Terms of use

Updated and effective as of April 29, 2021

Introduction
Changes to the Terms of Use
Disclosure of Information
Use of Content and Intellectual Rights
Educational and Informational Use
License, Restrictions and Unlawful Use
Account Security and Passwords
Use of Communication Services
Journal Reprints
Claims of Copyright Infringement
RSS and Syndication
Linked Websites
Liability Disclaimer
Advertisers and Third-Party Vendors
Email Communication
Wireless Network
Choice of Law; Venue
General Legal Terms
Additional Policies
Contact Us

Introduction

Welcome to the American Veterinary Medical Association. This agreement ("Agreement") describes the terms and conditions ("Terms") pursuant to which you may access and use any of the American Veterinary Medical Association ("AVMA") Services ("Services") as described on our Privacy Policy, including, without limitation, any website containing the URL AVMA.org, and any other websites operated by the AVMA.

Please read this Agreement carefully. Your use of AVMA Services constitutes your binding acceptance of these Terms, including any modifications we may make. If you do not agree to these Terms and the Privacy Policy, you must immediately discontinue use of our Services.

In consideration of the AVMA granting you access to the AVMA Services, you agree to the conditions, as outlined below.

Changes to the terms of use

The AVMA reserves the right to change, modify, add or remove portions of the Terms of Use at its discretion with or without providing notice to users of our Services. Your use of any Services following any such modification shall be conclusively deemed to be your acceptance of such modification.

Whenever we change the Terms, however, we will endeavor to provide reasonable notice of changes through appropriate communications channels. Since these change notices last only for a limited time, you should check the Terms of Use regularly to see if there have been any changes.

Disclosure of information

The AVMA reserves the right to disclose information to third parties as described by the information sharing practices in our Privacy Policy. The AVMA may change, suspend or discontinue any aspect of AVMA Services at any time without notice or liability, including the availability of any feature, blog, database or other content.

Use of content and intellectual rights

The AVMA Services contain a combination of content that AVMA creates, its partners create and that its users create. All materials published through our Services, including but not limited to text, images, video, graphics and multimedia files ("Content"), are protected by all applicable intellectual property laws, including without limitation copyright and trademark laws, and owned by AVMA or the party credited as the provider of the Content. All rights in the Content are expressly reserved by the applicable copyright and trademark owner. All AVMA trademarks, service marks, and membership marks ("AVMA Marks") appearing on or through the AVMA Services are the property of AVMA, and all rights in the AVMA Marks are reserved. Members of AVMA using the collective membership mark or any other AVMA Mark are bound by and should refer to the rules governing use of those AVMA Marks to assure proper usage. You may not sublicense, transfer or otherwise make any Content available to any third party for commercial purposes or financial gain or use the Content in any other media or in any other location other than as permitted under these Terms.

Educational and informational use

The information provided on or through AVMA Services is for educational and informational purposes only. The information should not be construed as a recommendation by AVMA for any course of action regarding veterinary medical, financial, legal or accounting matters. It is not meant as a substitute for professional advice from a qualified veterinary medical, legal, accounting or financial professional.

License, restrictions and unlawful use

You are granted a personal, revocable, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use the AVMA Services conditioned on your continued acceptance of, and compliance with, these Terms. As a condition of your use of the AVMA Services and the Content, you warrant that all such use is solely for your noncommercial personal use and for no other purpose, and that you will not use the AVMA Services or the Content for any unauthorized or illegal purpose or activity. AVMA reserves the right to bar, restrict, suspend or terminate any user's access to the AVMA Services, and/or terminate this license at any time for any reason. AVMA reserves any and all rights not explicitly granted in these Terms. Unless otherwise expressly stated in these Terms, or unless you receive AVMA's prior written consent, you may not modify, translate, create derivative works of, copy, distribute, market, display, remove or alter any proprietary notices or labels from, lease, sell, sublicense, transfer, decompile, reverse engineer or incorporate into any information retrieval system (electronic or hard copy), the AVMA Services, any Content or any portion thereof.

Account security and passwords

You agree and understand that you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of passwords associated with any account you use to access AVMA Services. You further agree that you will be solely responsible to AVMA for all activities that occur under your account. If you become aware of any unauthorized use of your password or your account, you agree to notify AVMA immediately.

As part of the registration process to use certain portions of the website, including but not limited to "members-only" areas of the AVMA website, you may select a username and/or password. You may change your password at any time in accordance with the procedure on the website. You agree that you are exclusively responsible for maintaining the security of your password. You agree to provide AVMA with accurate, complete and updated registration information. Failure to do so shall constitute a breach of this Agreement, which may result in immediate termination of your access to the AVMA website.

Use of communication services

The AVMA Services may contain bulletin boards, chat areas, news groups, forums, communities, personal web pages, calendars and/or other message or communication facilities (collectively, "Communication Services") designed to enable you to communicate with the AVMA, the public at large or with a group.

  • In using the Communication Services, you agree to the terms of the AVMA’s community guidelines and social media moderation policy.
  • You agree to use the Communication Services only to post, send, and receive messages and material that are appropriate and related to the particular Communication Service. By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree that when using a Communication Services, you will not:
    • Advertise, endorse, or offer to sell or buy any goods or services for any commercial or business purpose;
    • Conduct or forward surveys, contests, pyramid schemes or chain letters;
    • Download any file posted by another user of a Communication Service that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally distributed in such manner;
    • Publish, post, upload, distribute or disseminate any inappropriate, offensive, threatening, vulgar, sexually explicit, abusive, profane, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, or unlawful topic, name, material or information;
    • Upload Content or files that contain software or other material protected by intellectual property laws (or by rights of privacy of publicity) unless you own or control the rights thereto or have received all necessary consents and authorizations;
    • Upload files that contain viruses, corrupted files or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another's computer;
    • Harvest or otherwise collect information about others without their consent, including without limitation e-mail addresses and other information about AVMA members from the online member directory;
    • Engage in or promote any anticompetitive conduct or inappropriate conversations or conduct that could have anticompetitive effects or could constitute a restraint on trade;
    • Violate any applicable laws or regulations.
  • AVMA has no obligation to monitor the Communication Services. AVMA reserves the right but not the obligation to refuse, move, or remove, at any time for any reason and in AVMA's sole discretion, Content posted or uploaded by you to any AVMA website. By way of example and not of limitation, AVMA may remove content that, in AVMA's sole discretion, does not comply with the Terms or any of the items listed herein above.
  • Individual sections of the AVMA Services may have additional rules and regulations specific to the subject matter being covered in that section. You agree to abide by the rules and regulations of individual sections on the AVMA Services.
  • All Content provided by you or any other party other than AVMA must identify the party who provided that Content. Anonymous posting or uploading of any Content is strictly prohibited.
  • If you upload Content to any of the AVMA Services, you agree to the following:
    • You agree to indemnify and hold harmless AVMA, its officers, directors, employees, and agents, from any and all liability, damages or expenses whatsoever due, directly or indirectly, to any cause of action arising out of the Content posted by you;
    • You warrant and represent that you either own or otherwise control all of the rights to that material, including without limitation, all the rights necessary for you to provide, post, upload, input, or submit the material, or that your use of the material is a fair use as defined by applicable law;
    • You grant AVMA, its partners, and third-party licensees a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, sub-licensable, royalty-free license to use, store, display, publish, transmit, transfer, distribute, reproduce, and aggregate your material with other content, create derivative works of and publicly perform that content for any purpose on and through each of the services provided by any AVMA website. This license shall apply to the distribution and the storage of your Content in any form, medium, or technology now known or later developed;
    • You acknowledge that no compensation will be paid with respect to the use of your Content, as provided herein.
  • AVMA disclaims responsibility and liability for the Content and opinions expressed by others on any AVMA website including, but not limited to, Content or opinions regarding any products or service mentioned on any AVMA website. Views expressed using the Communication Services are not necessarily those of the AVMA.

Journal reprints

Reprinting content from the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association or the American Journal of Veterinary Research shall be subject to the reprint policy for those publications.

It is AVMA's policy to promptly process and investigate notices of alleged copyright infringement, and to take appropriate actions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Title 17, United States Code, Section 512 ("DMCA"). If you believe that your intellectual property rights have been violated by AVMA or by a third party who has uploaded Content on one of our websites, please provide the following information to the AVMA-designated copyright agent listed below:

  • A description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;
  • A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on an AVMA website;
  • An address, a telephone number, and an e-mail address where AVMA can contact you and, if different, an e-mail address where the alleged infringing party, if not AVMA, can contact you;
  • A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright or other intellectual property rights owner, by its agent, or by law;
  • A statement by you under penalty of perjury that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or are authorized to act on the owner's behalf;
  • Your electronic or physical signature.

AVMA may request additional information before removing any infringing or allegedly infringing material. AVMA may provide the alleged infringing party with your e-mail address so that that person can respond to your allegations.

AVMA expects all users of AVMA Services to comply with applicable copyright laws. However, if AVMA is notified of a claimed copyright infringement, or otherwise becomes aware of facts and circumstances from which infringement is apparent, it will respond appropriately, which may include removing or disabling access to the material that is claimed to be infringing. AVMA will follow the procedures outlined in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) with regard to appropriate notifications of the user and the complaining party, acceptance of counter notifications, and, where indicated, "putback" of the alleged infringing material.

If you believe your copyright-protected material is being used on any AVMA website without permission, please notify the designated agent:

Attn: Karen Dodson
American Veterinary Medical Association
1931 N. Meacham Road, Suite 100
Schaumburg, IL 60173
800-248-2862 ex. 6770

RSS and syndication

Some AVMA Services and Content are syndicated for RSS aggregation. You have permission to subscribe to any or all AVMA-offered RSS feeds via an RSS reader.

Linked websites

The AVMA Services may contain links to other Internet websites operated by third parties. These links are provided as a convenience to access the information contained therein, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by AVMA of the website or any association with its operator. AVMA expressly disclaims any responsibility or liability for the content of any other website. You should direct any concerns regarding any external link to the website administrator or webmaster of such other website.

Liability disclaimer

AVMA MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, TIMELINESS OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT, INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS CONTAINED ON ANY AVMA WEBSITE FOR ANY PURPOSE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ALL SUCH CONTENT, INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND. AVMA AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH REGARD TO THE CONTENT, INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL AVMA AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF ANY AVMA WEBSITE, WITH THE DELAY OR INABILITY TO USE ANY AVMA WEBSITE OR RELATED SERVICES, THE PROVISION OF OR FAILURE TO PROVIDE SERVICES, OR FOR ANY CONTENT, INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS OBTAINED THROUGH ANY AVMA WEBSITE, OR OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF ANY AVMA WEBSITE, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF AVMA (OR ANY OF ITS SUPPLIERS) HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES/JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH ANY PORTION OF ANY AVMA WEBSITE, OR WITH ANY OF THESE TERMS, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING AVMA SERVICES.

Advertisers and third-party vendors

Your dealings with advertisers and third-party vendors found on or through the website, including your participation in promotions, the purchase of goods, and any terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such activities, are solely between you and the third party. AVMA does not make any representations or warranties with respect to any goods or services that may be obtained from such third parties, and you agree that AVMA will have no liability for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of any activities you undertake in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods, services, information or other materials available, or through such third parties, on the website. You acknowledge that such third-party websites usually have their own terms and conditions, including privacy policies, over which AVMA has no control and which will govern your rights and obligations with respect to the use of those websites.

Email communication

AVMA reserves the right, but not the obligation, to send email to any and all users of our Services for the purpose of informing them of changes or additions to the Services. Your registration on the website constitutes your consent to receive such email unless it is subject to any right you may have to opt-out of receiving said messages and you have opted out as provided for in AVMA's Privacy Policy.

Wireless network

Access to the Internet through AVMA's wireless network ("Network") is restricted to individuals authorized by the AVMA. All users of the Network must agree to the terms of this Policy. Unauthorized access is strictly prohibited. By accessing the Network, you agree to the following terms of acceptable use:

  1. Your access to the Network is at AVMA's sole discretion, and your access may be blocked, suspended, or terminated at any time for any reason including, but not limited to, violation of these terms, actions that may lead to liability for AVMA, disruption of access to other users or networks, or violation of applicable laws or regulations.
  2. This is an open wireless network. No network communication is 100% secure. All Network users should adopt appropriate security measures.
  3. You acknowledge (i) that the Network may not be uninterrupted or error-free; (ii) that viruses or other harmful applications may be available through the Network; (iii) that AVMA does not guarantee the security of the Network and that unauthorized third parties may access your computer or files or otherwise monitor your connection.
  4. USE OF THE NETWORK FOR THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES IS PROHIBITED (the following list is not exhaustive): Spamming and invasion of privacy of others, violating laws protecting intellectual property, transmitting obscene or indecent speech or materials, transmitting defamatory or abusive language, hacking or distribution of Internet viruses, or other destructive activities.
  5. The Network is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied.
  6. You agree to release AVMA from any liability for any damage, injury or loss arising from your use of the Network. You agree to release the AVMA from all liability for any loss, damage, security infringement, or injury which you may sustain as a result of accessing the Network. You agree to be solely responsible for any such damage, loss, infringement, or injury.

Choice of law; Venue

To the maximum extent permitted by law, this Agreement, its Terms, and use of AVMA Services are governed by and will be interpreted under the laws of the State of Illinois, United States of America, without reference to conflicts of laws and without regard to the location of execution or performance of this Agreement. You hereby agree that any and all disputes which may arise and any litigation that may arise from such disputes will be litigated before a court located in the State of Illinois, County of Cook, U.S.A., to the exclusion of the courts of any other country, state or county.

General legal terms

Use of AVMA Services is unauthorized in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to all provisions of these Terms, including without limitation this paragraph. If any part of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of the Agreement shall continue in effect. Unless otherwise specified herein, this Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement between the user and AVMA with respect to AVMA Services, and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral or written, between the user and AVMA with respect to AVMA Services. A printed version of this Agreement and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this Agreement to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form. You agree that AVMA may provide you with notices, including those regarding changes to the Terms, by email, regular mail, or postings on AVMA Services. You agree that if AVMA does not exercise or enforce any legal right or remedy which is contained in the Terms (or which AVMA has the benefit of under any applicable law), this will not be taken to be a formal waiver of AVMA's rights and that those rights or remedies will still be available to AVMA.

Additional policies

In addition to this Agreement, the AVMA has other policies that you are encouraged to read:

Contact us

We want to hear from you. If you have any questions about our Terms of Use, you can email us at avmaonlineatavma [dot] org (privacy[at]avma[dot]org), call us at 800-248-2862 or write to us at:

Attn: General Counsel
American Veterinary Medical Association
1931 N. Meacham Road, Suite 100
Schaumburg, IL 60173-4360