STS E-Books Subscription and End-User License Agreement
General
This STS E-Books Subscription and License Agreement (“Agreement”) is entered into between the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (“STS”) and the E-Book(s) end-user (“You” or “Your”). If You are accessing this page from a link within the STS eBook Website or the Unbound mobile application after having already agreed to this Agreement on that platform, then it is being provided to you for reference purposes and is already binding on You.
If You are accessing this page from a link within the STS E-Book Website or the Unbound mobile application after having already agreed to this Agreement on that platform, then it is being provided to you for reference purposes and is already binding on You.
If You Are an End-User Who Purchased Your Own Subscription
Thank You for purchasing a subscription to one or more E-Books offered by STS through its E-Book ordering Website. Your subscription, access to and use of the E-Book(s) are governed by the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement. You must agree to be bound by this Agreement, by clicking on the appropriate button indicating Your acceptance and that You enter into a legally binding agreement with STS, before You will be permitted to access or use the E-Book (other than any partial access to select content that STS may make available to the general public solely for evaluation purposes). If You do not agree to be bound by this Agreement, You will not be permitted to access or use the E-Book(s), and You should contact STS to arrange for a refund of Your subscription payment.
Your subscription period lasts for the period of time You selected and for which You have paid, and for any additional renewal periods You may purchase, unless terminated early as described below. Your access is available through the STS E-Books Website, as well as the mobile application of Unbound Medicine, Inc., although You will need to acknowledge acceptance of this Agreement on each platform You use.
If You Are an End-User Who Has a Subscription Arranged Through Your Institution
Your institution, such as a medical school or hospital (“Institutional Subscriber”), has purchased a subscription package from STS through which end-users such as You who consent to this Agreement are granted the right to access and use one or more E-Books offered by STS through its E-Book ordering Website. Your access to and use of the E-Book(s) are governed by the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement. You must agree to be bound by this Agreement, by clicking on the appropriate button indicating Your acceptance and that You enter into a legally binding agreement with STS, before You will be permitted to access or use the E-Book (other than any partial access to select content that STS may make available to the general public solely for evaluation purposes). If You do not agree to be bound by this Agreement, You will not be permitted to access or use the E-Book(s).
Your subscription period lasts for the period of time selected by the Institutional Subscriber and for which it has paid, and for any additional renewal periods that the Institutional Subscriber may purchase, unless terminated early as described below. Your access is available through the STS E-Books Website, as well as the mobile application of Unbound Medicine, Inc., although You will need to acknowledge acceptance of this Agreement on each platform You use.
The Following Applies to All End-Users
Ownership
Your access to and use of the E-Books is provided through the grant of a license from STS pursuant to the End-User License Agreement section below, to which You agree. Please note that You do not the E-Book(s), or any part, that You can access and use. Rather, You acknowledge that STS owns all right, title, and interest, including copyright, in the content of the E-Books accessible on the STS E-Books Website or via the mobile application of Unbound Medicine, Inc. (“Unbound”), including but not limited to all text, illustrations, graphics and videos, except to the extent otherwise noted within the E-Books.
Permitted Uses
Upon payment of the applicable license fee, the license granted to You pursuant to the End-User License Agreement section below authorizes You to access and use the information in these E-Books solely for Your individual use, and solely for the purposes specified herein. You may access or use E-Books for educational purposes and for commercial purposes relating to the teaching or practice of medicine. You may not reverse engineer the E-Books platform software or otherwise use the software and the information gained from the STS E-Books Website or Unbound mobile application to create any product that could or does compete with the E-Books. Except as may be allowed by the fair use provision of the federal Copyright Act (17 U.S.C.A. § 107), You may not modify, republish, post, transmit, or distribute any information in the E-Books without the express written consent of STS. STS expressly retains all right, title, and interest in and to the E-Books and any other STS proprietary information accessible through the STS E-Books Website and software (other than intellectual property owned by Unbound related to the E-Book platform and Unbound mobile application, as discussed below). Failure to adhere to these provisions could subject You to serious penalties under federal copyright law.
Email Address Authorization
As a condition of using the STS E-Books Website or Unbound mobile application, and to the maximum extent allowed by law, You are deemed to be providing STS with permission to use Your electronic mail address used by You in registering Your subscription for purposes of login credentialing, and so that You may be provided with future information about the E-Books and other products or services offered by STS. STS will retain such information in accordance with its privacy policy, which is available through a link at the bottom of pages of the STS E-Books Website and provided in the menu of the Unbound mobile application.
Suspension or termination of access
STS reserves the right to suspend and/or terminate access to STS E-Books without prior notice if You violate any term of this Agreement. Any use of STS E-Books beyond the scope of the license or the terms of this Agreement, or any fraudulent, abusive, or illegal activities in connection with such use may be grounds for termination of access. Termination is not the exclusive remedy, and STS reserves the right to pursue other remedies for such violation.
Limitations
In addition to the use limitations stated in the EULA section below, You may not copy, download, print, scrape, store, publish, transmit, retransmit, transfer, distribute, disseminate, broadcast, circulate, sell, resell or otherwise use the E-Book content, or any portion of the content, in any form or by any means, except (i) as expressly permitted by this Agreement, (ii) with STS’s prior written permission, or (iii) as permitted under the fair use provision of the federal Copyright Act (17 U.S.C.A. § 107). You agree that STS E-Book content shall not be stored or used in an archival database or other searchable database except as expressly permitted by this Agreement. Except as otherwise permitted in this Agreement, You shall not sell, license, sublicense or distribute content (including printouts) to third parties or use content as a component of or as a basis for any material offered for sale, license or distribution. You agree that login credentials to access the E-Books shall be used only by You, and that sharing of login credentials is strictly prohibited.
Disclaimer
In addition to the disclaimers stated in the EULA section below and in the E-Books, the information provided in the E-Books is intended for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical or legal advice. STS does not practice medicine or law, and does not offer any other type of professional advice or services. Without limiting the foregoing, STS makes no representations or warranties about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, correctness, or timeliness of the E-Books or the content contained therein.
Miscellaneous
This Agreement is the entire agreements between the STS and You relating to the E-Books. This Agreement may not be modified or assigned without STS’s written consent. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Illinois without regard to its conflict of laws principles and any litigation arising under this Agreement shall be brought in Cook County, Illinois. If any provision of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such provision shall be reformed to as nearly as possible approximate the intent of the parties and all other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
If You Are a Non-Subscriber Accessing eBook Evaluation Content
General
Select content from the STS E-Books has been made available to the general public solely for evaluation purposes, and is accessible without a subscription (the “Evaluation Content”). If You are not a subscriber, please take notice that by accessing or making use of the Evaluation Content, You agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions and the End-User License Agreement section below and that You enter into a legally binding agreement with STS. If You do not agree, then You may not access or make any use of the Evaluation Content.
Ownership
Your access to and use of the Evaluation Content is provided through the grant of a license from STS pursuant to the End-User License Agreement set forth below, to which You agree. Please note that You do not the Evaluation Content, or any part of it. Rather, You acknowledge that STS owns all right, title, and interest, including copyright, in the Evaluation Content, including but not limited to any text, illustrations, graphics and videos, except to the extent otherwise noted within the Evaluation Content.
Permitted Uses
You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use the information in these E-Books solely for purposes of evaluating potential purchase of a subscription to one or more STS E-Books. You may not reverse engineer the platform software that provides the Evaluation Content or otherwise use the software and the information gained from the Evaluation Content to create any product that could or does compete with the E-Books. Except as may be allowed by the fair use doctrine of U.S. copyright law, You may not modify, republish, post, transmit, or distribute any information in the Evaluation Content without the express written consent of STS. STS expressly retains all right, title, and interest in and to the Evaluation Content and any other STS proprietary information accessible through the STS E-Books platform and software (other than intellectual property owned by Unbound related to the E-Book platform and Unbound mobile application, as discussed below). Failure to adhere to these provisions could subject You to serious penalties under federal copyright law.
Remedial Action
Any use of Evaluation Content beyond the scope of the license or the terms of this Agreement, or any fraudulent, abusive, or illegal activities in connection with such use may be grounds for remedial action.
Limitations
In addition to the use limitations stated in the EULA section below, You may not copy, download, print, scrape, store, publish, transmit, retransmit, transfer, distribute, disseminate, broadcast, circulate, sell, resell or otherwise use the Evaluation Content, or any portion of the Evaluation Content, in any form or by any means, except (i) as expressly permitted by this Agreement, (ii) with STS’s prior written permission, or (iii) as permitted under the fair use provision of the federal Copyright Act (17 U.S.C.A. § 107). You agree that Evaluation Content shall not be stored or used in an archival database or other searchable database. Except as otherwise permitted in this Agreement, You shall not sell, license, sublicense or distribute Evaluation Content (including printouts) to third parties or use Evaluation Content as a component of or as a basis for any material offered for sale, license or distribution.
Disclaimer
In addition to the disclaimers stated in the EULA section below and in the E-Books, the information provided in the Evaluation Content is intended for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical or legal advice. STS does not practice medicine or law, and does not offer any other type of professional advice or services. Without limiting the foregoing, STS makes no representations or warranties about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, correctness, or timeliness of the Evaluation Content or the content contained therein.
Miscellaneous
This Agreement is the entire agreements between the STS and You relating to the Evaluation Content. This Agreement may not be modified or assigned without STS’s written consent. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Illinois without regard to its conflict of laws principles and any litigation arising under this Agreement shall be brought in Cook County, Illinois. If any provision of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such provision shall be reformed to as nearly as possible approximate the intent of the parties and all other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
End-User License Agreement Section
GENERAL
In addition to the applicable sections of the foregoing, You also agree to all of the following provisions (the End-User License Agreement section, or “EULA”). You further understand and agree that STS uses the website-based software platform (the “Website”) and a mobile application (the “App”) developed by a third party vendor, Unbound, to distribute the E-Books and that You are subject to additional terms and conditions relating to Unbound as set forth herein. STS reserves the right to modify this Agreement at any time by posting such modifications to the Website and the App, and Your continued access to or use of the Website or App after such posting will signify Your agreement to such modifications, if any.
DEFINITIONS
As used in this EULA:
“STS E-Books” refers to the E-Books set forth on the Website.
“Services” refers to the website hosting and other services and the content provided to third parties who access the Website and App, including the ability to download any part of the STS E-Books and their related content.
“Software” means any STS or Unbound software provided on the Website or App and required to access the Services and E-Books.
“End-User” refers to those individuals who are authorized by an institutional Subscriber to access the Services, including the STS E-Books.
SOFTWARE LICENSE GRANT
Subject to the terms of this Agreement, Unbound and STS hereby grant to You a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to download and install the Software and to access and use the Services. You may not rent, lease, sell, sublicense, assign, export or otherwise transfer, or allow others to use the Services or any underlying Software, technology or other information, including any printed materials of the same, nor may You create derivative works of or otherwise modify the same. This license will automatically terminate if You do not comply with the terms of this Agreement.
PROPRIETARY RIGHTS TO CONTENT
You acknowledge and agree that the Services and any necessary Software used in connection with the Services, including, without limitation, the Software, text, sound, photographs, video, graphics or other material contained in or presented to You as part of the Services (“Content”), contain proprietary and confidential information that is protected by applicable intellectual property laws and other laws. All Content is copyrighted and is protected under state and federal law, as well as international treaties and the copyright laws of other countries. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute or create derivative works based on the Services or the Content, in whole or in part. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved by STS and Unbound and its suppliers.
ACCESS
In order to use the Services, You must obtain access to the World Wide Web, either directly or through devices that access web-based content, and pay any service fees associated with such access. In addition, You must provide all equipment necessary to make such a connection to the World Wide Web, including a computer and modem or other access device.
MEDICAL DISCLAIMERS
THE SERVICES MAY CONTAIN KNOWLEDGE BASES THAT INCLUDE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF COMMON DISEASES AS WELL AS SOME RARE DISEASES, BUT SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED COMPLETE DUE TO A NUMBER OF POSSIBLE CAUSES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: A LACK OF COMPLETE COVERAGE OF ALL SIGNS; SYMPTOMS AND LABORATORY TESTS AND ALL POSSIBLE DISEASE ENTITIES; THE INABILITY OF THE SERVICES TO ACCEPT THE USER’S DESCRIPTION OF SIGNIFICANT CLINICAL FINDINGS; THE FAILURE OF THE SERVICES TO CONSIDER THE UNDERLYING RELATION BETWEEN THE CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS AND THE DISEASE ENTITIES; THE INADEQUACY OF THE SERVICES TO COPE WITH ALL OF THE VARIATIONS IN THE WAY THAT A DISEASE CAN PRESENT AS A RESULT OF DIFFERENT DISEASE SEVERITY; THE PRESENCE OF A SECOND INTERACTING DISEASE; THE FAILURE TO INCLUDE THE APPROPRIATE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS AND THE DISEASE ENTITY; OR COMPUTER OR HUMAN ERROR. BECAUSE OF THESE FACTORS, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE SERVICES BE USED ONLY AS A REFERENCE TOOL, SIMILAR TO THE USE OF A HARD COPY TEXTBOOK OR A JOURNAL ARTICLE AND THAT THE SERVICES NOT BE USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR PHYSICIAN DIAGNOSTIC DECISION MAKING. THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR DECISIONS REGARDING ACTUAL PATIENT CARE RESTS SOLELY WITH THE PHYSICIAN TREATING A PATIENT. THE SERVICES IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE THE “RIGHT ANSWER” OR TO GIVE DEFINITIVE MEDICAL CONSULTATION. THE SERVICES CONSTITUTE A MEDICAL REFERENCE, AND SHALL NOT BE USED AS A DIAGNOSTIC DECISION-MAKING SYSTEM AND MUST NOT BE USED TO REPLACE OR OVERRULE A PHYSICIAN’S JUDGMENT OR A PHYSICIAN’S DIAGNOSIS.
USERNAME, PASSWORD AND SECURITY
Upon Your acceptance of this Agreement, You will create a profile with username and password. Your username and password are solely for Your use and are not to be shared with anyone else. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of Your username and password and for any and all use and access to the Services which occurs under Your account. You agree to immediately notify STS of any unauthorized use of Your account or any other breach of security known to You.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. UNBOUND AND STS MAKE NO WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR FREE; NOR DO UNBOUND OR STS MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE SERVICES OR THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE SERVICES (INCLUDING THIRD-PARTY CONTENT) OR THAT ANY DEFECTS IN THE SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED. UNBOUND AND ITS SUPPLIERS, AND STS, DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY REGARDING THE SERVICES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT ANY MATERIAL OR DATA OBTAINED THROUGH USE OF THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY RESULTING DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE SERVICES MAY INCORPORATE DATABASES OR PORTIONS OF DATABASES OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE (“NLM”). PURSUANT TO THE NLM LICENSE, UNBOUND HAS THE RIGHT TO COPY AND DISTRIBUTE CONTENT FROM THE NLM, AS WELL AS DEVELOP DERIVATIVE WORKS THEREOF. IN CONSIDERATION FOR THIS LICENSE, UNBOUND INFORMS YOU THAT:
“NLM REPRESENTS THAT THE DATA PROVIDED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WERE FORMULATED WITH A REASONABLE STANDARD OF CARE. EXCEPT FOR THIS REPRESENTATION, AND AS OTHERWISE SPECIFICALLY PROVIDED IN THIS AGREEMENT, NLM MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. THIS INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE NLM DATABASES, AND NLM SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY SUCH WARRANTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS.”
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT UNBOUND AND ITS SUPPLIERS, AND STS, SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOST DATA OR LOST PROFITS ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO: (i) YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES OR USE OF THE SERVICES THROUGH YOUR ACCOUNT BY ANYONE ELSE; (ii) THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE DATA, INFORMATION OR SERVICES; (iii) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; OR (iv) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SERVICES. UNBOUND’S AND STS’S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO YOU, AND ANYONE WHO USES THE SERVICES THROUGH YOUR ACCOUNT, FOR ANY AND ALL CLAIMS UNDER ANY THEORY OF LAW, WILL NOT EXCEED THE FEES SUBSCRIBER PAID FOR THE SERVICES.
INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to indemnify and hold Unbound, STS, their officers, employees, representatives and suppliers harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of Your use of the Services (including use of the E-Books) or breach of this Agreement or violation of any rights of another in relation to the Services.
OTHER PROVISIONS
Export
You may not download or otherwise export or re-export any underlying Software, technology or other information from the Services except in full compliance with all U.S. and other applicable laws and regulations. In particular, but without limitation, none of the underlying information or technology may be downloaded or otherwise exported or re-exported (i) into (or to a national or resident of) Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Crimea Region of Ukraine, Sudan or any other country to which the U.S. has embargoed goods or (ii) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Commerce Department’s or State Department’s Table of Denial Orders. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless and defend Unbound against any and all liability arising from or relating to Your breach of this paragraph.
Support
Unless otherwise agreed in writing with You or an Institutional Subscriber affiliated with You, Unbound shall have any obligation to provide You with any maintenance or support relating to the Services.
Links
Unbound and STS may provide, or third parties may provide, links to other World Wide Web sites or resources as part of the Services. Unbound and STS do not endorse and are not responsible for any data, Software or other content available from such sites or resources and You acknowledge and agree that Unbound and STS shall not be liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss relating to Your use of or reliance on such data, Software or other content.
Prohibited Uses Of Services
You agree not to resell the Services or use of or access to the Services. You agree not to reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise attempt to discern the source code of the components of the Services.
Mobile Communications
You will be responsible for obtaining and maintaining any equipment or ancillary services needed to connect to access or otherwise use the Services, including, without limitation, hardware devices, software, and other internet, wireless, broadband, phone or other mobile communication device connection services. You will be responsible for ensuring that such equipment or ancillary services are compatible with the Services and You will be responsible for all charges incurred in connection with use of the Services in connection with all such equipment and ancillary services. Please note that by accessing and using the Services via mobile devices, or by using certain mobile features, You may incur fees from the provider or carrier of the mobile services that You use and You are solely responsible for the payment of such fees. Unbound and STS do not promote, recommend or condone use of the Services during certain activities, such as automobile driving, where there is risk of accident, personal injury, property damage or death. You agree not to use the Services during such activities, and warrant, represent and certify that You will not do so.
Assignment
You may not assign or transfer Your rights under this Agreement without the prior written consent of STS. STS may assign all rights and liabilities under this Agreement to an affiliate or successor to all or a substantial part of its business and assets without Your consent. Subject to the foregoing, this Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the successors and permitted assigns of the parties.
General
A. You agree to access and use the Services in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, including, without limitation, state and federal laws and regulations. You agree not to use the Services for any illegal or wrongful purposes.
B. If any provision of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such provision shall be reformed to as nearly as possible approximate the intent of the parties and all other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
C. The failure of STS or Unbound to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement will not be deemed a waiver of such right or provision.
D. Section headings in this Agreement are used solely for convenience and have no legal or contractual significance.
E. The provisions of this Agreement which by their nature would continue beyond termination or expiration of this Agreement shall survive such termination or expiration.
F. This EULA shall terminate in the event You violate any material terms and conditions within the EULA. This EULA also automatically terminates upon any expiration or termination of Your subscription or, if applicable, Your access rights as beneficiary of an Institutional Subscriber subscription package.