Privacy Policy
https://www.academia.edu/privacy
Academia, Inc. ("Academia.edu" or "we") provides this Privacy Policy to inform you of our policies and procedures regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information we receive from users of academia.edu (this "Site"). This Privacy Policy applies only to information that you provide to us through this Site. Unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy, terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in our Terms of Use.
As used in this policy, the term "Processing" means any operation which is performed upon Personal Information, whether or not by automatic means, such as collection, recording, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure, or destruction.
Information Collection and Use by Academia.edu
Our primary goals in collecting information are to provide and improve our Site, services, features and content, to administer your membership (together, the “Academia.edu Service”) and to enable users to enjoy and easily navigate the Site.
Personally Identifiable Information
When you register with us through the Site to become an Academia.edu Member or when you choose to create your own profile webpage we will ask you for personally identifiable information. This refers to information about you that can be used to contact or identify you (“Personal Information”). Personal Information may include, but is not limited to, your name, email address, telephone number, home and business postal addresses, age, research interests, gender, education and occupation. We use your Personal Information to provide the Academia.edu Service and administer your inquiries.
Academia.edu also collects other information that you provide as part of registration and the administration and personalization of your profile webpage (e.g., without limitation, zip code (on its own) and individual preferences) (“Non-Identifying Information”).
We use your Personal Information (in some cases, in conjunction with your Non-Identifying Information) mainly to provide the Academia.edu Service, complete your transactions and administer your inquiries. Providing Personal Information and Non-Identifying Information enables you to derive more benefit from the Academia.edu Service by helping you share your research via a profile page, find other academics, opportunities, and information; and helps people and opportunities find you. It also enables us to serve you advertising and other relevant content on and off of the Academia.edu Services.
Certain Non-Identifying Information would be considered a part of your Personal Information if it were combined with other identifiers (for example, combining your zip code with your street address) in a way that enables you to be identified. But the same pieces of information are considered Non-Identifying Information when they are taken alone or combined only with other non-identifying information (for example, your viewing preferences). We may combine your Personal Information with Non-Identifying Information and aggregate it with information collected from other Academia.edu Users (defined below) to attempt to provide you with a better experience, to improve the quality and value of the Academia.edu Service and to analyze and understand how our Site and Academia.edu Service are used. We may also use the combined information without aggregating it to serve you specifically, for instance to deliver a product to you according to your preferences or restrictions.
We also use your Personal Information to contact you with Academia.edu updates, newsletters, marketing or promotional materials and other information that may be of interest to you. If you decide at any time that you no longer wish to receive such communications from us, please follow the unsubscribe instructions provided in any of the communications or update your “user preferences” information. (See “Changing or Deleting Information,” below.)
If you create an Account or log in into your Account using your login credentials from one of your Social Network Site (“SNS”) accounts, such as a Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Gmail or another e-mail account, or link to your Account one of your SNS accounts, we’ll be able to access and collect your name and email address and other PII and Non-Identifying Information that your privacy settings on the SNS Account permit us to access.
If you connect with one or more SNS accounts, you give us permission to access and use your profile and contacts information (“Contacts”). Contacts are securely and privately stored within our databases, and associated to your account. Your Contacts are used to personalize the Service, such as suggesting likely co-authors, recommending users for you to follow, and predicting the relevance of news feed stories and notifications.
We collect information when you contact us for customer support. When you contact our customer support services, we may collect the information we need to categorize your question, respond to it, and, if applicable, investigate any breach of our Terms of Use or this Privacy Policy. We also use this information to track potential problems and trends and customize our support responses to better serve you. We do not use this information for advertising.
We may receive information about you from other sources, including through third-party services and organizations, to supplement information provided by you. As used in this policy, the term "Third Party" is any company, natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or body other than you and Academia.edu. For example, if you access our Services through a Third-Party application, such as an App Store or SNS, we may collect information about you from that Third-Party application that you have made public via your privacy settings. Information we collect through App Stores or SNS accounts may include your name, your SNS user identification number, your SNS user name, location, sex, birth date, email, profile picture, and your contacts on the SNS. This supplemental information allows us to verify information that you have provided to Academia.edu and to enhance our ability to provide you with information about our business, products, and Services.
Log Data. When you visit the Site, whether as an Academia.edu Member or a non-registered user just browsing (any of these, an "Academia.edu User"), our servers automatically record information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website ("Log Data"). This Log Data may include information such as your computer's Internet Protocol ("IP") address, browser type or the webpage you were visiting before you came to our Site, pages of our Site that you visit, the time spent on those pages, information you search for on our Site, access times and dates, and other statistics. We use this information to monitor and analyze use of the Site and the Academia.edu Service and for the Site's technical administration, to increase our Site's functionality and user-friendliness, and to better tailor it to our visitors' needs. For example, some of this information is collected so that when you visit the Site again, it will recognize you and serve advertisements and other information appropriate to your interests. We also use this information to verify that visitors to the Site meet the criteria required to process their requests.
Invitations Via an Academia.edu Account
As part of the Academia.edu Service, Academia.edu Members can invite non-registered friends to join the Academia.edu Service by sending invitation emails through use of their Accounts via our automated invitation system. Academia.edu stores the email addresses that Members provide only for the purposes of sending the invitations, adding respondents to the colleagues list of the Member who sent the invitation, and sending reminders of the invitations (up to three (3) per email address). Recipients of invitations from Academia.edu Members may contact Academia.edu at privacy@academia.edu to request the removal of their email address from our database.
Use of Cookies
Like many websites, Academia.edu uses cookies and similar technologies, including mobile application identifiers (collectively “Cookies”), to collect information. Cookies include small data files that we transfer to your computer’s hard disk for record-keeping purposes. We use Cookies for two purposes. First, we utilize persistent Cookies to save your registration ID and login password for future logins to the Site. Second, we utilize session ID Cookies to enable certain features of the Site, to better understand how you interact with the Site and to monitor aggregate usage by Academia.edu Users and web traffic routing on the Site. Unlike persistent Cookies, session Cookies are deleted from your computer when you log off from the Site and Academia.edu Service and then close your browser. By visiting Academia.edu Services, you consent to the placement of Cookies in your browser in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
We do not link the information we store in Cookies to any Personal Information. You may be able to instruct your browser, by changing its options, to accept or reject all or some Cookies, or to prompt you before accepting a Cookie from the websites you visit. Each browser is different, so check the "Help" menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences. If you do not accept Cookies, however, you may not be able to use all portions of the Site or all functionality of the Service. Please note that third party payment processors and third party advertisers on the Site may also place or read Cookies on your browser. Our Privacy Policy only governs information collected on Academia.edu and the use of such Cookies is governed by the privacy policies or statements of such third parties.
The following is a partial list of suppliers authorized to place cookies on our website:
Stripe (https://stripe.com/us/privacy): Enables payment processing for premium products
Criteo (http://www.criteo.com/us/privacy-policy) : Enables re/ targeting users of our website to display personalized advertisements in their future navigation .
Users can also express their privacy choices through the following platforms:
IAB opt-out platform
Network Advertising Initiative opt-out platform
Digital Advertising Alliance
Use of Pixel Tags/Web Beacons
A pixel tag (also known as a web beacon) is a piece of code embedded on the Site that collects information about users' engagement on that web page. The use of a pixel allows us to record, for example, that a user has visited a particular web page or clicked on a particular advertisement.
Social Media Widgets and Platforms
Our Site includes social media features such as Facebook and Twitter (that might include widgets such as the share this button or other interactive mini-programs). These features may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our site, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. These social media features are either hosted by a Third Party or hosted directly on our Site. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing it.
The Academia.edu Service may also include publicly accessible blogs, community forums, or private messaging features. The Site and Academia.edu Service may also contain links and interactive features with various social media platforms (e.g., widgets) as discussed above. If you already use these platforms, their cookies may be set on your device when using our Site or Academia.edu Service. You should be aware that Personal Information which you voluntarily include and transmit online in a publicly accessible blog, chat room, social media platform or otherwise online, or that you share in an open forum may be viewed and used by others without any restrictions. We are unable to control such uses of your information when interacting with a social media platform, and by using such services you assume the risk that the Personal Information provided by you may be viewed and used by third parties for any number of purposes.
We use Third-Party software development kits ("SDKs"), such as the iOS SDK, as part of the functionality of our Services. Third-Party SDKs may allow Third Parties including advertisers to collect your personal information to provide content that is more relevant to you. To exercise the mobile device settings opt-out, please visit the privacy settings of your iOS or Android device and select "limit ad tracking" (Apple iOS) or "opt-out of interest based ads" (Android).
Analytics
We may also use Google Analytics and Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting to collect information regarding visitor behavior and visitor demographics on some of our Services, and to develop website content. This analytics data is not tied to any Personal Information. For more information about Google Analytics, please visit www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/. You can opt out of Google's collection and Processing of data generated by your use of the Services by going to http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Phishing
Identity theft and the practice currently known as "phishing" are of great concern to Academia.edu. Safeguarding information to help protect you from identity theft is a top priority. We do not and will not, at any time, request your credit card information, your account ID, login password or national identification numbers in a non-secure or unsolicited e-mail or telephone communication For more information about phishing, visit the Federal Trade Commission's website.
Information Sharing and Disclosure
Academia.edu Members and Viewer Data. We will display your Personal Information in your profile page which may be publicly available on the Site according to the preferences you set in your account. And, in some instances, your personal information is made available by default. Specifically, when you view or download another Member's Member Content we share your name and a link to your profile page ("Viewer Data"), where available, with that Member if he or she has purchased a subscription to Academia Premium. The sharing of your Viewer Data is by default via the Services and is a required feature of the Services. By becoming a Member, you are choosing to share Viewer Data with other Members. Any information you choose to provide should reflect how much you want other Academia.edu Users to know about you. We recommend that you guard your anonymity and sensitive information and we encourage Academia.edu Members to think carefully about what information about themselves they disclose in their profile pages. You can review and revise your profile information at any time. Please be aware that whenever you voluntarily post information to journals, weblogs, message boards, classifieds or any other public online forums that information can be accessed by the public and can then be used to send you unsolicited communications.
Aggregate Information and Non-Identifying Information.
We may share aggregated information that does not include Personal Information and we may otherwise disclose Non-Identifying Information and Log Data with third parties for industry analysis, demographic profiling and other purposes. Any aggregated information shared in these contexts will not contain your Personal Information.
Service Providers. We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our Academia.edu Service, to provide the Academia.edu Service on our behalf, to perform Site-related services (e.g., without limitation, maintenance services, database management, web analytics and improvement of the Site's features) or to assist us in analyzing how our Site and Academia.edu Service are used. These third parties have access to your Personal Information only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.
Marketing — Interest-Based Advertising and Third Party Marketing. Through our Academia.edu Service, we may allow Third-Party advertising partners to set tracking tools (e.g., cookies) to collect information regarding your activities (e.g., your IP address, page(s) visited, time of day). These advertising partners may use this information (and similar information collected from other websites) for purposes of delivering targeted advertisements to you when you visit non-Academia.edu related websites within their networks. This practice is commonly referred to as "interest-based advertising" or "online behavioral advertising."
Compliance with Laws and Law Enforcement. Academia.edu cooperates with government and law enforcement officials and private parties to enforce and comply with the law. We will disclose any information about you to government or law enforcement officials or private parties as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate to respond to claims and legal process (including but not limited to subpoenas), to protect the property and rights of Academia.edu or a third party, to protect the safety of the public or any person, or to prevent or stop activity we may consider to be, or to pose a risk of being, any illegal, unethical or legally actionable activity.
Merger, Sale, or Other Asset Transfers. If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, financing due diligence, reorganization, bankruptcy, receivership, sale of company assets, or transition of service to another provider, then your information may be sold or transferred as part of such a transaction as permitted by law and/or contract. In such event, Academia.edu will endeavor to direct the transferee to use Personal Information in a manner that is consistent with the Privacy Policy in effect at the time such Personal Information was collected.
Links to Third Party Websites
Academia.edu contains links to other websites and other websites may reference or link to our Site or other services. If you choose to visit an advertiser by "clicking on" a banner ad or other type of advertisement, or click on another Third Party link, you will be directed to that Third Party's website. The fact that we link to a website or present a banner ad or other type of advertisement is not an endorsement, authorization or representation of our affiliation with that Third Party, nor is it an endorsement of their privacy or information security policies or practices. We do not exercise control over Third Party websites. These other websites may place their own cookies or other files on your computer, collect data or solicit personal information from you. Other sites follow different rules regarding the use or disclosure of the personal information you submit to them. We encourage you to read the privacy policies or statements of each of the Third Party websites you visit. Our privacy policy only governs information collected on Academia.edu. We do not endorse, screen or approve, and are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of such other websites or applications. Visiting these other websites or applications is at your own risk.
Rights of Access, Rectification, Erasure, and Restriction
The Academia.edu in their profile page at any time by logging into their Account and accessing features such as Edit Profile and Account Info. If you completely delete all such information, then your Account may become deactivated. You may also inquire as to whether Academia.edu is Processing Personal Information about you, request access to Personal Information, and ask that we correct, amend or delete your Personal Information where it is inaccurate. Where otherwise permitted by applicable law, please contact us at privacy@academia.edu or use any of the methods set out in this Privacy Policy to request access to, receive (port), seek rectification, or request erasure of Personal Information held about you by Academia.edu. Please include your full name, email address associated with your Account, and a detailed description of your data request. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to honor your request, and such requests will be processed in line with local laws. We may retain an archived copy of your records as required by law or for legitimate business purposes.
Although Academia.edu makes good faith efforts to provide individuals with access to their Personal Information, there may be circumstances in which Academia.edu is unable to provide access, including but not limited to: where the information contains legal privilege, would compromise others’ privacy or other legitimate rights, where the burden or expense of providing access would be disproportionate to the risks to the individual’s privacy in the case in question or where it is commercially proprietary. If Academia.edu determines that access should be restricted in any particular instance, we will provide you with an explanation of why that determination has been made and a contact point for any further inquiries. To protect your privacy, Academia.edu will take commercially reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access to or making any changes to your Personal Information.
Opt-Out (Right to Object to Processing)
You have the right to object to and opt out of certain uses and disclosures of your Personal Information. Where you have consented to Academia.edu's Processing of your Personal Information, you may withdraw that consent at any time and opt out of further Processing by contacting privacy@academia.edu. Even if you opt out, we may still collect and use non-Personal Information regarding your activities on our Sites and/or information from the advertisements on Third Party websites for non-interest based advertising purposes, such as to determine the effectiveness of the advertisements.
Email and Telephone Communications
If you receive an unwanted email from us, you can use the unsubscribe link found at the bottom of the email to opt out of receiving future emails. We will process your request within a reasonable time after receipt. Note that you will continue to receive transaction-related emails regarding products or services you have requested. We may also send you certain non-promotional communications regarding Academia.edu and our services and you will not be able to opt out of those communications (e.g., communications regarding updates to our Terms or this Privacy Policy).
We maintain telephone "do-not-call" and "do-not-mail" lists as mandated by law. We process requests to be placed on do-not-mail, do-not-phone and do-not-contact lists within 60 days after receipt, or such shorter time as may be required by law.
Data Retention
Academia.edu retains the Personal Information we receive as described in this Privacy Policy for as long as you use the Academia.edu Service or as necessary to fulfill the purpose(s) for which it was collected, provide the Academia.edu Service, resolve disputes, establish legal defenses, conduct audits, pursue legitimate business purposes, enforce our agreements, and comply with applicable laws.
Security
Academia.edu is very concerned with safeguarding your information. We use reasonable physical, technological, and administrative security measures to protect Member information and attempt to ensure they are applicable under the circumstances. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure, however, and we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you provide to us. We do not accept liability for unintentional disclosure. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
We will make any legally required disclosures of any breach of the security, confidentiality, or integrity of your unencrypted electronically stored “personal data” (as defined in applicable state statutes on security breach notification) to you via email or conspicuous posting on this Site in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay, insofar as consistent with (i) the legitimate needs of law enforcement or (ii) any measures necessary to determine the scope of the breach and restore the reasonable integrity of the data system. For additional information about the security measures we use on Academia.edu, please contact us at privacy@academia.edu.
International Transfer
Your information may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the privacy laws may not be as protective as those in your jurisdiction. Your information collected through the Site may be stored and Processed in the United States or any other country in which Academia.edu maintains facilities.
Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer.
Our Policy Toward Children
This Site is not directed to persons under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided us with Personal Information without their consent, he or she should contact us at privacy@academia.edu. If we become aware that a child under the age of 13 has provided us with Personal Information, we will delete such information from our files.
Changes to Our Privacy Policy and Practices
This Privacy Policy may change from time to time. You understand and agree that you will be deemed to have accepted the updated Privacy Policy if you use the Academia.edu Service after the updated Privacy Policy is posted on the Site. If at any point you do not agree to any portion of the Privacy Policy then in effect, you must immediately stop using the Academia.edu Service.
Revision to the Privacy Policy. We may revise this Privacy Policy in our sole discretion, so review it periodically. If you continue to visit this Site and use the Academia.edu Service made available to you after such changes have been made, you hereby provide your consent to the changes.
Posting of Revised Privacy Policy. If there are any material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by email or as otherwise required by applicable law. You are advised to consult this policy regularly for any changes. We will post any adjustments to the Privacy Policy on this web page, and the revised version will be effective immediately when it is posted (or upon notice as applicable). If you are concerned about how your information is used, bookmark this page and read this Privacy Policy periodically. New Uses of Personal Information. Additionally, before we use Personal Information for any new purpose not originally authorized by you, we will endeavor to provide information regarding the new purpose and give you the opportunity to opt out. Where consent of the individual for the Processing of Personal Information is otherwise required by law or contract, we will endeavor to comply with the law or contract.
California Privacy Rights
California law permits users who are California residents to request and obtain from us once a year, free of charge, a list of the Third Parties to whom we have disclosed their Personal Information (if any) for their direct marketing purposes in the prior calendar year, as well as the type of Personal Information disclosed to those parties. Except as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy, Academia.edu does not share Personal Information with Third Parties for their own marketing purposes.
Contacting Us
If you have any questions about our privacy practices, this Privacy Policy, or how to lodge a complaint with the appropriate authority, please contact us at: privacy@academia.edu.
Terms of Use
https://www.academia.edu/terms
Academia, Inc. ("Academia.edu" or "we") offers a social networking service which enables its users, including graduate students and academics, to create academic profile pages and to connect with other users, including graduate students and academics, around the world with the same research interests (the “Services”) through our website, accessible at academia.edu (the “Site”). Please read carefully the following terms and conditions (“Terms”) and our Privacy Policy, which may be found at academia.edu/privacy and which is incorporated by reference into these Terms. These Terms govern your access to and use of the Site, Services and Collective Content (defined below), and constitute a binding legal agreement between you and Academia.edu.
ARBITRATION NOTICE: UNLESS YOU OPT OUT OF ARBITRATION WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE DATE YOU FIRST AGREE TO THESE TERMS BY FOLLOWING THE OPT-OUT PROCEDURE SPECIFIED IN THE “ARBITRATION” SECTION BELOW, AND EXCEPT FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF DISPUTES DESCRIBED IN THE “ARBITRATION “SECTION BELOW, YOU AGREE THAT DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND ACADEMIA.EDU WILL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING, INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AND YOU ARE WAIVING YOUR RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.
Key Content-related Terms
“Content” means text, graphics, images, music, software, audio, video, information or other works of authorship.
“Academia.edu Content” means Content that Academia.edu makes available through the Site or Services, including any Content licensed from a third party, but excluding Member Content.
“Member” means a person who completes Academia.edu’s account registration process, as described under the “Account Registration” section below.
“Member Content” means Content that a Member posts, uploads, publishes, submits or transmits to be made available through the Site or Services.
“Collective Content” means, collectively, Academia.edu Content and Member Content.
Certain areas of the Site (and your access to or use of certain Services or Collective Content) may have different terms and conditions posted or may require you to agree with and accept additional terms and conditions. If there is a conflict between these Terms and terms and conditions posted for a specific area of the Site, Services or Collective Content, the latter terms and conditions will take precedence with respect to your use of or access to that area of the Site, Services or Collective Content, as applicable.
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SITE OR SERVICES OR BY DOWNLOADING OR POSTING ANY CONTENT FROM OR ON THE SITE OR THROUGH THE SERVICES, YOU ARE INDICATING THAT YOU HAVE READ, AND THAT YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY, THESE TERMS, WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE REGISTERED ON OR THROUGH THE SITE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, THEN YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO ACCESS OR USE THE SITE, SERVICES OR COLLECTIVE CONTENT. If you accept or agree to these Terms on behalf of a company, university or other legal entity, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that company, university or other legal entity to these Terms and, in such event, “you” and “your” will refer and apply to that company or other legal entity.
Modification
Academia.edu reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify the Site, Services and these Terms, at any time and without prior notice. If we modify these Terms we will post the modification on the Site or provide you with notice of the modification. We will also update the “Last Updated Date” at the top of these Terms. By continuing to access or use the Site or Services after we have posted a modification on the Site or have provided you with notice of a modification, you are indicating that you agree to be bound by the modified Terms. If the modified Terms are not acceptable to you, your only recourse is to cease using the Site and Services.
Eligibility
The Site and Services are intended solely for persons who are 13 years of age or older. Any access to or use of the Site or Services by anyone under the age of 13 is expressly prohibited. By accessing or using the Site or Services you represent and warrant that you are 13 years of age or older.
Account Registration
In order to access certain features of the Site and Services and to post any Member Content on the Site or through the Services you must register to create an account (“Account”) and become a Member.
You may register directly via the Site or by logging into your account with certain third party social media or social networking sites (“SNS”) (including, but not limited to, Facebook) via the Site, as described herein. If you decide to register through an SNS, we will extract the personal information you have provided to the SNS (such as your “real” name, email address and other information you make publicly available via the SNS) from the account you have with the applicable SNS and use that information to create your Account. The specific information that we extract may depend on the privacy settings you have with the SNS. You hereby consent to our access to and collection of such personal information about you. During the registration process, you will be required to provide certain information and you will establish a username and a password.
You agree to provide accurate, current and complete information during the registration process and to update such information to keep it accurate, current and complete. Academia.edu reserves the right to suspend or terminate your Account if any information provided during the registration process or thereafter proves to be inaccurate, not current or incomplete. You are responsible for safeguarding your password. You agree that you will not disclose your password to any third party and that you will take sole responsibility for any activities or actions under your Account, whether or not you have authorized such activities or actions. You will immediately notify Academia.edu of any unauthorized use of your Account.
Privacy
See Academia.edu’s Privacy Policy at academia.edu/privacy for information and notices concerning Academia.edu’s collection and use of your personal information.
Payments
Academia.edu may offer you the ability to access certain features through purchase of a recurring subscription (“Subscription”).
When you purchase a Subscription or make any other paid feature related purchase via the Services (each, a “Transaction”), you expressly authorize us (or our third party payment processor, e.g. Stripe) to charge you for such Transaction. We may ask you to supply additional information relevant to your Transaction, including, without limitation, your credit card number, the expiration date of your credit card, your billing address and additional information to verify your identity before completing your Transaction (such information, “Payment Information”). You represent and warrant that you have the legal right to use all payment method(s) represented by any such Payment Information. When you initiate a Transaction, you authorize us to store and continue billing you using your Payment Information and to provide your Payment Information to our third party payment processors as needed to complete your Transactions. We may also periodically authorize your payment method in anticipation of applicable fees or related charges. Further, as part of our order processing procedures, we may screen orders for fraud or other undesirable activity. If we feel an order could be fraudulent, unauthorized, or illegal, we reserve the right to refuse to process that order. Your Subscription continues until cancelled by you or we terminate your access to or use of the Services or the Subscription in accordance with these Terms.
If you elect to purchase an annual or monthly Subscription, you will be charged the annual or monthly Subscription fee (“Subscription Fee”) plus any applicable taxes, at the beginning of your Subscription and each year or month thereafter, respectively, at the then-current rate. If you elect to purchase an annual Subscription, we (or our third party payment processor) will automatically charge you on the anniversary of the commencement of your Subscription using the Payment Information you have provided. If you elect to purchase a monthly Subscription, we (or our third party payment processor) will automatically charge you each month, on the calendar day corresponding to the commencement of your Subscription, using the Payment Information you have provided. In the event your Subscription began on a day not contained in a given month, your payment method will be charged on a day in the applicable month or such other day as we deem appropriate. For example, if you started your Subscription on January 31st, your next payment date is likely to be February 28th, and your payment method would be billed on that date.
By agreeing to these Terms and electing to purchase a Subscription, you acknowledge that your Subscription has recurring payment features and you accept responsibility for all recurring payment obligations prior to cancellation of your Subscription by you or Academia.edu.
Free Trials. We may offer Subscriptions on a free trial basis (“Free Trial”) for a specified period of time. If we offer you a Free Trial, the specific terms of your Free Trial will be provided at signup and/or in the promotional materials describing the Free Trial and your use of the Free Trial is subject to your compliance with such specific terms. Free Trials may not be combined with any other offer. Except as may otherwise be provided in the specific terms for the Free Trial offer, Free Trials are only available to users who have not previously subscribed to the service in connection with which the Free Trial is being offered. When you agree to a Free Trial, you are also agreeing to sign up for a Subscription as described above and, consequently, unless you cancel your Subscription prior to the end of your Free Trial, we (or our third party payment processor) will begin charging your payment method on a recurring basis for the Subscription Fee (plus any applicable taxes) until you cancel your Subscription. Instructions for cancelling your Subscription are stated below in the “Cancelling Subscriptions” section. We reserve the right to modify or terminate Free Trials at any time, without notice and in our sole discretion.
Cancelling Subscriptions
You may cancel your Subscription at any time. PLEASE NOTE, HOWEVER, THAT, EXCEPT FOR THE THIRTY (30) DAY PERIOD FOLLOWING THE START OF YOUR SUBSCRIPTION, ALL SALES ARE FINAL. AFTER THE FIRST THIRTY (30) DAY PERIOD FOLLOWING THE START OF YOUR SUBSCRIPTION YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A REFUND OF ANY PORTION OF THE SUBSCRIPTION FEE PAID FOR THE THEN CURRENT SUBSCRIPTION PERIOD AT THE TIME OF CANCELLATION. To cancel, you can either (i) email us at support@academia.edu and follow instructions, if any, we provide to you in response to your cancellation request, or (ii) initiate a cancellation through your account settings within the Services. You will be responsible for all Subscription fees incurred for the then current Subscription period. If you cancel, your cancellation will be effective immediately, but Academia.edu will allow you to access the Subscription features until the most recently paid-up Subscription period ends, and then we will terminate your access. Cancelling your Subscription won’t cancel your Account. See the Termination and Account Cancellation section below for information on canceling your Account.
Please be aware that any fee or subscription plan is exclusive of all taxes. If at any point any applicable sales use, VAT, GST, excise, withholding or similar taxes or levies, whether domestic or foreign, exist, the Member is liable for them.
If we believe, in our sole discretion, that any Member of Academia.edu or Academia Premium or other Academia.edu paid services is in breach of our Terms, or act outside of the letter or spirit of our Terms, we reserve the right to add limitations to your access to www.academia.edu, up to and including terminating all access to www.academia.edu. In this case, the Member in question is not eligible for any refunds on any portion of their subscription payment.
Ownership
The Site, Services and Collective Content are protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of the United States and foreign countries. You acknowledge and agree that the Site, Services and Collective Content, including all associated intellectual property rights, are the exclusive property of Academia.edu and its licensors. You will not remove, alter or obscure any copyright, trademark, service mark or other proprietary rights notices incorporated in or accompanying the Site, Services or Collective Content.
Licenses Granted by Academia.edu to Academia.edu Content and Member Content
Subject to your compliance with the terms and conditions of these Terms, Academia.edu authorizes you to download, view and print any Academia.edu Content, solely for your personal and non-commercial purposes, and to access and use the Site and Services, including to download, view and print any Member Content solely for your personal and non-commercial purposes, and subject to the restrictions set forth in these Terms. You have no right to sublicense the license rights granted in this section.
You will not use, copy, adapt, modify, prepare derivative works based upon, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast or otherwise exploit the Site, Services or Collective Content, or any related information to which you may have access; except as expressly permitted in these Terms. No licenses or rights are granted to you by implication or otherwise under any intellectual property rights owned or controlled by Academia.edu or its licensors, except for the licenses and rights expressly granted in these Terms.
License granted by Member
We may, in our sole discretion, permit Members to post, upload, publish, submit or transmit Member Content. By making any Member Content available through the Site or Services, you hereby grant to Academia.edu a worldwide, revocable, non-exclusive, transferable license to exercise any and all rights under copyright, in any medium, and to authorize others to do the same, in connection with operating and providing the Services and Content to you and to other Members, provided that the Member Content is not sold for a profit. Academia.edu does not claim any ownership rights in any Member Content and nothing in these Terms will be deemed to restrict any rights that you may have to use and exploit any Member Content.
You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for all Member Content that you make available through the Site or Services. Accordingly, you represent and warrant that: (i) you either are the sole and exclusive owner of all Member Content that you make available through the Site or Services or you have all rights, licenses, consents and releases that are necessary to grant to Academia.edu the rights in such Member Content, as contemplated under these Terms; and (ii) neither the Member Content nor your posting, uploading, publication, submission or transmittal of the Member Content or Academia.edu’s use of the Member Content (or any portion thereof) on, through or by means of the Site or Services will infringe, misappropriate or violate a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy, or result in the violation of any applicable law or regulation.
Content from Social Media and Networking Sites
As part of the functionality of the Site and Services, you may link your Account with online accounts you may have with third party service providers (each such account, a “Third Party Account”) by either: (i) providing your Third Party Account login information to Academia.edu through the Site or Services; or (ii) allowing Academia.edu to access your Third Party Account, as is permitted under the applicable terms and conditions that govern your use of each Third Party Account. You represent that you are entitled to disclose your Third Party Account login information to Academia.edu and/or to grant Academia.edu access to your Third Party Account (including, but not limited to, for use for the purposes described herein), without breach by you of any of the terms and conditions that govern your use of the applicable Third Party Account and without obligating Academia.edu to pay any fees or making Academia.edu subject to any usage limitations imposed by such third party service providers.
By granting Academia.edu access to any Third Party Accounts, you understand that Academia.edu will access, make available and store (if applicable) any Content that you have provided to and stored in your Third Party Account (“Third Party Account Content”) so that it is available on and through the Site and Services via your Account. Unless otherwise specified in these Terms, all Third Party Account Content, if any, will be considered to be Member Content for all purposes of these Terms. Depending on the Third Party Accounts you choose and subject to the privacy settings that you have set in such Third Party Accounts, personally identifiable information that you post to your Third Party Accounts will be available on and through your Account on the Site and Services. Please note that if a Third Party Account or associated service becomes unavailable or Academia.edu’s access to such Third Party Account is terminated by the third party service provider, then the Third Party Account Content that was available from such Third Party Account will no longer be available on and through the Site and Services. You have the ability to disable the connection between your Account and your Third Party Accounts, at any time, by accessing your Account Settings page. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATED WTH YOUR THIRD PARTY ACCOUNTS IS GOVERNED SOLELY BY YOUR AGREEMENT(S) WITH SUCH THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS. Academia.edu makes no effort to review any Third Party Account Content for any purpose, including but not limited to, for accuracy, legality or non-infringement and Academia.edu is not responsible for any Third Party Account Content.
Feedback
We welcome and encourage you to provide feedback, comments and suggestions for improvements to the Site or Services (“Feedback”). You may submit Feedback by emailing us at feedback@academia.edu or through the “Ideas” section of the Site. You acknowledge and agree that if you submit any Feedback to us, you hereby grant to us a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, fully-paid, royalty-free, sub-licensable and transferable license under any and all intellectual property rights that you own or control to use, copy, modify, create derivative works based upon and otherwise exploit the Feedback for any purpose.
General Prohibitions
You agree not to do any of the following:
Post, upload, publish, submit or transmit any Content that: (i) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy; (ii) violates, or encourages any conduct that would violate, any applicable law or regulation or would give rise to civil liability; (iii) is fraudulent, knowingly false, misleading or deceptive; (iv) is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, vulgar or offensive; (v) promotes discrimination, bigotry, racism, hatred, harassment or harm against any individual or group; (vi) is violent or threatening or promotes violence or actions that are threatening to any person or entity; or (vii) promotes illegal or harmful activities or substances;
Disclose information that you do not have the right to disclose (such as confidential information of others (including your employer);
Use, display, mirror or frame the Site, or any individual element within the Site or Services, Academia.edu’s name, any Academia.edu trademark, logo or other proprietary information, or the layout and design of any page or form contained on a page, without Academia.edu’s express written consent;
Access, tamper with, or use non-public areas of the Site, Academia.edu’s computer systems, or the technical delivery systems of Academia.edu’s providers;
Attempt to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any Academia.edu system or network or breach any security or authentication measures;
Avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, impair, descramble or otherwise circumvent any technological measure implemented by Academia.edu or any of Academia.edu’s providers or any other third party (including another user) to protect the Site, Services or Collective Content;
Scrape or copy profiles and information of others through any means (including crawlers, browser plugins and add-ons, and any other technology or manual work);
Sell, sponsor, or otherwise monetize any feature of the Services, without Academia.edu's consent;
Attempt to access or search the Site, Services or Collective Content or download Collective Content from the Site or Services through the use of any engine, software, tool, agent, device or mechanism (including spiders, robots, crawlers, data mining tools or the like) other than the software and/or search agents provided by Academia.edu or other generally available third party web browsers;
Use bots or other automated methods to access the Services, add or download contacts or profile information;
Send any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, email, junk mail, spam, chain letters or other form of solicitation;
Use any meta tags or other hidden text or metadata utilizing a Academia.edu trademark, logo URL or product name without Academia.edu’s express written consent;
Use the Site, Services or Collective Content for any commercial purpose or the benefit of any third party or in any manner not permitted by these Terms;
Forge any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any email or newsgroup posting, or in any way use the Site, Services or Collective Content to send altered, deceptive or false source-identifying information;
Attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer any of the software used to provide the Site, Services or Collective Content;
Interfere with, or attempt to interfere with, the access of any user, host or network, including, without limitation, sending a virus, overloading, flooding, spamming, or mail-bombing the Site or Services;
Collect or store any personally identifiable information from the Site or Services from other users of the Site or Services without their express permission;
Impersonate or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
Violate any applicable law or regulation; or
Encourage or enable any other individual to do any of the foregoing.
Academia.edu will have the right to investigate and prosecute violations of any of the above to the fullest extent of the law. Academia.edu may involve and cooperate with law enforcement authorities in prosecuting users who violate these Terms. You acknowledge that Academia.edu has no obligation to monitor your access to or use of the Site, Services or Collective Content or to review or edit any Collective Content, but has the right to do so for the purpose of operating the Site and Services, to ensure your compliance with these Terms, or to comply with applicable law or the order or requirement of a court, administrative agency or other governmental body. Academia.edu reserves the right, at any time and without prior notice, to remove or disable access to any Collective Content, including, but not limited to, Collective Content that Academia.edu, at its sole discretion, considers to be in violation of these Terms or otherwise harmful to the Site or Services.
Copyright Policy
Academia.edu respects copyright law and expects its users to do the same. It is Academia.edu’s policy to terminate, in appropriate circumstances, Members or other account holders who repeatedly infringe or are believed to be repeatedly infringing the rights of copyright holders. Please see Academia.edu’s Copyright Policy at academia.edu/copyright, for further information.
Links
The Site or Services may contain links to third-party websites or resources. You acknowledge and agree that Academia.edu is not responsible or liable for: (i) the availability or accuracy of such websites or resources; or (ii) the content, products, or services on or available from such websites or resources. Links to such websites or resources do not imply any endorsement by Academia.edu of such websites or resources or the content, products, or services available from such websites or resources. You acknowledge sole responsibility for and assume all risk arising from your use of any such websites or resources or the content, products, or services on or available from such websites or resources.
Termination and Account Cancellation
Academia.edu reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to discontinue or terminate the Site and Services and to terminate these Terms, at any time and without prior notice. If you breach any of these Terms, Academia.edu will have the right to suspend or disable your Account or terminate these Terms, at its sole discretion and without prior notice to you. Academia.edu reserves the right to revoke your access to and use of the Site, Services and Collective Content at any time, with or without cause. You may cancel your Account at any time by visiting your Account Settings page and clicking on “Remove” or by sending an email to feedback@academia.edu.
Disclaimers
THE SITE, SERVICES AND COLLECTIVE CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, ACADEMIA.EDU EXPLICITLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, QUIET ENJOYMENT OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE. ACADEMIA.EDU MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE SITE, SERVICES OR COLLECTIVE CONTENT WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR BE AVAILABLE ON AN UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE BASIS. ACADEMIA.EDU MAKES NO WARRANTY REGARDING THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES OR COLLECTIVE CONTENT PURCHASED OR OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE OR SERVICES OR THE ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, TRUTHFULNESS, COMPLETENESS OR RELIABILITY OF ANY CONTENT OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE OR SERVICES.
NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED FROM ACADEMIA.EDU OR THROUGH THE SITE, SERVICES OR COLLECTIVE CONTENT, WILL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY MADE HEREIN.
YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF YOUR COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER USERS OF THE SITE AND SERVICES AND WITH OTHER PERSONS WITH WHOM YOU COMMUNICATE OR INTERACT AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR SERVICES. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT ACADEMIA.EDU DOES NOT SCREEN OR INQUIRE INTO THE BACKGROUND OF ANY USERS OF THE SITE OR SERVICES, NOR DOES ACADEMIA.EDU MAKE ANY ATTEMPT TO VERIFY THE STATEMENTS OF USERS OF THE SITE OR SERVICES. ACADEMIA.EDU MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE CONDUCT OF USERS OF THE SITE OR SERVICES OR THEIR COMPATIBILITY WITH ANY CURRENT OR FUTURE USERS OF THE SITE OR SERVICES. YOU AGREE TO TAKE REASONABLE PRECAUTIONS IN ALL COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER USERS OF THE SITE AND SERVICES AND WITH OTHER PERSONS WITH WHOM YOU COMMUNICATE OR INTERACT AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR SERVICES, PARTICULARLY IF YOU DECIDE TO MEET OFFLINE OR IN PERSON.
Indemnity
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold Academia.edu, its officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of the Site, Services or Collective Content, or your violation of these Terms.
Limitation of Liability
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE ENTIRERISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE, SERVICES AND COLLECTIVE CONTENT REMAINS WITH YOU. NEITHER ACADEMIA.EDU NOR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DELIVERING THE SITE, SERVICES OR COLLECTIVE CONTENT WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA OR LOSS OF GOODWILL, SERVICE INTERRUPTION, COMPUTER DAMAGE OR SYSTEM FAILURE OR THE COST OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, OR FOR ANY DAMAGES FOR PERSONAL OR BODILY INJURY OR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, SERVICES OR COLLECTIVE CONTENT, OR FROM ANY COMMUNICATIONS, INTERACTIONS OR MEETINGS WITH OTHER USERS OF THE SITE OR SERVICES OR OTHER PERSONS WITH WHOM YOU COMMUNICATE OR INTERACT AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR SERVICES, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, WHETHER OR NOT ACADEMIA.EDU HAS BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE, AND WHETHER OR NOT FORESEEABLE, EVEN IF A LIMITED REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.
IN NO EVENT WILL ACADEMIA.EDU’S AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, SERVICES OR COLLECTIVE CONTENT EXCEED THE GREATER OF FIFTY DOLLARS ($50) AND SUBSCRIPTION FEES PAID BY YOU DURING THE 12 MONTH PERIOD BEFORE THE ACT GIVING RISE TO THE LIABILITY. THE LIMITATIONS OF DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN ACADEMIA.EDU AND YOU. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
Proprietary Rights Notices
All trademarks, service marks, logos, trade names and any other proprietary designations of Academia.edu used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Academia.edu. Any other trademarks, service marks, logos, trade names and any other proprietary designations are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective parties.
Controlling Law
These Terms and any action related thereto will be governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of laws provisions.
Entire Agreement
These Terms constitute the entire and exclusive understanding and agreement between Academia.edu and you regarding the Site, Services and Collective Content, and these Terms supersede and replace any and all prior oral or written understandings or agreements between Academia.edu and you regarding the Site, Services and Collective Content.
Assignment
You may not assign or transfer these Terms, by operation of law or otherwise, without Academia.edu’s prior written consent. Any attempt by you to assign or transfer these Terms, without such consent, will be null and of no effect. Academia.edu may assign or transfer these Terms, at its sole discretion, without restriction. Subject to the foregoing, these Terms will bind and inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.
Notices
Any notices or other communications permitted or required hereunder, including those regarding modifications to these Terms, will be in writing and given by Academia.edu (i) via email (in each case to the address that you provide); or (ii) by posting to the Site. For notices made by e-mail, the date of receipt will be deemed the date on which such notice is transmitted.
Dispute Resolution
You and Academia.edu agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof or the use of the Site or Services (collectively, “Disputes”) will be settled by binding arbitration, except that each party retains the right: (i) to bring an individual action in small claims court and (ii) to seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of a party’s copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents or other intellectual property rights (the action described in the foregoing clause (ii), an “IP Protection Action”). (The actions described in clauses (i) and (ii) are the “Litigable Actions.”). Without limiting the preceding sentence, you will also have the right to litigate any Dispute other than a Litigable Action, if you provide Academia.edu with written notice of your desire to do so by email or regular mail at 580 California St, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA, 94104 within thirty (30) days following the date you first agree to these Terms (such notice, an “Arbitration Opt-out Notice”). If you don’t provide Academia.edu with an Arbitration Opt-out Notice within the thirty (30) day period, you will be deemed to have knowingly and intentionally waived your right to litigate any Dispute except for Litigable Actions. The exclusive jurisdiction and venue of any IP Protection Action or, if you timely provide Academia.edu with an Arbitration Opt-out Notice, any Dispute other than an individual action brought in small claims court, will be the state and federal courts located in the Northern District of California and each of the parties hereto waives any objection to jurisdiction and venue in such courts. Unless you timely provide CIR with an Arbitration Opt-out Notice, you acknowledge and agree that you and Academia.edu are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class action or representative proceeding. Further, unless both you and Academia.edu otherwise agree in writing, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of any class or representative proceeding. If this specific paragraph is held unenforceable, then the entirety of this “Dispute Resolution” section will be deemed void. Except as provided in the preceding sentence, this “Dispute Resolution” section will survive any termination of these Terms.
Arbitration Rules and Governing Law. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (the “AAA Rules”) then in effect, except as modified by this “Dispute Resolution” section. (The AAA Rules are available at www.adr.org/arb_med or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879.) The Federal Arbitration Act will govern the interpretation and enforcement of this Section.
Arbitration Process. A party who desires to initiate arbitration must provide the other party with a written Demand for Arbitration as specified in the AAA Rules. (The AAA provides a form Demand for Arbitration at http://www.adr.org/aaa/ShowPDF?doc=ADRSTG_004175 and a separate form for California residents at http://www.adr.org/aaa/ShowPDF?doc=ADRSTG_015822.) The arbitrator will be either a retired judge or an attorney licensed to practice law and will be selected by the parties from the AAA’s roster of arbitrators. If the parties are unable to agree upon an arbitrator within seven (7) days of delivery of the Demand for Arbitration, then the AAA will appoint the arbitrator in accordance with the AAA Rules.
Arbitration Location and Procedure. Unless you and Academia.edu otherwise agree, the arbitration will be conducted in the county where you reside. If your claim does not exceed $10,000, then the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of the documents that you and Academia.edu submit to the arbitrator, unless you request a hearing or the arbitrator determines that a hearing is necessary. If your claim exceeds $10,000, your right to a hearing will be determined by the AAA Rules. Subject to the AAA Rules, the arbitrator will have the discretion to direct a reasonable exchange of information by the parties, consistent with the expedited nature of the arbitration.
Arbitrator’s Decision. The arbitrator will render an award within the time frame specified in the AAA Rules. The arbitrator’s decision will include the essential findings and conclusions upon which the arbitrator based the award. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The arbitrator’s award damages must be consistent with the terms of the “Limitation of Liability” section above as to the types and the amounts of damages for which a party may be held liable. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the claimant and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the claimant’s individual claim. If you prevail in arbitration you will be entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses, to the extent provided under applicable law. Academia.edu will not seek, and hereby waives all rights it may have under applicable law to recover, attorneys’ fees and expenses if it prevails in arbitration.
Fees. Your responsibility to pay any AAA filing, administrative and arbitrator fees will be solely as set forth in the AAA Rules. However, if your claim for damages does not exceed $75,000, Academia.edu will pay all such fees unless the arbitrator finds that either the substance of your claim or the relief sought in your Demand for Arbitration was frivolous or was brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)).
Changes. Notwithstanding the provisions of the “Modification” section above, if Academia.edu changes this “Dispute Resolution” section after the date you first accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms), you may reject any such change by sending us written notice (including by email to feedback@academia.edu) within 30 days of the date such change became effective, as indicated in the “Last Updated Date” above or in the date of Academia.edu’s email to you notifying you of such change. By rejecting any change, you are agreeing that you will arbitrate any Dispute between you and Academia.edu in accordance with the provisions of this “Dispute Resolution” section as of the date you first accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms).
General
The failure of Academia.edu to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not constitute a waiver of future enforcement of that right or provision. The waiver of any such right or provision will be effective only if in writing and signed by a duly authorized representative of Academia.edu. Except as expressly set forth in these Terms, the exercise by either party of any of its remedies under these Terms will be without prejudice to its other remedies under these Terms or otherwise. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of these Terms invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the other provisions of these Terms will remain in full force and effect.
Contacting Academia.edu
If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact Academia.edu at feedback@academia.edu.