Our agreement with our community of users. Please read this!
Hi! You are now reading Critical Commons’ Terms of Service, meaning the contract between you and Critical Commons when you use the Critical Commons’ site, and its services. You should read this carefully before you use Critical Commons.
By using and/or visiting this website (referred to collectively, including all content and functionality available through the CriticalCommons.org domain name, as the "Critical Commons Website", or "Website"), you (otherwise defined as “User” or “Users”) signify your agreement to (1) these terms and conditions (the "Terms of Service"). If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not use the Critical Commons Website.
Critical Commons may, in its sole discretion, modify or revise these Terms of Service and policies at any time, and you agree to be bound by such modifications or revisions. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to confer any third-party rights or benefits. You are responsible for reviewing and becoming familiar with any modifications to these Terms of Service. Modifications are effective when posted, and your use of the Services following any such posted modification constitutes your acceptance of the terms and conditions of these Terms of Service.
These Terms of Service apply to all users of the Critical Commons Website, including instructors who contribute content. “Content” includes the commentaries, lectures, playlists, fair use guidelines, graphics, images, music, video, audiovisual combinations, and other materials you may view on, access through, or contribute to the Service.
The Critical Commons Website may contain links to third-party websites that are not owned or controlled by Critical Commons. Critical Commons has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party websites. In addition, Critical Commons will not and cannot censor or edit the content of any third-party site. By using the Website, you expressly relieve Critical Commons from any and all liability arising from your use of any third-party website.
If you are an educator or an individual with another legitimately transformative need to upload and download media to/from the Critical Commons server, you may register for Advanced User status using your institutional website and e-mail address for authentication. Advanced User accounts are approved at the sole discretion of Critical Commons administrators.
If you are logged in as an Advanced User, you may upload transformative Content to Critical Commons, including text, audio, images, and video clips.
Advanced Users are allowed to download transformative Content from the Critical Commons website, including text, audio, images, and video materials.
If you wish to only add commentary to media, you may register for a Basic User account. These accounts are processed automatically, and you can begin commenting immediately.
When creating either a Basic or Advanced User account, you must provide accurate and complete information. You are solely responsible for the activity that occurs on your account, and you must keep your account password secure. You must notify Critical Commons administration immediately of any breach of security or unauthorized use of your account.
Although Critical Commons will not be liable for your losses caused by any unauthorized use of your account, you may be liable for the losses of Critical Commons or others due to such unauthorized use.
As a Critical Commons Advanced User, you may submit video, audio, image, and textual content (“User Submitted Content”) for use by the Critical Commons community.
You shall be solely responsible for your own User Submitted Content and the consequences of submitting and publishing your Content on the Website. You affirm, represent, and warrant that you have a good faith belief that the Content you are uploading is either permissible under the Fair Use doctrine found in § 107 of the Copyright Act, or is your own, or you have the necessary licenses, rights, consent, and permission to publish.
Content submitted to the Website may be removed at any time if it is flagged by the community to be removed, and if it is determined that the content was not submitted for purposes consistent with the goals of Critical Commons (as determined by the Critical Commons community and administration), currently found at http://www.criticalcommons.org/guidelines.
Critical Commons will terminate a User's account if, under appropriate circumstances, they are determined to have misrepresented the basis for their Advanced User status or if they repeatedly submit content determined to be inappropriate for this Website.
Critical Commons reserves the right to terminate a User's account or access to its Website if the user violates the Terms of Use listed here.
If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof and believe that any User Submission or other content infringes upon your copyrights, you may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") by providing our Copyright Agent with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C 512(c)(3) for further detail):
Critical Commons’ designated Copyright Agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement is:
Steve AndersonFor clarity, only DMCA notices should go to the Copyright Agent. Any other feedback, comments, requests for technical support, and other communications should be directed to the Critical Commons site manager through http://www.criticalcommons.org/contact-info. You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all of the requirements of the DMCA, your DMCA notice may not be valid.
If you believe the User Submitted Content that was removed or disabled was not infringing, you have consent to use, or your use of the Content is permissible under the fair use doctrine, you may file a counter-notification with Critical Commons by providing the following information to the Designated Agent at the address above:
As per the DMCA, if a counter-notice is received by the Copyright Agent, Critical Commons may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing them that Critical Commons will restore the removed content in 10 business days. Unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order against Critical Commons or the user who filed the counter-notice, Critical Commons will have the discretion to restore the user submitted content in 10 to 14 business days or more after receipt of the counter. In keeping with the terms of the DMCA, removal of content that is allegedly infringing from the site is open to contestation. Generally speaking, we believe that the context established by Critical Commons to promote the use of media for education constitutes a strong basis for protection under fair use and we welcome discussions of these issues with site users and copyright holders alike.