The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society Terms of Use

The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society

PO Box 45044
RPO Robson
Vancouver, BC

Canada, V6G 0A9 ( "VAMMR" or "we")

Tel: 604.258.7325
Email: support@vammr.org</a >

1. Conditional Use of this site and our social media channels, involvement in VAMMR Events and donations.

Your access to and use of this website and its contents (the "Site") and our social media channels (including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube) along with participation in events hosted by us and donations made to us is subject to the terms and conditions of these Terms of Use, including its Schedule A (collectively, the "Terms"), and all applicable laws. Your participation in the above activities signifies that you (the "User") accept and agree to these without any limitation or qualification. Please note we may change information on this Site and/or these Terms, at any time without notice. Any changes to the Terms become effective when the updated Terms are posted here. Your use of the Site and participation in the above activities following such changes indicates your acceptance of the revised Terms. You should regularly review these Terms for any changes.

2. Privacy Policy

We respect concerns about the privacy of your personal information. Please review our Privacy Policy for how we collect, use, disclose and manage your personal information along with additional information contained in these Terms of Use.

3. General Restrictions

1. You may use this Site for your own personal, non-commercial informational or entertainment purposes only.
2. You may not copy, reproduce, reuse, retransmit, adapt, publish, frame, post, upload, modify, broadcast or distribute any Content in any way, including for any public or commercial purpose whatsoever, without our prior written permission.
3. You may not use any third parties' likenesses, names, and/or properties without their express permission.
4. You may not send any material to the Site that is unlawful, harmful (including any virus), threatening, libellous, defamatory, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic, indecent or profane or that could constitute or encourage a violation of any law.
5. We may review, edit or delete materials you or others send to this Site, but are not obligated to do so.
6. We may cancel any registration(s) or account(s) on this Site at any time, without notice or liability, for any reason, including if technical problems, irregularities or misuse occurs.
7. You may use our e-card and Symbolic Adoption services provided that each email address you provide to us in respect of an intended recipient (i) has expressly agreed to receive such information via email; (ii) who can or will be categorized as an “opt-in” recipient by their agreement with you to receive such information via email; or (iii) you have an existing relationship (personal, family, business, or non-business) with the person to whom you are sending the e-card(s) and/or Symbolic Adoption.

4. User Conduct

All information, text, images, audio, video, designs, names, logos, trade-marks, data, code or other information, material or content submitted by a user, whether publicly or privately posted, e-mailed, transmitted, uploaded or otherwise submitted to us via this Site or one of our social media channels ("Submitted Content") is the sole responsibility of the person from which such Submitted Content originated and any such post, e-mail, transmission, uploading or other submission of such Submitted Content is subject to the Submission Release Terms and Conditions referred to in Section 5 below. You also acknowledge and agree that you are entirely responsible for all Submitted Content that you post, e-mail, transmit, upload or otherwise submit via this Site and/or pursuant to the services we make available via this Site (the "Services"), including, without limitation, the accuracy of such Submitted Content. We do not control the Submitted Content posted via the Site and, as such, do not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content. Under no circumstances will we be liable in any way for any loss, damage or injury related to, or arising as a result of, any Content (including Submitted Content), including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any Content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Submitted Content posted, e-mailed, transmitted, uploaded or otherwise submitted via a Service.

You agree to not use any Service to post, e-mail, transmit, upload or otherwise submit any Submitted Content that:

1. is offensive as determined by VAMMR, in our sole and unfettered discretion, including, without limitation, Content that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
2. could be harmful to minors;
3. harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
4. involves the transmission of "junk mail", "chain letters", or unsolicited mass mailing or "spamming";
5. promotes information that is false, misleading, illegal or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libellous;
6. infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party including, without limitation, promoting an illegal or unauthorized copy of another person's copyrighted work, such as providing pirated computer programs or links to them, providing information to circumvent manufacture-installed copy-protect devices, or providing pirated music or links to pirated music files;
7. contains restricted or password only access pages, or hidden pages or images (those not linked to or from another accessible page);
8. displays pornographic or sexually explicit material of any kind;
9. provides material that exploits people under the age of 18 in a sexual or violent manner, or solicits personal information from anyone under the age of 18;
10. provides instructional information about illegal activities such as making or buying illegal weapons, violating someone's privacy, or providing or creating computer viruses;
11. solicits passwords or personal identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes from other users;
12. you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information);
13. engages in commercial activities and/or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising, and pyramid schemes, without our prior written consent; and
14. contains or will contain any disabling mechanism or protection feature designed to prevent its use, including any clock, timer, counter, computer virus, worm, software lock, drop dead device, Trojan horse routine, trap door, time bomb or any other codes, designs, routines or instructions that may be used to access, modify, replicate, distort, delete damage or disable the Content, any Services or this Site and any world wide web pages or any operating system software or hardware on which such Content, Service or Site is operated or displayed except as specifically designed into the Content.

We shall have the right to remove any Submitted Content that violates these Terms or is otherwise objectionable, in VAMMR's sole and unfettered discretion. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such Content. You acknowledge and agree that we may preserve Content and may also disclose Content if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce these Terms; (c) respond to claims that any Content violates the rights of third-parties; or (d) protect our rights, property, or personal safety and those of our users and/or the public.

5. Submitted/Uploaded Content

You agree that by posting, e-mailing, transmitting, uploading or otherwise submitting any Submitted Content materials to any content generating or submitting Service on this Site including, without limitation, to any chat-room, forum, reporting/blogging Service, review upload Service, or any image, photograph or other visual art-form upload Service, you are agreeing to the applicable Submission Release Terms and Conditions set out as Schedule "A" to these Terms and incorporated into these terms by reference.

Please read the applicable submission release terms and conditions before posting, e-mailing, transmitting, uploading or otherwise submitting any content whatsoever to this Site or Service. Any such posting, e-mailing, transmitting, uploading or other submission of content to this Site or Service will indicate that you accept and agree to be bound by the applicable submission release terms and conditions. Without limiting the generality of the Submission Release Terms and Conditions, under no circumstances shall any disclosure of any Submitted Content or related material to us be subject to any obligation of confidentiality or expectation of compensation. By submitting Submitted Content or any related material, you are waiving any and all rights that you may have in the Submitted Content or any related material and are representing and warranting that the Submitted Content (and all parts of it) or any related material are wholly original with you, that no one else has any rights in the submitter content or any related material and that we are free to implement, publish, distribute, reproduce, communicate (and authorize the communication of), transmit, modify and otherwise exploit the submitter content (including any idea and/or suggestion) and to use the related material if we so desire without obtaining permission or license from any third party.

6. Copyright

This Site is copyright © The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society and its affiliated or related companies and charities and is protected by copyright law. Specific content such as articles, photos and images are subject to the copyright of their respective owners. All rights are reserved. Any unauthorized distribution, transmission or publication is strictly prohibited.

7. Waiver

We try to make the Site and its contents reliable, but inaccuracies may occur. Therefore, regardless of anything else on the Site or in these Terms:

1. The use of the Site is at your own risk and is provided to you "as is"; and
2. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we and our related parties disclaim all warranties regarding the site, and shall not be responsible or liable for any damages due to: statements, errors or omissions in the site; content infringing any third party's rights; viruses that may be transmitted to your computer; linking to any other site or its nature or contents; or any other matter regarding this Site and your use of it.

8. Indemnification

By using this Site, you agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless us and our related parties from all damages, costs and expenses, including reasonable lawyer's fees and costs, arising out of any of the following:

1. Any claims for infringement of intellectual property rights, libel, defamation relating to Submitted Content;
2. Any activity relating to your internet account, including negligent or wrongful conduct by you or anyone using the Site through your internet account;
3. Your breach of any provision of these terms; and
4. Any other matter regarding this Site and your use of it.

You agree to use best efforts to cooperate with us in the defence of any such matter. We reserve the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defence and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you.

9. Events

From time to time, we host fundraising events. We also work with third parties who host events to benefit us.

If you wish to hold a fundraising event to benefit us, please contact us at support@vammr.org. Unless otherwise set out in the event rules, the following terms apply to all events: 

1. By participating in any event, participants are deemed to recognize that the event has or may have an inherent risk of injury and shall take all necessary precautions. Each entrant releases and holds harmless the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society, the Vancouver Aquarium, and the event host, its affiliated and related companies and advertising, promotional agencies and all of their respective directors, officers, shareholders, members, employees, agents, successors and assigns from any and all liability for any injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with the event and all liability for any injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with the event or any prize won at such event.
2. If any prizes are awarded in the event, they must be accepted as awarded and may not be transferred, exchanged or refunded. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion to substitute a prize of equal or greater value.
3. We reserve the right in our sole discretion to, without advance notice, terminate or suspend an event, in whole or in part, or modify it in any way.

10. Donations

We are committed to following all rules and regulations regarding tax receipting set out by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). All donations are non-refundable and non-transferable. VAMMR uses Fundraise Up as an online donation platform. All donation data collected is subject to the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”), and other applicable privacy laws.

11. Website Privacy

This Site may contain links to other web sites that we do not own or operate. We do not control, recommend or endorse and are not responsible for these sites or their content, products, services or privacy policies. Downloading material from certain sites may risk infringing intellectual property rights or introducing viruses into your system. You should take notice when you leave this Site and read the privacy policies and terms of these other sites. You should also independently assess the authenticity of any website which appears or claims that it is one of our sites (including those linked to through an email).

VAMMR may use certain user tracking technologies in order to optimize and improve our fundraising and marketing, customize and enhance our website user experience and enhance communication with our website users. Such technologies include the use of first-party and third-party cookies, embedded pixels and similar tools such as the Google Analytics Demographics and Interests tracking tool, the Facebook/Meta Conversions API (“CAPI”), Fundraise Up conversions, and Meta Pixel.

A cookie, also known as an HTTP cookie, web cookie, or browser cookie, is a small piece of data sent from a website and stored in a user's web browser while the user is browsing that website. You may set your internet browser to reject cookies or notify you when a website tries to place a cookie on your browser.

The use of an embedded pixel, including the Meta Pixel, may insert Javascript code from a third party in the page your browser renders from our Website and/or share cookies which can track visitors across different web domains, which will facilitate our ability to track activity on our website.

In order to utilize CAPI, VAMMR may send certain information such as the user device’s IP address, browser agent and user agent to Meta. Such information is sent via a secure channel and is hashed. Meta may use the hash to see if there is a match with the information it stores regarding its users.

Third parties may use cookies, web beacons, and other storage technologies to collect or receive information from our websites and elsewhere on the Internet and use that information to provide measurement services and target ads. You may opt-out of certain collection and use of such information for ad targeting on your browser – see the following links: http://www.aboutads.info/choices or http://www.youronlinechoices.eu/

12. Mandatory Arbitration

You agree and understand that this Section is deemed to be a written agreement to arbitrate under the UNCITRAL Model Law, satisfies the writing requirement, applies to your use of the Site, and governs all claims, disputes, or controversies between you and VAMMR and each and all VAMMR Parties, including but not limited to tort and contract claims, claims based upon any federal, state, or local statute, law, order, ordinance, or regulation, and claims over the applicability of this arbitration provision (collectively "Claims"). This Section can only be changed or terminated upon mutual agreement. You understand and agree that all Claims shall be resolved by final and binding arbitration using the UNCITRAL Model Law rules in effect on the date of initiation of the arbitration, except as to those rules that conflict with or differ from this Terms of Use, by one or more arbitrators appointed in accordance with said rules at a location within Vancouver, British Columbia. Any controversy concerning whether a dispute is arbitrable shall be determined by the arbitrator(s) and not by the court. In arbitration, as with a court, the arbitrator must honor the terms of this Terms of Use and may award the prevailing party damages and other relief (including attorneys’ fees).

However, with arbitration: (a) there is no judge or jury, (b) the arbitration proceedings and arbitration outcome are subject to certain confidentiality rules, and (c) judicial review of the arbitration outcome is limited.

Each party to the arbitration will have the right, at its own expense, to be represented by an attorney or other advocate of its own choosing. You and we will pay the administrative and arbitrator’s fees and other costs in accordance with the applicable arbitration rules; but, if applicable arbitration rules or laws require VAMMR to pay a greater portion or all of such fees and costs in order for this Section to be enforceable, then VAMMR will have the right to elect to pay the fees and costs and proceed to arbitration. The arbitrator’s decision must consist of a written statement stating the disposition of each claim of the dispute, and must provide a statement of the essential findings and conclusions on which the decision and any award (if any) is based. Judgment on the arbitration decision and award (if any) may be entered in or by any court that has jurisdiction over the parties.

You may elect to pursue your claim in small-claims court rather than arbitration if you provide us with written notice of your intention do so within 60 days of your purchase. The arbitration or small-claims court proceeding will be limited solely to your individual dispute or controversy.

13. Governing Law

We control and operate the Site from Canada (regardless of where hosting servers are located). VAMMR makes no representation that any of the Content is appropriate or available for use in other locations. VAMMR has no responsibility for any access to the Site from territories where the Content may be illegal or otherwise prohibited. If you choose to access the Site from other locations, you do so at your own risk, and you are responsible for compliance with applicable local laws. Any claim relating to the use of the Site, including any Content, shall be governed by the internal substantive laws of British Columbia, without regard to its conflicts of laws rules and shall be resolved pursuant to Section 12 of this Terms of Use. User expressly consents to the jurisdiction of the courts of British Columbia for any such claim. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods shall not apply to these Terms of Use.

Schedule A

Submission Release Terms and Conditions

1. With respect to Photos, we cannot publish your photographic materials or images ("Photos") if you do not own all rights in them, and have permission from those who may appear in your Photos to publish the Photos. Accordingly, you grant to us a non-exclusive and royalty-free right and license, (but not the obligation), in perpetuity throughout the world, to use, reproduce, store, transmit, communicate the Photo in whole or in part, or any part thereof, (i) on any VAMMR website now existing or to be created and however configured for any electronic distribution platform or device whether fixed or mobile (whether now known or to be devised and including, without limitation, phones, personal digital assistant, pagers and other wireless enabled devices and applications).
2. With respect to Submitted Content, you acknowledge that:
   
   a. by posting, e-mailing, transmitting, uploading or otherwise submitting any Submitted Content to the Site or Services, you hereby irrevocably grant and
   assign to us the unlimited right and licence, for the full term of copyright or any extension thereof, to copy, adapt, transmit, communicate, public display and perform, distribute and create compilations and derivative works from such Submitted Content, and to publish, reproduce and otherwise use and exploit the Submitted Content in any manner and in any and all media, whether now known or hereafter devised, throughout the world, without further compensation. We shall be entitled to edit the Submitted Content. Nothing herein shall obligate us to use or publish the Submitted Content in any manner. The rights granted hereunder may be freely assigned or sub-licensed to any third party;
   
   b. We receive numerous submissions of ideas, stories and other materials from other sources and, in addition, we create and/or commission others to create on our behalf, such materials (collectively the "VAMMR Materials"). The subject matter and substance and/or other elements (collectively the "Elements") contained in VAMMR Materials may be similar to those contained in the Submitted Content submitted by you. You expressly and irrevocably understand, acknowledge and agree that we accept the Submitted Content at your request, which request was and is deemed to have been made by you after having been advised by us that there are or may be pre-existing VAMMR Materials which may have one or more Elements similar, or substantially similar, to those found in the Submitted Content; and
   
   c. You irrevocably waive, in our favour any and all moral rights in connection with your Photo and the Submitted Content. We shall be entitled to use the Submitted Content and Photos you submit without compensation or obligation to you; and there is no relationship of any type created, including without limitation any agency, or fiduciary relationship, as between you and us, by virtue of the submission by you of the Submitted Content or Photos.
3. You represent and warrant that:
   
   a. You own or control all of the rights in and to your Photo and the Submitted Content. The Photo and Submitted Content and every one of their component elements are wholly original with you and not copied in whole or in part from any other work, and/or you have obtained all necessary rights or licences in order to authorize use of your Photo or Submitted Content for the above purposes; 
   
   b. You have the right to grant the rights granted to us in this license. No further permissions, consents or payments are required from or to, any third party in connection with our use of the rights granted hereunder, there is (and will not be) any agreement with a third party that may in any way interfere with our rights under this license, and such rights are and shall be free and clear of any and all claims, rights and obligations whatsoever;
   
   The Submitted Content does not defame any person and does not infringe upon the copyright, moral rights, publicity rights, privacy rights or any other right of any person, or company, or violate any law or judicial or governmental order; and
   
   This license, the Photo and the Submitted Content shall not be subject to the jurisdiction of any guild, organization, corporation or collective in any jurisdiction and no additional payment, royalties, or consent of any party are required in connection with the exercise of our rights. Without limiting what you have represented to above, you have not previously assigned any or all of the rights in and to the Photo or the Submitted Content to any guild, organization, corporation or collective or other person or entity whatsoever.
4. We are the sole owner of all rights (including copyright) in the Site and in this capacity shall have the right to use the Photo in any manner in its sole discretion within the terms of this license, including, but not limited to the right to edit your Photo to accommodate publication requirements; and to add to, delete from, edit, alter and otherwise combine the content with any other content in any manner and in any media whatsoever.
5. You expressly and irrevocably release and forever discharge VAMMR and its associated charities and Aquariums and their directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, independent and dependent contractors, licensees, successors and assigns from any and all actions, causes of action, suits, proceedings, liability, debts, judgments, claims and demands whatsoever in law or equity which you ever had, now have, or hereafter can, shall or may have, for or by reason of, or arising directly or indirectly out of, the exercise of our rights in this license, release and waiver.
6. You hereby agree to indemnify and hold VAMMR and its associated charities and Aquariums and their directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, independent and dependent contractors, licensees, successors and assigns from and against any claims, actions, losses and expenses (including legal expenses) occasioned by any breach of your representations and warranties or any other provision of this license, release and waiver or by our use of the Photos or the Submitted Content.
7. You shall not have any right to terminate the permissions granted herein, nor to seek, obtain, or enforce any injunctive or other equitable relief against the VAMMR, all of which such rights are hereby expressly and irrevocably waived by you in our favour.
8. You acknowledge having obtained independent legal advice in connection with this license, release and waiver, failing which, you shall be deemed to have voluntarily waived the right to seek such independent legal advice.