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Terms of Use

Effective as of January 17th, 2023.

Introduction

Welcome to the flatworldknowledge.com website. The following describes the terms under which we provide you with our websites (including flatworldknowledge.com, flatworld.com, fwk.com) and with the services accessible through those websites (collectively, the “Service”). The Service is operated by Boston Academic Publishing Inc., d.b.a. FlatWorld and Flat World Knowledge (“FlatWorld,” “we,” or “us”).

This agreement governs both those who create registered member accounts (“Members“) and those who visit and use our Service without creating a registered member account (“Visitors”). Members of the Service who are educators (“Instructors”) can request a special type of Member account, called an Instructor account, that also allows them to preview works, customize works, assign works to their students, and the like. This agreement also governs the licensing of content, including textbooks and other instructional materials, that we offer for electronic or via physical delivery through the Service (collectively, “Products”). If you have been provided with access to the Service by your educational institution, you are a Member of the Service.

By using the Service, you accept these Terms of Use and the following terms, conditions, and policies (collectively, the “Agreement”):

If you register as a Member or purchase a license through the Service on behalf of a business or other organization, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that organization and that your acceptance of this Agreement will be treated as acceptance by that organization.

Changes And Modifications. We may change or amend these terms from time to time. If we make material changes to our terms, we will notify you that our terms have changed, either through the user interface, in an email message, or through other reasonable means. Your use of the Service after the date such change(s) become effective will constitute your consent to the changed terms. If you do not agree to the change(s), you must immediately stop using the Service; otherwise, the new terms will apply to you. As long as you comply with this Agreement, we grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-assignable, non-sublicensable right to access and use the Service as it is intended to be accessed and used, and in accordance with this Agreement and applicable law. We grant you no other rights, implied or otherwise.

Adults Only. The Service is intended for adults only. You must be 18 years of age or older – or have the consent of your parent or guardian, who must and hereby does consent to these Terms of Use – to use the Service or the flatworldknowledge.com website. In accordance with the Federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”), we will never knowingly solicit, nor will we accept, personally identifiable information from users of the Service known to be under thirteen (13) years of age. Please see our Privacy Policy for additional information, or for information regarding how to notify us of any concerns you may have in this regard.

The Service

The Service enables students, educators, authors, and institutions to engage with learning materials and technologies, without the high textbook costs, complexity, and limited formats of the traditional publishing model.

All Visitors to the Service may view Products made available through the Service, browse our catalog, and explore the tables of contents for each work.

Those who create registered Member accounts will also be able to license Products in a variety of formats. You must accurately provide us with all requested information when you register as a Member of the Service or license a Product. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account information, including your password, and for any and all activity that occurs under your registered Member account. You agree to immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your account or password, or any other breach of security.

If you register as an Instructor, you will also be able to request review copies and adopt FlatWorld Products for use by your students. Instructors are also considered Members of the Service and, unless expressly noted otherwise, all terms applicable to Members are also applicable to Instructors. Please note that we reserve the right to audit requests for Instructor accounts, and to verify the credentials of any Member who signs-up for an Instructor account.

Uses of the Service. As a condition of your use of the Service, and the licenses and permissions granted to you herein, you agree not to, and will not assist, encourage, or enable others to:

  • Make commercial use of the Service, or of any Product.
  • Use the Service or Products for data collection and/or profit.
  • Use the Service to harass, threaten, impersonate, or intimidate anyone.
  • Upload, post, email, transmit, or otherwise make available any content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, hateful, or racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable, or any content that is in violation of copyright or trademark law – or any other law protecting intellectual property in any jurisdiction – or that violates an individual’s publicity or privacy rights.
  • Upload, post, email, transmit, or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” “affiliate links,” or any other form of solicitation, or any worms or viruses or any code of a destructive nature.
  • Reverse engineer any portion of the Service or Products.
  • Use any robot, spider, site search/retrieval application, or other automated device, process or means to access, retrieve, scrape, or index any portion of the Service or Products.
  • Record, process, or mine information about other users or about the Service.
  • Take any action that imposes, or may impose, in our sole discretion, an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our technology infrastructure or otherwise make excessive traffic demands on Service.
  • Interfere with the proper working of the Service, circumvent or otherwise interfere with any security-related features of the Service, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, registered Member accounts, or any computers, networks or content associated with the Service through hacking, password mining, or any other means.
  • Use the Service for any illegal or unauthorized purpose. You agree to comply with all applicable laws, including the laws of your local jurisdiction, regarding online conduct and acceptable content (including but not limited to intellectual property laws).

Links To Other Sites. The Service, and certain Products, may contain links to independent third-party websites that are not owned or controlled by us. We are not responsible for and, do not necessarily endorse the content or practices of, third-party websites. We encourage you to exercise discretion when interacting with such websites.

Certain tools, devices, software programs or other features available on or through the Service or Products may be provided by third parties. These tools are provided or made available as a convenience to you. These tools are not owned or operated by us and we are not responsible for examining the content, availability, accuracy, adequacy, timeliness, validity, copyright compliance, legality, decency, quality, completeness or any other aspect of these tools.

Products and Licensing

The Service allows Members to license textbooks and other Products for their personal, educational use. When you log in to your Member account, you will be able to see your available Products and download any available eBooks for which you have a valid license.

Products are available for license in one or more of the forms below:

Online eBook
Once you obtain a valid Online eBook license for a Product, you are entitled to view the Product only on our website, for a period of twelve months from the date of access.
eBook
Once you obtain a valid eBook license for a Product, you may download the Product, as long as the Product remains available on our website, within one year from your date of purchase, in any or all eBook formats we provide it in (for example, we may provide Products in ePub, PDF and/or .mobi format). You may load a copy of the eBook you downloaded onto a total of four (4) computing devices at a time (for example, an e-reader, tablet, personal computer and smartphone), provided that you personally own each of those computing devices. Some eBook content, such as highly formatted or interactive content, may not be available to you on all devices and eBook formats.
FlatWorld Unlimited and Institutional
Your educational institution may provide you with FlatWorld Unlimited or Institutional (FWU), which includes an Online eBook license (as specified above) to every Product that FlatWorld makes available to FWU users on the Service. Your FWU license is temporary, and automatically terminates when (1) your educational institution terminates your FWU account or access, or otherwise notifies you that your FWU access has ended; or (2) when your status as a student or instructor at your educational institution comes to an end. FWU entitles you only to Online eBook licenses for Products available on the Service at any given time, and FWU users are not eligible for a refund if Products are removed from the Service. When your FWU license terminates, all eBook licenses associated with your FWU license also automatically and immediately terminate. However, any pre-existing Online Access or eBook licenses you may have separately obtained will continue according to their terms. Except as specified herein, no other license rights are granted to you as a FWU user. As with all other licenses FlatWorld grants to users, FWU licenses are strictly limited by the License Limitations set forth below.
Printed Textbook
If you purchase a printed copy of a Product, we will ship one copy of the Product to you (shipping may take up to 7-10 days after your order is submitted). No rights are granted to you in connection with the printed textbook (i.e., you may not copy, modify, distribute, digitize, publicly display, or make any use of the content). You may feel free to re-sell the printed textbook when you are done with it.
Instructor Customization
If you have an Instructor account, you may modify certain Products, and make those modified Products available to your students, only as permitted by and through the Service. In particular, you may only modify a Product using the web-based tools provided on the FlatWorld website through your Instructor account. As specified further below, you must not submit any content that infringes the trademark, copyright, or publicity/privacy rights of any person or entity, or that is otherwise in violation of any law.

After you modify a Product, the new work you create will be assigned a unique ISBN number that may then be assigned to your students, provided that your students may only access your modified work through the Service, after obtaining one or more of the Member licenses above. Instructors may not customize an already-customized version of a Product, but may only customize the original version. As set forth in greater detail below, any material you add to a Product when creating a customized work is “User Content” pursuant to this Agreement, and you grant us and our users rights to use such content without payment.

License Limitations. Each FlatWorld Product is licensed, not sold. Each license available from FlatWorld is limited to your personal, non-commercial, educational use only, and is non-transferable. Except as expressly provided in this Agreement, you are prohibited from copying, reproducing, modifying, distributing, displaying, performing, or transmitting any Product for any purpose, and nothing otherwise stated or implied in the Services confers on you any license or right to do so.

Codes. Some Product licenses may be provided to you via code, for example on a FlatWorld card purchased from your student bookstore. Codes grant licenses only to the Product(s) specified. Once you have used a code to license a Product, you may use and interact with the Products in any manner consistent with this Agreement, just as if you had paid for the license directly through the Service.

Removal of Products from the Service. You agree that we may, at any time and with or without prior notice, remove Products from the Service. In the event we elect to remove Products from the Service AND SUCH REMOVAL OCCURS WITHIN THE FIRST 12 MONTHS FOLLOWING YOUR DATE OF PURCHASE, you agree that your sole and exclusive remedy shall be a prorated refund of all amounts previously paid by you to FlatWorld for the removed Products. IN THE EVENT FLATWORLD ELECTS TO REMOVE A PRODUCT FROM THE SERVICE AT ANY TIME AFTER 12 MONTHS FROM YOUR DATE OF YOUR PURCHASE OF THE PRODUCT, YOU AGREE THAT YOU SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO ANY REFUND FROM FLATWORLD.

Payment

Some Product licenses may be made available to you for no charge.

For Product licenses that require payment, license prices are displayed prior to purchase. Prices may or may not be inclusive of applicable sales, use, or other taxes; however, such taxes shall be identified, calculated and collected at the point of sale. You may also pay for Product licenses using a code that may be obtained from your school, instructor, or student bookstore, if applicable. A confirmation email will be provided after the checkout for each order. We are not responsible for any interruption or failure in any communication or process, howsoever caused, which results in an order, or in any payment or payment details, not being received or processed by us. A payment will be regarded as received when we are able to credit or transfer the amount required into our designated bank account.

The inclusion of any Product on the Service does not imply or warrant that these Products will be available at any particular time. Products included on the Service may be unavailable, may have different specifications or attributes than those listed, or may actually carry a different price than that stated on the Service. In the event a Product license is listed at an incorrect price due to typographical error, or error in pricing or other information, we will have the right to cancel orders of any such Product license, whether or not the order has been confirmed and/or your credit card or other payment method has been charged. If you have already been charged for the license and your order is cancelled, we will refund any such charges within a commercially reasonable period of time after cancellation. In no event will anything contained in this Agreement or any area of the Service be construed as a representation or guarantee with respect to any Product. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any descriptions or other content. Further, we do not endorse, and are not responsible for, the accuracy and reliability of any opinion or statement made on the Service by any third party, including but not limited to, customers, manufacturers, distributors, or suppliers of Products sold through the Service. We assume no responsibility or obligation to modify or remove any inaccurate content. In addition, we may make changes to information about price, availability, or other Product or license specifications or attributes at any time. We reserve the right, without prior notice, to limit the order quantity on any Product license, to refuse service to any customer, or to cancel any order, including after it is submitted. We also may require additional verifications or other information prior to the acceptance and/or shipment of any order. Your receipt of an order confirmation from us does not signify our acceptance of your order, nor does it constitute confirmation of our offer to sell. With respect to the shipment of physical Products, risk of loss and title for physical items purchased from the Service pass to you upon delivery of the Products to the carrier. You are responsible for filing any claims with carriers for damaged and/or lost shipments.

Other Terms of Use

Content; Intellectual Property

Certain features of the Service may allow you to contribute new content, comments, ratings, feedback, information, designs, or other content for access, use, viewing, and license by us and by other users of the Service (“User Content”). If you are an Instructor who chooses to customize a Product, any material you add to the Product is considered User Content. When you contribute User Content, you represent and warrant that you have the full legal right to post the User Content and that use of the User Content by us and all other persons and entities (including in connection with Products being offered for sale) will not (i) infringe the trademark, copyright, or publicity rights of any person or entity; (ii) violate any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or agreement; or (iii) disclose any confidential or private information of any third party. Upon your submission of User Content or other material or information to us, you grant us, our third-party service providers, and all site Members and Visitors a worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully paid, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, reproduce, modify, create derivative works based on, distribute, publicly display, and publicly perform the User Content, solely for the purposes of providing, promoting and using the Service and its Products, all without any additional compensation to you whatsoever.

We make User Content available at our sole discretion and may disable access to any User Content at any time and for any reason. By using the Service, you acknowledge and agree that we do not guarantee access to and/or hosting of User Content that is published through the Service. For example, if User Content violates these Terms of Use, access to it may be disabled.

All text, graphics, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, trademarks, logos, sounds, music, artwork, content, and computer code that comprises the Service (collectively, “Our Content”), including but not limited to the design, structure, selection, coordination, expression, “look and feel,” and arrangement of Our Content is owned by us or has been licensed to us, and is protected by trade dress, copyright, and trademark laws, and various other intellectual property rights. Except as expressly provided in this Agreement, you are prohibited from copying, reproducing, modifying, distributing, displaying, performing, or transmitting any of the contents of the Service for any purpose, and nothing otherwise stated or implied in the Services confers on you any license or right to do so.

If you believe that a user of our Service has violated your intellectual property rights – for example by improperly posting your copyrighted content to the Service – please contact us.

Violation of this Agreement - Termination

You agree that we may, in our sole discretion and without prior notice to you, terminate your access to the Service and/or block your future access to the Service for any reason, including if we determine that you have violated this Agreement or other agreements or guidelines which may be associated with your use of the Service. Please note that it is our policy to terminate the account of Members who repeatedly violate the copyrights, trademark rights, or other rights of third parties.

If we take any legal action against you as a result of your violation of this Agreement, we will be entitled to recover from you, and you agree to pay, all reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of such action, in addition to any other relief granted. You agree that we will not be liable to you or to any third party for termination of your access to the Service.

Disclaimer of Warranties

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICE, AND ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE ORDERED THROUGH THE SERVICE, IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. WE AND OUR PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, STOCKHOLDERS, LICENSORS, AND ANY PARTY UNDER OUR COMMON OWNERSHIP OR COMMON CORPORATE CONTROL (“OUR AFFILIATES”) EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, AND CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, MERCHANTABLE QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, TITLE, OR ANY WARRANTY OR CONDITION ARISING BY USAGE OF TRADE, COURSE OF DEALING, OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE. WE AND OUR AFFILIATES MAKE NO WARRANTY THAT (a) THE SERVICE OR PRODUCTS WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; (b) THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE; (c) CONTENT OR PRODUCTS WILL BE HOSTED AND/OR TRANSMITTED WITHOUT INTERRUPTION OR CESSATION; (d) ANY PRODUCTS, SITES, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL, WHETHER IN TANGIBLE OR INTANGIBLE FORM, LICENSED OR OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS OR ANY STANDARD OF QUALITY; AND (e) ANY DEFECTS IN THE OPERATION OR FUNCTIONALITY OF A PRODUCT, THE SERVICE, OR RELATED SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED.

ANY MATERIAL, INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, OR DATA DOWNLOADED, VIEWED, SHARED, OR OTHERWISE ACCESSED THROUGH THE SERVICE IS ACCESSED AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK; YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULT FROM THE DOWNLOADING, VIEWING, SHARING, OR OTHERWISE ACCESSING OF SUCH MATERIAL. NO ADVICE, REPRESENTATION, OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU EITHER FROM US OR THROUGH THE SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT.

Limitation of Liability

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT WE AND OUR AFFILIATES WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES THAT MAY BE INCURRED BY YOU, HOWEVER CAUSED AND UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY. THIS INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, OR BUSINESS REPUTATION; ANY LOSS OF DATA; ANY COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; OR ANY OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES. THIS ALSO INCLUDES ANY LOSS OR DAMAGES THAT MAY BE INCURRED BY YOU AS A RESULT OF (a) ANY CHANGES THAT WE MAY MAKE TO THE SERVICE; (b) ANY PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY CESSATION OF THE SERVICE; (c) THE DELETION OR CORRUPTION OF, OR FAILURE TO STORE, ANY USER CONTENT MAINTAINED THROUGH THE SERVICE; OR (d) YOUR FAILURE TO KEEP YOUR PASSWORD OR MEMBER ACCOUNT DETAILS SECURE. THE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS OF LIABILITY ABOVE SHALL APPLY IRRESPECTIVE OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY, INCLUDING CONTRACT (INCLUDING FUNDAMENTAL BREACH), WARRANTY, PRODUCT LIABILITY, STRICT LIABILITY, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHER THEORY, EVEN IF WE (OR OUR AFFILIATES) HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

YOU SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE AND OUR AFFILIATES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR USER CONTENT OR THE INFRINGING, DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE, OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY, AND THAT THE RISK OF HARM OR DAMAGE FROM THE FOREGOING RESTS ENTIRELY WITH YOU.

Exclusions and Limitations

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT PERMIT THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS, OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, ONLY THE LIMITATIONS THAT ARE LAWFUL IN YOUR JURISDICTION WILL APPLY TO YOU AND, IN SUCH INSTANCES, OUR LIABILITY AND THAT OF OUR AFFILIATES WILL BE LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold us and Our Affiliates harmless from and against any and all liabilities and costs (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) we may incur in connection with any claim arising out of your breach of this Agreement or your use of the Service, including but not limited to claims that your User Content infringes the rights of third parties. We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you.

General Terms

Entire Agreement. These Terms of Use contain the entire agreement between you and us regarding the use of the Service, and supersede any prior agreement between you and us on such subject matter. The parties acknowledge that no reliance is placed on any representation made but not expressly contained in these Terms of Use. You may also be subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use or purchase other services from us, our affiliates, or our parents or subsidiary entities.

Governing Law. By using the Service, you agree that the Federal Arbitration Act, applicable federal law, and the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to principles of conflict of laws, will govern these Terms of Use and any dispute of any sort that might arise between you and FlatWorld.

Disputes. Any dispute or claim relating in any way to your use of the Service, or to any Products or other content or services sold or provided by FlatWorld will be resolved by confidential binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that you may assert claims in small claims court if your claims qualify. The Federal Arbitration Act and federal arbitration law apply to this agreement.

The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The place of arbitration shall be Suffolk County, Massachusetts. We each agree that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, consolidated or representative action. If for any reason a claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration we each waive any right to a jury trial.

Statute Of Limitations. You agree that, regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim under this Agreement must be brought within one (1) year after the cause of action arises, or such claim or cause of action is forever barred.

Severability of Terms; Non-waiver of Terms; Assignment. If any portion(s) of the Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision(s) shall be stricken and the remainder of the Agreement enforced as written. If we do not exercise or enforce any legal right or remedy, including those contained in the Agreement or arising under applicable law, this will not be taken to be a formal waiver or relinquishment of our rights. We may assign or delegate all rights and obligations under the Agreement, fully or partially.

Notices. We may provide you with notices, including those regarding changes to the Agreement, by email, by regular mail, or by postings to the Service.

If you have general questions or concerns regarding these Terms of Use, please contact us by email at support@flatworld.com or by mail using the following contact information:

FlatWorld
292 Newbury Street
Suite #282
Boston, MA 02115-2832

Last updated: January 17, 2023

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