Effective September 9, 2024
This website is operated by Steiner Online Library, a Michigan nonprofit corporation located in the United States. Throughout the site and these Terms of Service, the terms "we", "us", "our" and "SOL" to refer to Steiner Online Library.
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of our website, our service, and any other website or online service that we operate and that links to these Terms (the "Services").
You accept the Terms by accessing or using the Services or by otherwise indicating your consent, including any and all additional terms and conditions and policies referenced herein and/or available by hyperlink. Please read these Terms carefully before accessing or using our website. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions of this agreement, then you may not access the website or use any Service. We may change these Terms or modify any features of the Services at any time. It is your responsibility to check our website periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to our website or the Services following the posting of any changes to these Terms constitutes acceptance of those changes.
By agreeing to these Terms, you represent that you are at least the age of majority in your state or province of residence, or that you are the age of majority in your state or province of residence and you have given us your consent to allow any of your minor dependents to use this site.
A breach or violation of any of the Terms will result in an immediate termination of your Service. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time. The headings used in this agreement are included for convenience only and will not limit or otherwise affect these Terms.
Your use of the Services is governed by our Privacy Policy, and you consent to our use of your information consistent with the Privacy Policy.
We reserve the right at any time to modify or discontinue the Services (or any part or content thereof) without notice at any time. Any new features or tools which are added to the website shall also be subject to these Terms. We shall not be liable to you or to any third-party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Service.
We are not responsible if information made available on this site is not accurate, complete or current. The material on this site is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon or used as the sole basis for making decisions without consulting primary, more accurate, more complete or more timely sources of information. Any reliance on the material on this site is at your own risk.
This site may contain certain historical information. Historical information, necessarily, is not current and is provided for your reference only. We reserve the right to modify the contents of this site at any time, but we have no obligation to update any information on our site. You agree that it is your responsibility to monitor changes to our site.
We may provide you with access to third-party tools over which we neither monitor nor have any control nor input.
You acknowledge and agree that we provide access to such tools "as is" and "as available" without any warranties, representations or conditions of any kind and without any endorsement. We shall have no liability whatsoever arising from or relating to your use of optional third-party tools.
Any use by you of optional tools offered through the site is entirely at your own risk and discretion and you should ensure that you are familiar with and approve of the terms on which tools are provided by the relevant third-party provider(s).
We may also, in the future, offer new services and/or features through the website (including, the release of new tools and resources). Such new features and/or services shall also be subject to these Terms.
Certain content, products and services available via our Services may include materials from third-parties. Third-party links on this site may direct you to third-party websites that are not affiliated with us. We are not responsible for examining or evaluating the content or accuracy and we do not warrant and will not have any liability or responsibility for any third-party materials or websites, or for any other materials, products, or services of third-parties.
We are not liable for any harm or damages related to the purchase or use of goods, services, resources, content, or any other transactions made in connection with any third-party websites. Please review carefully the third-party's policies and practices and make sure you understand them before you engage in any transaction. Complaints, claims, concerns, or questions regarding third-party products should be directed to the third-party.
If you send certain specific submissions (for example text, pictures, video, creative ideas, suggestions, proposals, plans, information pertaining to donations or other materials, whether online, by email, by postal mail, or otherwise (collectively, "Submissions"), you agree that we may, at any time, without restriction, edit, copy, publish, distribute, translate and otherwise use in any medium any Submissions that you forward to us. We are and shall be under no obligation (1) to maintain any Submissions in confidence; (2) to pay compensation for any Submissions; or (3) to respond to any Submissions.
Unless prohibited by law or otherwise agreed by us in writing, you agree that we own exclusively and in perpetuity, all right, title and interest, including but not limited to all Intellectual Property Rights, in and to the Submissions. "Intellectual Property Rights" means all trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, mask work rights, patents and other intellectual property rights recognized by the laws of any country. If you have or will have any such rights that cannot be assigned to us, you hereby grant and agree to grant to us a non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, fully paid unlimited license, with right to sublicense such rights through multiple levels of licensees, including but not limited the right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, transmit, broadcast, modify, use, sell, make, have made and otherwise exploit for any and all purposes and in any manner we may determine in our sole discretion, by any and all means now known or hereafter devised. You acknowledge that there are, and may be, future rights that we may otherwise become entitled to with respect to the Submission that do not yet exist, as well as new uses, media, means and forms of exploitation worldwide exploiting current or future technology yet to be developed, and you specifically intend the foregoing assignment and license of rights to us to include all such now known or unknown uses, media and forms of exploitation throughout the universe. We may, but have no obligation to, monitor, edit or remove content that we determine in our sole discretion are unlawful, offensive, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene or otherwise objectionable or violates any party's intellectual property or these Terms.
You agree that your Submissions will not violate any right of any third-party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, personality or other personal or proprietary right. You further agree that your comments will not contain libelous or otherwise unlawful, abusive or obscene material, or contain any computer virus or other malware that could in any way affect the operation of the Services or any related website. You may not use a false e-mail address, pretend to be someone other than yourself, or otherwise mislead us or third-parties as to the origin of any comments. You are solely responsible for any Submissions you make and their accuracy. We take no responsibility and assume no liability for any Submissions made by you or any third-party.
In addition to the Intellectual Property Rights in Submissions, as between you and us, we own all rights, title and interest in and to the Services and all of the content, software, code, data and other materials thereon, and the look-and-feel, design and organization of any aspect thereof, including any copyrights, trademark rights, patent rights and other intellectual property and proprietary rights therein (collectively, the "Materials"). Your use of the Services does not grant to you ownership or title of, in or to any Materials, any other part of the Service, or content. The Services and Materials are for your personal and non-commercial use only or as otherwise permitted under copyright law. Unless otherwise permitted under copyright law, you may not reproduce, distribute, copy, perform, display, modify, create derivative works from, or offer for sale any information contained on or obtained from or through the Services or the Materials, without our express written consent. Without limiting the foregoing, you are not permitted to republish or reproduce any part of the Services on another website, in any other medium (print, electronic or otherwise) or as part of any commercial service without our prior written permission. The trademarks, trade names, domain names, service marks, logos and other distinctive brand features associated with the Services are proprietary to us and other third parties. Nothing contained in or provided through the Services should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to use any trademarks, trade names, domain names, service marks, logos or other distinctive brand features without our written permission or that of the third-party rights holder.
We may need to get in touch with you periodically regarding your use of the Service. You consent to receive communications and notice from us electronically and agree that any disclosures, notices, agreements, and other communications made by us electronically satisfy any legal requirement for such communications to be in writing. We do not accept any liability or responsibility for emails or other electronic communications that are filtered, intercepted, altered, lost, or not received.
You may not access or use, or attempt to access or use, the Services to take any action that could harm us or any third party, interfere with the operation of the Service, or use the Services in a manner that violates any laws, regulations, code of practice, or similar requirements. For example, and without limitation, you may not:
use the Services for any illegal or unauthorized purpose or to solicit others to perform or participate in any unlawful acts;
use the Services violate any international, federal, provincial or state regulations, rules, laws, or local ordinances (including but not limited to copyright laws);
use the Services for any commercial purpose;
use the Services to infringe upon or violate our intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights of others;
use the Services to harass, abuse, insult, harm, defame, slander, disparage, intimidate, or discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, race, age, national origin, or disability;
submit false or misleading information to the Service;
use the Services to collect or track the personal information of others;
use the Services to spam, phish, pharm, pretext, spider, crawl, or scrape or in connection with such activities;
use the Services for any obscene or immoral purpose;
interfere with or circumvent the security features of the Services or any related website, other websites, or the Internet;
alter any trademarks, trade names, logos, service marks, promotional taglines, copyright notices or warnings or any other proprietary content or rights notices included therein or thereon;
take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our network or infrastructure;
use any device, software, or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Services or any activity conducted on the Services (including, without limitation, a virus, spyware, or malware) or attempt to probe, scan, test the vulnerability of, or breach the security of any system or network;
attempt (or encourage or support anyone else's attempt) to circumvent, decrypt, decipher, decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, or otherwise alter or interfere with any of the software comprising or in any way making up a part of the Service; or
engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits any person from using or enjoying the Service, or that, in our sole judgment, exposes us or any of our users, affiliates, or any other third party to any liability, damages, or detriment of any type.
We reserve the right to terminate your use of the Services or any related website for violating any of the prohibited uses. Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability. We may investigate and work with law enforcement authorities to prosecute users who violate the Terms.
We do not guarantee, represent, or warrant that your use of our Services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free.
We do not warrant that the results that may be obtained from the use of the Services will be accurate or reliable.
You agree that from time to time we may remove the Services for indefinite periods of time or cancel the service at any time, without notice to you.
You expressly agree that your use of, or inability to use, the Services is at your sole risk. The Services and all products and Services delivered to you through the Services are (except as expressly stated by us) provided 'as is' and 'as available' for your use, without any representation, warranties or conditions of any kind, either express or implied, including all implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, merchantable quality, fitness for a particular purpose, durability, title, and non-infringement.
In no case shall Steiner Online Library, our directors, officers, employees, affiliates, agents, contractors, interns, suppliers, service providers or licensors ("SOL Entities") be liable for any injury, loss, claim, or any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, special, or consequential damages of any kind, including, without limitation lost profits, lost revenue, lost savings, loss of data, replacement costs, or any similar damages, whether based in contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise, arising from your use of any of the Services or any products procured using the Service, or for any other claim related in any way to your use of the Services or any product, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of the Services or any content (or product) posted, transmitted, or otherwise made available via the Service, even if advised of their possibility. Any claim arising out of or connected with the Services will be limited to the greater of $100 or the amount that you paid to access the Service. Because some states or jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or the limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, in such states or jurisdictions, our liability shall be limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.
You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Steiner Online Library and SOL Entities, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third-party due to or arising out of your breach of these Terms or the documents they incorporate by reference, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third-party. We reserve the right to assume, at our expense, the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which we are entitled to indemnification under this section. In such event, you shall provide us with full cooperation as we reasonably request at your own expense.
The obligations and liabilities of the parties incurred prior to the termination date shall survive the termination of this agreement for all purposes.
These Terms are effective unless and until terminated by either you or us. You may terminate these Terms of Service at any time by notifying us that you no longer wish to use our Service, or when you cease using our site.
If in our sole judgment you fail, or we suspect that you have failed, to comply with any term or provision of these Terms, we also may terminate this agreement at any time without notice and you will remain liable for all amounts due up to and including the date of termination; and/or accordingly may deny you access to our Services (or any part thereof).
The following provisions apply when you use the Services outside the United States:
You consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.
You will not use the Services if you are prohibited from receiving products, Service, or software originating from the United States. Without limiting the foregoing, you will not use the Services if you are located in a country embargoed by the United States or are on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals.
We try to create consistent standards for everyone, but we also strive to respect local laws. You may have additional consumer rights under your local laws that these Terms do not change.
PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS. BY AGREEING TO BINDING ARBITRATION, YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO LITIGATE DISPUTES THROUGH A COURT AND TO HAVE A JUDGE OR JURY DECIDE YOUR CASE. In order to expedite and control the cost of disputes, we and you agree that any legal or equitable claim, dispute, action or proceeding arising from or related to the Services ("Dispute") will be resolved as follows to the fullest extent permitted by law:
Notice of Dispute. In the event of a Dispute, you or we must give the other a Notice of Dispute, which is a written statement that sets forth the name, address, and contact information of the party giving it, the facts giving rise to the Dispute, and a proposed solution. You must send any Notice of Dispute by first class U.S. Mail to us at the address listed below. We will send any Notice of Dispute to you by first class U.S. Mail to your address if we have it, or otherwise to your email address. You and we will attempt to resolve any Dispute through informal negotiation within sixty days from the date the Notice of Dispute is sent. After sixty days, you or we may commence arbitration.
Small Claims Court. You may choose to litigate any Dispute in small claims court (or the equivalent), in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, USA in the English language if the Dispute meets all the requirements to be heard in small claims court. You may litigate in small claims court whether or not you first negotiated informally.
Binding Arbitration and Governing Law. If the Dispute is not resolved by informal negotiation or in small claims court, any other effort to resolve the Dispute will be conducted exclusively by binding arbitration as described in this section. You are giving up the right to litigate (or participate in as a party or class member) all Disputes in court before a judge or jury. Instead, all Disputes will be resolved before a neutral arbitrator, whose decision will be final except for a limited right of appeal under the United States Federal Arbitration Act. Any court with jurisdiction over the parties may enforce the arbitrator's award. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Terms and any Dispute that might arise between you and us shall be governed by the laws of the United States and the State of Michigan, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
Class Action Waiver. Any proceedings to resolve or litigate any Dispute in any forum will be conducted solely on an individual basis. Neither you nor we will seek to have any Dispute heard as a class action or in any other proceeding in which either party acts or proposes to act in a representative capacity. No arbitration or proceeding will be combined with another without the prior written consent of all parties to all affected arbitrations or proceedings.
Arbitration Procedures. Any arbitration shall be finally settled under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in effect at the time the Dispute is filed (the "Rules") and by one or more arbitrators appointed in accordance with the said Rules. Any and all arbitral proceedings shall be conducted in the English language in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, USA unless conducted telephonically in accordance with the Rules.
Arbitration Fees. Whoever files the arbitration pays the initial filing fee. If we file, we pay; if you file, you pay unless you get a fee waiver under the applicable arbitration rules. If you paid the initial filing fee and you prevail, we will reimburse you for that fee. If there is a hearing, we will pay any fees of the arbitrator and arbitration firm for the first day of that hearing. All other fees will be allocated as provided by the rules of the arbitration firm and applicable law. In no event will you be required to reimburse us for any arbitration filing, administrative, or hearing fees in an amount greater than what your court costs would have been if the Dispute had been resolved in a court with jurisdiction. However, we will advance or reimburse your fee if the arbitration firm or arbitrator determines there is good reason requiring us to do so, or if you ask us and we determine there is good reason for doing so. Each party will bear the expense of that party's attorneys, experts, and witnesses, and other expenses, regardless of which party prevails, but a party may recover any or all expenses from another party if the arbitrator, applying applicable law, so determines.
Disputes must be filed within one year. To the extent permitted by law, any Dispute under this agreement must be filed within one year in small claims court or in an arbitration proceeding. The one-year period begins when the Dispute or Notice of Dispute first could be filed. If a Dispute is not filed within one year, it is permanently barred.
Temporary Injunctive Relief. Prior to the appointment of an arbitrator, either party may seek temporary injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction without waiving its right to arbitration.
If any other provision of this section is found to be illegal or unenforceable, that provision will be severed, with the remainder of this section remaining in full force and effect. If this entire agreement to arbitrate is found to be illegal or unenforceable, the parties agree to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law that any Dispute relating to your use of the Services or these Terms shall be commenced and heard in the appropriate court in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, USA. To the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within Grand Traverse County, Michigan, USA.
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and us, superseding any prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals (whether oral, written or electronic) between you and us, and you have not relied on any warranties, statements, or representations that are not set out in these Terms. In the event any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, it will not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions and will be replaced by an enforceable provision that comes closest to the intention underlying the unenforceable provision. You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and us as a result of these Terms or your access to and use of the Service.
Our failure to exercise our rights, enforce any provisions of these Terms, or respond to a violation by any party does not waive our right to subsequently enforce any terms or conditions of the Terms or respond to any violations. Nothing contained in these Terms is in derogation of our right to comply with governmental, court, and law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of the Services or information provided to or gathered by us with respect to such use. You will not transfer, assign, or hold on trust any of your rights or obligations under these Terms to anyone else without our consent. We may exercise any of our rights hereunder and perform any of our obligations directly or through third parties. Any rights granted to us extend equally to third parties acting on our behalf.
If you have any questions about these Terms or our practices, please contact us by email at [email protected]
Steiner Online Library P.O. Box 42 Interlochen, MI 49643 USA