TERMS OF USE AND PRIVACY POLICY 

The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (“AGSIW”) operates its website, mobile applications, and social media accounts (the “Platform”) for the education and personal use of our visitors (the “Users”). Use of the Platform is conditioned on the User’s acceptance of all of these Terms of Use, including the Privacy Policy and disclaimers set forth below. Use of the Platform constitutes the User’s agreement to all those terms and conditions. If you cannot agree with all these terms, please exit the Platform.

Mission Statement

The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW) is an independent, nonprofit institution dedicated to highlighting the importance of the relationship between the United States and the Gulf region through free and open exchange of multiple points of view on issues that concern the Gulf.

AGSIW strives to support this goal by:

• Providing expert analysis and thoughtful debate on the economic, energy, environmental, security, social, cultural, and political dimensions of the Gulf Arab states as well as their relations with the United States and other countries.
• Informing a global audience of policymakers, legislators, businesspeople, academics, media, youth, and others as the foundation for strategic decisions regarding this important region.
• Employing multiple avenues to inform public understanding of the importance of the relationship between the United States and the Gulf Arab states.
• Encouraging strong academic coverage by developing scholars who concentrate on the study of the region.

Copyright and Trademark Information

All materials on the Platform are protected by copyrights, trademarks, and/or other intellectual property rights. These materials are owned by AGSIW or are used with permission of their owners or as otherwise authorized by law. Such materials include, but are not limited to, the photographs, images, illustrations, text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, trademarks, trade dress, and other materials contained in this website. All copyright and other rights are reserved, worldwide.

Users may print or reproduce discrete portions of AGSIW materials published on this site, for purposes of commentary or the User’s personal noncommercial use and enjoyment, so long as proper credit is given to AGSIW. No User is authorized to change the material or the meaning of the AGSIW material. Use or review of the Platform does not give any User a license or right under any patent, copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property or personal right of AGSIW or any third party. No AGSIW trademark may be used in advertising or other commercial materials without the prior express permission of AGSIW. You also agree to observe the privacy of all other Users and not use the personal information of any other User for any commercial, promotional, or other purpose.

AGSIW does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or reliability of the material or data on this website, or any other site, or available through links from this site. Links to other websites are provided as a convenience only. Providing a link to another site does not mean that AGSIW endorses or approves the linked-to site.

User Content – Postings, Comments

Any User or third party submissions or postings on or using our Platform are the views of the author or poster. They do not necessarily reflect the views of AGSIW. AGSIW reserves the right to edit any postings or material submitted to it for any reason. AGSIW has the sole discretion over whether to publish, edit, or delete any material submitted to it or posted on or through the Platform. By submitting any postings, comments, or other messages to AGSIW, the commenter gives AGSIW a nonexclusive license to publish the material in any media now known or hereafter developed, and to use, edit, adapt, recast, distribute, display, perform, or transmit it in any way, as AGSIW may determine in its sole discretion, including for promotional or any other purpose. By submitting your name, address, photo, or other identifying data with a posting or other submission, you give AGSIW the right to publish and use that data, for promotional or any other purpose. Please do not submit or post any confidential or proprietary data or material, and do not submit or post any copyrighted material without authorization of the owner. You agree that you will not submit or post any material that is obscene, defamatory, or that impersonates anyone or that infringes any trademark, copyright, privacy right, or other legal right.

DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

THE MATERIAL ON THIS PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT. AGSIW SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST REVENUE, LOST PROFITS, OR LOSS OF PROSPECTIVE ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE, RESULTING FROM THE USE OR MISUSE OF THIS PLATFORM, OR THE INFORMATION, DOCUMENTS, OR SOFTWARE HEREIN, EVEN IF AGSIW HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANOTHER PARTY. AGSIW DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THIS PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR FREE OF INACCURACIES OR ERRORS OR THAT THE PLATFORM IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL ELEMENTS.

A User’s use of the Platform, and any reliance on any material published or transmitted by the Platform, is at the User’s own risk. You agree that you hereby release AGSIW and its affiliates, advertisers, supporters, officers, employees, agents, and authors from any and all liability or obligations arising from the access or use of the Platform or any public forum or other area of the Platform. A User’s sole remedy for any problem or concern is to exit the Platform. You agree that you will indemnify and hold AGSIW and its affiliates, advertisers, supporters, officers, employees, agents, and authors harmless for any loss, damages or liability suffered by AGSIW as a result of your use of the Platform or your submission or posting of any material to AGSIW or the Platform. AGSIW reserves the right to restrict or limit access to the Platform.

Copyright Violations: If you believe that any material on the AGSIW website or Platform infringes your copyright, please notify us as follows, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). To notify us, the DMCA requires that you: 1. Send an email notice to AGSIW to: [email protected]. 2. Include the following information in your email: a. Identify the copyrighted work(s) you claim is infringed; b. Identify the material you claim is infringing the copyright(s), and give enough information for AGSIW to locate that material; c. Include a physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf (the “Claimant”); d. Include the Claimant’s name, address, and telephone number(s); e. Include a statement that the Claimant has a good faith belief that use of the disputed material is not authorized by the copyright owner or his agent; and f. Include a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification of copyright infringement is accurate and that the Claimant is the copyright owner or is authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

Privacy Policy

AGSIW has adopted this privacy policy to demonstrate our firm commitment to your privacy.

Collection and Use of Personally Identifiable Information 

AGSIW collects certain personally identifiable information (“PII”) when you register with AGSIW, subscribe to receive emails or other notices from us, make a payment through the Platform, or otherwise submit PII to us. Specifically, we may collect the following personal information: your name, email address, telephone numbers, and other demographic information (like zip code, age, address, education, profession, or employment duties). If you make a payment, we may also collect account information relating to your method of payment.

We use the PII information to process your requests or payment or to send you information or material for which you have subscribed or which we think you will enjoy. Subject to your permission, we may make certain PII available for viewing by schools and companies. We also use the PII to assess and improve our services. We may allow entities assisting AGSIW on technical and internal issues to access certain PII data on a need-to-know basis, subject to confidentiality protections. We will not share any personal credit card or other financial information associated with an individual with any third party, except as necessary to facilitate or process a financial transaction or comply with a legal obligation. We reserve the right to provide any successor in interest with our subscriber and user databases, including PII, and to disclose data and PII as we deem necessary to comply with court orders or other legal obligations. We may share your name, email address, physical address, and other demographic information with affiliates or entities with which we share common interests or perspectives, and with counselors, mentors, advisors, and/or educational institutions for purposes related to AGSIW’s mission.

We may collect the IP address of our visitors and use that data to gather broad demographic information about our visitors. We also may use cookies to enhance your experience with our website. “Cookies” are small files downloaded to your hard drive that enable your browser to save and recall information. We may use this data to tailor our visitors’ experiences, showing them content that we think they might be interested in and displaying the content according to their preferences. We may share demographic information with our members and supporters on an aggregate basis.

Security

AGSIW takes precautions to protect the security of your personal information and to ensure that your choices for its intended use are honored. These precautions help protect your data from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However, we cannot guarantee the total security of that PII or that we will be immune from hacking incidents or security breaches.

Edits/Opt-Out Options

AGSIW gives Users the option to edit the personal information you have already given us and/or to remove your name from our roster, or unsubscribe from any email lists or notices. Users also may limit the scope of other Users who can search for them or contact them. Users also may opt-out of receiving future mailings from AGSIW.

Notice to Parents

AGSIW does not collect or seek personal information from persons under the age of 13. We encourage parents to talk to their children about safe and responsible use of their personal information while using the internet. AGSIW strongly encourages Users between the ages of 13 to 17 to seek permission from their parents or legal guardians before submitting personal information or postings on the internet, including the AGSIW website or Platform.

Amendments

AGSIW reserves the right to change these Terms of Use or its Privacy Policy at any time, by posting amended terms on the AGSIW website and Platform. Use of the AGSIW website or Platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the amended terms and conditions. We reserve the right to apply the amended terms to the information we have already collected, subject to any legal constraints. You should read and review this page regularly to see if there have been any changes.

Termination

AGSIW has the right in its sole discretion to terminate, at any time and without notice, a User’s ability to access the services, and to discontinue or modify any of the services or information contained on the site. A User may terminate his account with AGSIW at any time. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current ,or incomplete, or if we believe that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Platform or any portion thereof.

Effective Date

The Effective Date of these Terms of Use and Privacy Policy is January 13, 2015.

Contacting Us

If you have any questions about AGSIW, our Terms of Use, or our Privacy Policy, send an email with your questions to: [email protected].