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Terms of Use

This website is owned and operated by The Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Action Network (“MEAction” or “us”). The following Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern all use of this website and all content, services and products available on or through the website (collectively, the “Website”). By accessing or using any part of the Website, you agree to be bound by all of the terms and conditions contained in these Terms, in the Privacy Policy located at the bottom of each page of the Website (“Privacy Policy”), and in all other operating rules, policies and procedures that we may publish from time to time on this Website (collectively with the Terms and Privacy Policy, this “Agreement”).

Please read this Agreement carefully before accessing or using the Website. If you do not agree to all the provisions of this Agreement, then you may not access the Website or use any of its content, software, services or products (collectively “Content”). If this Agreement is considered an offer, your acceptance is expressly limited to the terms of the Agreement. 

This Website is made available for use only by individuals who are at least 13 years old.  You must not use the Website if you are under 13.

Content You Provide. If you submit an event, petition, news article, or opinion piece to the Website, post links or content on the Website, or otherwise make (or allow purposefully or unintentionally any third party to make) Content available by means of the Website, you are solely responsible for the content of, and any harm resulting from, that Content. That is the case regardless of whether the Content constitutes text, graphics or another medium.

By making Content available, you represent and warrant that:

  • the downloading, copying and use of the Content and the exercise of the license set forth in this Agreement will not infringe, violate or misappropriate the proprietary rights of any third party, including but not limited to copyright, patent, trademark and trade secret rights;
  • if your employer or another third party has any rights to the Content, you have either (i) received permission to post or make available the Content,  or (ii) secured from the third party a waiver as to all rights in or to the Content;
  • you have fully complied with any third-party licenses relating to the Content, and have done all things necessary to successfully pass through to the Website and any end users any required terms;
  • the Content does not contain, and will not install, any viruses, worms, malware, back doors, Trojan horses or other harmful or destructive content or otherwise harm the Website or its users;
  • the Content is not spam, is not machine or randomly-generated, and does not contain unethical or unwanted commercial content designed to drive traffic to third party sites or boost the search engine rankings of third party sites, or to facilitate unlawful or unethical acts (such as phishing) or to mislead recipients as to the source of the material (such as spoofing);
  • the Content does not violate any applicable law or regulation or require obtaining a license from or paying fees or royalties to any third party for the exercise of any rights;
  • the Content is not pornographic, does not contain threats or incite violence, and does not slander, defame or violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party; and you have, in the case of Content that includes computer code, accurately categorized and/or described the type, nature, uses and effects of the materials, whether or not requested to do so.

By submitting Content to the Website or for inclusion in our newsletter, you grant MEAction a world-wide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt and publish the Content for the purpose of displaying, updating, distributing and managing the Website and our newsletter and for administrative, legal compliance and other similar purposes. If you delete Content, we will use reasonable efforts to remove it from the Website, but you acknowledge that complete removal may not occur (for example, caching or references to the Content may not be made immediately unavailable).

Other User Submissions

General. The Website provides certain features that enable users like you to upload content through the Website (collectively “User Submissions”).  User Submissions may include answers to legal or medical questions or content of a medical or legal nature, and it may also include text, photos, or any other content submitted by you or by other users of the site (collectively “Other Users”). We do not control User Submissions, which are displayed for informational purposes only. You understand that all User Submissions are the sole responsibility of the person from whom the User Submission in question originated. We do not endorse or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any answers or messages posted by Legal & Medical Contributors or any Other Users, nor do we endorse any opinions they express.  You use and further disclose all User Submissions at your own risk.  We are not responsible for User Submissions submitted or posted by you or anyone else.

No Obligation to Publish or Provide Access. We do not represent that we will publish or make available on the Website any particular User Submissions, including your Content.  We reserve the right in our sole discretion – but have no obligation – to (i) refuse to allow any User Submissions on the Website,  (ii) remove any User Submission from the Website at any time with or without notice, and (iii) terminate or deny access to and use of the Website to you or any other person at any time and for any reason.

License Grants. 

  1.  From Us to You.  Subject to your compliance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, we hereby grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and make personal use of the Website and Content (the “License”).  The License does not include any resale or commercial use of the Website or their Content or intellectual property; any copying, or collection of any information; any derivative use of the Website, Content or intellectual property; or any use of data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools.  Unauthorized copying, collection, extraction, transmission or other use terminates any permission we have granted herein or otherwise.
  2. From You to Us:  You retain all of your ownership rights in the original aspects of your User Submissions. By submitting User Submissions to us or the Website, you hereby grant us and our affiliates, sub-licensees, partners, designees, and assignees of the Website (collectively, the “Licensees”) a worldwide, non-exclusive, fully paid-up, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, sub-licensable, and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, modify, transmit, display, and perform your User Submissions and adaptations thereof for purposes of displaying, operating, modifying, and updating the Website and for administrative, legal compliance and similar purposes.  You also hereby grant us and the Licensees a worldwide, non-exclusive, fully paid-up, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, sub-licensable, and transferable license to collect, combine, aggregate, and analyze data related to User Submissions and use of the Website, and to publish and distribute to third parties such data in a manner that does not identify any particular user, except to the extent legally required or permissible.   

Medical and Legal Contributions.  The Website users and contributors who provide answers to legal or medical questions or submit Content of a medical or legal nature (“Legal & Medical Contributors”) are solely responsible for those answers and Content. These answers and other Content on the Website, like all other Content, are provided for informational purposes only, with no assurance that the Content is true, correct, or accurate.  

Medical Content.  Content posted by Medical Contributors is not intended to be medical advice or instructions for medical diagnosis or treatment, and no physician-patient relationship is, or is intended to be, created by Content provided by Medical Contributors.

If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or your local emergency number (911 in the United States) immediately.

  • Content is not a substitute for professional medical advice, examination, diagnosis or treatment.
  • You should not delay or forego seeking treatment for a medical condition or disregard professional medical advice based on Content.
  • You should always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare professional before starting or changing treatment.
  • Content should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease without supervision of a doctor or qualified healthcare provider.
  • Content does not recommend or endorse any particular tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions or other information.
  • Content is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration or any state or national medical board.

Information posted to the Website or sent in an unsolicited message to a Medical Contributor is not confidential and does not establish a physician-patient relationship without the express consent of the Medical Contributor.

Legal Content.  Content posted by Legal Contributors is not intended to be legal advice or form an attorney-client relationship. If you believe you have a legal claim, contact an attorney licensed in your state (or country) immediately to discuss your options. Most state bar associations have services to aid you in finding an attorney. For example, California residents should visit http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Public/Pamphlets/HiringaLawyer.aspx

Like all Content, Content posted by Legal Contributors is provided for informational purposes only, with no assurance that the Content is true, correct, or accurate. No action should be taken, delayed, or deferred based on the Content.

  • Content is not a substitute for professional legal advice or a solicitation to offer legal advice regarding specific facts. Should you ignore this warning and send specific or confidential information in a private message or post it as a comment, there is no duty to keep that information confidential or to discontinue or forego any representation adverse to your interests.
  • You should not delay or forego seeking legal advice or disregard professional legal advice based on Content. Delay in seeking such legal advice could result in waiver of any claims you may have, depending on the applicable statute(s) of limitation.
  • Content is not regulated by any state or national bar association.
  • Information posted to the Website or sent in an unsolicited message to a Legal Contributor is not confidential and does not establish attorney-client relationship without the express consent of the Legal Contributor.

Links.  
(a) The Website and Content may contain links to third-party websites or resources. We are 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 MEAction of such websites, providers or resources or the content, products, or services available from such websites, providers or resources. You acknowledge sole responsibility for and assume all risk arising from your use of and relationship to any such websites, providers and resources.

(b) Permission must be granted by us for any type of link you may wish to make to the Website. To seek our permission, you may write to us at the email address set forth in the section below entitled “Contact Us.” We reserve the right to deny any request or rescind any permission granted by us to link through such other type of link, and to require termination of any such link to the Websites, at our sole discretion at any time.

Intellectual Property. This Agreement does not transfer any intellectual property from either MEAction or any third party, and all right, title and interest in and to such property will remain (as between the parties) solely with us or such third party, as applicable. The Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Action Network, all The Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Action Network logos, #MEAction and all other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with The Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Action Network or the Website are trademarks or registered trademarks of MEAction or MEAction’s licensors. Other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with the Website may be the trademarks of other third parties. Your use of the Website grants you no right or license to reproduce or otherwise use any of our or any third-party trademarks without written permission or as specified in the written guidelines of toolkits or other documents we provide. 

Changes. MEAction reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace all or any part of this Agreement. It is your responsibility to check this Agreement periodically for changes. Your continued use of and access to the Website following the posting of any changes to this Agreement constitutes acceptance of those changes. MEAction may also, in the future, offer new Content, services and/or features through the Website (including, the release of new tools and resources). Such new Content, features and/or services are all subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

Termination. MEAction may terminate your access to all or any part of the Website at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice, effective immediately. If you wish to terminate this Agreement or your Website account (if you have one), you may simply discontinue using the Website. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should logically survive termination of the Agreement will survive such termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty and other disclaimers, indemnities and limitations of liability.

Disclaimer of Warranties. THE WEBSITE AND ITS CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS”. MEACTION, OUR LICENSORS  AND THE LEGAL & MEDICAL CONTRIBUTORS AND THEIR COLLECTIVE RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS (COLLECTIVELY, THE “DISCLAIMING PARTIES”) HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. NEITHER MEACTION NOR THE OTHER DISCLAIMING PARTIES MAKES ANY WARRANTY THAT THE WEBSITE WILL BE ERROR FREE OR THAT ACCESS THERETO WILL BE CONTINUOUS OR UNINTERRUPTED. YOU DOWNLOAD FROM, AND OTHERWISE OBTAIN CONTENT OR SERVICES THROUGH, THE WEBSITE AT YOUR SOLE DISCRETION AND RISK.

Limitation of Liability. IN NO EVENT WILL ME ACTION OR THE OTHER DISCLAIMING PARTIES BE LIABLE WITH RESPECT TO THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT OR ANY OTHER MATTER RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT UNDER ANY CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER LEGAL OR EQUITABLE THEORY FOR: (I) ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES; (II) THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES; (III) THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE OR THE CONTENT OR THE INTERRUPTION OF USE OR LOSS OR CORRUPTION OF DATA; OR (IV) A MONETARY AMOUNT IN EXCESS OF THE GREATER OF $500 OR THE AGGREGATE FEES PAID BY YOU TO MEACTION UNDER THIS AGREEMENT DURING THE TWELVE (12) MONTH PERIOD PRIOR TO THE TIME THE CAUSE OF ACTION ARISES. THIS APPLIES EVEN IF MEACTION OR ANY OTHER DISCLAIMING PARTY IS ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. MOREOVER, MEACTION AND THE OTHER DISCLAIMING PARTIES WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY FAILURE OR DELAY DUE TO MATTERS BEYOND THEIR REASONABLE CONTROL. NEITHER MEACTION NOR THE OTHER DISCLAIMING PARTIES ARE LIABLE FOR ANY PERSONAL INJURY, INCLUDING DEATH, CAUSED BY YOUR USE OR MISUSE OF THE WEBSITE OR CONTENT.  THE FOREGOING PROVISIONS OF THIS PARAGRAPH, AND THE PROVISIONS OF THE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING PARAGRAPH DO NOT APPLY TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW.  

Your Representations, Warranties and Indemnity. You represent and warrant that (i) your use of the Website will be in strict accordance with the Privacy Policy, with this Agreement and with all applicable laws and regulations (including without limitation any local laws or regulations in your country, state, city, or other governmental area, regarding online conduct and acceptable content, and including all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside) and (ii) your use of the Website, including any Content you provide, will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party.  You agree to indemnify and hold harmless MEAction and the Disclaiming Parties from and against any and all claims and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of your use of the Website or any Content, including but not limited to your violation of this Agreement.

Feedback.  The following terms apply if you send us any information or ideas (collectively, “Feedback”), such as for features, modifications, enhancements, refinements, products, technologies, content offerings, strategies, or product/feature names, including any related documentation, artwork, computer code, diagrams, or other materials, regardless of what your accompanying communication says. By sending Feedback to us, you agree that: (i) we haveno obligation to review, consider, or implement your Feedback, or to return to you all or part of any Feedback; (ii) feedback is provided on a non-confidential basis, and we are not under any obligation to keep any Feedback you send confidential or to refrain from using it in any way; (iii) you irrevocably grant us and our successors and assigns permission to use, reproduce, modify, and distribute Feedback, and/or any product or service based on your Feedback, for any purpose and without restriction, including by making, selling, and promoting commercial products and services that incorporate or embody Feedback in whole or in part, or as modified, free of charge and without attribution of any kind; and (iv) we may transfer or assign the rights you grant to us under this paragraph without restriction.

Copyright Owners / Digital Millennium Copyright Act

If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof, and you believe any content submitted to and hosted on the Website infringes your copyrights, then you may submit a written takedown notice that complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, as amended (“DMCA”), to us with the following information:

  • A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
  • Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works on the Website are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works on the Website;
  • Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material;
  • Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
  • A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law (for example, “I am under the good faith belief that the use of the copyrighted content that is identified herein is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.”); and
  • A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed (for example, “I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in this notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner, or authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner, of the copyright(s) that is/are allegedly infringed by the aforementioned content.”).

It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the DMCA.  Notifications and counter-notifications regarding claimed infringement can be sent to the Company as follows: _________, Attention: Copyright Notices.  

Miscellaneous. Any dispute between you and us related to or involving this Agreement, the Website, the Content or the Services will  be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New Jersey , without regard to its conflict of law provisions.  In addition, you hereby agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in New Jersey with respect to any claim, proceeding or action relating to or otherwise arising out of this Agreement, the Website, the Content or the Services, howsoever arising, provided always that MEAction may seek and obtain injunctive relief in any jurisdiction.  Any claim or cause of action you may have related or with respect to us, the Content, the Services or the Website must be commenced within one (1) year after the claim or cause of action arose.  

If any portion of this Agreement is deemed unlawful, void or unenforceable by any arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction, this Agreement as a whole will not be deemed unlawful, void or unenforceable, but only that portion of this Agreement that is unlawful, void or unenforceable will be stricken from this Agreement.

You agree that this Agreement is specifically enforceable by injunctive relief and other equitable remedies without proof of monetary damages.

You agree that if we do not exercise or enforce any legal right or remedy which is contained in the Agreement (or which we have the benefit of under any applicable law), this will not be taken to be a formal waiver of our rights or remedies and that those rights or remedies will still be available to us.

For purposes of this Agreement, the term “including” means “including without limitation.”  The term “person” and “third party” refers to both individuals and entities.

If you have questions about this Agreement, please contact us by emailing [email protected]  

Version updated on June 14th, 2023

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