FIRST Website Terms of Use

Legal Information & Notices

Last Review and Update: May 14, 2024

 

Agreement to Terms

These Terms of Use constitute a legally binding agreement made between you, whether personally or on behalf of an entity (“you”) and FIRST ("FIRST," "Company," “we,” “us,”or “our”), concerning your access to and use of the http://www.firstinspires.org website as well as any other media form, media channel, mobile website or mobile application related, linked, or otherwise connected thereto (collectively, the “Site” or “Sites”). You agree that by accessing the Site, you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these Terms of Use.  

Supplemental terms and conditions or documents that may be posted on the Site from time to time are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to make changes or modifications to these Terms of Use at any time and for any reason. We will alert you about any changes by updating the “Last Review and Update” date of these Terms of Use, and you waive any right to receive specific notice of each such change. It is your responsibility to periodically review these Terms of Use to stay informed of updates. You will be subject to, and will be deemed to have been made aware of and accepted, the changes in any revised Terms of Use by your continued use of the Site after the date such revised Terms of Use are posted.

The information provided on the Site is not intended for distribution to or use by any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation, or which would subject us to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or country. Accordingly, those persons who choose to access the Site from such locations do so on their own initiative and are solely responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable. 

If you live outside the United States (US) and submit personal data to any of our Sites, FIRST may store and process your personal data by transferring it to the US. We rely on your explicit affirmative consent as the lawful basis for this collection and transfer.

FIRST offers residents from outside of the US similar protections to the GDPR and other comprehensive privacy laws, including the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, and the Swiss-US Data Privacy Framework, and as outlined in our Privacy Policy. However, there may be risks associated with any cross-border data transfer, and by using our sites and/or submitting personal data to FIRST, you are accepting those risks.

All users who are under the age of 18 or are considered minors in the jurisdiction in which they reside must have the permission of their parent or guardian to use the Site. If you are a minor, you must have your parent or guardian read and agree to these Terms of Use prior to your use of the Site.

Youth under the age of 13 are not permitted to create accounts or provide personal data on our Sites.

 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Unless otherwise indicated, the Site is the proprietary property of FIRST and all source code, databases, functionality, software, website designs, audio, video, text, photographs, and graphics on the Site (collectively, the “Content”) and the trademarks, service marks, and logos contained therein (the “Marks”) are owned or controlled by FIRST or licensed to FIRST, and are protected by copyright and trademark laws and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws of the United States, international copyright laws, and international conventions. The Content and the Marks are provided on the Site “AS IS” for your information and personal use only. Except as expressly provided in these Terms of Use, no part of the Site and no Content or Marks may be copied, reproduced, aggregated, republished, uploaded, posted, publicly displayed, encoded, translated, transmitted, distributed, sold, licensed, or otherwise exploited for any commercial purpose whatsoever, without our express prior written permission.

Provided that you are eligible to use the Site, you are granted a limited license to access and use the Site and to download or print a copy of any portion of the Content to which you have properly gained access solely for your personal, non-commercial use. We reserve all rights not expressly granted to you to the Site, the Content and the Marks.

For more information on the use of FIRST trademarks and branding elements please review the current FIRST Branding & Design Guidelines at https://www.firstinspires.org/brand.

 

USER REPRESENTATIONS

By using the Site, you represent and warrant that: (1) all registration information you submit will be true, accurate, current, and complete; (2) you will maintain the accuracy of such information and promptly update such registration information as necessary; (3) you have the legal capacity and you agree to comply with these Terms of Use; (4) you are over the age of 13; (5) you are not a minor in the jurisdiction in which you reside, or if a minor aged 13-17, you have received parental permission to use the Site, including the completion of the FIRST Youth Registration process if required, and your parent or guardian has read and agreed to these Terms of Use and the FIRST Privacy Policy; (6) you will not access the Site through automated or non-human means, whether through a bot, script, or otherwise; (7) you will not use the Site for any illegal or unauthorized purpose; and (8) your use of the Site will not violate any applicable law or regulation. 
 
If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, we have the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Site (or any portion thereof). 

 

 

USER REGISTRATION

If you are utilizing a FIRST website to register for any of our programs, you agree to keep your password confidential and will be responsible for all use of your account and password. We reserve the right to remove, reclaim, or change a username you select if we determine, in our sole discretion, that such username is inappropriate, obscene, or otherwise objectionable.
 
If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, we have the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Site (or any portion thereof).

 

PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES

You may not access or use the Site for any purpose other than that for which we make the Site available. The Site may not be used in connection with any commercial endeavors except those that are specifically endorsed or approved by FIRST.

As a user of the Site, you agree not to:

  1. Systematically retrieve data or other content from the Site to create or compile, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, database, or directory without written permission from us.
  2. Trick, defraud, or mislead us and other users, especially in any attempt to learn sensitive account information such as user passwords.
  3. Circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the Site, including features that prevent or restrict the use or copying of any Content or enforce limitations on the use of the Site and/or the Content contained therein.
  4. Publish or utter statements that are false, injurious, or harmful, in our opinion, to us and/or the Site.
  5. Use any information obtained from the Site in order to harass, abuse, or harm another person.
  6. Make improper use of our support services or submit false reports of abuse or misconduct.
  7. Use the Site in a manner inconsistent with any applicable laws or regulations.
  8. Upload or transmit (or attempt to upload or to transmit) viruses, Trojan horses, or other material, including excessive use of capital letters and spamming (continuous posting of repetitive text), that interferes with any party’s uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the Site or modifies, impairs, disrupts, alters, or interferes with the use, features, functions, operation, or maintenance of the Site.
  9. Engage in any automated use of the system, such as using scripts to send comments or messages, or using any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools.
  10. Delete the copyright or other proprietary rights notice from any Content.
  11. Sell or otherwise transfer your profile.
  12. Interfere with, disrupt, or create an undue burden on the Site or the networks or services connected to the Site.
  13. Attempt to bypass any measures of the Site designed to prevent or restrict access to the Site, or any portion of the Site.
  14. Except as may be the result of standard search engine or Internet browser usage, use, launch, develop, or distribute any automated system, including without limitation, any spider, robot, cheat utility, scraper, or offline reader that accesses the Site, or using or launching any unauthorized script or other software.
  15. Use a buying agent or purchasing agent to make purchases on the Site.
  16. Make any unauthorized use of the Site, including collecting usernames and/or email addresses of users by electronic or other means for the purpose of sending unsolicited email, or creating user accounts by automated means or under false pretenses.
  17. Use the Site as part of any effort to compete with us or otherwise use the Site and/or the Content for any revenue-generating endeavor or commercial enterprise.

 

USER GENERATED CONTENT

The Sites may provide you with the opportunity to create, submit, post, display, transmit, perform, publish, distribute, or broadcast content and materials to us or on the Site, including but not limited to text, writings, video, audio, photographs, graphics, comments, suggestions, or personal information or other material (collectively, "Contributions"). Contributions may be viewable by other users of the Site and through third-party websites. As such, any Contributions you transmit may be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary.

When you create or make available any Contributions, you thereby represent and warrant that:

  1. The creation, distribution, transmission, public display, or performance, and the accessing, downloading, or copying of your Contributions do not and will not infringe the proprietary rights, including but not limited to the copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, or moral rights of any third party.
  2. You are the creator and owner of or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, releases, and permissions to use and to authorize us, the Site, and other users of the Site to use your Contributions in any manner contemplated by the Site and these Terms of Use.
  3. You have the written consent, release, and/or permission of each and every identifiable individual person in your Contributions to use the name or likeness of each and every such identifiable individual person to enable inclusion and use of your Contributions, or the parent/guardian of any minor persons, in any manner contemplated by the Site and these Terms of Use.
  4. Your Contributions are not false, inaccurate, or misleading.
  5. Your Contributions are not unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, pyramid schemes, chain letters, spam, mass mailings, or other forms of solicitation.
  6. Your Contributions are not obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, violent, harassing, libelous, slanderous, or otherwise objectionable (as determined by us).
  7. Your Contributions do not ridicule, mock, defame, intimidate, or abuse anyone.
  8. Your Contributions do not advocate the violent overthrow of any government or incite, encourage, or threaten physical harm against another.
  9. Your Contributions do not violate any applicable law, regulation, or rule.
  10. Your Contributions do not violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party.
  11. Your Contributions do not contain any material that solicits personal information from anyone in a sexual or violent manner.
  12. Your Contributions do not violate any applicable law concerning child pornography, or otherwise intended to protect the health or well-being of minors.
  13. Your Contributions do not include any offensive comments that are connected to race, national origin, gender, sexual preference, or physical handicap.
  14. Your Contributions do not otherwise violate, or link to material that violates, any provision of these Terms of Use, or any applicable law or regulation.

Any use of the Site in violation of the foregoing violates these Terms of Use and may result in, among other things, termination, or suspension of your rights to use the Site.

 

CONTRIBUTION LICENSE

By posting your Contributions to any part of the Site, you grant, represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to FIRST nonexclusive, royalty-free, fully-paid, worldwide right, and license to host, use, copy, reproduce, disclose, publish, broadcast, retitle, archive, store, cache, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, transmit, excerpt (in whole or in part), and distribute such Contributions (including, without limitation, your image and voice) for any purpose, commercial, advertising, or otherwise, and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such Contributions, and grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. The use and distribution may occur in any media format and through any media channels.
 
For Contributions containing personal data, including images or video of identifiable individual persons, this license ends when data subjects request to exercise their right to be forgotten pursuant to the FIRST Privacy Policy.

This license will apply to any form, media, or technology now known or hereafter developed, and includes our use of your name, company name, and franchise name, as applicable, and any of the trademarks, service marks, trade names, logos, and personal and commercial images you provide.  

We have the right, in our sole discretion, (1) to edit, redact, or otherwise change any

Contributions; (2) to re-categorize any Contributions to place them in more appropriate locations on the Site; and (3) to pre-screen or remove any Contributions at any time and for any reason, without notice.

 

THIRD-PARTY WEBSITE AND CONTENT

The Site may contain (or you may be sent via the Site) links to other websites ("Third-Party Websites") as well as articles, photographs, text, graphics, pictures, designs, music, sound, video, information, applications, software, and other content or items belonging to or originating from third parties ("Third-Party Content"). 

Such Third-Party Websites and Third-Party Content are not investigated, monitored, or checked for accuracy, appropriateness, or completeness by us, and we are not responsible for any Third-party Websites accessed through the Site or any Third-Party Content posted on, available through, or installed from the Site, including the content, accuracy, offensiveness, opinions, reliability, privacy practices, or other policies of or contained in the Third-Party Websites or the Third-Party Content. Inclusion of, linking to, or permitting the use or installation of any Third-party Websites or any Third-Party Content does not imply approval or endorsement thereof by us. If you decide to leave the Site and access the Third-Party Websites or to use or install any Third-Party Content, you do so at your own risk, and you should be aware these Terms of Use no longer govern. 

You should review the applicable terms and policies, including privacy and data gathering practices, of any website to which you navigate from the Site or relating to any applications you use or install from the Site. Additionally, you shall hold us harmless from any losses sustained by you or harm caused to you relating to or resulting in any way from any Third-Party Content or any contact with Third-Party Websites.

 

MAINTENANCE OF SITES

We reserve the right, but not the obligation, to: (1) monitor the Site for violations of these Terms of Use; (2) take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in our sole discretion, violates the law or these Terms of Use, including without limitation, reporting such user to law enforcement authorities; (3) in our sole discretion and without limitation, refuse, restrict access to, limit the availability of, or disable (to the extent technologically feasible) any of your Contributions or any portion thereof; (4) in our sole discretion and without limitation, notice, or liability, to remove from the Site or otherwise disable all files and content that are excessive in size or are in any way burdensome to our systems; and (5) otherwise manage the Site in a manner designed to protect our rights and property and to facilitate the proper functioning of the Site.

 

PRIVACY POLICY

FIRST takes your privacy seriously. As a nonprofit and a mission-driven youth-serving organization, we are compelled to understand who we are serving, how our programs are performing, and make improvements so that we can achieve our goals of making FIRST accessible to any youth who wants to participate. Thus, we need to collect certain pieces of data from you to ensure we are meeting our goals and responsibilities as a youth-serving nonprofit organization.

Our Privacy Policy details the types of personal data we collect, how it is used, stored and shared, and the legal frameworks which govern its collection and processing. By accessing, using, or creating an account on any of our Sites, you agree to be bound by all the Sites’ Terms of Use including the FIRST Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to any of the Sites’ Terms of Use or the Privacy Policy, please do not access or use any of our Sites. 

You may review our Privacy Policy at:  https://www.firstinspires.org/about/privacy-policy

 

COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENTS

FIRST respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that any material available on or through the Site infringes upon any copyright you own or control, please immediately notify us using the contact information provided below (a “Notification”). A copy of your Notification will be sent to the person who posted or stored the material addressed in the Notification. Please be advised that pursuant to applicable law you may be held liable for damages if you make material misrepresentations in a Notification. Thus, if you are not sure that material located on or linked to by the Site infringes upon your copyright, you should consider contacting an attorney prior to submitting a Notification.

 

TERMS AND TERMINATION

These Terms of Use shall remain in full force and effect while you use the Site. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THESE TERMS OF USE, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO, IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION AND WITHOUT NOTICE OR LIABILITY, DENY ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE (INCLUDING BLOCKING CERTAIN IP

ADDRESSES), TO ANY PERSON FOR ANY REASON OR FOR NO REASON, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION FOR BREACH OF ANY REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR COVENANT CONTAINED IN THESE TERMS OF USE OR OF ANY APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION. WE MAY TERMINATE YOUR USE OR PARTICIPATION IN THE SITE OR DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT AND ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION THAT YOU POSTED AT ANY TIME, WITHOUT WARNING, IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION.

If we terminate or suspend your account for any reason, you are prohibited from registering and creating a new account under your name, a fake or borrowed name, or the name of any third party, even if you may be acting on behalf of the third party. In addition to terminating or suspending your account, we reserve the right to take appropriate legal action, including without limitation pursuing civil, criminal, and injunctive redress.

 

MODIFICATIONS AND INTERRUPTIONS

We reserve the right to change, modify, or remove the contents of the Site at any time or for any reason at our sole discretion without notice. However, we have no obligation to update any information on our Site. We also reserve the right to modify or discontinue all or part of the Site without notice at any time. We will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, price change, suspension, or discontinuance of the Site.   

We cannot guarantee the Site will be available at all times. We may experience hardware, software, or other problems or need to perform maintenance related to the Site, resulting in interruptions, delays, or errors. We reserve the right to change, revise, update, suspend, discontinue, or otherwise modify the Site at any time or for any reason without notice to you. You agree that we have no liability whatsoever for any loss, damage, or inconvenience caused by your inability to access or use the Site during any downtime or discontinuance of the Site. Nothing in these Terms of Use will be construed to obligate us to maintain and support the Site or to supply any corrections, updates, or releases in connection therewith.

 

GOVERNING LAW

These Terms of Use and your use of the Site are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New Hampshire applicable to agreements made and to be entirely performed within the State of New Hampshire, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

 

CORRECTIONS

There may be information on the Site that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies, or omissions, including descriptions, pricing, availability, and various other information. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions and to change or update the information on the Site at any time, without prior notice.

 

DISCLAIMER

THE SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN AS-IS AND AS-AVAILABLE BASIS. YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND OUR SERVICES WILL BE AT YOUR SOLE RISK. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE AND YOUR USE THEREOF, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE SITE’S CONTENT OR THE CONTENT OF ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO THE SITE AND WE WILL ASSUME NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY (1) ERRORS, MISTAKES, OR INACCURACIES OF CONTENT AND MATERIALS, (2) PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER, RESULTING FROM YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE, (3) ANY UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF OUR SECURE SERVERS AND/OR ANY AND ALL PERSONAL INFORMATION AND/OR FINANCIAL INFORMATION STORED THEREIN, (4) ANY INTERRUPTION OR CESSATION OF TRANSMISSION TO OR FROM THE SITE, (5) ANY BUGS, VIRUSES, TROJAN HORSES, OR THE LIKE WHICH MAY BE TRANSMITTED TO OR THROUGH THE SITE BY ANY THIRD

PARTY, AND/OR (6) ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY CONTENT AND MATERIALS OR FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF ANY CONTENT POSTED, TRANSMITTED, OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE VIA THE SITE. WE DO NOT WARRANT, ENDORSE, GUARANTEE, OR ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE ADVERTISED OR OFFERED BY A THIRD PARTY THROUGH THE SITE, ANY HYPERLINKED WEBSITE, OR ANY WEBSITE OR MOBILE APPLICATION FEATURED IN ANY BANNER OR OTHER ADVERTISING, AND WE WILL NOT BE A PARTY TO OR IN ANY WAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MONITORING ANY TRANSACTION BETWEEN YOU AND ANY THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. AS WITH THE PURCHASE OF A PRODUCT OR SERVICE THROUGH ANY MEDIUM OR IN ANY ENVIRONMENT, YOU SHOULD USE YOUR BEST JUDGMENT AND EXERCISE CAUTION WHERE APPROPRIATE.

 

LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

IN NO EVENT WILL WE OR OUR DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFIT, LOST REVENUE, LOSS OF DATA, OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SITE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

 

INDEMNIFICATIONS

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold us harmless, including our subsidiaries, affiliates, and all of our respective officers, agents, partners, and employees, from and against any loss, damage, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, made by any third party due to or arising out of: (1) your Contributions; (2) use of the Site; (3) breach of these Terms of Use; (4) any breach of your representations and warranties set forth in these Terms of Use; (5) your violation of the rights of a third party, including but not limited to intellectual property rights; or (6) any overt harmful act toward any other user of the Site with whom you connected via the Site. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we reserve the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate, at your expense, with our defense of such claims. We will use reasonable efforts to notify you of any such claim, action, or proceeding which is subject to this indemnification upon becoming aware of it.

 

CALIFORNIA USERS AND RESIDENTS

 If any complaint with us is not satisfactorily resolved, you can contact the California Privacy Protection Agency in writing at:

California Privacy Protection Agency
ATTN: Complaints
2101 Arena Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95834

Or you may complete a form available at: https://cppa.ca.gov/webapplications/complaint.  

 

HOW TO CONTACT US
 

Questions

If you have any questions about these Terms of Use, the practices of any of our Sites, your dealings with any of our Sites, or wish to exercise data privacy rights applicable to your jurisdiction, including but not limited to erasure, correction, or to receive a copy of your data, contact us via email at privacy@firstinspires.org, or by phone or regular mail (see below). 

 

Complaints or Data Breach Notification

FIRST has a Data Protection Officer and Data Governance Team who lead investigative action, handle complaints and data breach notification.  To file a complaint, email privacy@firstinspires.org, or contact us by phone or regular mail. 

To report a data breach, email helpdesk@firstinspires.org and CC privacy@firstinspires.org, or call one of the numbers below during regular business hours. 

 

Contact Us by Phone

You may call us at 800-871-8326 (US, Canada, and Mexico) or 1-603-666-3906 (outside North America), Monday - Friday, 8:30 - 5:00 EST/EDT.

 

Contact Us by Mail

FIRST
200 Bedford Street
Manchester, NH, United States, 03101