Terms of Use

TERMS OF USE, DISCLAIMER & PRIVACY POLICY

These Terms of Use, Disclaimer & Privacy Policy (“Terms”) constitute a limited license to view and make use of the www.neonscience.org website; These Terms are the entire Agreement between Battelle Memorial Institute ("Battelle or “We” or “Our” or “Us”) and You ("Your"), the consumer or viewer of the Site. 

SITE, as used throughout these Terms, includes www.neonscience.org and any related websites.

Acknowledgement. This Site and all information herein is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). 

Revisions to the Terms. Battelle reserves the right to revise, amend, modify or replace these Terms, Our Site and/or Our other policies and agreements at any time and in any manner. The most current version of Our Terms is available on this page of Our Site and will supersede all previous versions. As such, You should review the Terms periodically. If You disagree with Our Terms, Your only recourse is to discontinue Your use of this Site and any information or services on this Site.

Use of Site/Data. As the NEON Program is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), all data on this Site is intended to be for Your use and information. The Site and all content and images on the Site are protected by U.S. Copyright. Further, some additional materials appearing on the NEON Program web pages and/or publications available may also be subject to copyright.

You may not utilize copyrighted material without Our prior written authorization. If no copyright notice appears on or in connection with materials and/or publications, You may freely copy such material and We ask that you credit Battelle with a “Courtesy: Battelle” notation. Any use must also include the following disclaimer: The information provided may not have been reviewed or prepared by Battelle. It is provided AS IS without any warranty of any kind, express or implied, and may not reflect Battelle's views or opinions. Please reference Our Disclaimer as well which applies to Your use of any data obtained from this Site. If You have a question about whether material is copyright protected and/or how You may utilize that material, please Contact Us.  

You may provide Us with any data or materials that You own as long as no third party has any ownership rights in the material provided. Upon provision to Us, You are also providing Battelle, all Site visitors and the U.S. Federal government with a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, royalty-free, world-wide license to exercise, or have exercised, all the exclusive rights provided by Your copyright in the provided data or materials (but not for sale to the general public). If there is a question about ownership of materials You provide to Us, that material will be removed from Site as soon as We become aware of the ownership issue.

Accounts, Passwords and Security. You may choose to register for an account and be prompted to choose Your user ID and password. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of Your account information, including Your password, and for any and all activity that occurs under Your account. You agree to notify Us immediately of any unauthorized use of Your account or password or any other security breach. You may be held liable for losses We incur due to someone else using Your user name, password or account.  You may not use anyone else’s user name, password or account at any time. We cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from Your failure to comply with these obligations.

Right to Terminate/Refusal of Service. Battelle reserves the right to terminate Your access to Our Site for any reason or no reason whatsoever at any time. Such alteration in service or refusal to provide service shall NOT be a breach of any agreement with You and shall NOT subject Battelle to any liability at law or in equity, without limitation, even if You suffer damages. Further, Battelle may make changes to the materials, services, errors, or omissions on this Site at any time without notice. In addition, the materials and services available on this Site may be out of date, and Battelle makes no commitment to update the materials and services on this Site. Any changes shall not be considered evidence of improper action or a breach of these Terms.

Certain statements detailed on the Site may be statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on Battelle’s current view and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied. This Site shall not form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract or commitment whatsoever.

Links/Third Party Services or Products. Any Site reference or link to another site, product, service or entity does not necessarily constitute or imply any ownership, sponsorship, endorsement arrangement or any other relationship between Battelle, its employees, agents or affiliates and the linked site, product, service or entity. Further, the views and opinions expressed in any referenced link do not necessarily state or reflect those of Battelle.

Information published on this Site may refer to programs or services that are not available in Your country or state. Battelle administers this Site from its offices in Boulder, Colorado USA. Battelle makes no representation that materials, products or services on this Site are appropriate or available for use outside the United States, and access to them from territories where their content is illegal is prohibited. You may not use or export Our Site information, services, materials, or data or any copy or adaptation (hereafter collectively referenced as “information”) in violation of any applicable laws or regulations including, without limitation, U.S. export laws and regulations. If You choose to access this Site from outside the United States, You do so on Your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with applicable laws.

Consult Your Battelle business contact for information regarding the programs and services that may be available to You.

Use of Logos/Names/Marks/Graphics. You may not use NEON Program or Battelle logos or trademarks without Our written permission. Use of any graphics on this Site (other than Our logos/trademarks) may be granted on a case-by-case basis. Please contact Us if You wish such permission.

Without Our prior written approval, You may not circumvent, remove, alter, deactivate, degrade or thwart content protections, if any, on Our Site, frame or utilize any framing techniques to enclose any NEON Program or Battelle trademarks, logos, or other proprietary information or purchase search terms or use any meta tags or any other "hidden text" utilizing Our name(s) or trademarks.

Trademarks. Battelle owns the following trademarks and trade names, whether registered in the U.S., elsewhere in the world, or utilized at common law:

  • NEON®
  • NEONTM
  • National Ecological Observatory NetworkTM

This list is not intended to be all-inclusive. Battelle may own other marks not listed here. If You have questions about Our marks, please contact Us.

Trade names. In some states, NEON operates under the trad name Battelle Ecology, Inc. (BEI). Trade names are subject to change without notice. 

Use of Name/Likeness. By providing Battelle with any written comments, Your name, and/or Your photographs, You hereby agree that Battelle and its affiliates may use Your name, likeness, and such comments, in whole or in part for any purpose. You also understand that You may not post the comments, name, or photographs belonging to any third party without written permission. We will promptly remove unauthorized content as soon as We know of it. Further, You will not attempt to hide Your identity.

RULES FOR POSTS

In addition to all other rules and requirements in these Terms, if You wish to post any data, comment or information on any portion of Our Site:

  • Respect others’ privacy, confidentiality and intellectual property;
  • Encourage transparency and accountability;
  • Be responsible and respectful;
  • Comply with all applicable laws;
  • Do not post an advertisement of any product or service;
  • Do not spam any other users;
  • Be aware that You can be liable for posted comments;
  • Do not post obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, harassing, pornographic, racially or ethnically offensive statements or posts, or that encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense or give rise to any civil liability;
  • Do not post material that is likely to harm or corrupt the Site or any computer systems or other data;
  • Proofread before posting messages;
  • Do not duplicate posts; and
  • Comply with the NEON Project mission and Battelle policies.

REPRESENTATIONS AND LIABILITY LIMITATIONS

Third party relationships. We may have agreements with other entities, which entities and agreements may change without notice. We make no representations or warranties regarding such entities and disclaim any and all liability relating to such entities and agreements as more specifically detailed in the “Disclaimer/Limitation of Liability” paragraphs herein

Representation of Condition. You hereby assume all risks of use of this Site, including use of all Site INFORMATION (as defined by the Disclaimer below), waive any rights of action against Us and/or any third party as a result of any injury or condition that may result from such use and hold Us harmless and release Us from liability, claims, demands actions or causes of action whatsoever arising out of any damage, loss, injury to You, Your property or Your employees or independent contractors, whether such loss, damage or injury results from Our negligence, that of a third party, or from some other cause. For this purpose, third parties include Battelle managers, officers, directors, employees, independent contractors, affiliates, agents, funders and successors. This waiver and release from liability shall apply for all periods during or after Your use of Our Site and Site INFORMATION and shall apply to and for the benefit of all successors, assigns, heirs and personal representatives.

DISCLAIMER/LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.  THE INFORMATION, MATERIALS, SERVICES AND DATA PROVIDED ON THE NEON PROJECT WEBSITE (“INFORMATION”) ARE PROVIDED BY BATTELLE ON AN "AS IS" BASIS.  TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BATTELLE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, EXPECTED OR INTENDED RESULTS OF ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, AND/OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY WITH RESPECT THERETO. 

IF YOUR USE OF THE INFORMATION FROM THIS SITE RESULTS IN THE NEED FOR MEDICAL ATTENTION FOR YOU, YOUR HEIRS, AGENTS, AFFILIATES, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS, OR YOUR EMPLOYEES OR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS, OR OTHERS AT YOUR DIRECTION, YOU ASSUME ALL COSTS THEREOF WHATSOEVER WITHOUT ANY RIGHT OF CONTRIBUTION OR RECOVERY FROM BATTELLE.

FURTHER, BATTELLE DOES NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT, AND DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FOR MISUSE OF YOUR INFORMATION, DATA OR UPLOADED MATERIALS BY OTHER USERS OR YOUR INABILITY TO USE OUR SITE OR INFORMATION, FOR ANY REASON, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DEFECTS IN THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF INFORMATION, DELAY OR FAILURE OF IN TRANSMISSION, ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN SERVICE, RECOMMENDATIONS BY OUR EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS, INCOMPATABILITY WITH OPERATING SYSTEMS AND ANY LOSSES OR DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OF THE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES PROVIDED BY BATTELLE OR AVAILABLE ON THIS SITE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL BATTELLE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE, YOUR USE OF THE SITE, MISUSE OF YOUR DATA, INFORMATION OR UPLOADS BY OTHER USERS OR THE INFORMATION DETAILED ON THIS SITE WHATSOEVER.

IN THE EVENT INFORMATION OR SERVICES ARE UTILIZED THOUGH THIS SITE IN A JURISDICTION THAT DOES NOT PERMIT ANY DISCLAIMER STATED HEREIN, THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT RECOVERABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DEMAND, ACTION, JUDGMENT, OR PROCEEDING WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING ANY AND ALL ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS, SHALL BE RESTRICTED TO $50.00 U.S.

Indemnity. You agree to hold harmless and indemnify Battelle, and Our managers, officers, directors, employees, independent contractors, affiliates, agents, successors and funders (i.e., NSF) from and against any third-party claim arising in any way from or related to Your use of the Site or INFORMATION.

Compliance with US Government Laws and Restrictions. Battelle makes reasonable efforts to comply with the Data Quality Standards detailed by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which are available for viewing at www.nsf.gov/policies/infoqual.jsp. Battelle also complies with all applicable requirements of Sec. 114 of the Clean Air Act (42 USC Sec. 7414) and Sec. 308 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC Sec. 1318).

Nondiscrimination. No person shall be excluded from participation in use of this Site or INFORMATION, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, or age.

Choice of Law/Applicable Laws. Any disagreement You have with Us whatsoever, including relating to Our Site or INFORMATION is subject to the laws of the State of Colorado, U.S.A., unless U.S. Federal laws apply, without regard to any conflict of laws provisions. Only the Boulder County Courts or the U.S. District Court of Colorado will have jurisdiction over matters concerning this Site, INFORMATION thereon, or other claims, demands, actions, or litigation against Battelle, its managers, officers, directors, employees, independent contractors, affiliates, agents, successors and funders. Further, You and Battelle expressly and irrevocably consent to the personal jurisdiction and venue in these courts for any violation of these Terms.  In any dispute, including any legal action, with Battelle, You agree to only assert claims in an individual (non-class, non-representative) basis, and that You will not seek or agree to serve as a named representative in a class action or seek relief on behalf of anyone other than Yourself.

Severability. If any provision or provisions of these Terms shall be held to be invalid, illegal, unenforceable or in conflict with the law of any jurisdiction, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby, and shall remain in full force and effect.

Electronic Communications. By using the NEON Program INFORMATION or Site whatsoever, or contacting Us for further information, You consent to receiving electronic communications from Us. These communications may include notices about Your account, if any (e.g., confirmation e-mails and other transactional information) and information concerning or related to the NEON Program. These communications are part of Your relationship with Us. You agree that any notice, agreements, disclosure or other communications that We send to You electronically will satisfy any legal communication requirements, including that such communications be in writing. Should You wish to opt out of email communications, except for legal notices, please let Us know and We will stop sending You emails regarding Our product/service offerings. Failure to comply with Your opt-out request shall not be considered a breach of this Agreement. To opt-out, please contact Us.

PRIVACY POLICY. 

We are highly sensitive to the privacy interests of others and believe that the protection of those interests is one of Our most significant responsibilities. In acknowledgment of Our obligations, We have adopted the following Privacy Policy applicable to information that We acquire in the course of Our business:  

Acquisition of Information. We do not acquire any more information about Site visitors than is required by law or is otherwise necessary to provide a high level of service efficiently and securely or than is acquired by the host of the Site. Information regarding visitors to the Site is not provided to anyone outside Battelle, other than the National Science Foundation (NSF) for demographic purposes only, without prior written approval from the visitors. If We ask for Your email address or personal information to provide other services to You, or to supply You with direct, ongoing information, We will maintain that information in a safe and secure server at Our ISP only for Our own internal use.

Disclosure to Third Parties. Other than as detailed herein, We will provide individually‑identifiable information about Site visitors to third parties only if We are compelled to do so by order of a duly‑empowered governmental authority (including, but not limited to, a court order) or to comply with laws or regulations or in order to provide services You request. In these circumstances, Your information may be divulged without Your consent.

Privacy and Business Partners. We do work with certain business partners (e.g., National Science Foundation). We will not share with them any more user information than is necessary; and We will make every reasonable effort to assure, by contract or otherwise, that they use Our Site in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy. 

Cookies. We may use “Cookies.” Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to Your computer hard drive. Cookies can identify a particular computer, but not an individual user.

While We may not use all these categories, cookies may be of the following types: 

  1. Strictly Necessary Cookies. These cookies enable You to browse Our Site and use features.
  2. Performance Cookies. These cookies collect information about how visitors utilize Our Site, allowing Us to improve Our Site. These cookies also let affiliates know if You came to Our Site from an affiliate and if Your visit resulted in a download of any information. No personal information is collected.
  3. Functionality Cookies. These cookies allow Our Site to remember choices You make while browsing Our Site. We may store geographic location to ensure the Site is optimized for Your area or We may store text, font or other customizable Site elements. These cookies will not collect any information that personally identifies You and will not track your browsing activity on other websites.

Analytics Tools. This Site uses analytics tools and other third party technologies, such as Google Analytics and DoubleClick Cookies, to measure and record anonymous visitor data in the form of various usage and user metrics when you use our Site. These tools and technologies collect and analyze certain types of information, including cookies, IP address, device and software identifiers, onsite behavior and usage information, feature use metrics and statistics, demographic information, and other similar information. We use this information to improve the presentation and functionality of the Site and to better understand how users are accessing and using Our data. 

The third party analytics companies who collect information on our Site may combine the information collected with other information they have independently collected from other websites and/or other online or mobile products and services relating to Your activities across their network of products and services.  Many of these companies collect and use information under their own privacy policies. 

You may opt out of the DoubleClick cookie by visiting the Google advertising opt-out page (http://www.google.com/policies/technologies/ads) and you may opt out of Google Analytics by visiting the Google Analytics opt-out page (http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout).

Access To and Control Over the Use of Your Information. You are able to access, correct or update Your personal information. You will be asked for Your ID and password so that We may be able to process Your changes. We will use reasonable efforts to correct any factual inaccuracies in Your information.    

Security of Your Information. It is important that You protect Your ID and password to keep Your information confidential and to protect Your account, if any. Always be sure to log out when You are done using the Site.  We also take certain steps to keep user names and passwords confidential. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result We cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information You transmit to Us or that We transmit to You. We disclaim any and all liability for disclosure of any information obtained due to errors in transmission or the unauthorized acts of third parties as more specifically detailed in the Disclaimer.

Linked Sites. If a hyperlinked website from Our Site exists, that other website may ask for personal information – for instance, if You are purchasing a product or service. We have no control of third parties’ use of any personal information You provide. We urge You to exercise care when providing personal information to anyone.

Email Inquiry. If You send an email inquiry to Us, the return email address is used for the answer. We do not use the return email address for any other purpose and do not share it with any third party.

Protecting children’s privacy is especially important to Us. It is Our policy to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and all other applicable laws. While individuals under the age of 13 may access and view Our Site; and We make every effort to ensure that pages are appropriate for Our audience, We ask that You carefully monitor Your children’s activities on the Site. We believe that there is no substitute for proper parental supervision. We recommend that children ask a parent for permission before sending personal information to Us, or to anyone else online.

Verifiable consent from a child's parent or guardian is required before collecting, using or disclosing personal information from a child under the age of 13. We collect no information about You or Your child, other than that detailed in this Privacy Policy, when You visit Our Site unless You choose to provide information to Us. If We need to collect information about a child under 13 years old, the specific web page will specify exactly what information is being collected. The web page will specify exactly what the information will be used for, who will see it, and how long it will be kept.

There are several exceptions that permit collection of a child's email address without receiving parental consent in advance:

  • To provide the parents with notice and to seek consent for communications with the child. Note: this may require collection of the parent's email address as well.
  • To respond to a one-time request from a child.
  • To respond more than once to a child's request; i.e., subscription to a newsletter, however, parental consent is required prior to the second communication.
  • To protect the safety of a child who is participating on the Site; i.e., in a chat room.
  • To protect the Site or to respond to law enforcement; i.e., in the case of a website compromise.

Personal information about children under 13 years of age may be needed to respond to their communication to Us, such as to receive a publication. Personal information about Your child will be destroyed immediately upon completion of its intended purpose.

Finally, We provide many on-line tools and services in support of Our mission. A child under 13 years old may inadvertently provide personal information to one of these services. If this should happen, the information about the child will be deleted immediately as soon as We know of it.

Public Areas of Site. Please remember that any information You may disclose in any public areas of Our Site or on the internet generally becomes public information. You should exercise caution when deciding to disclose personal information in these public areas. Information disclosed in a password-protected area of the Site will only be available to other users of that protected area. You should still be cautious of disclosing confidential or protected information as We are not responsible for any misuse of Your information by other users.

Hackers. The NEON Program Site has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under Our control. While We make every effort to ensure the integrity and security of Our network and systems, We cannot guarantee that Our security measures will prevent third-party “hackers” from illegally obtaining this information.

Contact. If You have any questions regarding Our Site or these Terms of Use, Disclaimer or Privacy Policy, please contact: Battelle, 1685 38th St., #100, Boulder, CO 80301. Contact form. Tel: (720) 746-4844.

Last Updated: January 5, 2021