Terms and Conditions

Some of our Services allow you to upload, submit, store, send or receive content. Except as otherwise provided in any additional terms for a Service, we do not claim ownership of any content, application or other material that you or third parties provide to us (including feedback and suggestions) or post, upload, input or submit on or through the Services, including our blog pages, message boards, comment or discussion features, chat rooms and forums, for review by the general public, registered users of the Services or by the members of any public or private community (hereinafter referred to as the “Submission”), and you retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in the Submission.

We are not responsible for the content, accuracy or compliance with relevant laws or regulations of any Submission that contains content not owned by Athena. However, by posting, uploading, inputting, providing or submitting (hereinafter referred to as “Posting”) a Submission, you grant us (and those we work with) a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, exclusive right and license to publish, post, reformat, index, archive, make available and link to such Submission in all forms and media (whether now known or later developed), in connection with the operation of our respective businesses (including, without limitation, the Services) and to permit others to do so.

You shall not make any Submission anonymously, and you warrant and represent that any such Submission is original, and has been written by you. We are under no obligation to display or otherwise use any Submission you may provide, and we may remove any Submission at any time at our sole discretion. By Posting such a Submission, you also warrant and represent that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to your Submission including, without limitation, all the rights necessary for granting the permission specified above.

You are responsible for regularly creating back-up copies of your Submission and to provide any information required by Athena during or as part of the submission process.

You shall ensure that any patent applications related to your Submission are filed prior to starting the submission process. You acknowledge that publication of your Submission is likely to reduce or cancel the patentability of any unpatented ideas in your Submission.

You shall not use the Services to publish or distribute any information (including software or other content) which is illegal, which violates or infringes upon the rights of any other person or entity, which is defamatory, offensive, abusive, hateful, profane, pornographic, threatening or vulgar, which contains errors, viruses or other harmful components, or which is otherwise actionable at law. Athena may at any time exercise editorial control over the Content of the Services.

Athena shall have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor Submissions to determine compliance with these Terms and any operating rules we establish and to satisfy any law, regulation or authorized government request. We shall have the right at our sole discretion to edit, refuse to post, or remove any Submission.

You acknowledge and agree that Articles (including all drafts, notes, and preparatory material and/or other Submissions related to an Article) prior to first publication are highly confidential (hereinafter referred to as “Confidential Information”). You warrant and agree that you:

• shall hold all Confidential Information at all times under conditions of secrecy and shall take all reasonable steps to preserve its confidentiality;
• shall use Confidential Information solely for the purpose of performing any services authorized by us and for no other purpose whatsoever;
• shall not disclose Confidential Information to any third party or use it for the benefit of any third party other than as permitted by us.

Prior to the publication of your Article under the licence terms set out below, you grant, and you represent and warrant, that you have the right to grant to us an exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide, royalty-free licence to publicly perform, copy, reproduce, display, make available, communicate to the public, modify, edit, manage, distribute, store, and publish any and all of your Article in print and electronic form.

You acknowledge and agree that, if and once editorially accepted for publication, your Article shall be published by Athena under the CC BY-NC 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International) license and any data relating to the Article (including without limitation any reference lists) is distributed pursuant to the CC0 1.0 (Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal) waiver. For the avoidance of doubt, you shall retain the non-exclusive right to publish or otherwise use your Article and shall be the “Licensor” of the “Licensed Material” for the purposes of the CC BY-NC 4.0 license and the CC0 1.0 waiver.

If we consider that the copyright in your Article has been or is likely to be infringed, we shall be entitled (on giving notice to you where possible) to take such steps to deal with the matter as we consider appropriate. You undertake not to do anything which may compromise or prejudice our conduct of such claim and we shall be entitled on giving notice to you to use your name and the name of any other co-author as a party to such proceedings and to control, settle, or compromise such proceedings as we see fit. You shall (and shall procure that any other co-authors shall) cooperate with and give all reasonable assistance to us in the conduct of such claim. After deduction of our costs in connection with such claim, half of any profits or damages which may be received in respect of any infringement of the copyright shall be retained by us with the remainder shared equally among you and any co-authors.

Athena reserves the right to refuse to publish any Article or other Submission for any reason. By preparing or submitting an Article (including without limitation all tables, abstracts, illustrations, data, diagrams, and other materials accompanying the Article text) for the purpose of publication by Athena you represent and warrant that:

• you are the sole author of the Article, or, if not, you have been authorized by and have the full permission, licence, and consent of all co-authors to submit the Article;
• you are legally able and entitled to submit the Article and authorize Athena to publish the Article in accordance with the provisions outlined in this section of these Terms;
• the Article is original, has not already been published in any other form or is not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere;
• you have obtained all necessary permissions and licences for any third-party material, data, or code contained in the Article (including without limitation all illustrations, charts, photographs, maps, or other material) and the Article does not infringe any copyright, trademark right, or any other intellectual property right of any third party;
• you have disclosed to us in accordance with any policies all conflicts of interest, including without limitation, personal or political interests, commercial associations, or financial interests held by you and any co-authors;
• nothing in the Article has been obtained in contempt of court or through any violation of relevant legislation;
• the Article contains nothing that is unlawful, defamatory, legally privileged, or which would, if published, constitute a breach of contract, or of confidentiality, or breach of privacy;
• no advice, recipe, formula, or instruction in the Article will if followed or implemented by any person cause loss, damage, or injury to them or any other person;
• any research conducted for the Article has been conducted in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and codes of practice;
• you have adhered to Athena policies, as outlined and updated on the Site or the Services, in your preparation and submission of the Article;
• due care, diligence, and all other requisite investigations were carried out in the preparation of the Article to ensure its accuracy and all statements contained in it purporting to be factual are true and correct.

In some cases, where explicitly indicated on the Site or the Service, publication of an Article requires payment of a non-refundable Article Publication Charge (hereinafter referred to as an “APC”) in accordance with our policies. In the event an Article is accepted for publication, the author originally submitting the article intended for publication (whether for himself/herself or on behalf of a group of authors or an institution) will be invoiced for the APC if applicable. Payment of the APC must be made in the period stipulated on the invoice and must be made in full in the manner as indicated on the invoice. Payment by any other means is permitted only at our sole discretion. You further acknowledge and agree that payment of an APC does not guarantee publication of an Article.

All provisions outlined for Articles in Section 3 and Section 4 of these Terms equally apply to the publication of Books on our Site, except for the following differences:

• You acknowledge and agree that, in certain cases, your Book will be published by Athena under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International) license. This will be clearly indicated in the Book and on the publication homepage.
• Publication of a Book requires payment of a non-refundable Book Publication Charge (hereinafter referred to as a “BPC”) in accordance with our policies. Payment of the BPC must be made in the period stipulated on the invoice and must be made in full in the manner as indicated on the invoice. Payment by any other means is permitted only at our sole discretion. You further acknowledge and agree that payment of a BPC does not guarantee publication of a Book.

Athena prohibits the Posting of any Content that infringes or violates copyrights, trademark rights or any other intellectual property rights (including rights of privacy and publicity) of any person, licensor, content provider or other entity. If you believe that your intellectual property rights (or such rights that you are responsible for enforcing) are infringed by any content on the Site or the Services, please direct any notifications regarding such alleged infringements to the Athena Legal Department by email to rights@athena-publishing.com. Your written statement should contain the following:

• identification of the copyright, trademark right or intellectual property right claimed to have been infringed;
• identification of the allegedly infringing material on the Site or the Services that is requested to be removed;
• your name, address, daytime telephone number, and e-mail address;
• a statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the copyrighted work and/or exercise of the intellectual property right is not authorized by the owner, its agent, or the law;
• a statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and, under penalty of perjury, that the signatory is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the right that is allegedly infringed;
• the signature of the intellectual property right owner or someone authorized on the owner's behalf to assert infringement of the right.

Athena will remove any Content or Submission that infringes the copyright, trademark right or other intellectual property right of any person, licensor, content provider or other entity under international copyright laws, trademark laws or intellectual property laws upon receipt of such a statement. The laws of The Netherlands provide significant penalties for submitting such a statement falsely. Under appropriate circumstances, persons who repeatedly submit infringing or unlawful material will be prohibited from Posting further Content or Submissions.

The Services may contain links to third-party sites or resources. These links are provided for your information only and Athena does not endorse and is not responsible for any content, advertising, products or other materials on or available from external sites or resources linked from the Services. Athena will also not be liable for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of any such third-party site or resource. Transactions that occur between you and any third party are strictly between you and the third party and are not the responsibility of Athena. If you decide to visit any third-party site or resource linked from the Services, you do so at your own risk and the use of any such site or resource may be subject to your acceptance of additional terms and conditions which we suggest you read carefully before proceeding.

Athena welcomes you to link to the Services provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it. You may establish a hypertext link to the Services, provided that the link does not state or imply any sponsorship or endorsement of your site, company, product and/or service by Athena. You may not use on your site any trademarks, service marks or copyrighted materials appearing on the Services, including but not limited to any logos, without the express written consent or an explicit license of the owner of the mark or right. You may not frame or otherwise incorporate into any other site any of the Content or other materials on the Services without prior written consent of Athena. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice.

Athena provides the Services using a commercially reasonable level of skill and care, but neither Athena nor its suppliers or licensors make any specific promises about the Services, including the Content or any Submission therein. For example, we do not make any commitment that the operation of the Services will be uninterrupted or error-free; that any defects will be corrected; that the Services, including the server that makes them available, are free of viruses or other harmful components; or as to the accuracy, completeness, reliability, availability, suitability, quality, non-infringement, operation or result obtained from the use of any Content or Submission provided on, accessible from or distributed through the Services.

ATHENA AND ITS SUPPLIERS AND LICENSORS PROVIDE THE SERVICES AND ALL CONTENT AND ANY SUBMISSION INCLUDED IN OR ACCESSIBLE FROM THE SERVICES "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS OF ANY KIND (EXPRESS, IMPLIED AND STATUTORY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT AND THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE), ALL OF WHICH ATHENA AND ITS SUPPLIERS AND LICENSORS DISCLAIM TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES AND ALL CONTENT AND SUBMISSIONS, INCLUDED IN OR ACCESSIBLE FROM THE SERVICES ARE AT YOUR SOLE RISK.

To the extent permitted under applicable law, neither Athena nor its suppliers and licensors assume responsibility for any injury and/or damage to persons, animals or property as a matter of products liability, malpractice, failure to warn, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any ideas, instructions, methods, tests, products or procedures displayed on the Services or incorporated in the Content or any Submission included in or accessible from the Services. Practitioners and researchers must rely on their own experience, knowledge and judgment in evaluating or applying any information, which remains their professional responsibility. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences and changes in government regulations and clearances, we recommend that independent verification of diagnoses, treatments, indications choice of drugs and drug dosages should be made. Discussions, views, and recommendations expressed may not be considered absolute and universal for every situation. Athena will not be liable for the failure by any user of the Services, Content or Submission to use due care in the use and validation of results made available through the Services or included in the Content or any Submission, nor will Athena be liable for any medical treatment provided by users to their patients, whether or not the Services, Content or Submission were used in connection with such treatment.

TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL ATHENA OR ITS SUPPLIERS OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, OR SIMILAR DAMAGES, PERSONAL INJURY – INCLUDING DEATH – LOSS OF PROFITS, CORRUPTION OR LOSS OF DATA, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE SERVICES OR THE CONTENT OR SUBMISSIONS, OR SHALL THE LIABILITY OF ATHENA OR ITS SUPPLIERS AND LICENSORS EXCEED A SUM EQUAL TO THE FEES PAID BY YOU HEREUNDER, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Athena does not claim ownership, endorse or take responsibility for any third-party products, information, guidelines, materials or services that may be offered, advertised, provided or displayed on the Services or incorporated in the Content or any Submission contained on, accessible from or distributed through the Services.

You hereby agree to indemnify and hold Athena, its directors, officers, shareholders, predecessors, successors in interest, employees, agents, suppliers and licensors harmless from and against any and all third-party claims of liability, losses, damages and costs, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' or legal fees, arising out of or in connection with your failure to comply with these Terms, your use of or inability to use any of the Services or the Content or Submissions, your published Article or any breach or alleged breach of your warranties described herein.

Some sites may require you to register. If registration is required, you agree to provide accurate and complete registration information. It is your responsibility to inform Athena of any changes to that information. Each registration is for a single individual only, unless specifically designated otherwise on the registration page. Athena does not permit:

• anyone other than you to use the sections requiring registration by using your name or password;
• access through a single name being made available to multiple users on a network or otherwise.

As a registered user of a Service, Athena grants you a non-transferable, non-exclusive and revocable license to use the Service according to these Terms. Except as expressly granted herein or in any other agreement that you have with Athena, you acquire no right, title or license in the Service or any Content or Submission accessed from or incorporated in the Service.

If you use a password to access a Service, you must not reveal your password and must take reasonable steps to keep your password confidential and secure. You agree to immediately notify Athena if you become aware or have reason to believe that there is any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security. Athena is in no way liable for any claims or losses related to the use or misuse of your password or account due to activities of any third party outside our control or due to your failure to maintain their confidentiality and security.

• Entire Agreement. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Athena and govern your use of the Services. They supersede any prior agreements between you and Athena, including, but not limited to, any prior versions of these Terms.

• Term and Termination. Any license granted to you to use any Service is effective until it expires, until Athena terminates it, or until you provide notice to Athena of your decision to terminate it. Your rights under the license will terminate automatically without notice to you if you fail to comply with any of the provisions of these Terms. Athena reserves the right to limit, suspend, discontinue or change a Service, or its availability to you, at any time without notice. Upon termination of the license to a Service, you shall cease all use of the Service.

• Force Majeure. Any failure or delay in the performance of any term, condition or obligation in these Terms due to causes beyond Athena's reasonable control, including but not limited to, flood, fire, storm, earthquake, war, riot, civil disturbance, strike, labor dispute, pandemic, explosion, power failure or equipment failure, shall not be deemed a breach of these Terms and Athena shall not be liable for any such failure or delay.

• Assignment. You shall not assign your rights or obligations under these Terms to anyone. Athena may assign its rights and obligations under these Terms at its sole discretion by providing notice to you via the email address that you may have provided to us or by notifying you accordingly on the Site or the Service.

• No Waiver. Neither failure nor delay on the part of Athena to exercise or enforce any right, remedy, power or privilege hereunder nor course of dealing between the parties shall operate as a waiver thereof, or of the exercise of any other right, remedy, power or privilege. No part of these Terms shall be deemed waived, and no breach consented to, unless such waiver or consent shall be in writing and signed by the party claimed to have waived or consented. No waiver of any rights or consent to any breaches shall constitute a waiver of any other rights or consent to any other breach.

• Additional Terms. Additional terms may apply to purchases of goods or services, to specific portions or features of a Service, and to licenses with institutions where you may be employed or with which you may be affiliated. If there is a conflict between these Terms and the terms that are posted for or applicable to a specific portion of the Service, for any service offered on or through the Service, or set forth in an institutional license agreement, the latter terms shall control with respect to your use of that portion of the Service, the specific service or the licensed product.

• Export Controls. Where the Service, its Content or any Submission consist of software that is subject to U.S., EU or any other Export Controls, you represent and warrant that (i) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government, EU or other embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government or the EU as a “terrorism-supporting” country; and (ii) you are not listed on any U.S. Government, EU or any other list of prohibited or restricted parties.

• Compliance with Laws. You agree to comply with relevant laws and regulations that apply to your use of the Services, Content or any Submission. Recognizing the global nature of the Internet, you also agree to comply with all local regulations regarding online conduct. Specifically, you agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of information and technical data exported from the country in which you reside.

• Severability. If any provision in these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. The section titles within these Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.

• Governing Law and Venue. All matters relating to your access to or use of the Services, including all disputes, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of The Netherlands, without reference to the principles of conflicts of laws thereof. The exclusive jurisdiction and venue with respect to any action or suit arising out of or pertaining to the subject matter hereof shall be the courts of competent jurisdiction located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Any claim arising out of or in connection with your use of or inability to use the Services or the Content or any Submission must be filed within one (1) year after the event or such claim be forever barred.