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Terms of Use

The Lupus Foundation of America (the Foundation) welcomes and encourages you and your family to use this website to find and share information about lupus per the Terms of Use provided below.

We reserve the right to modify the terms of use at any time without notice.

Copyright Notice

© 2013-2018 Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use is prohibited. 

Unless otherwise noted, the Foundation asserts copyright for all of the information that appears on any of our websites and in all of our publications.  This information is protected by United States of America (U.S.) and international copyright laws and may not be reproduced in whole or in part by persons, organizations or corporations without the prior written permission of an authorized official of the Foundation's National Office.

 

Disclaimer of Warranty

The Lupus Foundation of America and its respective agents and representatives, both individually and collectively, make no representations concerning the contents hereof and expressly disclaim any other warranties, including but not limited to implied or express warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular usage, application or process.

Fair Use Exception

Unless otherwise noted, users of our websites may make fair use of our copyrighted content without our permission, but only per the fair use factors set forth in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act. 

Users also may make a single copy of our content to be used by the user for personal and non-commercial uses which do not harm the reputation of the Foundation, provided that the user does not remove any trademarks, copyright and any other notice contained within the content, and gives proper credit to the Foundation as the source. 

Users may link to content published on our website per our Links Policy. Members of the news media may include short excerpts of information from our site in stories about lupus.  Please cite the Lupus Foundation of America as the source of information.

Foundation Websites

The Terms of Use Policy applies to all of our websites, which include lupus.org, the embedded websites of our national network affiliates, and all other related domains and sub-domains, including befiercetakecontrol.org, cruelmystery.org, greatunknownchallenge.org, knowlupus.org, LFA-POINT.org, lupusawarenessmonth.org, lupusvoices.org, shoplupus.org, teamlupus.org, walktoendlupusnow.org, worldlupusday.org, and worldlupusfederation.org (collectively, the "Site"). 

By using the Site, you consent to the processing of your information as outlined in our Privacy Policy, now and as amended by us.

Governing Law

This website (excluding linked sites) is controlled by the Foundation which has its headquarters in Washington DC, United States of America. The Foundation website can be accessed from all 50 states, territories of the United States as well as from other countries around the world. As each of these places has laws that may differ from those of Washington DC, by accessing this website both you and the Foundation agree with the statutes and regulations of Washington DC, without regard to conflicts of laws principles thereof, will apply to all matters arising from or relating to the use of this website.

You and the Foundation also agree and hereby submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of Washington DC, and the United States District Court of Washington DC concerning such matters.

The Foundation makes no representation that materials on the website are appropriate or available for use in other locations, and accessing them from territories where their contents are illegal is prohibited.

Those who choose to access this website from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

Liability

You agree that you will hold harmless the Foundation and its officers, directors, agents, employees, and volunteers from all claims arising out of or related to your access or use of, or your inability to access or use, this website or the information, services, products or messages contained within this website or other websites to which it is linked, including but not limited to claims that you have found something you have heard, viewed or downloaded from this website or another website to which it is linked considered to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, or infringing upon your intellectual property rights.

In no event will the Foundation or the contributors of information to this website be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken by you in reliance on such information or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. You hereby release and forever waive any and all claims you may have against the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc., its officers, directors, agents, employees, and volunteers for losses or damages you sustain in connection with your use of this website.

Links

The links that appear on our websites provide content that might be of interest to our visitors. We are not responsible for the material published on other sites to which we have established links, and creating a link does not constitute an endorsement of that material. For additional information, please review our Links Policy.

Medical Disclaimer / Words of Caution

We provide information on our websites (the content) with the understanding that the Foundation is not engaged in rendering medical advice or recommendation.  We make this information available for educational and informational purposes only, and as a benefit and service in furtherance of our mission.  The information we publish is no substitute for expert medical care, and should not replace necessary consultation with a qualified health care professional who is familiar with your medical condition and health status. 

Always consult with your doctor or health care professional before making any change to your medical care.

 

Privacy

The Foundation respects the privacy of all users of our websites.  Please review our Privacy Policy for more information.

Social Media Policy

The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) maintains social media channels to further its mission and programs.

We occasionally promote posts by individuals and organizations whose mission aligns with the LFA’s and with whom we have an affiliation.

We do not promote, acknowledge or endorse posts that provide medical advice, unless its authors are licensed to provide such information, or posts that contain information we believe is inaccurate, misleading, out-of-date, offensive, inflammatory, libelous or inappropriate.

We do not promote, acknowledge or endorse advertisements, promotional materials, third-party fundraising links, pyramid schemes or solicitations.

While the LFA does not censor ideas or experiences on our social media channels, we reserve the right to remove content from our social media channels if it includes (but is not limited to) promoting the sale of herbal medications, drugs or healthcare products; spamming posts with unsolicited messages; posting comments that are threatening or argumentative in nature; violating any of the social media platforms’ guidelines.

The LFA also reserves the right to block/ban users from our social media channels if they exhibit inappropriate behavior.

Text to Give

Our Text to Give program is available through Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. By participating in our program, you certify that you agree to the terms and conditions and you are 18 years or older or have parental permission. The cell phone account holder must authorize all purchases. Donations are collected for us by the Innovated Giving Foundation and are subject to the terms found at igfn.org/t. The program's privacy policy is available at igfn.org/p.

Trademarks

The Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. claims the following trademarks and service marks:

BAND TOGETHER FOR LUPUS, BRINGING DOWN THE BARRIERS, FROM CARE TO CURE, GREAT UNKNOWN CHALLENGE, HELP US SOLVE THE CRUEL MYSTERY, LFA-POINT, LFA-REAL, LUPUS AMERICA, LUPUSCONNECT, LUPUS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA, LUPUS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA, INC., LUPUS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA CENTER FOR CLINICAL TRIALS EDUCATION, LUPUS HERO, LUPUS NOW, LUPUS: LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS, LUPUS: LEARNING AND LIVING, LUPUS VOICES ACROSS AMERICA, LUPUS SCIENCE & MEDICINE, MAKE YOUR MARK!, SMART RESEARCH. FASTER PROGRESS., TEAM LUPUS, WALK TO END LUPUS NOW, WORLD LUPUS DAY and all associated stylized logos.  All rights are reserved. 

The Foundation's trademarks may not be reproduced or posted on other websites without written permission from an authorized official of the Foundation's National Office.

 

User Conduct

By using any of our websites, you agree that you will not post information, material or links to information that is knowingly false and or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, discriminatory, hateful, harassing, aggressive, argumentative, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or that can be construed as bullying or is otherwise deemed inappropriate or otherwise in violation of any law. 

You further agree that you will not post any copyrighted material without the express permission of the copyright holder unless you own such copyright.  Advertisements, promotional materials, junk mail, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and solicitations are prohibited.

The Foundation reserves the right to remove content from our social media channels if we feel it fails to adhere to any of these guidelines. The Foundation also reserves the right to block/ban users from our social media channels if they exhibit inappropriate behavior.

User Submissions

When you submit or post content to any part of our website, where such material might be viewable by the public (e.g., posting to our Lupus Voices Across America, LupusConnect and others), you agree that your post is non-confidential for all purposes.  Any submission to our website becomes and remains the property of the Foundation. You grant the Foundation a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, world-wide non-exclusive license to publish, use, reproduce, include in other works, modify,  translate, or display your content in any media or medium.

Website Advertising Policy

The appearance of advertising on our websites does not constitute or imply endorsement of any advertised product, service or company by the Foundation or any of its affiliated chapters.  People with lupus should consult with their doctor or health care professional before using any medicine, product or therapy. 

The Foundation accepts no responsibility for claims made in any advertisement that appears on our websites. We reserve the right to reject any ad for any reason. Advertisers have no control over any editorial content published on our sites.

Paid advertising accepted for placement on any of our websites is identified with the word "ADVERTISEMENT" or "SPONSORED",  which will appear above the graphic.