Web Policy
I. Privacy
Overview
Your privacy is important to the Academy, and we are committed to respecting that privacy. This statement describes the personal information practices for the Academy Website, including what type of information is gathered and tracked, how the information is used, and with whom the information is shared.
Personal Information
In general, you can visit the Academy Website without telling us who you are and without revealing any personal information about yourself. In using specific features of the Website, such as access to articles from Dædalus and other online publications or our humanities database, you will be asked to give us personal information, such as your name and e-mail address, that will be needed to (for example) correspond with you or process your request. We may also use your e-mail address to provide you with information and additional updates about Academy publications and activities. Aside from aggregating data, with all personal information removed, to allow us to check on our own performance, it is our intent that your personal information will be used only to fulfill the request(s) you make of us, and to allow us to contact you solely for the reasons described in this paragraph. We will not exchange or sell your email address to third parties. However, we may use or disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights; to protect the rights, safety, or property of others; and/or to participate in a judicial proceeding, comply with a court order, respond to other legal process served on us or the Website.
If you elect to post information to the public areas of the Academy Website, such as forums or comment sections, you should be aware that any personally identifiable information you submit there can be read, collected, or used by other users of these features, which are open to the general public. Any identifiable information could be widely disclosed, posted elsewhere on the Internet, or used to contact you or send you unsolicited messages. We are not responsible for the personally identifiable information you choose to submit in these forums and urge you to exercise caution before publicly posting any personally identifiable information in these areas of the Academy Website.
Payments
When you purchase any product or service, pay membership dues, or donate to the Academy through the Academy Website, we need to know your name, billing and shipping addresses, telephone number, e-mail address, and credit card information to process your order. Your credit card information will be used only as needed to process your transaction.
Information Security and Quality
We intend to protect the integrity of your personal information. To do this, we have implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures, such as using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption for transmission of credit card numbers and passwords, to help us keep your information secure, accurate, current, and complete. We will make a sincere effort to respond in a timely manner to your requests to correct inaccuracies in your personal information, to remove personal information you do not want stored, or to answer any questions you may have about our use of your information.
Information Gathered through Cookies and Other Technologies
In general, you can use the Academy Website in all ways without using the technology known as "cookies." A cookie is a short identifier, stored on your computer, that a website may use to identify you when you make return visits to it. The features of the Academy Website were designed to work without cookies, so if you turn them off, you may still browse and search our Website. Performance may be slower, however. We may collect anonymous information from visits to the Academy Website to help us provide better user service and a better user experience. For example, we keep track of the domains from which people visit, and we measure aggregate user activity on the Academy Website, but we do so in ways that keep users’ personal identity and information anonymous. The Academy or the analytic vendors it selects may use this data to analyze Website usage trends and statistics, to help us improve our Website. When we collect personal data from you in connection with a transaction (an order, e-mail request, etc.) we may extract some information about that transaction in an anonymous format and combine it with other anonymous information such as clickstream data. This anonymous information is used and analyzed only at an aggregate level to help us understand trends and patterns in our Website’s usage.
Children
The Academy Website is for general audiences and is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information about children under the age of 13. If you become aware that a child has submitted personal information without the permission of a parent or guardian, please contact the Director of Publications at the address below and we will promptly remove such information and shall not use such information or include it in our database.
Business Relationships
The Academy Website may contain links to other websites. The Academy is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these websites.
Opting Out and Questions Regarding this Statement
If you do not wish to receive the communications described above, you may choose to "opt out." Opting out may prevent your participation in activities for which personal information is needed. Please submit your request to opt-out of future communications, or any questions regarding this statement or our privacy policies to the Academy Website manager at:
Director of Publications
American Academy of Arts & Sciences
136 Irving Street
Cambridge MA USA 02138
Email the Publications Department
By visiting and using the Academy Website, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy. This privacy statement was last updated on June 19, 2014.
II. Copyrighted Material on the Academy Website
The Minerva seal and all content produced by the Academy for the Website (unless otherwise indicated) are the intellectual property of the Academy and its licensors and cannot be reproduced without permission from the Academy. The content on the Website is protected by copyright law and international conventions. Any unauthorized use of the content may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity, and civil and criminal statutes. Certain documents published on the Website may contain other restrictions, proprietary notices and/or copyright information relating to that individual document.
If you send, post, or otherwise provide to the Academy any comments, content or other materials, such materials will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary. By posting such materials, you represent to the Academy and the other users of the Academy Website that you own the materials. You retain ownership of the materials you post, but you grant to the Academy a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, non-exclusive license (with rights to sublicense) to use such materials and all intellectual property therein in any way and for any purpose whatsoever. The Academy shall have no obligation of any kind with respect to such materials and will be free to copy, use, modify, display and distribute the materials to others, without limitation.
If you believe that any materials on this Website infringe your copyright, you may request that they be removed under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 by contacting the Academy's designated agent (identified below). This request must bear a signature (or electronic equivalent) of the copyright holder or an authorized representative and must include the following information (see 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3) for further details): (1) identification of the copyrighted work that you believe to be infringed, including a description of the work and, where possible, a copy or the location (e.g., URL) of an authorized version of the work; (2) identification of the material that you believe to be infringing and its location, including a description of the material, its Website location or other pertinent information that will help us to locate the material; (3) your name, address, telephone number, and (if available) email address; (4) a statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the materials is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; (5) a statement that the information in your claim is accurate; and (6) a statement that, under penalty of perjury, you declare that you are the lawful copyright owner or are authorized to act on the owner's behalf. In an effort to protect the rights of copyright owners, we maintain a policy for the termination, in appropriate circumstances, of users of this Website who are repeat infringers. Please note that any information provided in a complaint, including the original notification and any responses to it, may be shared with others as deemed by the Academy necessary or appropriate to process your notification. This constitutes an exception to our Privacy Policy.
Designated Agent:
Phyllis S. Bendell
Director of Publications
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
136 Irving Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
telephone: 617-576-5085
email: copyright@amacad.org
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any new features that augment or enhance the Academy’s current interactive services, including the release of new Academy properties, shall be subject to the Academy’s online policy.
III. User Conduct
You may not use the Website to post or send any materials that (1) interfere with anyone else's use of the Website; (2) are “spam,” abusive, illegal, obscene or threatening in any way; (3) encourage anyone to break the law, or to breach their agreements with the Academy or third parties; (4) violate anyone's copyright or other property right; (5) interfere with the privacy of any other user; (6) contain a virus or any other harmful component; (7) are advertising, surveys, or other commercial materials, except in those areas of the Website where these materials are permitted; or (8) contain false or misleading statements of fact or descriptions of the origin of the material.
Although the Academy may from time to time monitor or review forums, comments, postings and other areas of the Website, the Academy is under no obligation to do so and assumes no liability or responsibility arising from the contents of any such postings or for any defamation, inaccuracy, libel, obscenity, or profanity contained in any such posting. The Academy may review comments that you submit before they are posted to the Website’s forums, and may choose not to post your submission, to edit the submission before it is posted, or to remove any previously posted submission in its sole discretion. The Academy may also edit or remove any posting that violates the Academy’s policies in any way. The Academy will fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing the Academy to disclose the identity of anyone posting material to the Website. Please contact the Director of Publications at the address above if you believe anyone is violating these terms.
IV. Disclaimer of Warranty and Liability
The Website is provided “AS IS” and with all faults. Use the Website at your own risk. The Academy makes no representations or warranties of any kind, either express or implied, with regard to the Website. To the fullest extent permitted by law, The Academy disclaims all warranties, express or implied, and all implied terms and conditions, including but not limited to those related to merchantability, satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, title or non-infringement.
The Academy will not be liable for any damages arising from your use of the Website, including without limitation damages associated with lost profits or data, or consequential, special, indirect or incidental damages, even if the Academy knew or should have known about the possibility of the damages. Some states and countries do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so this limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. You could be held liable if your use of the Website is contrary to these terms, the Privacy Policy, or the other terms referenced on this page. You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold the Academy harmless from and against any claims or liabilities arising out of your use of the Website contrary to these terms.
The law of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts governs the interpretation of these terms, regardless of conflict of laws principles. The laws of the state or country where you live govern all other claims. These terms describe certain legal rights. You may have other rights under the laws of your state or country. These terms do not change your rights under the laws of your state or country if the laws of your state or country do not permit it to do so.