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THE GENESIS PROJECT - TERMS OF SERVICE

 

Welcome to The Genesis Project.

 

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a legally binding contract between “you” and “The Genesis Project” ("GENESIS" or "us" or "our" or "we") and govern the use of all the services, genomic information, data, statistics, reports, software, graphics, and communications that we may make available to you via the GENESIS platform. GENESIS unless otherwise stated in these Terms, references to the "Platform" include all of our web pages, the GENESIS software, and all services. A significant function of the Platform is to enable you to upload and/or submit your research results, such as genomic information, data, statistics, and reports to GENESIS ("Submissions" or “Data”).

 

READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY BEFORE BROWSING OR USING ANY PART OF THE PLATFORM. USING THE PLATFORM INDICATES THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND ACCEPTED THESE TERMS. YOU MAY NOT USE THE PLATFORM IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THESE TERMS.

 

1.    GOVERNING INSTITUTIONS.

 

The Genesis Project is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that provides and manages a proprietary platform for collaborative science.

 

The Genesis Project maintains a Board of Directors.

 

2.    USING THE PLATFORM.

 

By using the Platform, you promise that you are at least 18 years of age. If you are not 18 yet, you may not access or use any part of the Platform.

 

Your right to use the Platform and data is conditioned on your compliance with these Terms. So long as you comply with these Terms, we grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive and non-transferable license to access and use the Platform. You may download, modify, edit, copy, reproduce, and create derivative works of such data. If you breach any of these Terms, your license to use the Platform and any further access to the data within the Platform will terminate automatically.

 

In order to access the Platform and to use certain services and data offered on and through the Platform, you must successfully register with us and request that we open an account for you. You must, at all times, provide true, accurate, current, and complete account information. After registration, you may make changes by logging into your account and making them directly or by contacting us to make the changes for you. You are also responsible for obtaining and maintaining all equipment and services needed for access to and use of the Platform and for paying related charges. If you forget your password or other log-in information, we will send a password update to your provided email address. We suggest you keep your password(s) confidential. If you believe your password or security for the Platform has been breached in any way, notify us immediately. Log-in information cannot be shared with other persons. Lab members or any other third party are required to obtain their own accounts.

The data, services, and other information provided on the Platform are for informational and research purposes only, and do not constitute medical, legal, or any other professional advice. We do not promise that everything provided on and through the Platform will be accurate, complete, adequate or current.

 

3.    MODIFICATIONS.

 

We may alter the Platform and the Data and/or may choose to modify or suspend the Platform. If we decide to suspend or discontinue the Platform, we will provide you with advance notice and will take reasonable steps to facilitate your retrieval of your Submissions. We may also change, update, add or remove provisions of these Terms from time to time ("Modifications") and legal notices and/or terms located on particular pages of the Platform may supersede inconsistent provision(s) of these Terms. We will inform you of any Modifications by posting the modified terms on the Platform. If you object to any provision of these Terms, any notice or term on the Platform, and/or any Modifications, your sole recourse is to stop accessing and using the Platform. If requested your account will be terminated and all Submissions will be returned to you, and as applicable, to the extent GENESIS is able to extract your Submission from aggregate data in GENESIS. Continued use of the Platform following notice of any Modifications constitutes your acknowledgement of the Modifications and your agreement to be bound by them.

 

4.    LINKS TO THIRD-PARTY SITES.

 

We think links are convenient, and we sometimes provide links on this Platform to third-party websites. If you use these links, you will leave the Platform. We are not obligated to review any third-party websites that you link to from the Platform, we do not control any of the third-party websites, and we are not responsible for any of the third-party websites (or the products, services, or content available through any of them). Thus, we do not endorse or make any representations about such third-party websites. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites linked to or from the Platform, you do so entirely at your own risk.

 

5.    DATA SUBMISSIONS.

 

A significant function of the Platform is to enable you to submit your Data. As between you and GENESIS, you retain ownership of your Submissions. You are solely responsible for ensuring that you have appropriate permission and authority to upload your Data with respect to all of your Submissions. We do not guarantee the indefinite storage of your Data and we advise that you retain a copy of your original Submissions. Except as otherwise provided in these Terms, we are not responsible for any loss, theft, or damage of any kind to any Submission.

 

You further and specifically agree as follows:

  • You own all rights in your Submissions (including, without limitation, all rights to the reproduction and display of your Submissions) or, alternatively, you have acquired all rights in your Submissions necessary to grant to us the rights in your Submissions as described in these Terms;

  • GENESIS will not be subject to any use fees, license fees, clearance fees, and other financial obligations by virtue of having received your Submission. You have paid and will pay in full all applicable license fees, clearance fees, and other financial obligations, of any kind, arising from your uploading the Submissions on the Platform and any subsequent use or sublicensing of the Submissions as described in these Terms;

  • Your Submissions do not infringe the copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or any other rights of any third party;

  • Information contained in your Submission is not false, inaccurate, or misleading;

  • Your Submission does not violate any law (including, but not limited to, those governing privacy, export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination, or false advertising);

  • Your Submission does not contain any viruses, worms, spyware, adware, or other potentially damaging programs or files;

  • Your Submission does not contain any protected health information ("PHI"), as that term is defined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and specifically 45 CFR 160.103.

  • By uploading your Data, you grant us permission to use your Submission.  Your Submission may be part of the GENESIS data analysis pipeline, and thus, be distributed or disclosed to in house servers and users, reproduced, translated and modified to achieve the goal of optimal data representation on the GENESIS software platform.

  • We may, but are not obligated to, pre-screen Submissions or monitor any area of the Platform through which Submissions may be contributed. We are not required to host, display, or distribute any Submissions on or through the Platform and may remove at any time or refuse any Submissions for any reason.

  • Regarding any ideas, know-how, concepts, techniques, or other intellectual property and proprietary rights contained in the Submission, whether or not patentable, you grant to GENESIS and its designees the permission to freely use such ideas, know-how concepts, techniques, and other intellectual property for the purpose of data optimization of the platform, user engagement, and scientific progress.

 

6.  PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSIONS

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  • Only coded, anonymized, or anonymous Data is accepted. You are responsible for ensuring that all the uploaded individual genomic information (including but not limited to pedigrees) does not contain identifiable or Protected Health Information (PHI).

  • is the submitter is responsible for ensuring that the patient’s or participant’s samples, from which the genomic information is generated, have provided appropriate informed consent compatible to the uses being made of the information.

  • The submitter certifies that all Data was acquired by following generally internationally accepted Human Subjects Protection rules. We recommend compliance with the requirements of Good Clinical Practices ("GCP"), Good Laboratory Practices ("GLP"), and 21 C.F.R. Part 11 by those, who use and subsequently submit genomic information to the United States Food and Drug Administration and/or comparable regulatory organizations outside the US.

  • If participants withdraw consent, the submitter may request, and GENESIS will return, such patient data, and as applicable, to the extent GENESIS is able to extract such participant data from the aggregate data.

  • The Genesis Project, its representatives, and users of the Platform will not make attempts to uncover the identity of participants from which the genomic data originated.

 

7.  DATA SHARING RULES.

 

Fair data sharing is at the heart of the every scientific endeavor and represents one of the key missions of The Genesis Project. All users agree that:

 

  • Aggregate data and derived statistics are shared across all users of the GENESIS Platform.

  • For the purpose of ‘genetic matchmaking’ we may share in an anonymous fashion, the limited number of genetic variants in individual genes with other investigators.  Such matchmaking of an encoded sample, will not reveal the origin or the name of the submitting party, who owns the Submission, until this investigator expressively agrees by email - to engage further with the matchmaking seeking party.

  • GENESIS may share such aggregated data with third parties. You, as submitter, may share individual-level genomic data and associated phenotypic information at any time with other registered users of the Platform.  The submitter is in full control of the extent of sharing and revoking access to this data with other registered Platform users.

  • Individual level genomic results can only be published by the submitter or with the consent of the submitter.

 

8.  UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.

 

We authorize your use of the Platform only for the purposes set forth in these Terms and all rights in the Platform belong to us. Unauthorized use of the Platform may result in violation of various United States and international copyright laws. When using this Platform, you agree to abide by common standards of etiquette and to act in accordance with law. For example, you agree as follows:

  • You will not modify, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce or distribute any of the elements of the Platform without previous written authorization by GENESIS;

  • You will not use the Platform in a manner that violates any local, state, national, foreign, or international statute, regulation, rule, order, treaty, or other law;

  • You will not use the Platform to stalk, harass, or harm another individual or to impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;

  • You will not attempt to discover the identity of people whose personal genome data is stored on the Platform.

  • You will not interfere with or disrupt the Platform or servers or networks connected to the Platform;

  • You will not use any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering or extraction methods in connection with the Platform; and

  • You will not attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the Platform or any other accounts, computer systems, or networks connected to the Platform, whether through hacking, password mining, or any other means.

 

9.    INDEMNIFICATION.

 

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold us and our officers, directors, employees, affiliates, and agents harmless from and against any and all claims, costs, demands, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including attorneys' fees and costs of defense) that we may incur that is caused by (i) your use of this Platform or the use of this Platform by any person using your user name and/or password, (ii)  any Submission you provide to the Platform violates any applicable law or regulation or a party's copyrights, trademark rights or other rights, (iii) your breach of this Agreement, or (iv) your violation of law or regulation; except to the extent such claim, cost, demand, damage, liability, or expense results from GENESIS’ gross negligence or willful misconduct.

 

The obligations set forth in this Section 9 are subject to the condition that the indemnified party seeking indemnification shall provide prompt written notice of any written suit, action or claim and cooperate with the indemnifying party and authorize the indemnifying party to carry out the sole management and defense of any such suit, claim or action.  In addition, indemnifying party will not agree to any settlement that could in any way be detrimental to the indemnified party without the prior written consent of such indemnified party.

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10. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS AND CITATION RULES.

 

“The Genesis Project" is a trademark that belongs to us. Other trademarks, names and logos on the Platform are the property of their respective owners. Unless otherwise specified in these Terms, all data, including the arrangement of them on the Platform are our sole property or the property of our licensors. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. Except as otherwise required or limited by applicable law, any reproduction, distribution, modification, retransmission, publication or other commercial use of any copyrighted material is strictly prohibited without our express written consent or the express written consent of the copyright owner or licensor.

 

Neither party shall use the name, insignia, trademark, trade name, logo, abbreviation, nickname, or other identifying mark or term of the other party for any purpose, except as required by law, without the prior written consent of the other party, provided however, you may use the name of The Genesis Project as applicable in its routine listings of sponsored projects, as required on grant applications, and as required by scientific journals for publication.

 

We respect the intellectual property rights of others and encourage you to do the same. Accordingly, we remove Submissions that violate intellectual property rights of others and may suspend your access to the Platform (or any portion thereof) and/or terminate your account if you use the Platform in violation of someone's intellectual property rights.

 

The Genesis Project foundation will not compete with users for academic publications resulting from data submissions. However, we request that any use of data obtained through the Platform be cited in publications as: Gonzalez M, Falk MJ, Gai X, Postrel R, Schule R, Zuchner S. Innovative Genomic Collaboration Using the GENESIS (GEM.app) Platform. Hum Mutat. 2015 Jul 14. PMID: 26173844.

 

11. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES.

 

WE DO NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT. THE PLATFORM AND ALL MATERIALS ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL AND RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY AND ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "WITH ALL FAULTS" AND THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THEIR QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE IS WITH YOU.

 

WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND (EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY) WITH RESPECT TO THE PLATFORM AND MATERIALS, WHICH INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE OR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS.

 

Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, we make no warranty and provide no guaranty that the Platform will be suited to your use and/or needs and/or will meet your requirements, and we do not warrant or guaranty that the Platform will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error free or that defects in the Platform will be corrected. We make no warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the use of the Platform or as to the accuracy or reliability of any information obtained through the Platform. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by you through the Platform or from us or our subsidiaries or other affiliated companies creates any warranty. We disclaim all equitable indemnities.

 

12. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.

 

SUBJECT TO SECTION 9 HEREUNDER, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM OR ANY PART THEREOF OR FROM YOUR DISPLAYING, COPYING, OR DOWNLOADING ANY MATERIALS TO OR FROM THE PLATFORM. IN NO EVENT SHALL EITHER PARTY BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, EXTRAORDINARY, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOSS OF DATA, REVENUE, PROFITS, USE OR OTHER ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE) HOW EVER ARISING, EVEN IF WE KNOW THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

 

13. LOCAL LAWS; EXPORT CONTROL.

 

We control and operate the Platform from our headquarters in the United States of America and the entirety of the Platform may not be appropriate or available for use in other locations. If you use the Platform outside the United States of America, you are solely responsible for following applicable local laws.

 

14. TERMINATION OF ACCESS.

 

We value our relationship with you. If we believe that you are not complying with these Terms, we will notify you. We may also provide you with recommended corrective action(s). However, we may, at our sole discretion, terminate your access to the Platform, your account, and/or this agreement for any reason, and/or for any and all violations of these Terms, without providing prior notice to you.

 

15. GENERAL TERMS

 

Florida state law and applicable U.S. federal law, without regard to the choice or conflicts of law provisions, will govern these Terms. Foreign laws do not apply. Any disputes relating to these Terms or the Platform will be heard in the courts located in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

 

If any of these Terms are deemed inconsistent with applicable law, then such term(s) shall be interpreted in accordance with law, and no other terms will be modified.

 

If we choose not to enforce any of these Terms, we are not waiving our rights.

 

With the sole exception of an executed contract between us and you or your institution specifically stipulating otherwise, these Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and us and; therefore, supersede all prior or contemporaneous negotiations, discussions, representations, or agreements between you and us about the Platform, Submissions, and data. The proprietary rights, disclaimer of warranties indemnities, limitations on liability and general provisions of these Terms shall survive any termination of these Terms.

 

16. CONTACT US.

 

If you have any questions about these Terms or otherwise need to contact us for any reason, you can reach us at: administration@tgp-foundation.org.

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