Terms and Conditions

 

  1. General

1.1 Vascupedia is an online educational tool for vascular specialists and enables scientists all over the world to further and participate in the medical progress, regardless of location and individual financial capabilities. The Vascupedia Platform (hereinafter the “Platform”) therefore comprises in particular product information, instructions for use, literature highlights, industry news, guidelines, animations, edited live cases, interviews with experts and several recorded or live educational events.

1.2 Visitors of our Platform need to be 18 years of age. Visitors may access the content provided free of charge.

1.3 Participation in specific activities (e.g. publishing articles, papers, videos, practical cases or talks, voting or providing comments) requires prior registration. A successful registration requires that the registering user accepts the provision of these terms of use (hereinafter “Terms of Use”).

1.4 The Terms of Use set forth the terms and conditions of users visiting and interacting on the Platform available under www.vascupedia.com. The acceptance of the Terms of Use is addressed to the Platform’s operator, Vascupedia GmbH, Gasselstiege 561, 48159 Münster, Germany. Further contact details are provided in our imprint, available under http://vascupedia.com/imprint/

1.4 Vascupedia reserves the right to amend these Terms of Use from time to time. Vascupedia will inform all registered users about changes six weeks before they come into force and will give Registered Users the opportunity to withdraw their given consent. If the Registered User does not withdraw within the given period, the amended Terms of Use are deemed to have been accepted. The currently valid Terms of Use are available under http://vascupedia.com/terms-of-and-conditions/ and can be provided via email upon request.

1.5 Access to the Platform is a privilege and not a right. Vascupedia is under no legal obligation vis-à-vis any users or registered users to provide access to the Platform. Vascupedia reserves the right to block users or users and/or remove accounts of users, in particular for violation of these Terms of Use or applicable law.

 

  1. Platform Features

Vascupedia constantly strives to improve the user experience and to live up to its user’s professional expectations. Vascupedia may at all times add or remove website areas or features and in general change any aspect of the Platform. No user may rely on the Platform maintaining a specific state.

 

  1. Registration

3.1 Users may choose to register an account on the Platform. Registration requires completing the registration form and accepting these Terms of Use and all documents referenced by it, e.g. the Privacy Policy and the Editorial Policy.

3.2 During registration, the user will be prompted to set a password and to provide a working email address. After completing the registration form, the user will receive a confirmation email. Upon clicking on the confirmation link in this email, the user account is finally activated, and the user may log into his account and use the Platform as a registered user.

3.3 Registration is open to certified medical practitioners, in particular, but not limited to, physicians, researchers, nurses or technicians, who are at least 18 years of age. By completing the registration process, the user confirms that he is eligible for registration as a healthcare professional.

3.4 The user understands that information provided during registration needs to be correct and complete. Due to the scientific and medical aspirations, the use of pseudonyms is not allowed on the Platform. However, Vascupedia has no means to confirm if a user is, in fact, the individual he claims to be. Vascupedia will not accept any responsibility or liability in connection with identity deception. However, Vascupedia may block access to and delete fake accounts at any time.

3.5 Users are obligated to handle their access credentials with due care. Users may not disclose the access credentials and/or enable third parties to access the account by sharing the access credentials with third parties. If a user discovers or suspects that his access credentials are or have been used without its authorization, he is obligated to notify Vascupedia thereof immediately and to verify the integrity of the content provided by him.

 

  1. User activity on the Platform

4.1 Vascupedia was designed with the idea of free exchange of medical knowledge, while adhering to highest ethical standards, in mind. The user understands that this leaves the individual user with great responsibility, in particular as far as providing content and comments to other users’ content is concerned.

4.2 All users ensure that any content which is published on the Platform does not violates applicable law or generally accepted moral standards. The same applies for posting of links to external content. In particular, content of the following nature is not allowed and will not be accepted on the Platform:

  • Racism
  • Glorifying of violence and extremism in any form
  • Sexual harassment of Users/ Registered Users and third parties
  • Pornography
  • Offensive, sexist, obscene, vulgar, sickening or revolting materials and styles
  • Content that incites or encourages crime and breaking the law
  • Threats of any kind
  • Incitements of hate against persons or companies
  • Statements that libel, slander, hurt the personality and are defamatory against other users and third parties
  • Violations of competition law
  • Content that breaches copyright law or other breaches of intellectual property rights

4.3 Users undertake and warrant that any content published or referenced by him and the way it is presented on the Platform complies with any applicable law, in particular, but not limited to, German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch – StGB), Volume V of the Social Insurance Code (Fünftes Buch Sozialgesetzbuch – SGB V), German Medical Products Law (Medizinproduktegesetz – MPG), German Advertising in the Health Care System Act (Heilmittelwerbegesetz – HWG), German Pharmaceuticals Act (Arzneimittelgesetz– AMG) and the medical products code (Kodex Medizinprodukte), German Fair Trade Practices Act (Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb– UWGt), as effective from time to time.

4.4 Copyrighted content may only be included in contributions verbatim within the scope of the applicable citation law without the consent of the respective rights holder. Citations are to be marked by highlighting using the quotation function and citation of the source. Incorrectly cited contributions can be deleted or amended by the administrators of the website.

 

  1. Content presentation

5.1 Vascupedia has the right to determine in a general manner the presentation modus of any user-provided content, in particular regarding the amount of text, file formats (such as BTMP, PNG) and the file size within dedicated guidelines. These guidelines are (as amended from time to time):

Vascupedia may change the aforementioned guidelines from time to time. Any user is obligated to submit any content in strict accordance with these guidelines. Within the requirements determined by Vascupedia in these guidelines, the user is free to decide on the concrete form of the presentation of his content.

5.2 All content provided shall be in the English language. The users are responsible for any linguistic issues that may arise. However, Vascupedia reserves the right to temporarily remove or block content and request from the user that the language is revised.

5.3 A user, at his own discretion, but within technical boundaries set by Vascupedia, may decide whether media files or documents are delivered from Vascupedia’s servers (or the CDN used by Vascupedia) or embedded from third-party infrastructure. If a user sets hyperlinks to other websites, the user will at all time ensure that (i) he is entitled to use such hyperlinks and that (ii) the content of the website referred to complies with applicable laws and does not violate or infringe any third-party rights.

5.4 Media content uploaded to Vascupedia’s infrastructure will be automatically converted into a suitable and acceptable format (if necessary) and afterward directly embedded into the respective webpage of the Platform.

 

  1. Additional user obligations

6.1 Users may use the Platform only for professional non-commercial purposes and may not advertise for themselves, their services or those of third parties. Commercial use is restricted to the Exhibition Area, usage of which is subject to the conclusion of an agreement with Vascupedia.

6.2 The user must abstain from all actions which are suited to manipulate, impair and/or excessively strain the operation of the online platform or the underlying technical infrastructure and its functions/access possibilities. In particular, these include:

  • the use of software, viruses, robots, scrapers, scripts or databases in connection with the use of the Platform;
  • blocking, overwriting, modifying, copying of data and/or other contents, insofar as that it is not necessary for the correct use of the Platform.

6.3 Should there be any service disruption or functionality impairment on the Platform, the user will inform Vascupedia of this disruption immediately. The same applies if the user obtains information about contents published by other users on the Platform which obviously violates applicable laws, the rights of third parties or these Terms of Use.

 

  1. Intellectual Property

7.1 By uploading and/or publishing content, the user grants Vascupedia an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free right, which may be transferred to third parties, without any geographical or temporal restrictions, to use the content posted by him on the Platform. Vascupedia is at all times entitled to use the content. That includes, in particular, the right of reproduction, publication, and distribution.

7.2 The full intellectual property rights to the content not provided by users, and all rights in connection with the Platform, the design, and the infrastructure belong to Vascupedia. The user is not permitted to copy, duplicate or reproduce the Platform as a whole or in parts unless Vascupedia has given its prior written consent.

 

  1. Vascupedia’s Liability

8.1 Vascupedia is intended to provide access to the Platform without interruption and disturbance. Vascupedia can however not guarantee the permanent and unrestricted availability of the Platform. Vascupedia takes appropriate technical and organizational measures to secure electronic transmission, data storage and a secure web environment.

8.2 Vascupedia is not responsible for the correct functioning of peripheral devices, in particular computers or telephones which are used by the user.

8.3 Vascupedia reserves the right to remove the Platform from the network at any time in order to carry out maintenance work on the Platform.

8.4 Vascupedia may make changes to the Platform or functions at any time, in particular, to protect the Platform or access to the Platform.

8.5 Vascupedia accepts no liability for the accuracy, completeness or content of the information that a user or pharmaceutical manufacturer publishes on the Platform or otherwise. Vascupedia does not provide any guarantee or warranty for the information provided by pharmaceutical manufacturers. However, uploaded content will sporadically be screened regarding scientific accuracy and infringing content. In case of controversial uploaded content (e.g. off-the-shelf techniques, treatment strategies against current guidelines, potentially harmful techniques, personal opinions etc.), Vascupedia reserves the right to invite an expert to comment on this and to handle the respective content based on such experts’ opinion.

8.6 Insofar as nothing to the contrary arises from these Terms of Use (including the following provisions), Vascupedia shall be liable in the event of violations of contractual and non-contractual obligations in accordance with the statutory provisions.

8.7 Vascupedia shall be liable to pay damages – for whatever legal reason – in the scope of fault-based liability in case of intent or gross negligence. In case of simple negligence, Vascupedia shall be liable, subject to a milder standard of liability according to legal provisions (e.g. for diligence in its own matters)

  1. a) for damages for the injury of life, body or the health,
  2. b) for damages resulting from a significant breach of a material contractual obligation (i.e. an obligation the fulfilment of which is essential for the proper performance of the contract and on whose compliance the User regularly relies and may rely) in this case, however, the liability of Vascupedia is limited to the compensation of the foreseeable, typically occurring damage.

8.8 The limitations of liability resulting from this Section 8 also apply in the event of violations of obligations by or for the benefit of persons for whose negligence Vascupedia is responsible under statutory provisions. They shall not apply insofar as Vascupedia has maliciously withheld a defect or has assumed a guarantee for the quality of the services.

8.9 For claims from the Product Liability Act the legal provisions shall apply without limitations.

8.10 Vascupedia shall not be liable for third-party damages.

 

  1. Indemnification

User will indemnify and hold harmless Vascupedia, its officers, employees or agents against all claims of third parties arising from the alleged or actual infringement of rights due to alleged or actual breach of the law and/or breach of the rights of third parties by actions taken by the user in connection with the use of the Platform. Furthermore, the user will pay all costs which Vascupedia incurs in connection with third-party claims. Reimbursable costs include the costs of a proper legal defence.

 

  1. Data Protection

10.1 User expressly gives his consent to the processing of his personal data by Vascupedia in accordance with the Privacy Policy as amended from time to time. User consents in particular to the presentation and publication of the personal data entered by him in his account profile on the Platform.

10.2 Usage of the Platform makes the processing of personal data by Vascupedia unavoidable. Vascupedia assures that all stored data will be treated with care and processed exclusively within the scope of the user’s consent and under the respective applicable data protection Laws.

10.3 Vascupedia utilizes analysis services to enhance the Platform and to provide partners with aggregated and anonymized statistics about website usage. User understands that such cooperation with partners is necessary to provide the Platform as a free service and chooses to use the Platform in full awareness of this circumstance.

 

  1. Miscellaneous

11.1 Interpretation

Unless a contrary indication appears, a reference in these Terms of Use to:

(a)  words such as “hereof”, “herein” or “hereunder” refer (unless otherwise required by the context) to this Terms of Use as a whole and not to a specific provision of these Terms of Use;

(b)  the term “including” means “including without limitation”; and

(c)  unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to one gender includes a reference to the other genders.

The headings of the sections and paragraphs in these Terms of Use are for convenience purposes only and shall not affect the interpretation thereof.

Terms defined in the singular shall have a comparable meaning when used in the plural, and vice versa.

These Terms of Use are to be interpreted exclusively in accordance with German law and usage of terminology. This includes the legal concepts and terms contained in these Terms of Use, the English translations of which may not be identical with the original German terms in their respective legal understanding. Terms to which either in the same provision or elsewhere in these Terms of Use a German translation has been added shall be interpreted as having the meaning assigned to them by the German translation.

11.2 Choice of Law

These Terms of Use shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, German law, excluding conflict of law rules and the Vienna Convention on the Sales of Goods (CISG).

11.3 Legal Venue

The courts in Münster/Germany shall have jurisdiction for any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms of Use. This court of jurisdiction is not exclusive, which means that the Registered User may take action before the competent courts of his domicile.

11.4 Severability

Should any provision of these Terms of Use, or any provision incorporated into these Terms of Use in the future, be or become invalid or unenforceable, the validity or enforceability of the other provisions of these Terms of Use shall not be affected thereby. The invalid or unenforceable provision shall be deemed to be substituted by a suitable and equitable provision which, to the extent legally permissible, comes as close as possible to the intent and purpose of the invalid or unenforceable provision.