Terms Of Use For Web Content Of Virginia Spine Institute, P.L.C.

These Terms of Use apply to your use of all web content provided by Virginia Spine Institute, P.L.C. (“VSI”), including but not limited to any content contained at www.SpineMD.com or any other website or web-based content provided or hosted by VSI. All such web-based content, including www.SpineMD.com and associated blogs, shall be referred to in these Terms of Use as the “Content”. The Content is exclusively owned by VSI. You are hereby granted a nonexclusive, nontransferable right to use, access, view, and display the Content on a limited basis, provided that you comply fully with these Terms of Use and all applicable laws.

1. No Doctor/Patient Relationship And No Medical Advice Or Opinion. VSI provides the Content for general informational and educational purposes only. No doctor/patient relationship is created between you and VSI or any of VSI’s physicians when you use, access, view, or display the Content. In so doing, you agree that the Content does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis or other medical opinion of any kind. Because medical issues experienced by you or anyone you know are necessarily unique, you agree to seek personalized, issue-specific medical advice from a qualified physician of your choice, and you agree that nothing in the Content is to be used as a substitute for such advice.

2. VSI’s Content May Not Be Complete As Of Any Particular Time. VSI may amend, change and update the Content on a regular basis. While VSI strives to keep the Content current, due to the ever-evolving nature of medical science and techniques, and the difficulty associated with condensing complex topics into web-friendly material, VSI in no way warrants or represents that the Content is complete, correct, and/or up-to-date as of any particular time. Further, any information shared in or through the Content may not necessarily represent the current views of VSI or its physicians, it may not reflect the most current medical developments, and it may not represent a complete or comprehensive discussion or treatment of all known data or information relating to any particular topic.

3. Ownership of Content. All Content is owned and/or licensed to Virginia Spine Institute, P.L.C. and is subject to protection under law, including but not limited to the federal Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. §101 et seq.), the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §1051 et seq.) and other applicable laws.

4. Intellectual Property Notice.

a. Any use, copying, publication or dissemination of any of the Content is strictly prohibited unless you have obtained prior written permission from VSI. You may, however, print, copy or download Content for personal, non-commercial and informational purposes only. In such a case, you may not modify any Content and you must maintain and abide by all copyright, trademark and other notices contained in the Content. If you share any permissibly obtained Content with third parties, you must include the following notice on the Content: “© Copyright 2014 Virginia Spine Institute, P.L.C. All rights reserved.”

b. With respect other interactive media in the Content, you agree that VSI may moderate or remove user-posted submissions in its sole and absolute discretion.  Examples of submissions or comments subject to moderation or removal include, but are not limited to:  (1) violations or potential violations of law; (2) language that is deemed abusive, vulgar, defamatory, misleading, insensitive, derogatory or inappropriate; (3) comments that do not relate to the subject matter at hand or the Content as a whole; or (4) any other submissions or comments of any kind.  VSI may also suspend access to any other form of interactive media to any user who violates these Terms of Use.

c. Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 512, VSI will receive notification of claimed copyright infringement, in writing, and may forward notice of infringement and other related materials to any person who is alleged to have violated applicable laws. Any person who believes his or her work is being used improperly by VSI should send VSI’s Copyright Agent, identified below, a notification of claimed infringement as specified in paragraph 5.  Your notification should include all of the following information: (a) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works; (b) identification of the claimed infringing material and information reasonably sufficient to permit VSI to locate the material on the Blog; (c) information reasonably sufficient to permit VSI to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an e-mail address; (d) a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; (e) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notification is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf; and (f) your physical or electronic signature. VSI’s Copyright Agent is:

Gordon Taylor, CFO/COO
Virginia Spine Institute, P.L.C.
11800 Sunrise Valley Drive
Floor 6
Reston, VA 20191
703-709-1117 (Facsimile)

5. Notices and Copyright Permissions.  Notices to VSI or its Copyright Agent should be by certified United States Mail or a national overnight courier such as UPS or Federal Express.  You agree that email notice to VSI is not sufficient notice for any purpose under these Terms of Use or under any state, local or federal law unless VSI has previously agreed, in writing, that such notice is acceptable to it with respect to a particular transaction, contract or agreement.  To obtain permission to copy portions of the Content, please send a written request to the Copyright Agent identified above. VSI reserves the right to deny or limit any permissions in its sole discretion. 

6. Protected Marks. “VSI”, “SpineMD”, “Virginia Spine Institute”, and other related marks are service marks of Virginia Spine Institute, P.L.C. and are protected by law. Fair use of the service marks requires proper acknowledgment. Otherwise, VSI’s marks may only be used with its specific written permission. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

7. Links To Other Websites Or Web-Based Content Other Than VSI’s Content. Links to other websites or web-based content other than VSI’s Content may be contained within VSI’s Content and may direct you outside of VSI’s Content. VSI has no control over such linked, web-based content, and VSI is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, approve of and/or sanction it. If you access non-VSI content, you do so at your own risk.

8. Prohibited Actions. Unauthorized access to the Content, including any attempt to disrupt or alter it, may result in criminal and/or civil prosecution under applicable laws (among other legal consequences). You may not use VSI’s Content for any improper, illegal or unauthorized purpose, including but not limited to any activity that infringes on any copyright, trademark, patent or other intellectual property rights of any third party or that defames or disparages any other person or entity, in VSI’s sole judgment.

9. Modification and Amendment. VSI may change these Terms of Use from time to time.  By accessing the Content, you agree to be bound by any such changes.

10. Disclaimer; Limitation of Damages.

(a) VSI expressly disclaims all liability for any virus, corruption of data or other contamination of your computer, computer operating system or other device used to access the Content. VSI expressly disclaims all liability for acts or omissions related to the Content. The Content is provided “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, SECURITY, ACCURACY AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, VSI MAKES NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, THAT ACCESS TO OR OPERATION OF THE CONTENT WILL BE CONTINUOUS, WITHOUT ERRORS OR OTHERWISE AVAILABLE.

(b) USE OF CONTENT IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK OF LOSS RESULTING FROM YOUR DOWNLOADING AND/OR USE OF FILES, INFORMATION, OTHER COMMUNICATIONS, CONTENT OR OTHER MATERIAL (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, SOFTWARE) ACCESSED THROUGH OR OBTAINED BY MEANS OF THE CONTENT.

11. Applicable Laws; Venue. VSI operates the Content from Virginia and makes no warranties or representations that the Content is appropriate or available for use in other jurisdictions, and accessing the Content from any location or jurisdiction where it is unlawful to do so is strictly prohibited. Any claims related to the use of, or access to, the Content shall be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and you agree that your use of, and/or access to, the Content constitutes your agreement to these Terms of Use and that your acceptance of these Terms of Use occurs in Virginia. You also agree that your use of, and/or access to, the Content takes place, for all intents and purposes, in Virginia regardless of where used or accessed. You further agree that any action arising out of, or related to, the access to, use of, and/or materials contained within the Content shall be filed exclusively in the appropriate state or federal court located within the City of Alexandria, Virginia and/or the Circuit Court(s) of Loudoun County, Virginia and/or Fairfax County, Virginia. By using and/or accessing the Content, you expressly consent to the personal jurisdiction of these state and/or federal courts.12. Agreement. By using or accessing the Content, you agree to be unconditionally bound by these Terms of Use.