This agreement was written in English (US). To the extent any translated version of this agreement conflicts with the English version, the English version controls. 

Information Disclaimer

Information on this Web site is only intended as general summary information that is made available to the public. It is not intended to provide specific medical advice or to take the place of either the written law or regulations.

Information resources are designed to help users better understand the health care system, health services research and medical effectiveness, and their own health and diagnosed conditions. Individuals are urged to consult with qualified health care providers for diagnosis and treatment and for answers to personal health care questions.

Liability Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the electronic documents and resources provided on this Web site. However, MDPals makes no warranties, expressed or implied, regarding errors or omissions and assumes no legal liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting from the use of information contained within.

MDPals cannot endorse, or appear to endorse, derivative or excerpted materials, and it cannot be held liable for the content or use of adapted products that are incorporated on other Web sites. Any adaptations of these electronic documents and resources must include a disclaimer to this effect. Advertising or implied endorsement for any commercial products or services is strictly prohibited unless specifically identified as such.

Indemnity

Do to the nature of ecommerce and social networking and the risks associated with providing personal information, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless MDPals, LLC, and its owners and partners, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, and employees, from and against any claim, demand, loss, damage, cost, or liability (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of the misuse of MDPals, LLC.

Disclaimer of Warranty

MDPALS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THIS SITE WILL OPERATE ERROR-FREE OR THAT ANY OF ITS SERVERS ARE FREE OF COMPUTER VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL MECHANISMS. IF YOUR USE OF MDPALS RESULTS IN THE NEED FOR SERVICING OR REPLACING EQUIPMENT OR DATA, MDPALS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE COSTS. MDPALS OPERATES ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. MDPALS, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. MDPALS MAKES NO WARRANTIES ABOUT THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, COMPLETENESS, OR TIMELINESS OF THE CONTENT, SERVICES, SOFTWARE, TEXT, GRAPHICS, AND LINKS.

Disclaimer to Consequential Damages

IN NO EVENT SHALL MDPALS, ITS SUPPLIERS, OR ANY THIRD PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, INCIDENTAL AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOST PROFITS, OR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOST DATA OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) RESULTING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE MDPALS OR ITS CONTENT, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT MDPALS IS ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Limitation of Liability

THE MAXIMUM LIABILITY TO MDPALS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH ITS USE OR CONTENT, REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE OF ACTION (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR OTHERWISE), WILL NOT EXCEED $100.

Other Information

MDPALS is not intended to be used by individuals under the age of 18 or individuals who are not in the healthcare profession or seeking information about healthcare.

Any unauthorized use of MDPALS is a violation of these Terms and certain federal and state laws, including without limitation the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of the CO Penal Code. Such violations may subject the unauthorized User and his or her agents to civil and criminal penalties.

The other Users of MDPALSare intended third party beneficiaries of your obligations under these Terms.

MDPALS may assign these Terms to any successor or purchaser of MDPALS.

Any dispute between the parties arising out of these terms shall be settled by arbitration utilizing the dispute resolution procedures of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) in JEFFERSON County, CO. You hereby waive any right to a jury trial of any such dispute.

These Terms shall be governed by the laws of the State of Colorado without giving effect to any conflict of laws principles that may provide the application of the law of another jurisdiction.

These Terms, which incorporate the MDPALS Policies, constitutes the entire agreement between you and MDPALS and governs your use of MDPALS, superseding any prior agreements (whether written or oral) between you and MDPALS regarding the subject matter hereof.

Endorsement Disclaimer

Reference on this Web site to any specific commercial products, process, service, manufacturer, company, or trademark does not constitute its endorsement or recommendation by MDPals unless specifically identified as such.

This Web site has links to other Federal and State agencies, and links to private organizations. The inclusion of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by MDPals of the linked Web resources or the information, products, or services contained therein. MDPals does not exercise any control over the content on these sites. You are subject to that site's privacy policy when you link from this site.

MDPals does not endorse or recommend products or services for which you may view a pop-up advertisement on your computer screen while visiting our site.

Terms and Conditions of Use

Effective November 18, 2009

The following terms constitute an agreement between you and MDPALS, LLC. the operator of www.MDPALS.com (the “Site”). This agreement governs your use of the Site, both as a casual visitor and a registered member as described below.

BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SITE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. TO THE EXTENT YOU REGISTER ON THE SITE AS A MEMBER, THEN IN ADDITION TO THE TERMS THAT ARE APPLICABLE TO ALL USERS OF THE SITE, THE TERMS THAT APPLY ONLY TO MEMBERS SHALL APPLY TO YOU TOO.

Membership Eligibility

To become a member and access the area on this Site reserved for members (the “Member Area”), MDPALS requires that you provide truthful information in your profile, communities and other content areas in MDPALS.

Children under the age of 18 are prohibited from registering as members. By registering as a member you represent that you are age 18 or older.

This Site Does Not Provide Medical Advice

ALL OF THE MATERIAL PROVIDED ON THE SITE, SUCH AS TEXT, GUIDLEINES, TREATMENTS, DOSAGES, OUTCOMES, CHARTS, PATIENT PROFILES, GRAPHICS, PHOTOGRAPHS, IMAGES, ADVICE, MESSAGES, FORUM POSTINGS, AND ANY OTHER MATERIAL PROVIDED ON THE SITE ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR TREATMENT. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH PROVIDER WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING YOUR HEALTH. NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY IN SEEKING IT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON THIS SITE.

IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, CALL YOUR DOCTOR OR 911 IMMEDIATELY. MDPALS DOES NOT RECOMMEND OR ENDORSE ANY SPECIFIC TESTS, PHYSICIANS, PRODUCTS, PROCEDURES, OPINIONS, OR OTHER INFORMATION THAT MAY BE MENTIONED ON THE SITE. RELIANCE ON ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED BY MDPALS, BY PERSONS APPEARING ON THE SITE AT THE INVITATION OF MDPALS, OR BY OTHER MEMBERS IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Links to Other Websites

MDPAL’s may contain links to other websites that are not under the control of PatientsLikeMe. The inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by MDPAL’s of such site and MDPAL’s is not responsible for the content of such linked sites.

Acceptable and Lawful Use of Site by Members

Members shall not post or upload any information or other content on the Site that (a) is false, inaccurate or misleading; (b) is obscene or indecent; (c) infringes any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy of any party; or (d) is defamatory, libelous, threatening, abusive, hateful, or contains pornography. Members shall not interfere with other members’ use and enjoyment of the Site (for example, by harassing, threatening, soliciting, overly promoting personal interests, or stalking another participant of a chat room, forum, seminar, or threaded message, including the use of expressions of bigotry, racism, hatred, or profanity). Members may not use the Site to conduct any activity that is illegal or violates the rights of others, provide instructional information about illegal activities, or promote physical harm or injury against any group or individual.

All members represent and warrant that the information they provided when registering as a member, and all information that they subsequently provide regarding themselves and their membership, is true and accurate and not misleading.

No Interference with Operation of Site

You may not use any robot, spider, scraper, or other automated means to access the Site or content or services provided on the Site for any purposes. You may not post content on the Site that contains any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, spiders, or other computer programming routines that are intended to damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information. You shall not attempt to make the Site unavailable through denial-of-service attacks or similar means. You shall not use contact information provided by members, or collect information about our members, to facilitate the sending of unsolicited bulk communications such as SPAM or SPIM or allow others use of your membership account to take such actions.

Privacy 

Your privacy is very important to us. We designed our Privacy Policy to make important disclosures about how you can use MDPALS to share with others and how we collect and can use your content and information.  We encourage you to read the Privacy Policy, and to use it to help make informed decisions.

Sharing Your Content and Information 

You own all of the content and information you post on MDPALS, and you can control how it is shared through your privacyand application settings. In addition:

1. For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos ("IP content"), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with MDPALS ("IP License"). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.

2. When you delete IP content, it is deleted in a manner similar to emptying the recycle bin on a computer. However, you understand that removed content may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time (but will not be available to others).

3. When you use an application, your content and information is shared with the application.  We require applications to respect your privacy, and your agreement with that application will control how the application can use, store, and transfer that content and information.  

4. When you publish content or information on the various “communities”, it means that you are allowing everyone, including people off of MDPALS, to access and use that information, and to associate it with you (i.e., your name and profile picture).

5. We always appreciate your feedback or other suggestions about MDPALS, but you understand that we may use them without any obligation to compensate you for them (just as you have no obligation to offer them).

6. You will ensure to the best of your ability to provide truthful, and correct information and not provide misleading and untrue information on MDPALS and any of its communities.

Safety



We do our best to keep MDPALS safe, but we cannot guarantee it. We need your help to do that, which includes the following commitments:

7. You will not send or otherwise post unauthorized commercial communications (such as spam) on MDPALS.

8. You will not collect users' content or information, or otherwise access MDPALS, using automated means (such as harvesting bots, robots, spiders, or scrapers) without our permission.

9. You will not engage in unlawful multi-level marketing, such as a pyramid scheme, on MDPALS.

10. You will not upload viruses or other malicious code.

11. You will not solicit login information or access an account belonging to someone else.

12. You will not bully, intimidate, or harass any user.

13. You will not post content that: is hateful, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence.

14. You will not develop or operate a third-party application containing alcohol-related or other mature content (including advertisements) without appropriate age-based restrictions.

15. You will not offer any contest, giveaway, or sweepstakes ("promotion") on MDPALS without our prior written consent. If we consent, you take full responsibility for the promotion, and all applicable laws.

16. You will not use MDPALS to do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious, or discriminatory.

17. You will not do anything that could disable, overburden, or impair the proper working of MDPALS, such as a denial of service attack.

18. You will not facilitate or encourage any violations of this Statement.

Registration and Account Security 

MDPALS users provide their real names and information, and we need your help to keep it that way. Here are some commitments you make to us relating to registering and maintaining the security of your account:

19. You will not provide any false personal information on MDPALS, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission.

20. You will not create more than one personal profile.

21. If we disable your account, you will not create another one without our permission.

22. You will not use your personal profile for your own commercial gain (such as selling your status update to an advertiser).

23. You will not use MDPALS if you are under 18.

24. You will keep your contact information accurate and up-to-date.

25. You will not share your password, (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account.

26. You will not transfer your account (including any page or application you administer) to anyone without first getting our written permission.

27. If you select a username for your account we reserve the right to remove or reclaim it if we believe appropriate (such as when a trademark owner complains about a username that does not closely relate to a user's actual name).

Protecting Other People's Rights 

We respect other people's rights, and expect you to do the same.

28. You will not post content or take any action on MDPALS that infringes or violates someone else's rights or otherwise violates the law.

29. We can remove any content or information you post on MDPALS if we believe that it violates this Statement.

30. If we remove your content for infringing someone else's copyright, and you believe we removed it by mistake, we will provide you with an opportunity to appeal.

31. If you repeatedly infringe other people's intellectual property rights, we will disable your account when appropriate.

32. You will not use our copyrights or trademarks (including MDPALS, the MDPALS Logos, ), or any confusingly similar marks, without our written permission.

33. If you collect information from users, you will: obtain their consent, make it clear you (and not MDPALS) are the one collecting their information, and post a privacy policy explaining what information you collect and how you will use it.

34. You will not post anyone's identification documents or sensitive financial information on MDPALS.

35. You will not tag users or send email invitations to non-users without their consent.

2. Mobile

1. We currently provide our mobile services for free, but please be aware that your carrier's normal rates and fees, such as text messaging fees, will still apply.

2. In the event you change or deactivate your mobile telephone number, you will update your account information on Facebook within 48 hours to ensure that your messages are not sent to the person who acquires your old number.

3. You provide all rights necessary to enable users to sync (including through an application) their contact lists with any basic information and contact information that is visible to them on Facebook, as well as your name and profile picture.

Payments



If you make a payment on MDPALS, you agree to our Payments Terms.

Special Provisions Applicable to Share Links 



If you include our Share Link button on your website, the following additional terms apply to you:

4. We give you permission to use MDPALS's Share Link button so that users can post links or content from your website on MDPALS.

5. You give us permission to use and allow others to use such links and content on MDPALS.

You will not place a Share Link button on any page containing content that would violate this Statement if posted on MDPALS.

Site for Non-Commercial Use Only

The Site content, including the Member Area and the content and information contained in the Member Area, is for the personal use of individual members only and may not be used in connection with any commercial endeavors. Organizations, companies, and/or businesses may not become members and should not use the Site without express consent from MDPALS. Members of MDPALS with individual commercial interests may not solicit or overtly promote their products or services within the Member Area. All content shared within the site is not for external use. To garner permission and access to members, please direct all media and analyst inquiries and all research requests to md1@mdpals.com Representatives from life sciences and insurance companies are prohibited from creating profiles in our communities. Please direct inquiries to md1@mdpals.com

Privacy

You agree that you have read, understood and accept MDPAL's Privacy Policy. This policy explains MDPAL's collection of personal and non-personal information from you when using the Site and its use of and sharing of such personal and non-personal information. We also encourage you to read our Openness Philosophy.

Posting and Use of Content in the Member Area

The Member Area includes community areas, such as forums and member areas, where members may post messages, images, and other content (“User Submissions”). If you are a member, you (or the author) owns the copyright in the messages, images, and other content you post in the Member Area, but by posting such content within User Submissions to the Member Area you grant PatientsLikeMe and our affiliates the right to use, copy, display, perform, distribute, translate, edit, and create derivative works of your User Submissions, subject to the terms of the Privacy Policy.

While some community areas in the Member Area are monitored periodically for topicality, PatientsLikeMe has no obligation to prescreen postings and is not responsible for their content. We encourage you to notify us of inappropriate or illegal content and we reserve the right to remove postings for any reason.

You agree not to disclose to any person or entity personally identifiable information about other members that you encounter while using this Site (whether posted in the Member Area by a member or emailed to you by a member) without the express consent of such member. You may disclose information of a general nature (that could not identify the member who provided such information or whom such information is about) to third parties outside this Site, subject to the above restriction on non-commercial use.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof and believe that any User Submission or other content at this Site infringes upon your copyright, you may submit a written notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) (see 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3) for further information) by providing our Copyright Agent (listed below) with the following information: (i) an electronic or physical signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; (ii) a description of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed or if multiple copyrighted works are covered by a notification, a representative list of such works at our Site; (iii) a description of the location on the Site of the allegedly infringing material(s); (iv) your address, telephone number, and email address; (v) a written statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material(s) in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (vi) a written statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

If a User Submission that you submitted has been removed as a result of a notification as described above and you believe that such a User Submission or portion of a User Submission was posted lawfully, please contact us about our counter-notification procedure through which you can dispute the allegation and request re-posting of the User Submission content at issue.

MDPAL’s designated Copyright Agent for notice of claims of infringement is:

Only notices of alleged copyright infringement and requests about the counter-notification procedures should go to the Copyright Agent; any other feedback, comments, requests for technical support, and other communications should be directed to MDPALS at md1@mdpals.com. You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all of the notice requirements of the DMCA, your notice may not be valid.

Member Password and Login Identity

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your member password and login, and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your password or account with or without your knowledge. If you knowingly provide your login and password information to another person, your membership privileges may be suspended temporarily or terminated. You agree to immediately notify PatientsLikeMe of any unauthorized use of your membership password or login or any other breach of security.

Links to Other Websites

MDPAL’s may contain links to other websites that are not under the control of PatientsLikeMe. The inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by MDPAL’s of such site and MDPAL’s  is not responsible for the content of such linked sites.

Membership Termination

You agree that MDPAL’s  may, with or without cause, immediately terminate your MDPAL’s  membership or limit or terminate your access to the Member Area or the Site without prior notice. Without limiting the foregoing, the following may lead to a termination by MDPAL’s  of a member's membership and use of the Site: (a) breaches or violations of this Agreement or other incorporated agreements or guidelines, (b) requests by law enforcement or other government agencies, (c) a request by you (self-initiated membership cancellation), (d) unexpected technical issues or problems, and (e) extended periods of inactivity. MDPAL’s  has no obligation to maintain, store, or transfer to you information or data that you have posted on or uploaded to the Site.

Modifications to this Agreement

We reserve the right to modify this Agreement at any time, and without prior notice, by posting amended terms on this Site. We encourage you to review this Agreement periodically for any updates or changes, which will have an update effective date.

Fees

Membership with MDPAL’s  is currently free. MDPAL’s  LLC. reserves the right to from time to time change the terms of this Agreement and charge for membership and/or to provide additional optional services for a fee.

Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SITE AND THE CONTENT AND SERVICES MADE AVAILABLE ON THE SITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. PATIENTSLIKEME DOES NOT MAKE AND DISCLAIMS ALL EXPRESS AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH REGARD TO THE SITE, THE SITE CONTENT, OR ANY ADVICE OR SERVICES PROVIDED THROUGH THE SITE TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. PATIENTSLIKEME DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ACCESS TO THE SITE OR ITS CONTENT OR SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SITE WILL BE CORRECTED.

THE ADVICE, RECOMMENDATIONS, INFORMATION, AND CONCLUSIONS POSTED OR EMAILED BY OTHER MEMBERS OF THE SITE ARE NOT IN ANY WAY VETTED, APPROVED OR ENDORSED BY PATIENTSLIKEME, AND YOU USE SUCH INFORMATION AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Limitation of Liability

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL MDPAL’s , ITS PARTNERS, CONTRIBUTORS, AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, DIRECTORS, OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (EVEN IF IT HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES) DUE TO YOUR USE OF THIS SITE OR DUE TO YOUR RELIANCE ON ANY OF THE CONTENT CONTAINED OR THE SERVICES PROVIDED ON THE SITE.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless PatientsLikeMe, its officers, employees, agents, subsidiaries, affiliates and other partners, from and against any claims, actions or demands, liabilities and settlements including without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, resulting from, or alleged to result from, your violation of this Agreement.

International Users

PatientsLikeMe makes no claims that information on the Site is appropriate or may be downloaded outside of the United States. Personal information (“Information”) that is submitted to this Site will be collected, processed, stored, disclosed and disposed of in accordance with applicable U.S. law and our Privacy Policy. If you are a non-U.S. user, you acknowledge and agree that PatientsLikeMe may collect and use your Information and disclose it to other entities outside your resident jurisdiction. In addition, such Information may be stored on servers located outside your resident jurisdiction. U.S. law may not provide the degree of protection for Information that is available in other countries. By providing us with your Information, you acknowledge that you consent to the transfer of such Information outside your resident jurisdiction as detailed in our Privacy Policy. If you do not consent to such transfer, you may not use this Site.

Member Notices

If you register as a member, you agree that MDPAL’s may send notices to you by email at the email address you provide when registering to become a member (or which you later update using the functionality of the Site).

Governing Law and Venue

This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Colorado and the applicable federal laws of the United States of America. All disputes arising under, or in any way connected with membership in or use of the Site, shall be litigated exclusively in the state and federal courts residing in the State of Colorado, and in no other court or jurisdiction. You hereby submit to the jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the State of Colorado.

Miscellaneous Terms

MDPAL’s ® and the MDPAL’s  logo are trademarks of MDPAL’s . You agree not to display or use these trademarks in any manner without MDPAL’s  prior, written permission.

MDPAL’s  may assign this agreement at any time to a subsidiary or parent company or to a successor to its business as part of a merger or sale of substantially all of its assets. You may not assign or transfer this agreement.

If any provision of this Agreement is held to be unenforceable for any reason, the remaining provisions will be unaffected and remain in full force and effect.

Some of the treatment information provided on the Site is from a third party sources and will always be identified as such.

For any questions or comments, or to report violations of this agreement, let us know, or contact us at: