Terms and Conditions of Use
Effective
The following terms constitute an agreement between you and PatientsLikeMe, Inc. (“PatientsLikeMe”),
the operator of www.patientslikeme.com (the “Site”). This agreement governs your use of the Site, both as
a casual visitor and a registered member as described below.
By accessing or using the Site, you agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement. To the extent
you register on the Site as a member, then in addition to the terms that are applicable to all users
of the Site, the terms that apply only to members shall apply to you too.
Membership Eligibility
To become a member and access the area on this Site reserved for members (the “Member Area”), PatientsLikeMe
requires that you are either a (a) diagnosed patient of the particular community you are joining or a parent
or legal guardian acting for such a patient who is under 18 years of age or incapacitated, (b) caregiver for
a patient eligible to join such community, (c) health care professional (e.g. doctor, nurse, health researcher,
etc.), (d) guest with legitimate, non-commercial reasons to participate in the community and who agrees to
respect the privacy and preserve the dignity of all community participants or (e) guest as authorized by a
PatientsLikeMe member or employee.
Children under the age of 13 are prohibited from registering as members. By registering as a member you
represent that you are age 13 or older.
This Site Does Not Provide Medical Advice
All of the material provided on the Site, such as text, treatments, dosages, outcomes, charts, patient
profiles, graphics, photographs, images, advice, messages, forum postings, and any other material provided
on the Site are for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for professional medical advice
or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions
you may have regarding your health. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it
because of something you have read on this Site.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. PatientsLikeMe does
not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other
information that may be mentioned on the Site. Reliance on any information provided by PatientsLikeMe,
by persons appearing on the Site at the invitation of PatientsLikeMe, or by other members is solely
at your own risk.
Acceptable and Lawful Use of Site by Members
Members shall not post or upload any information or other content on the Site that (a) is false, inaccurate
or misleading; (b) is obscene or indecent; (c) infringes any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret
or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy of any party; or (d) is defamatory, libelous,
threatening, abusive, hateful, or contains pornography. Members shall not interfere with other members’ use
and enjoyment of the Site (for example, by harassing, threatening, soliciting, overly promoting personal
interests, or stalking another participant of a chat room, forum, seminar, or threaded message, including
the use of expressions of bigotry, racism, hatred, or profanity). Members may not use the Site to conduct
any activity that is illegal or violates the rights of others, provide instructional information about
illegal activities, or promote physical harm or injury against any group or individual.
All members represent and warrant that the information they provided when registering as a member,
and all information that they subsequently provide regarding themselves and their membership, is true and
accurate and not misleading.
Nonprofit Members
All Nonprofit Members may post event information and highlight services available to other members on their Nonprofit Member profiles. Each Nonprofit Member will be provided with a unique hyperlink to a member registration webpage on the Site (the “Nonprofit Registration Link”) that the Nonprofit Member can distribute to individuals with his/her communities who are eligible for membership (as described above under “Membership Eligibility”).
While Nonprofit Members may promote their own events, initiatives, and services to other members through the means described above, they may not directly solicit donations or volunteer services. For example, Nonprofit Members may, through posting on their profile and through private messages to members subscribed to their profile, promote and notify members of a fundraising event or volunteer initiative, including information regarding ticket prices to attend such an event or the scope of a volunteer initiative. However, it is not permitted to expressly ask members through use of the Site to purchase tickets to such an event or to donate money, property, or services to the Nonprofit Member or any other party.
In addition, Nonprofit Members may not create new forum posts to advertise or promote their services, events, or initiatives. Nonprofit Members can use private messages to contact members who are subscribed to their profiles; however, they may not private message members who have not subscribed to their profiles.
For purposes of clarity, references to “members” in these Terms and Conditions of Use include Nonprofit Members and, except as expressly stated herein, the same restrictions and obligations under these Terms and Conditions of Use that apply to members also apply to Nonprofit Members.
Members Referred by a Nonprofit Member
If you registered as a member and agreed to these Terms and Conditions of Use through use of a Nonprofit Registration Link, then the applicable Nonprofit Member (the “Referring Nonprofit”) will be recognized by PatientsLikeMe as having referred you to the Site. You will automatically be subscribed to the Referring Nonprofit’s member profile and user postings (until such time as you affirmatively elect to unsubscribe). Likewise, the Referring Nonprofit will automatically be subscribed to your profile and user postings. The Referring Nonprofit will be able to send private messages to you as long as you remain subscribed to the Referring Nonprofit’s member profile and postings.
No Interference with Operation of Site
You may not use any robot, spider, scraper, or other automated means to access the Site or content
or services provided on the Site for any purposes. You may not post content on the Site that contains
any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, spiders, or other computer programming routines that
are intended to damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any
system, data or personal information. You shall not attempt to make the Site unavailable through
denial-of-service attacks or similar means. You shall not use contact information provided by members,
or collect information about our members, to facilitate the sending of unsolicited bulk communications
such as SPAM or SPIM or allow others use of your membership account to take such actions.
Site for Non-Commercial Use Only
The Site content, including the Member Area and the content and information contained in the Member
Area, is for the personal use of individual members only and may not be used in connection with any
commercial endeavors. Organizations, companies, and/or businesses may not become members and should not
use the Site without express consent from PatientsLikeMe. Members of PatientsLikeMe with individual commercial
interests may not solicit or overtly promote their products or services within the Member Area. All content
shared within the site is not for external use. To garner permission and access to members, please direct
all media and analyst inquiries to mediarelations@patientslikeme.com
and all research requests to research@patientslikeme.com.
Representatives from life sciences and insurance companies are prohibited from creating profiles in
our communities. Please direct inquiries to support@patientslikeme.com.
Privacy
You agree that you have read, understood and accept PatientsLikeMe's
Privacy Policy. This policy explains
PatientsLikeMe's collection of personal and non-personal information from you when using the Site and its
use of and sharing of such personal and non-personal information. We also encourage you to read our
Openness Philosophy.
Posting and Use of Content in the Member Area
The Member Area includes community areas, such as forums and member areas, where members may post messages,
images, and other content (“User Submissions”). If you are a member, you (or the author) owns the
copyright in the messages, images, and other content you post in the Member Area, but by posting such
content within User Submissions to the Member Area you grant PatientsLikeMe and our affiliates the right to
use, copy, display, perform, distribute, translate, edit, and create derivative works of your User Submissions,
subject to the terms of the Privacy Policy.
While some community areas in the Member Area are monitored periodically for topicality, PatientsLikeMe has
no obligation to prescreen postings and is not responsible for their content. We encourage you to notify
us of inappropriate or illegal content and we reserve the right to remove postings for any reason.
You agree not to disclose to any person or entity personally identifiable information about other members
that you encounter while using this Site (whether posted in the Member Area by a member or emailed to you
by a member) without the express consent of such member. You may disclose information of a general nature
(that could not identify the member who provided such information or whom such information is about) to
third parties outside this Site, subject to the above restriction on non-commercial use.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof and believe that any User Submission or other content
at this Site infringes upon your copyright, you may submit a written notification pursuant to the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) (see 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3) for further information) by providing
our Copyright Agent (listed below) with the following information: (i) an electronic or physical
signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly
infringed; (ii) a description of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed or if multiple
copyrighted works are covered by a notification, a representative list of such works at our Site; (iii)
a description of the location on the Site of the allegedly infringing material(s); (iv) your address,
telephone number, and email address; (v) a written statement that you have a good faith belief that use
of the material(s) in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or
the law; and (vi) a written statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under
penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that
is allegedly infringed.
If a User Submission that you submitted has been removed as a result of a notification as described
above and you believe that such a User Submission or portion of a User Submission was posted lawfully,
please contact us about our counter-notification procedure through which you can dispute the allegation
and request re-posting of the User Submission content at issue.
PatientsLikeMe’s designated Copyright Agent for notice of claims of infringement is:
PatientsLikeMe Inc.
Benjamin Heywood
155 Second Street
Cambridge,
MA 02141telephone: 617-499-4003
Only notices of alleged copyright infringement and requests about the counter-notification procedures
should go to the Copyright Agent; any other feedback, comments, requests for technical support, and other
communications should be directed to PatientsLikeMe at
support@patientslikeme.com. You
acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all of the notice requirements of the DMCA, your notice may
not be valid.
Member Password and Login Identity
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your member password and login, and are fully
responsible for all activities that occur under your password or account with or without your knowledge.
If you knowingly provide your login and password information to another person, your membership privileges
may be suspended temporarily or terminated. You agree to immediately notify PatientsLikeMe of any unauthorized
use of your membership password or login or any other breach of security.
Links to Other Websites
PatientsLikeMe may contain links to other websites that are not under the control of PatientsLikeMe.
The inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by PatientsLikeMe of such site and PatientsLikeMe
is not responsible for the content of such linked sites.
Membership Termination
You agree that PatientsLikeMe may, with or without cause, immediately terminate your PatientsLikeMe
membership or limit or terminate your access to the Member Area or the Site without prior notice.
Without limiting the foregoing, the following may lead to a termination by PatientsLikeMe of a member's
membership and use of the Site: (a) breaches or violations of this Agreement or other incorporated agreements
or guidelines, (b) requests by law enforcement or other government agencies, (c) a request by you
(self-initiated membership cancellation), (d) unexpected technical issues or problems, and (e) extended
periods of inactivity. PatientsLikeMe has no obligation to maintain, store, or transfer to you information
or data that you have posted on or uploaded to the Site.
Modifications to this Agreement
We reserve the right to modify this Agreement at any time, and without prior notice, by posting
amended terms on this Site. We encourage you to review this Agreement periodically for any updates
or changes, which will have an update effective date.
Fees
Membership with PatientsLikeMe is currently free. PatientsLikeMe Inc. reserves the right to from time
to time change the terms of this Agreement and charge for membership and/or to provide additional
optional services for a fee.
Disclaimer of Warranties
The Site and the content and services made available on the Site are provided on an “as is” and “as
available” basis. PatientsLikeMe does not make and disclaims all express and implied warranties and
representations, including, but not limited to, any implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose,
with regard to the Site, the Site content, or any advice or services provided through the Site to the
extent permitted by law. PatientsLikeMe does not warrant that access to the Site or its content or
services will be uninterrupted or error-free or that defects in the Site will be corrected.
The advice, recommendations, information, and conclusions posted or emailed by other members of the Site
are not in any way vetted, approved or endorsed by PatientsLikeMe, and you use such information at your
own risk.
Limitation of Liability
Under no circumstances shall PatientsLikeMe, its partners, contributors, agents, employees, directors,
or affiliates be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages (even if it has
been advised of the possibility of such damages) due to your use of this Site or due to your reliance on
any of the content contained or the services provided on the Site.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless PatientsLikeMe, its officers, employees, agents, subsidiaries,
affiliates and other partners, from and against any claims, actions or demands, liabilities and settlements
including without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, resulting from, or alleged to result
from, your violation of this Agreement.
International Users
PatientsLikeMe makes no claims that information on the Site is appropriate or may be downloaded outside
of the United States. Personal information (“Information”) that is submitted to this Site will be
collected, processed, stored, disclosed and disposed of in accordance with applicable U.S. law and our
Privacy Policy.
If you are a non-U.S. user, you acknowledge and agree that PatientsLikeMe may collect
and use your Information and disclose it to other entities outside your resident jurisdiction. In addition,
such Information may be stored on servers located outside your resident jurisdiction. U.S. law may not provide
the degree of protection for Information that is available in other countries. By providing us with your
Information, you acknowledge that you consent to the transfer of such Information outside your resident
jurisdiction as detailed in our Privacy Policy.
If you do not consent to such transfer, you may not use this Site.
Member Notices
If you register as a member, you agree that PatientsLikeMe may send notices to you by email at the email address
you provide when registering to become a member (or which you later update using the functionality of the Site).
Governing Law and Venue
This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the applicable
federal laws of the United States of America. All disputes arising under, or in any way connected with
membership in or use of the Site, shall be litigated exclusively in the state and federal courts residing
in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and in no other court or jurisdiction. You hereby submit to the
jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Miscellaneous Terms
PatientsLikeMe® and the PatientsLikeMe logo are trademarks of PatientsLikeMe. You agree not to display
or use these trademarks in any manner without PatientsLikeMe's prior, written permission.
PatientsLikeMe may assign this agreement at any time to a subsidiary or parent company or to a
successor to its business as part of a merger or sale of substantially all of its assets. You may
not assign or transfer this agreement.
If any provision of this Agreement is held to be unenforceable for any reason, the remaining provisions
will be unaffected and remain in full force and effect.
Some of the treatment information provided on the Site is from a third party source, Cerner Multum, Inc.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner
Multum, Inc. ("Multum") is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no
guarantee is made to that effect. Multum information has been compiled for
use by healthcare practitioners and end-users in the United States. Multum
does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate.
Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or
recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource
designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their
patients and/or to serve end-users viewing this service as a supplement to,
and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of
healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug
combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug
combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient.
Copyright 2013 Cerner Multum, Inc. Please consult with
your doctor, nurse or pharmacist if you have questions about the drugs
you are taking.
For any questions or comments, or to report violations of this agreement, let us know, or contact us at:
PatientsLikeMe Inc.
Attn: User Agreement Issues
155 Second Street
Cambridge,
MA 02141History of Updates/Changes to Terms and Conditions of Use:
-
On , updated to include Nonprofit Members.
-
On , updated to include additional information on Digital Millennium Copyright Act and clarify
membership eligibility.
-
On , the “Acceptable and Lawful Use of Site by Members” and “Non-Commercial Use by
Members” sections were updated.
-
On , minor typographical and grammatical errors were corrected.
-
On , this Agreement was substantially revised.
-
On , the “Membership Eligibility” and “Acceptable and Lawful
Use of the Site” sections were updated.
-
On , original version of this Agreement was added to the site.
