “University” or “we”) governing your use of any websites hosted at globus.org, globusworld.org, globusid.org, and customer branded websites hosted by Globus (the “Sites”), and your use or access of any part of the Globus services (together with the Sites, the “Services”). By using any of the Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and by the Globus Privacy Policy, which are collectively referred to as the “Agreement.” If you do not agree to these terms then you have no right to access or use the Services. The terms of this Agreement, as modified by the University from time to time in accordance with the next paragraph, will govern all your future use of the Services.

The University may revise these Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy from time to time. Each revision will be marked with a revision date and will be posted on the Sites. We recommend that you review this page from time to time to note any changes. By continuing to access or use the Services, you agree to be bound by any Terms of Service and Privacy Policy in effect at the time of such access or use. If you do not agree to the modified terms then you must cease using the Services.

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Services at any time, in our sole discretion.

General

The Services encompass a wide variety of web based services that are all subject to these terms, including without limitation: marketing websites; event websites; documentation websites; hosted services for identity management, authentication, authorization, file transfer and sharing, group management, search index creation and management, action automation, and function computation; and web applications (both Globus branded and customer branded) for accessing such hosted Globus services. However, we may make certain software applications and libraries, such as Globus Connect and sample client libraries, available to users that offer additional ways to access and integrate with the Services. Such software will be made available under the terms of an end user license agreement, which you should read prior to installing that software.

Accounts

You may use GlobusID and create an identity for accessing the Services. You agree not to disclose your GlobusID password or other GlobusID authentication information to any third party.

In order to use some of these Services, you must login with an identity (GlobusID or another identity recognized by Globus), and register for a Globus account. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information when you register with Globus. You agree to take sole responsibility for any activities or actions under your account, whether or not you have authorized such activities or actions, except to the extent that your account is hacked or otherwise improperly accessed as a result of or in connection with the University’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. You will immediately notify the University of any unauthorized use of your account. You are responsible for keeping your account information current and accurate; the University and its affiliates will have no liability for failure to deliver notices that result from inaccurate account information or otherwise.

Responsibility for Data

The term Data in this Agreement means (a) any data or other information you upload or input into the Services; and (b) any data or other information that you do not upload or input into the Services, but that you manage via the Services. Examples of Data include, without limitation: files stored on your storage system; information you upload into a search index; information you provide about yourself, such as your name, email, and username; file metadata, such as filenames and paths; names and descriptions you assign to endpoints, collections, bookmarks, flows, indices, and transfers; definitions of flows and functions; information about how and who you want to grant rights and permissions to use the Services; and log data.

You have sole responsibility for all Data. You acknowledge and agree that the University and its affiliates will not be responsible for any deletion, corruption, or loss of any Data or any failure of the Services to manage Data. We strongly recommend that you backup all Data prior to using the Services.

Data and Copyright Policy

You will not use the Services to transmit, manage, share, upload, route, provide connections to or store any Data: i) that infringes any copyrights or otherwise violates or promotes the violation of the intellectual property rights of any third party or ii) in a manner that violates any law or regulation. We reserve the right to terminate, without notice, your account if you infringe or are believed to be infringing the rights of copyright holders.

We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, at any time, to prohibit management of Data that we believe to be in violation of this Agreement.

Proprietary Rights

All right, title, and interest in and to the Services is and will remain the exclusive property of the University, its licensors and contributors, as applicable. The Services are protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of both the United States and foreign countries. Except as expressly permitted in this Agreement, you may not reproduce, modify, or prepare derivative works based upon, distribute, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, or otherwise use the Services.

Use of Information

As part of the Services, the University collects, stores, maintains, transmits, and uses certain information about the Services and our users. This information is the property of the University and includes, without limitation, information you provide about yourself, such as your name, email, and username; file metadata, such as filenames and paths; names and descriptions you assign to endpoints, collections, bookmarks, flows, indices, and transfers; definitions of flows and functions; information about how and who you want to grant rights and permissions to use the Services; and log data. The University may use this information for any lawful purpose, including for delivering and improving the Services, marketing, and research. The ways in which the University collects, stores, and uses personal information is set forth in our Privacy Policy.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following information remains the sole property of the applicable User: (i) contents of files that you manage using the Services (“file contents”); and (ii) information that you provide to the University for the sole purpose of including such information in a search index that you administer (“index data”). By using the Services, you grant the University a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, non-transferable right, on a royalty-free basis, with a right to sublicense this right only to independent contractors, subcontractors, or other non-employees involved in providing the Services, to process file contents and to process and store index data on your behalf solely for the purposes of providing the Services. The University may process file contents, for example, in order to facilitate the transfer of files between your storage systems, but it does not store or access file contents.

Trademarks

General Prohibitions

As a condition to your use of the Services, you agree not to:

Transmit, manage, share, upload, route, provide connections to or store any Data: (i) that you do not have the lawful right to copy, transmit, distribute, and display (including any Data that would violate any confidentiality or fiduciary obligations that you might have with respect to the Data); (ii) for which you do not have the consent or permission of each identifiable person in the Data to use the name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness of each such person (to the extent required by applicable law and to the extent each is implicated by the Data); (iii) that infringes or misappropriates the intellectual property rights or violates the privacy rights of any third party (including without limitation copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other intellectual property right, or moral right or right of publicity); (iv) that is defamatory; (v) that is obscene or pornographic; (vi) that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred, or harm against any individual or group; (vii) that contains any sensitive or national security information, including, but is not limited to, classified information, unclassified controlled nuclear information (UCNI), naval nuclear propulsion information (NNPI), the design or development of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, or any weapons of mass destruction, unless you are a party to an agreement with the University that supersede this Agreement; or (viii) that violates, or encourages any conduct that would violate, any applicable law or regulation or could give rise to civil liability;
Access, tamper with, or use any non-public areas of the Services or the computer systems or the technical delivery systems of the Services’ providers;
Attempt to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Services or any related system or network or breach any security or authentication measures used in connection with the Services and such systems and networks, without prior written consent;
Attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any of the software used to provide the Services;
Harm or threaten to harm other users in any way or interfere with, or attempt to interfere with, the access of any user, host or network, including without limitation, by sending a virus, overloading, flooding, spamming, or mail-bombing the Services;
Send unsolicited email, junk mail, spam, chain letters, or promotions or advertisements for products or services;
Impersonate or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.

The University will have the right to investigate and prosecute violations of any of the above, including without limitation possible infringement of any intellectual property rights and possible security breaches, to the fullest extent of the law. The University may involve and cooperate with law enforcement authorities in prosecuting users who violate this Agreement. You acknowledge that, although the University has no obligation to monitor your access to or use of the Services, the University has the right to do so for the purpose of operating the Services, to ensure your compliance with this Agreement, or to comply with applicable law or the order or requirement of a court, administrative agency, or other governmental body. The University reserves the right at all times to disclose, in its sole discretion, any Data stored by Globus as necessary to (a) satisfy any law, regulation, or governmental request or (b) reduce or prevent what the University considers to be, in its sole discretion, a serious or imminent threat to your health or safety, or the health or safety of another.

Links

The Services may contain links to third-party websites. You acknowledge and agree that the University and its affiliates are not responsible or liable for: (i) the availability or accuracy of such websites; or (ii) the content, products, or services on or available from such websites. Links to such websites do not imply any endorsement by the University or its affiliates of such websites or the content, products, or services available from such websites. You acknowledge sole responsibility for and assume all risk arising from your use of any such websites.

Termination

The University reserves the right to discontinue the Services or to change the Services at any time and without notice.

If you breach this Agreement, the University will have the right to terminate this Agreement immediately, without notice, and to deactivate your account.

Disclaimer of Warranties

The Services are provided “AS-IS,” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied. Without limiting the foregoing, the University and its affiliates explicitly disclaim any warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.

Neither the University nor its affiliates make any warranty that the Services will meet your requirements or will be available on an uninterrupted, secure, or error-free basis. Your use of the Services is at your own risk. You acknowledge and agree that the University and its affiliates will not be responsible for any damages to your computer system or the computer system of any third party that result from use of the Services.

Indemnity

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the University, its officers, trustees, directors, affiliates, employees and agents, from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including without limitation reasonable legal fees and costs, arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of the Services, or your violation of this Agreement, including without limitation third party claims that Data infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights, privacy rights, publicity rights, or moral rights of a third party.

Limitation of Liability

In no event will the University or its affiliates be liable to you or to any third party for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential or punitive damages arising out of or in connection with this Agreement or from the use of or inability to use the Services or any Data, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence) or any other legal theory, and whether or not the University or any of its affiliates has been informed of the possibility of such damage, even if any limited remedy set forth herein is found to have failed of its essential purpose.

Controlling Law and Jurisdiction

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois and applicable federal laws of the United States of America. The exclusive jurisdiction and venue of any action with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement will be the state and federal courts located in Cook County, Illinois, and you waive any objection to jurisdiction and venue in such courts.

Entire Agreement and Order of Precedence

Unless you are a party to an agreement with the University that expressly supersedes this Agreement, this Agreement is the entire and exclusive agreement between the University and you regarding the Services, and this Agreement supersedes and replaces any prior agreements between the University and you regarding the Services.

If you are a party to an agreement with the University that expressly supersedes this Agreement, that agreement will have an Order of Precedence clause that clarifies the order in which terms govern.

Miscellaneous

You will not assign any rights granted to you or delegate any of your duties hereunder; any attempt to do so is void and of no effect. In the event that all or part of our assets are sold or acquired by another party, or in the event of a merger with another party, you grant us the right to assign these Terms of Service to such other party. Nothing in this Agreement shall constitute a partnership or joint venture between you and the University. In the event that any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this Agreement will remain in full force and effect. We may provide you with notices, including those regarding changes to the Services by email or by postings on the Services. The failure of the University to enforce any right or provision of this Agreement will not be deemed a waiver of such right or provision. The headings and captions are for convenience only and are not to be used in the interpretation of this Agreement.

If you have any questions about this Agreement, please contact us at support@globus.org.