Terms and Conditions

Effective Date: 13 October 2017

Legal Agreement

These terms of use (“Terms of Use”) set out the terms under which you are allowed to use, and under which Senses Australia  (“Be My Guide,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) will provide, the Be My Guide mobile application(s), service(s) and website(s) (each a “Service” and together, the “Services”).

By accessing or using any part of our Services, you are agreeing to follow and be bound by our Terms of Use. If you do not agree to all of the Terms of Use, you may not access or use any part of our Services.

Be My Guide reserves the right to make modifications to these Terms of Use at any time, without your consent, and you agree that we may do so.  Be My Guide will send notice of material modifications to your email address on file.

Overview

Be My Guide assists people who are blind and visually impaired to access their community via live video.  Orientation and mobility instruction is a service that teaches people who are blind or vision impaired to access their community, often through a white cane.  Be My Guide connects people who are blind or have a vision impairment to sighted people who can help them with orientation in their community to reach their destination.

Be My Guide connects people who are blind or have a vision impairment with sighted users via live video chat, so the sighted user can help the person who has a vision impairment to reach their chosen destination in the community.  The video stream is two-way.  Be My Guide provides the platform to make these connections but we do not create the videos, do not interpret the videos and do not pre-screen the videos. We are not and cannot be responsible for the content being shared using our Services.

These Terms of Use set the rules for how you interact with other users, how Be My Guide interacts with you, and how you can and cannot use the Services. These rules are here to protect you, to protect Be My Guide and to allow Be My Guide to take action if and when it becomes necessary.

These terms explain how you can use Be My Guide and they form a legal agreement between you and us.  In summary, when you use our services:

  • You are agreeing to treat other users and Be My Guide with respect.
  • You own the content that you create or post, including video chats, and you are responsible for that content.
  • You license the content, including video chats, to us so that we can use it. You agree not to prosecute us if we do use it.
  • You can’t use the services to break the law, mistreat people, or post inappropriate content.
  • You cannot download, sell, resell or use Be My Guide for any commercial purposes without a separate written agreement with us.
  • If you are sighted, you cannot sign up as a blind or vision impaired user.

Use of the Services

Subject to your agreeing to comply and complying with these Terms of Use, Be My Guide grants you permission to access and use the Services. This permission will automatically end if you violate the Terms of Use, and Be My Guide may withdraw or end this permission, in whole or in part, at any time and for any reason.

You are solely responsible for your interaction with other users of the Service, whether online or offline. You agree that Be My Guide is not responsible or liable for the conduct of any user or the content of any video stream. Be My Guide reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor or become involved in disputes between you and other users. You must exercise common sense and your best judgment when interacting with others, including when you submit or post user content or any personal or other information.

You agree that you are responsible for all data, telecommunications and/or other third party charges you incur to use the Service.

Reporting Abuse or Misuse of our Services

Our Services directly connects users so that sighted family, friend and volunteers can assist users who are blind or have a vision impairment to reach a destination in the community.  In the event of users who abuse the Service, please contact us immediately at feedback@senses.org.au.

Ownership of User Content

When you use the Services to create or transmit a video; post data, graphics or a written message of any kind, or interpret a video for another user, you are creating “User Content.”  User Content may include data, text, files, information, usernames, images, graphics, photos, profiles, audio and video clips, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, applications, links and other content or materials that you submit, show, post or display on or via the Services.

The video chats that connect people who are blind or have a vision impairment and sighted users through our Services are a type of User Content. The person who starts a video chat (the “Video Maker”) is the creator and owner of that User Content.  If you participate in a video chat but are not the Video Maker, then, and to the extent you may have any ownership right in the content of the video chat under applicable law, you hereby assign all of your rights, title and interests in and to that video chat to the Video Maker.  You also hereby consent to the license that the Video Maker grants to Be My Guide under these Terms of Use.

As a Video Maker, you own all of the User Content you create or post, including any video chat that you start.  If you are not a Video Maker, you own all of the the User Content you create or post except that you do not own any video chat that you participate in but did not start.

You are solely responsible for your User Content. By using the Services to create or post User Content, you represent and warrant that you (i) are the owner or licensee of the User Content, and (ii) that you have the right, power and authority to post that content and grant the licenses specified below.  You also represent and warrant the User Content you create or post will not violate third-party rights of any kind, including without limitation any copyrights, rights of publicity and privacy rights.  You agree to pay for all royalties, fees, and any other money that may be owed because of any User Content you show or display through the Service.

License of User Content

You hereby grant to Be My Guide, and Be My Guide hereby accepts from you,  a royalty-free, sub-licensable, transferable, perpetual, irrevocable, exclusive, worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, list information regarding, edit, translate, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, commercialize, and make derivative works of your User Content, including your name, voice, and/or likeness as contained in your User Content, in whole or in part, and in any form, media or technology, whether now known or hereafter developed, for any purpose  in connection with the Services and Be My Guide (and its successors’ and affiliates’) business.

You also hereby grant other Be My Guide users a limited, non-exclusive license to access your User Content through the Services, and to use and display such User Content, only to the extent permitted through the normal functionality of the Services and subject to all applicable provisions of the Terms of Use.

Finally, you waive any rights to inspect or approve of any marketing or promotional materials related to your User Content. You also waive any and all privacy rights, publicity rights, and any other similar rights in connection with video chats, other User Content, and any portion of either. To the extent any moral rights are not transferable or assignable, you hereby waive and agree never to assert any or all moral rights, or to support, maintain or permit any action based on any moral rights that you may have in or with respect to any video chats or User Content.

Ownership of Be My Guide Services and Content

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these Terms of Use, you agree that Be My Guide and its suppliers have and will retain all rights, title and interests (including, without limitation, all patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret and other intellectual property rights) in and to the Services, including content owned or licensed by Be My Guide (“Be My Guide Content”), Be My Guide trademarks and Be My Guide service marks (collectively, the “Services IP”), and all copies, modifications and derivative works of the Services IP.  You acknowledge and agree that you are obtaining only a limited right to use the Services IP, and that irrespective of any use of the words “purchase”, “sale” or like terms in these Terms of Use or elsewhere, no ownership rights are being conveyed to you under these Terms of Use or otherwise.  Nothing contained in these Terms of Use or elsewhere in the Services should be understood as granting you a license to use any of the trademarks, service marks, or logos owned by Be My Guide or by any third party.

Restrictions on Your Use of the Services

You must be at least 18 years old to use any of the Services.

You agree NOT to do any of the following:

  • register as a user who is blind or has a vision impairment if you are not blind or have a vision impairment;
  • post or create violent, nude, partially nude, pornographic or sexually suggestive images, audio, text or other content via the Services;
  • post or create any discriminatory, unlawful, infringing or hateful images, audio, text or other content via the Services;
  • solicit, collect or use the login credentials of other Service users;
  • use the Services to defame, stalk, bully, abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate or intimidate any person or entity;
  • post private or confidential information via the Services, including without limitation your or any other person’s credit card information, bank information, passports, driver’s license, social security or alternate national identity numbers, non-public phone numbers or non-public email addresses;
  • remove, alter or conceal any copyright, trademark, service mark or other proprietary rights notices incorporated in the Services;
  • reproduce, modify, adapt, prepare derivative works based on, perform, display, publish, distribute, transmit, broadcast, sell, license or otherwise exploit the Be My Guide Content;
  • use the Services as an emergency aid, a means of obtaining or providing emergency services, or a means for delivering or receiving medical treatment or medical or health services;
  • share health information using the Services;
  • use the Service for any illegal or unauthorised purpose;
  • frame or link to the Services except as permitted in writing by Be My Guide;
  • attempt to reverse engineer or attempt to interfere with the operation of any part of the Services unless expressly permitted by law;
  • download, reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell, use or otherwise exploit any of the Services for any commercial purpose without express written permission from Be My Guide;
  • change, modify, adapt or alter the Services, or change, modify or alter another website so as to falsely imply that it is associated with the Services or Be My Guide;
  • interfere with or disrupt the Services or servers or networks connected to the Services, including by transmitting any worms, viruses, spyware, malware or any other code of a destructive or disruptive nature;
  • alter or interfere with the way any Service page is rendered or displayed in a user’s browser or device;
  • create accounts with the Services through unauthorized means, including but not limited to, by using an automated device, script, bot, spider, crawler or scraper;
  • crawl, scrape, cache or otherwise access any content on the Services via automated means, except as may be the result of standard search engine protocols or with Be My Guide express written consent;
  • attempt to restrict another user from using or enjoying the Services;
  • violate the Terms of Use or any other By My Guide terms;
  • encourage or facilitate violations of these Terms of Use or any other Be My Guide terms by a third party.

If you violate any of these restrictions or any other of these Terms of Use, your right to use the Services terminates immediately and any further use of the Services by you constitutes an infringement of Be My Guide’s ownership rights, including without limitation its copyrights and other intellectual property rights, in the Services.

Reservations of Rights

Be My Guide reserves all rights not expressly granted to you under these Terms of Use, including specifically but with limitation the rights to:

  • modify or terminate the Service or your access to the Service without liability to you (if we terminate your access to the Service or if you deactivate your account, your data will no longer be accessible through your account but those materials and data may persist and appear within the Service);
  • refuse access to the Service to you or anyone else for any reason at any time.
  • remove any content, including User Content, Be My Guide Content, videos, images, text or data from our databases for any reason (for example, if any images violate our policies or have explicit content); and
  • remove, edit, block, and/or monitor User Content or accounts containing User Content that we determine in our sole discretion violates these Terms of Use.

Be My Guide may, but is under no obligation to, exercise any or all of its reserved rights for any reason, with or without notice, and at any time.

Privacy Policy

Be My Guide has a separate privacy policy that governs our collection and use of information from you. You can access the Privacy Policy here.

Disclaimers

BE MY GUIDE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR USER CONTENT, THE ADVICE / HELP GIVEN TO USERS WHO ARE BLIND OR HAVE A VISION IMPAIRMENT BY SIGHTED USERS, OR ANY VISUAL IMAGES OR AUDIO TRANSMITTED ACROSS A VIDEO STREAM.

BE MY GUIDE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS,” AS AVAILABLE, AND WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS (EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, ACCURACY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARISING BY STATUTE OR OTHERWISE IN LAW OR FROM A COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OR TRADE).

BE MY GUIDE DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE.  YOU AGREE NOT TO RELY ON THE SERVICES, OR ANY INFORMATION IN THE SERVICES, OR THEIR CONTINUATION.  WE DISCLAIM ALL AND MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE QUALITY, IDENTITY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY USER CONTENT, OR THIRD PARTY SERVICES, OR AS TO THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR USEFULNESS OF ANY CONTENT ACCESSIBLE VIA THE SERVICES.

SOME STATES AND JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW FOR ALL THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO TO THAT EXTENT, IF ANY, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

BE MY GUIDE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR USER CONTENT AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY TO ANY PERSON OR ENTITY FOR ANY LOSS, DAMAGE, INJURY, CLAIM, OR LIABILITY OF ANY KIND OR CHARACTER BASED UPON OR RESULTING FROM ANY USER CONTENT.

Although it is Be My Guide’s intention for the Service to be available as much as possible, there will be occasions when the Service may be interrupted, including, but not limited to, for emergency repairs and scheduled maintenance or upgrades.

In addition, your ability to use the Services is dependent on the functionality of the device that you use to access the Services as well as the availability and coverage of wireless networks, telecommunications networks and the Internet, all of which involve facilities manufactured, owned and/or operated by third parties.  BE MY GUIDE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OPERATION, AVAILABILITY OR FAILURE OF ANY THIRD PARTY DEVICES, SYSTEMS OR FACILITIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THOSE REQUIRED TO USE THE SERVICES.

Limitation of Liability

Between you and Be My Guide:  IN THE EVENT OF A DISPUTE BETWEEN YOU AND BE MY GUIDE: (I) NEITHER YOU NOR BE MY GUIDE, OUR AFFILIATES, OUR LICENSORS OR OUR THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES OR LOSS OF GOODWILL, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES; AND (II) NEITHER PARTY’S LIABILITY TO THE OTHER WILL EXCEED ASD $1,000.

Between you and another user: IN THE EVENT OF A DISPUTE BETWEEN YOU AND ANOTHER USER RELATED IN ANY WAY TO THE SERVICES OR YOUR INTERACTIONS USING THE SERVICES, NEITHER YOU NOR THE USER WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES OR LOSS OF GOODWILL, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, UNLESS THE CONDUCT THAT FORMS THE BASIS FOR THE DISPUTE WAS INTENTIONAL, CRIMINAL OR GROSSLY NEGLIGENT.

SOME STATES AND JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW FOR ALL THE FOREGOING EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO TO THAT EXTENT, IF ANY, SOME OR ALL OF THESE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Not an Emergency System

Be My Guide Services are not designed to be or intended for use as an emergency aid, a means of obtaining or delivering emergency services, or a means for delivering or receiving medical treatment or medical or health services.  The Services have not been tested or approved for such critical, high-risk uses and you agree that you will not use the Services for such purposes.

Release

You hereby release Be My Guide (and our affiliates, officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures and employees) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, arising out of or in any way connected with a dispute between you and any third party, including without limitation another user of our Services, whether it be at law or in equity.  This includes, for example, any disputes regarding User Content or the interpretation of User Content.

This release will not apply to a claim that Be My Guide failed to meet one of our obligations under these Terms of Use.

Disputes

Informal Dispute Resolution

Before filing any claim against Be My Guide or otherwise seeking relief in a court of law, you agree to first contact Be My Guide at feedback@senses.org.au to inform us of your complaint and seek resolution.  This notice of dispute must include: your name, pertinent account information, a brief description of your dispute, and contact information so that Be My Guide may evaluate the dispute and attempt to informally resolve it.  Be My Guide will have 60 days from the date of your original complaint to informally resolve the dispute, which if successful will avoid the need for further action.

Mandatory Arbitration and Class Action/Jury Trial Waiver

In the unlikely event that Be My Guide is not been able to resolve a dispute it has with you within 60 days of your original informal claim, we each agree to resolve any Claim by binding arbitration before an arbitrator from the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) in the City and County of San Francisco, California under the Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect for AAA. You can find out more information about AAA and contact them at www.adr.org.

Class Action and Jury Trial Waiver

All Claims Must Be Brought In The Party’s Individual Capacity, And Not As A Plaintiff Or Class Member In Any Purported Class Action, Collective Action, Private Attorney General Action Or Other Representative Proceeding.  This Waiver Applies To Class Arbitration, And Unless We Agree Otherwise, The Arbitrator May Not Consolidate More Than One Person’s Claims.  You Agree That, By Entering Into These Terms of Use, You And Be My Guide Are Each Waiving The Right To A Trial By Jury Or To Participate In A Class Action, Collective Action, Private Attorney General Action, Or Other Representative Proceeding Of Any Kind.  

Right to Opt-Out of Arbitration and Class Action / Jury Trial Waiver

Action Is Required To Protect Your Legal Right To Sue Be My Guide In Court Or To Participate In Any Way In A Class Action, Collective Action, Private Attorney General Action Or Other Representative Proceeding.  You May Opt Out Of The Foregoing Arbitration And Class Action / Jury Trial Waiver Provision Of These Terms of Use By Notifying Be My Guide In Writing Within 30 Days Of The Effective Date Of These Terms of Use Or Your First Use of the Services, Whichever Is Later.  Such Written Notification Must Be Sent To Either: Be My Guide, Senses Australia, 11 Kitchener Ave, Burswood, WA, 6100, Attention: Arbitration Opt Out.  Your Written Notification Must Include: (1) Your Name, (2) Your Address, (3) Your Telephone Number, (4) Your Email Address, And (5) A Clear Statement Indicating That You Do Not Wish To Resolve Disputes Through Arbitration And Demonstrating Compliance With The 30-Day Time Limit To Opt-Out of the Above Arbitration and Class Action/Jury Trial Waiver Provisions.

Copyright and the DMCA

Accessibly respects the intellectual property rights of others and requires that you and all of our users do the same. If you believe that content or other activity taking place on our site or services constitutes infringement of a work protected by copyright, please provide Accessibly’s DMCA administrator the written information specified below, as required by the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(2) (the “DMCA”)

  • An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;
  • A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed upon;
  • A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located;
  • Your address, telephone number, and email-address;
  • A statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
  • A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

Accessibly’s DMCA administrator for notice of claims of copyright infringement on the Site can be reached as follows:

DMCA Administrator
Accessibly, Inc.
1155 Market Street, 10th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94103

Email:  DMCA@bemyeyes.com

Miscellaneous Terms and Conditions

You are responsible for compliance with applicable local laws where you live or access the Services. Be My Guide will not be considered to have modified or waived any of our rights or remedies under this Terms of Use unless the modification or waiver is in writing and signed by an authorized representative of Be My Guide.  Email exchanges may not result in a waiver or modification of these Terms of Use. No delay or omission by Be My Guide in exercising its rights or remedies will impair its rights or be construed as a waiver.  Any single or partial exercise of a right or remedy will not preclude further exercise of any other right or remedy.

You will not transfer, assign or delegate your rights or obligations under this Terms of Use to anyone without the express written permission of Be My Guide, and any attempt to do so will be null and void.  Be My Guide may assign this Terms of Use in its sole discretion.

The Services are controlled and operated from Australia. Those who access or use the Services from other jurisdictions do so at their own volition and are entirely responsible for compliance with all applicable local laws and regulations.  You warrant that you are not prohibited from receiving Australian origin products, including services or software.

Neither of the parties to this Terms of Use will be responsible for the failure to perform or any delay in performance of any obligation hereunder due to labor disturbances, accidents, fires, floods, telecommunications or Internet failures, strikes, wars, riots, rebellions, blockades, acts of government, governmental requirements and regulations or restrictions imposed by law or any other similar conditions beyond the reasonable control of such party.  The time for performance of such party will be extended by the period of such delay.

The paragraph headings in this Terms of Use are included for ease of reference only and have no binding effect.  These Terms of Use and all documents referenced in this Terms of Use (including the Privacy Policy available by hyperlink above) comprise the entire agreement between you and Be My Guide with respect to the use of our Services and supersede all prior agreements between the parties regarding such use as well as any conflicting or inconsistent terms in any web sites that link to or are linked from the Services. If any provision of this Terms of Use is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision will not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this Terms of Use, which will remain in full force and effect.