TERMS OF USE 

Last Updated October 1, 2021 

Changes to Terms 

No Minors 

Username, Passwords, and Security 

Users Outside the United States 

Functionality; Disclaimers 

Right to Change Website 

No Misuse of Website 

Proprietary Content 

Third-Party Content 

User Content – What You Can and Cannot Submit 

User Content – Your License 

Consent to Receive Electronic Communications 

DMCA Copyright Notice and Repeat Infringer Policy 

Indemnity 

Governing Law/Choice of Forum 

No Obligation to Participate in Disputes Between Users 

Termination 

Miscellaneous 

Contact Us 

Welcome to www.ISSVD.org (the “Website”), which is owned and operated by the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (“ISSVD”, “we” or “us”). This Website is provided subject to the following Terms of Use (these “Terms”). Your continued use of this Website signifies your agreement to the following terms and conditions of use: 

Changes to Terms 

You acknowledge that you have read and accept these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, or any amendment to these Terms, you may not access or otherwise use this Website and you should exit this Website immediately. 

We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to update or change these Terms, in our sole discretion, from time to time. If we do so, we will publish an announcement on this Website. Your continued usage after such changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms of Use. 

No Minors 

This Website is designed for members of ISSVD who are licensed physicians or others who have attained or completed a college degree or an advanced clinical degree from an accredited institution. As such, this Website is not directed at or intended for use by minors under the age of 18. By continuing to use this Website you warrant and represent that you are at least 18 years of age. For more information about our privacy practices and the choices parents have with respect to minors who are visiting this website without parental consent please see our Privacy Policy.  delete such information. 

Username, Passwords, and Security 

You are responsible for maintaining security and control over your username and password that you create to use certain features of this Website. We are not responsible for any losses arising out of the unauthorized use of your accounts or the Website. If you believe that the security of your username and/or password has been compromised, you agree to immediately change your username and/or password to eliminate this security risk. You will notify us of any known or suspected unauthorized use of, or disclosure related to, your account. 

 Users Outside the United States 

Please be advised that if you are located in the European Union or another region with laws related to data collection and use that may differ from U.S. law, your personal information transferred to the U.S. may not have the same legal data protection as in your jurisdiction. This Website requires its users to identify their residency and provide certain information at the time of membership, event or course registration. Other times users may voluntarily submit personal information via our Website other than through the registration process. If you are a non-US resident or a user in a location outside the US and you elect to register through or otherwise use this Website, you should be aware that your personal information will be transferred to the US and processed by us and by US-based service providers at our direction. In such cases, where your personal information is transferred to the US, we will take all reasonable steps necessary to ensure that appropriate safeguards designed to protect your personal information are implemented (e.g. entering into approved standard contractual clauses to protect personal information). 

Functionality; Disclaimers 

ISSVD may limit the amount of storage space, activity, bandwidth, or any other resources available on the Website in its discretion. Periodically, this Website may become unavailable due to required maintenance or other reasons. ISSVD assumes no responsibility for any errors, omissions, interruptions, deletions, defects, delays in operation or transmission, communications line failures, theft, destruction, or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, any content or information that you submit on, to, or through the Website. 

  THIS WEBSITE, INCLUDING ALL CONTENT, SOFTWARE, FUNCTIONS, SERVICES, MATERIALS AND INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THIS WEBSITE, IS PROVIDED “AS IS.” TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY LAW, ISSVD MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER FOR THE CONTENT ON THIS WEBSITE OR THE MATERIALS, INFORMATION, SERVICES, AND FUNCTIONS MADE ACCESSIBLE BY THE SOFTWARE USED ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THIS WEBSITE, FOR ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OR HYPERTEXT LINKS TO THIRD PARTIES OR FOR ANY BREACH OF SECURITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRANSMISSION OF SENSITIVE INFORMATION THROUGH THIS WEBSITE OR ANY LINKED SITE. FURTHER, ISSVD DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ACCURACY, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. ISSVD DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THIS WEBSITE OR ANY MATERIALS OR CONTENT CONTAINED THEREIN WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THIS WEBSITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.  IN NO EVENT SHALL ISSVD BE LIABLE FOR THE USE OF THIS WEBSITE.  FURTHER, IN NO EVENT SHALL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS WEBSITE. 

Right to Change Website 

ISSVD may change, enhance, suspend, or discontinue all or any aspect of this Website at any time, including but not limited to the availability of any Website feature, database, or content. We may also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict your access to parts or all of this Website without notice or liability. 

No Misuse of Website 

You will not and agree not to, and understand that you violate these Terms when you, do any of the following: 

 

• use or attempt to use this Website for any illegal, abusive or unethical activities as determined by us in our sole discretion, which include by way of example and not limitation, distributing computer viruses or other malware, adware, spyware, or distribution of other harmful or malicious materials, code, programs or scripts; 

• breach any applicable data protection statute by, for example, sending or storing personal information (as defined in applicable data protection statutes) in an unencrypted form; 

• impersonate another person, falsify the source of TCP/IP packets, spoof any portion of an email or TCP/IP header, or misrepresent authorization to act on behalf of others or us.  All messages and packets transmitted via the Internet Service should correctly identify the sender and source; you may not alter the attribution of origin in electronic mail messages or posting; 

• undermine or circumvent the security or integrity of this Website or computing systems or networks or gain unauthorized access or control over our Website or our computers or servers or any other person’s computers or servers; 

• permit another person to use your resources or the Website to conduct any of the matters you are prohibited from doing; 

• take any action that would cause us to violate any terms of an upstream service provider’s acceptable use policy; and 

• use this Website for any purpose other than your personal, non-commercial use;  

• engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone's use or enjoyment of the Website, or which, as determined by us, may harm the ISSVD or users of the Website, or expose them to liability 

The above list of prohibited, unacceptable uses of this Website is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather illustrative of the range of unacceptable uses. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to determine whether any particular conduct is an acceptable use of this Website. 

Proprietary Content 

All content used on and in this Website and the functionality of this Website, including without limitation the text, logos, designs, icons, software, scripts, source code, graphics, photos, images, likenesses, domain names, interactive features, and the like, and the trade secrets, trademarks, trade names, service marks, copyrights, and logos contained therein, but excluding User Content as defined below (collectively, “ISSVD Content”), are owned by or licensed to ISSVD and are proprietary and protected by applicable intellectual property law. No express or implied rights are conferred on you to use ISSVD Content. Except as explicitly permitted by these Terms or the functionality of this Website, ISSVD Content may not be used, copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, broadcast, displayed, sold, licensed, modified, adapted, sideloaded, used in derivative works, or otherwise exploited for any other purposes whatsoever without our prior written consent. We may change any ISSVD Content without notice. 

Any requests for permissions should be directed to issvd@issvd.org. 

Third-Party Content 

This Website contains links and pointers to other websites, resources, and sponsors of this Website. Links to and from this Website to other third-party sites, maintained by third parties, do not constitute an endorsement by ISSVD of any third-party resources, or their contents. We have no control over these third parties and are not responsible or liable for any such third-party material, or its accuracy or quality. You assume full responsibility when you choose to access third-party content or follow any links that lead you to third-party websites. Your visit to any third-party website is governed by the terms of use and privacy policies applicable to that website. It is always a good idea to read the terms of use and privacy policy on any third-party website that you visit. 

User Content – What You Can and Cannot Submit 

Subject to these Terms, you may submit, upload, and/or post to the Website data and digital media as may be permitted from time to time by the Website, which may include text, pictures, audio, video, electronic files, and other content supplied by you and other users (“User Content”). User Content includes, but is not limited to, submissions to our online message board. By submitting, uploading, or posting User Content, you acknowledge that ISSVD will store User Content on ISSVD’s or our cloud/technical service providers’ servers for use on or by this Website. ISSVD does not review, approve, or otherwise assist in the creation of User Content. 

For each piece of your User Content, you agree that: 

 

• You are responsible for your User Content. You are solely responsible for all of your User Content submitted, posted, uploaded, and/or displayed on the Website and for your interactions with other Website users. 

• You must have the rights to all content in your User Content. Your User Content, and each and every part of it, is an original work by you, or you have all full and necessary legal rights and authority, including but not limited to, copyrights, trademarks, rights of attribution, rights to credit, neighboring rights, moral rights, or any other intellectual property or proprietary rights, to use and to authorize ISSVD to use, or, where relevant, to grant ISSVD the licenses to the content pursuant to these Terms, on behalf of yourself and any composers, publishers, authors, or other third parties. 

• You will not infringe on the rights of others. Your User Content does not and will not infringe upon or violate the rights of any third party, including, without limitation, copyright, trademark, intellectual property rights, rights of privacy or publicity, real property rights, or rights in confidential information. 

• You will not disclose patient information. You agree not to disclose personally identifiable health information (“PHI”) or otherwise improperly submit or disclose any third-party’s personal or patient information in our forum. To the extent that this Website allows forums for members to post questions, messages, or other communication to this Website, please be aware that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information to other users. You should exercise caution with respect to PHI and personal or patient information in our forum. ISSVD is not responsible for the disclosure of any information through our online forums. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information. 

• You will not submit prohibited content. Your User Content does not contain falsehoods, misrepresentations, or deceptive material that is unlawful, obscene, patently offensive, defamatory, libelous, threatening, sexually explicit, harassing, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, and does not encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, trespass, give rise to civil liability, violate any law, and is not otherwise inappropriate or objectionable. 

• You will not use the Website for commercial activities, spam, scams, or advertising. Your User Content does not contain any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional messages, mass email, spam, or any other form of solicitation involving commercial activities and/or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes, gambling, advertising, or pyramid schemes. 

• You waive moral rights in your User Content. You hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waive any and all moral and like rights that you may have in your User Content and hereby agree not to make any claim based on such moral or like rights with respect to our use of your User Content in keeping with these Terms. 

• We are free to use your User Content on this Website. We are free to use your User Content in keeping with the terms of these Terms and our Privacy Policy. 

• You will not be paid for your User Content. We are not be required to pay you or any person or entity for your User Content. 

• Your User Content will not harm anyone. Your User Content does not include information that poses or creates a safety or security risk to any person. 

We are under no obligation to post or use any User Content, and we may remove User Content of which we become aware at any time for any reason in our sole discretion. 

We reserve the right to decide whether User Content is appropriate and complies with these Terms. We assume no responsibility or liability for the deletion, corruption, or loss of User Content or failure to receive or store User Content for any reason, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any network, hardware, or software. Removal of User Content from this Website may not automatically result in the deletion of the relevant files from our or our cloud providers’ systems and servers. ISSVD is not obligated to ensure the deletion of User Content from any servers or systems operated or used by ISSVD or to require that any user delete any specific material. Our Privacy Policy provides additional information on retention of and access to your personal information. 

User Content – Your License 

You hereby grant to ISSVD a perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable, unrestricted, non-exclusive, royalty free license to use, copy, license, sublicense, adapt, distribute, display, publicly perform, reproduce, transmit, modify, edit and otherwise exploit your User Submissions, in all media now known or hereafter developed. 

Consent to Receive Electronic Communications 

If you agree to register to receive alerts, emails, services, or other communications via web forms on this Website or via email, you consent to receive all such communications from us concerning any subject matter via email (unless specifically prohibited by applicable law). You further agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications that we provide via email satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. It is your responsibility to maintain a valid email address. You may opt out of receiving commercial communications at any time using the prompts contained at the bottom of our emails. 

DMCA Copyright Notice and Repeat Infringer Policy 

If you are a copyright holder who believes that any of the products, services, or content which are directly available via the Website contain infringing copies of your work, please notify us at issvd@issvd.org. 

We reserve the right to terminate a user’s access to the Website if we determine, in our sole discretion, that the user is a repeat infringer. For purposes of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a repeat infringer is a user who has been notified of infringing activity and has had User Content removed from the Website more than once. 

Indemnity 

You hereby agree to indemnify, defend and hold ISSVD, and all its officers, directors, owners, agents, employees, information providers, licensors and licensees (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) harmless from and against any and all loss, liability, claim, demand, damage, cost, and expense (including reasonable legal fees) incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising out of your use of the Website, your postings on the Website, forums or discussions, any breach by you of these Terms or the foregoing representations, warranties and covenants, including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and costs. You shall cooperate as fully as reasonably required in the defense of any claim. ISSVD reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you and you shall not in any event settle any matter without the written consent of ISSVD. 

Governing Law/Choice of Forum 

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina, without regard to its or any other jurisdiction’s conflict of law provisions. You expressly agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or dispute with ISSVD concerning these Terms or relating in any way to your use of this Website resides in the federal and state courts located in North Carolina. YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT NEITHER YOU NOR ISSVD WILL PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OR CLASS ACTION ARBITRATION OR CLAIMS BROUGHT IN A PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL OR REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY, IF ISSVD IS A PARTY TO SUCH A PROCEEDING. 

No Obligation to Participate in Disputes Between Users 

If there is a dispute between users of the Website, or between a user and any third party, you understand and agree that we are under no obligation to become involved. In the event that you have a dispute with one or more other users, you release ISSVD and its officers, employees, agents, representatives, and successors from any and all claims, demands, and damages of every kind or nature, known or unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to such disputes and/or this Website. 

Termination 

If you fail, or if we suspect that you have failed, to comply with any of the provisions of these Terms, we may, in our sole discretion, without notice to you, terminate, suspend, disable, or prohibit your access to the Website. If your access has been terminated, we may, but we are not obligated to, irretrievably delete any and all content we have stored pertaining to activity from your user ID and account. You may terminate this agreement at any time by simply discontinuing access to and use of the Website. 

Miscellaneous 

Failure by ISSVD to enforce any provision of these Terms shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. Nothing in these Terms shall be deemed to confer any third-party rights or benefits. These Terms, and any rights and licenses granted hereunder, may not be transferred or assigned by you, but may be assigned by ISSVD without restriction. If any provision of these Terms, or any portion thereof, is held to be invalid and unenforceable, then the remainder of these Terms nevertheless remain in full force and effect. 

Contact Us 

Questions regarding these Terms of Use should be directed to us at issvd@issvd.org. 

You may also write to us at: 

PO BOX 586 

Waxhaw, NC 28173