terms&conditions

Terms & Conditions

The da Vinci Surgery Online Community ("dVOC") is a Social Network operated by Intuitive Surgical, Inc., ("Intuitive Surgical"). The dVOC is designed to comply with U.S. laws and regulations. This is a binding agreement ("Agreement") between Intuitive Surgical, Inc. and you ("You" or "Your"). This Agreement governs Your use of the dVOC including, without limitation, all content such as text, information, images, video, training materials, blogs, forums, software and other information, services and materials (collectively, the "Materials") and all information made available to You or by You through the dVOC by Intuitive Surgical and/or third parties.

1. Ownership of Materials and Use License
2. Conditions of Use and Terms
3. Modification of Terms
4. Security
5. Medical Disclaimers
6. Patient Data and Legal Compliance
7. General Disclaimers
8. Limitation of Liability
9. Indemnity
10. User Submissions
11. Cooperation with Government Authorities
12. Links to Other Materials
13. Applicable Laws
14. Entire Agreement
15. Miscellaneous
16. Privacy Policy
17. Notification of Claims Infringement


1. OWNERSHIP OF MATERIALS AND USE LICENSE

The Materials on the dVOC are provided by individual users of the dVOC and not by Intuitive Surgical unless indicated otherwise. All intellectual property rights in the Materials (including copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and patents) are the property of the author or user posting the Materials unless otherwise indicated. Intuitive Surgical retains all copyrights in the individual pages, and their components, and collective works available at the dVOC. Intuitive Surgical Materials posted by Intuitive Surgical or users are copyrighted and are protected by federal and worldwide copyright laws and treaty provisions. Intuitive Surgical Materials may not be copied, reproduced, modified, published, uploaded, posted, transmitted, performed, or distributed other than on the dVOC without Intuitive Surgical's prior written permission. The dVOC contains Intuitive Surgical trademarks. A partial current listing of trademarks in which Intuitive Surgical claims exclusive trademark rights may be found 


2. CONDITIONS OF USE AND TERMS

To access the dVOC or use any Materials on the dVOC, You must (a) be a currently licensed physicianand (b) be a registered participant of dVOC. Prior to the use of the dVOC, You must agree to provide Intuitive Surgical, upon request, with valid confirmation of (a) & (b), above, including all of the following: (i) Your name; (ii) Your mailing address; (iii) jurisdictions of licensure; and (iv) other confirmatory demographics. By submitting that information to Intuitive Surgical, You hereby certify all assertions made under this Section and agree that You authorize Intuitive Surgical to confirm the veracity of such information. You hereby certify that You will not engage in the promotion of "off-label" prescription drug or medical device uses on the dVOC as set forth in Section 10 ordisclose confidential clinical trial or other proprietary information. Intuitive Surgical may terminate this use license at any time if You are in breach of the terms of this Agreement. Upon termination, You agree to immediately destroy any Materials in your possession, if any, and cease use of the dVOC. Intuitive Surgical may terminate this Agreement and/or Your right to use the dVOC at any time, with or without cause. Intuitive Surgical reserves the right to discontinue or make changes to the dVOC and/or Materials at any time.


3. MODIFICATION TO TERMS

INTUITIVE SURGICAL RESERVES THE RIGHT, AT ANY TIME, TO CHANGE THE TERMS PROVIDED BY THE dVOC, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY UPON POSTING ON THE dVOC OR BY E-MAIL DELIVERY TO YOU. You agree to be bound by this Agreement and any modifications to this Agreement occurring prior to Your continued use of the Materials or access to the dVOC. You should visit this Agreement from time to time to review the current terms of this Agreement because they shall be equally binding on You. You agree that these standards for notice of amendments to this Agreement are reasonable.


4. SECURITY

The dVOC is intended by Intuitive Surgical to require a valid, working e-mail address and password to access and use the Materials on the dVOC. Certain other Materials or functionalities on the Site may require additional access codes. You are solely responsible for (1) maintaining the strict confidentiality of the e-mail address, passwords and codes (collectively, "ID(s)") assigned to you, (2) not allowing another person to use your IDs to access the Site, (3) any damages or losses that may be incurred or suffered as a result of You or Your failure to maintain the strict confidentiality of Your ID, and (4) promptly informing Intuitive Surgical in writing of any need to deactivate an ID due to potential or actual security concerns. Intuitive Surgical is not liable for any harm related to the theft of Your ID, Your disclosure of Your ID, or Your authorization to allow another person or entity to access and use the dVOC using Your ID.


5. MEDICAL DISCLAIMERS

The Materials available through this Site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not a substitute for the professional judgment of a health care professional in diagnosing and treating patients. Neither the content nor any other service offered by or through the dVOC is intended to be for medical diagnosis or treatment. Persons accessing this information assume full responsibility for the use of the information and agree that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. is not responsible or liable for any claim, loss, or damage arising from the use of the information. Intuitive Surgical does not recommend, promote or endorse any specific drugs, tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, "off-label" prescription drug or medical device uses or other information that may be mentioned on the dVOC. Your reliance upon the Materials obtained or used by You at or through the dVOC is solely at Your own risk.


These pages are not intended to provide medical advice or physician instruction on the appropriate use of products produced or supplied by Intuitive Surgical, its affiliates, related companies, or its licensors or joint venture partners. Information provided should not be used for diagnostic or training purposes. Surgeons or others who are considering using robotic-assisted surgery or any other type of surgical procedure shall only do so after successfully completing required medical training and certification as well as the relevant training mandated in the professional guidelines of their own hospital, institution, or society — including training on the use of the da Vinci Surgical System. Some of the Materials on the dVOC may constitute or describe training programs provided by organizations or entities other than Intuitive Surgical, and Intuitive Surgical is not responsible for the content of these programs. Intuitive Surgical does not train on surgical procedures or techniques, nor does it take responsibility for training or proctoring services provided by independent surgeon proctors.


6. PATIENT DATA AND LEGAL COMPLIANCE

The Materials provided through the dVOC may enable You to transmit, store, review or receive confidential patient information ("Patient Information"). State and Federal laws, as well as ethical and licensure requirements of Your profession may impose obligations with respect to patient confidentiality that may limit the ability of physicians, health care providers, and persons acting on their behalf, to make use of certain Materials or to transmit certain information to third parties. You represent and warrant that You will, at all times during the term of this Agreement and thereafter, comply with all laws directly or indirectly applicable to You that may now or hereafter govern the gathering, use, transmission, processing, receipt, reporting, disclosure, maintenance, and storage of the Patient Information, and use Your best efforts to cause all persons or entities under Your direction or control to comply with such laws. You are, at all times during the term of this Agreement and thereafter, solely responsible for obtaining and maintaining all patient consents, if applicable, and all other legally necessary consents or permissions required or advisable to disclose, process, retrieve, transmit, and view the Patient Information You transmit, store, or receive in connection with the dVOC and the Materials. You agree that Intuitive Surgical, Intuitive Surgical's licensors and licensees, and all other persons or entities involved in the operation of the Materials and functionalities provided through the dVOC, have the right to monitor, retrieve, store, review and use Patient Information, if applicable, in connection with the operation or use such Materials, and are acting on Your behalf in transmitting Patient Information. INTUITIVE SURGICAL CANNOT AND DOES NOT ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR USE OR MISUSE OF PATIENT INFORMATION OR OTHER INFORMATION TRANSMITTED, MONITORED, STORED OR RECEIVED WHILE USING THE dVOC AND THE MATERIALS ON THE dVOC. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO AMEND OR DELETE ANY MATERIAL (ALONG WITH THE RIGHT TO REVOKE ANY MEMBERSHIP OR RESTRICT ACCESS TO THE SITE) THAT IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION VIOLATES THE ABOVE.


7. GENERAL DISCLAIMERS

THESE MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF ANY KIND INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR WARRANTIES ARISING BY COURSE OF DEALING OR CUSTOM OR TRADE. INTUITIVE SURGICAL ALSO MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE dVOC MATERIALS (1) WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, (2) IS FREE OF VIRUSES, UNAUTHORIZED CODE, OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, (3) IS SECURE, OR (4) WILL MEET YOUR SATISFACTION. Intuitive Surgical and its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates and their respective members, directors, officers, employees, stockholders and agents further do not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these Materials.


8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

IN NO EVENT SHALL INTUITIVE SURGICAL, ITS PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE MEMBERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, STOCKHOLDERS AND AGENTS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER ENTITY FOR ANY AND ALL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, COMPENSATORY, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF INFORMATION AND LOSS OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO (1) THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE MATERIALS, OR (2) RELIANCE ON THE CONTENT AND MATERIALS; OR (3) ERRORS, INACCURACIES, OMISSIONS, DEFECTS, UNTIMELINESS, SECURITY BREACHES; OR (4) INFORMATION COMMUNICATED THROUGH CHAT ROOMS, MESSAGE BOARDS OR USER COMMENTS; OR (5) THE SATISFACTION OF ANY GOVERNMENT REGULATION REQUIRING DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ON PRESCRIPTION OR "OFF-LABEL" PRESCRIPTION DRUG OR MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCTS WITH REGARD TO THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THE dVOC; OR (6) ANY OTHER ACT OR FAILURE TO PERFORM BY INTUITIVE SURGICAL OR INTUITIVE SURGICAL'S CONTENT PROVIDERS. THE FOREGOING SHALL APPLY REGARDLESS OF WHETHER INTUITIVE SURGICAL HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IF, NOTWITHSTANDING THE OTHER TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, INTUITIVE SURGICAL SHOULD HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY LOSS, HARM OR DAMAGE, YOU AND INTUITIVE SURGICAL AGREE THAT SUCH LIABILITY SHALL UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES EXCEED THE VALUE OF $50.00. YOU AND INTUITIVE SURGICAL AGREE THAT THE FOREGOING LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS AN AGREED ALLOCATION OF RISK BETWEEN YOU AND INTUITIVE SURGICAL. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ABSENT YOUR AGREEMENT TO THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, INTUITIVE SURGICAL WOULD NOT PROVIDE YOU WITH ACCESS TO THE dVOC.


9. INDEMNITY

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold Intuitive Surgical, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates and their respective members, directors, officers, employees, stockholders and agents harmless against any losses, expenses, costs or damages (including Intuitive Surgical's reasonable attorneys' fees, expert fees' and other reasonable costs of litigation) arising from, incurred as a result of, or in any manner related to (1) Your breach of this Agreement, (2) Your unauthorized, improper or unlawful use of the dVOC, and the Materials, and (3) the unauthorized, improper or unlawful use of the dVOC by any other person using Your ID.


10. USER SUBMISSIONS

General: Unless otherwise agreed in writing prior to Your submission, any material, information or other communication You transmit or post to the dVOC will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary ("Communications"). As between You and Intuitive Surgical, You retain rights in any Materials or Communication you post to the dVOC. Intuitive Surgical and its designees will be free to use for any purpose, copy, disclose, sell, distribute, perform, incorporate and otherwise use the Communications and all data, images, sounds, text, and other things embodied therein for any and all commercial or non-commercial purposes to the extent permitted by applicable law. Intuitive Surgical and its designees shall be free to use and/or transfer without restriction any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques, whether patented or not, contained in such Materials or Communications for any purpose whatsoever including, but not limited to, using, developing, manufacturing, selling and marketing products and services incorporating such information. You are prohibited from posting or transmitting to or from the dVOC any Material relating to or promoting any off-label use of any medical device or prescription drug, including but not limited to application of off-label "tags" to posted content that may improperly imply off label applicability from an dVOC search result. You are prohibited from posting or transmitting to or from the dVOC any unlawful, infringing, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, or other material that would violate any law. Intuitive Surgical expressly reserves the right to remove any Material from the dVOC at any time and for any reason, including but not limited to any Materials related to off-label use of medical devices or prescription drugs or any Materials alleged to be infringing any third-party rights pending further investigation. Any attempt to obtain unauthorized access or to exceed authorized access to the dVOC shall be considered a trespass and computer fraud and abuse, punishable under state and federal laws. Intuitive Surgical hereby notifies You that any or all communications with the dVOC can and will be monitored, captured, recorded, and transmitted to the authorities as deemed necessary by Intuitive Surgical in its sole discretion and without further notice.


Copyright Infringement:
Intuitive Surgical will promptly address any copyright owner's written notice that Materials infringe that third party's copyrights, provided that the notice substantially complies with the requirements in the Intuitive Surgical DMCA notice. If you do not promptly remove the Content specified in the notice, Intuitive Surgical may remove the Content without any liability to You or to any User that posted such Content. Intuitive Surgical maintains and enforces a policy of terminating the access of Users who are repeat copyright infringers.


11. COOPERATION WITH GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES

If necessary and in accordance with applicable law, Intuitive Surgical will cooperate with local, state, federal, international and/or worldwide government authorities to protect the dVOC, visitors, customers, members, Intuitive Surgical, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates and their respective members, directors, officers, employees, stockholders and agents and operational providers, to prevent unauthorized or unlawful use of this dVOC.


12. LINKS TO OTHER MATERIALS

The linked sites are not necessarily under the control of Intuitive Surgical and Intuitive Surgical is not responsible for nor does it certify the content of any linked site or any link contained in a non-affiliated linked site. Intuitive Surgical reserves the right to terminate any link or linking program at any time. If You decide to access any of the third party sites linked to this Site, You do this entirely at Your own risk. Intuitive Surgical reserves the right to request any web site administrator to disable or remove any link that violates any rights of Intuitive Surgical or causes interruption to the dVOC or deterioration of Materials on the dVOC.


13. APPLICABLE LAWS

The dVOC is managed by Intuitive Surgical from its offices within the States of California and Washington. Intuitive Surgical makes no representation that Materials in this Site are appropriate or available for use in other locations, and access to them from territories where their content is illegal is prohibited. You may not use or export the Materials in violation of United States export laws or regulations. Any claim relating to the Materials shall be governed by the internal substantive laws of the State of California.


14. ENTIRE AGREEMENT

This Agreement, including the Privacy Policy, and any other Intuitive Surgical policy which is incorporated herein by this reference, contains the entire agreement between You and Intuitive Surgical relating to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes any other oral or written communications relating thereto. Intuitive Surgical reserves the right to make changes to this Agreement at any time without advance notice as described in Section 3.


15. MISCELLANEOUS

Sections 1-15 of this Agreement survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement for any reason whatsoever. You may not assign Your rights under this Agreement without Intuitive Surgical's prior written permission. Any failure to enforce any term or provision of this Agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of that or any other breach of that or any other term or provision of this Agreement.


If You object to any material found on this Site, please bring Your concerns to the attention of community@intusurg.com. Intuitive Surgical expressly reserves the right to remove any Material from the dVOC at any time and for any reason, including but not limited to any Materials related to off-label use of medical devices or prescription drugs or any Materials alleged to be infringing any third-party rights pending further investigation. If any provision of this Agreement shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason, the provision or provisions in question shall not be invalid, inoperative or unenforceable in any other case or circumstance, nor shall any other provision or provisions herein contained thereby be or become invalid, inoperative or unenforceable and such provision shall be reformed so that it would be valid, operative and enforceable to the maximum extent permitted in such circumstances.


Intuitive Surgical Privacy Policy

Intuitive Surgical is committed to safeguarding your privacy online. Intuitive Surgical's Privacy Policy can be found here. Please be sure to read these Privacy Policies before using or submitting information to us. These Privacy Policies are subject to change from time to time, so please check back periodically. Your use of the dVOC is subject not only to these Privacy Policies, but also to the dVOC's Terms of Use. By accessing and using this web site or any of our other web sites through this web site, and by providing us with your information, you agree to be bound by these Privacy Policies.


Third-Party Web Beacons

We use Google Analytics to help analyze where visitors go and what they do while visiting our website. Anonymous information about your visits to this and other websites may be used by Google in order to improve its products and services and provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by Google, click here.


Notification of Claims Infringement

If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, please notify Intuitive Surgical's agent for notice of claims of copyright or other intellectual property infringement ("Agent") in writing at:


Legal Department
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.
1266 Kifer Road, Building 101
Sunnyvale, CA 94086-5304
USA


Please provide our Agent with the following Notice:


Identify the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed; Identify the material on the dVOC that you claim is infringing, with enough detail so that we may locate it on the dVOC;


A written 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 declaring under penalty of perjury that (a) the above information in your Notice is accurate, and (b) that you are the owner of the copyright interest involved or that you are authorized to act on behalf of that owner;


Your address, telephone number, and email address;


Your physical or electronic signature.


Intuitive Surgical will remove the infringing content, subject to the procedures outlined in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).


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