Terms and Conditions of Use

1.  Acceptance of Terms

This Terms of Use Agreement (“Agreement”) is made by and between the American College of Physicians, Inc. (“ACP”), 190 N. Independence Mall W, Philadelphia, PA 19106, and you the user (“you,”, “your,” or “User” throughout).

This Agreement contains the terms and conditions that govern your use of the Annals Fresh Look Blog (“Blog”) and of ACP Websites (collectively, “Website” or “Websites”).

Annals of Internal Medicine (“AIM”), a publication owned and operated by the ACP, encourages dialogue to the posts on its Blog. The Website and Blog hosts thoughts and reflections on AIM content from the perspective of residents, fellows, and other early career physicians in general and subspecialty internal medicine. The Website and Blog also feature content from medical students, medical educators, and others interested in the training and experience of early career physicians.

BY READING OR BY ACCESSING, VISITING, BROWSING, USING OR ATTEMPTING TO INTERACT WITH OR USE ANY PART OF THIS WEBSITE OR BLOG, OR OTHER ACP WEBSITES OR CONTENT, YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT.

ACP RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY THIS AGREEMENT, WITH OR WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU. CONTINUED USE OF ANY ACP WEBSITE OR BLOG CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF SUCH MODIFICATIONS.

2.  User Access

In order to make use of the Website, Blog, and other ACP resources, you may be asked to provide certain details or other information, such as your real name and email address, upon ACP request. Users are not permitted to submit content anonymously. You agree to provide us with accurate, complete, and current User information. If ACP believes the information you provide is not accurate, complete, or current, ACP has the right to deny access to the Website, or to any of its resources, and to terminate or suspend your access at any time. You agree not to allow any third party to access the Website on your behalf. You agree to be solely responsible should any other person or entity access the Website of your behalf. You agree to notify us immediately if you are aware of any unauthorized use of the Website. You agree that we have the right to take appropriate administrative and/or legal action, including criminal prosecution, to protect our interests. 

You may use the Website for purposes expressly permitted by the Website or this Agreement. As a condition of your use of ACP Websites, you warrant to ACP that you will not use the Website for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by this Agreement.

3.  Submissions

3.1.  User Comment Posts and Monitoring

The ACP Website permits Users to submit comments, links, and other content (including, without limitation text, photographs, graphics, videos, and audio content) to the Website or Blog. ACP believes that the Website facilitates communication, self-expression, freedom of speech, and encourages the healthy exchange of information and viewpoints.  However, you should not consider out-of-date User submitted content to be current thoughts and opinions, as thoughts and opinions of a User can often change. You understand that due to the highly personal nature of user-created materials, the Website may contain offensive, harmful, dangerous, inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate material.

You acknowledge and agree that ACP does not have any obligation to review User-submitted content, ACP does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of User-submitted content, and ACP cannot ensure that harmful, inaccurate, deceptive, offensive, threatening, defamatory, unlawful, or otherwise objectionable User-submitted content will not appear on the Websites.

However, you acknowledge and agree that ACP has the right to monitor and alter, edit, refuse, or remove any content that a User submits to the Website, in whole or in part, for any reason or for no reason, in our sole discretion. ACP shall have no liability to any User for ACP’s removal or rejection of any posting or comments.  You agree that you shall immediately notify us in writing of any objectionable User-submitted or other content appearing on our Website.

ACP reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue hosting the Website or Blog with or without notice at any time and without any liability to you.

3.2. Restrictions

ACP’s Website is for your personal and non-commercial use, unless otherwise specified. You may not use any ACP Website for any other purpose, including any commercial purpose, without the prior express written permission of an authorized representative of ACP. You may not modify, copy, distribute, display, send, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, transfer, sell or otherwise infringe on any intellectual property rights related to any information, content, software, products or services obtained from or otherwise connected to ACP’s Website.

By submitting content to the Website, you warrant and represent that you either own or otherwise have obtained the necessary permissions and/or the proprietary rights to such content, and you agree not to post or otherwise submit to our Website any content that:

(a)    is fraudulent, promotes false or misleading information, or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous;

(b)   infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other proprietary rights of any third-party; including the promoting of an illegal or unauthorized copy of another person’s copyrighted work;

(c)    is confidential in nature and is not considered non-proprietary (DO NOT SUMBIT TO THE WEBSITE OR OTHERWISE SEND ACP CONFIDENTIAL OR PROPRIETARY INFORMATION);

(d)   is offensive to the Website community or to us, such as content that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred, or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual or which harasses or harms, advocates the harassment or harming of another person, is in breach of confidentiality or privacy, constitutes conduct that would be deemed a criminal offence, or gives rise to a civil liability, or otherwise is contrary to the law;

(e)   links to materials or other content, directly or indirectly, to which the user posting such material does not have a right to link or which competes in any manner with our Website;

(f)     violates a person’s rights of publicity and/or privacy;

(g)    violates any applicable local, state, national, or international law;

(h)   involves the transmission of “junk mail,” “chain letters,” unsolicited mass mailing or “spamming,” or solicits personal information from other Website visitors;

(i)      is designed to interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment or to interfere with or disrupt our Websites or services connected to our Websites; or

(j)     misrepresents your official relationship with ACP, or misleads others about ACP’s positions and polices.

You acknowledge that User submissions of content may be subject to size and usage limitations, and that you are responsible for adhering to such limitations.

4. Proprietary Rights and DMCA Compliance

4.1. ACP Intellectual Property

Content produced by ACP (including without limitation any text, photographs, graphics, videos, audio content, and logos) and appearing on the Website is ACP property or the property of its licensors or suppliers and is protected by copyright under the copyright laws of the United States and/or other countries. You agree not to duplicate, use, display, reproduce, retransmit, modify, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish, create derivative works of, broadcast, circulate, display or in any way exploit any such content (including any copyrighted material, trademarks, or other proprietary information), in whole or in part, whether by printed or electronic copy or by any other means, for any purpose other than for your personal, non-commercial use as set forth herein.

4.2. Trademarks

Unless otherwise indicated, all names, graphics, designs, logos, page headers, button icons, scripts, commercial markings, trade dress, and service names included on the Website are ACP trademarks or trademarks of ACP licensors, sponsors, or suppliers and are protected by the trademark laws of the United States and/or other countries. The trademarks may not be used in any manner whatsoever without our written permission.

4.3.  Use of Content Submitted by User 

We claim no ownership or control over any content created, submitted, posted, or displayed by you through our Website as a comment. You represent and warrant that you have the rights necessary to post, distribute, copy or otherwise use any content you share on the Website.

By submitting content to our Website, you agree to grant ACP a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, and display all content, remarks, suggestions, ideas, graphics, or other information communicated by you to ACP through its Websites and to incorporate any submitted content in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed. You agree that ACP will not be bound to treat any User-submitted content as confidential, and may use any such content in its business (including without limitation, for products or advertising) without incurring any liability for royalties or any other consideration of any kind, and will not incur any liability as a result of any similarities that may appear in future ACP operations or business.

User-submitted content, excluding links, are licensable under a Creative Commons "Attribution – NonCommercial - NoDerivs 3.0" license.

• See https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for reader-friendly terms.
• See https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/legalcode for the full legal code.

4.4. Copyright Information

It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, which provides recourse for copyright owners who believe that material appearing on the Internet infringes their rights under U.S. copyright law. If you, as the copyright owner, believe that your copyrighted work is available on this website in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please refer to ACP’s Privacy Policy for information on how to file a notice of infringement.

5. Disclaimer and Limitations on Liability

The content, information, and opinions of Users and of ACP expressed on the Website do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of ACP, its officers, employees, agents and representatives, or its journal, AIM.

THE USE OF THE WEBSITE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE WEBSITE CONTENT IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
THE CONTENT IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL OR MEDICAL ADVICE, AND IS OFFERED “AS IS” AND SOLELY FOR EDUCATIONAL AND/OR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND SHALL NOT BE INTERPRETED AS A CLINICAL JUDGMENT BY A LICENSED MEDICAL DOCTOR AND DOES NOT REPLACE THE NEED FOR THE VIEWER TO CONSULT WITH A LICENSED MEDICAL DOCTOR.

NEITHER PARTY SHALL BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, LIQUIDATED OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY CHARACTER, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, SUCH DAMAGES FOR PERSONAL INJURY, PROPERTY DAMAGE, LOSS OR INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS (INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL OR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY), WORK STOPPAGE, OR ANY AND ALL OTHER PERSONAL OR COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, WHETHER BASED UPON A CLAIM OR ACTION OF TORT, CONTRACT, WARRANTY, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF STATUTORY DUTY OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY OR CAUSE OF ACTION, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THE FOREGOING LIMITATION AND EXCLUSION OF DAMAGES SHALL NOT APPLY TO INDEMNITY OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE INDEMNIFICATION SECTION.

Descriptions of or references to products or publications by ACP’s Website, whether by ACP representative or User, does not imply endorsement of that product or publication by ACP.

6. Indemnification

User agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold ACP, and ACP’s affiliated companies, including its directors, officers, and employees, harmless for any and all claims or demands, including reasonable attorney fees, including related costs and expenses, that arise from or otherwise relate to your use of this Website, any User content you supply to this Website, or your violation of this Agreement or the rights of another.

7. Hyperlinking

ACP Websites may be hyperlinked to and by other websites which are not maintained by, or related to, ACP. Any links to third-party websites, whether provided by ACP or by a User, are provided for your convenience only. ACP does not review each third-party website and has no responsibility for such third-party websites or their content, products, or services. YOUR USE OF LINKED THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES SHALL BE AT YOUR OWN RISK AND SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE FOR SUCH THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES. ACP DOES NOT RECOMMEND OR ENDORSE THE CONTENT, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, OR WEBSITES OF ANY THIRD-PARTIES OR MAKE ANY DETERMINATION WHETHER ANY CONTENT, PRODUCT, SERVICE, OR WEBSITE MAY BE ACCURATE, NECESSARY, OR APPROPRIATE FOR YOU OR FOR YOUR USE.

8. Privacy

ACP is committed to safeguarding User privacy. In an effort to preserve your privacy, ACP agrees that it will treat any personally identifying information that you submit through this site in accordance with the terms outlined in its Privacy Policy.

9. Termination of Use

You agree that we may, in our sole discretion, at any time and for any reason, with or without notice, terminate this Agreement, or suspend or terminate a User’s access to all or part of ACP’s Websites.

10. Miscellaneous

The terms of this Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, notwithstanding any principles of conflicts of law.  Any judicial proceeding brought with respect to this Agreement shall be brought in the federal or state courts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the Parties hereby agree to the exclusive jurisdiction thereof.

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties and governs your use of the Website, superseding any prior written or oral agreements between you and ACP. These Terms may not be amended or supplemented except as duly executed by ACP in writing.

If any provision of this Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.

11. Contacting Us

You can reach our customer support by emailing us at freshlook@acponline.org.

12.  Website Blog Commentary Submission

You can find information about how to become a blog writer and submit a commentary at Submit a Blog Post.