THE ARK CONNECT ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
Last Modified: April 15, 2023
Effective Date: April 15, 2023
Please read this Acceptable Use Policy of Ark Connect LLC, a Virginia limited liability company (referred to in this Acceptable Use Policy as “Ark Connect LLC”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) carefully to understand our policies for how you may use The Ark Connect Services, including The Ark Connect website located at https://www.thearkconnect.com (collectively, together with https://app.thearkconnect.com and/or any other subdomains of thearkconnect.com, the “The Ark Connect Website”) and The Ark Connect Apps. This Acceptable Use Policy is part of The Ark Connect User Agreement, located at https://www.thearkconnect.com/user-agreement/ (the “Agreement”). Except as otherwise defined herein, all terms used in this Acceptable Use Policy have the meanings set forth in the Agreement. Please read this Acceptable Use Policy and the Agreement carefully to understand our policies for how you may use The Ark Connect Services.
1. Overview. We respect the safety and rights of others, and we require each of our users to do the same. In order to comply with legal requirements and to provide a better experience with The Ark Connect for all of our users, you must comply with all of the provisions of this Acceptable Use Policy. In general, you must not use The Ark Connect Services in any way that infringes or violates the rights of the Ark Connect Parties (as defined in the Agreement) or any other person, violates the law, or is likely to do those things.
2. Intellectual Property Rights.
2.1. Generally. You are not allowed to use The Ark Connect Services in any way that infringes the Intellectual Property Rights (or other rights) of the Ark Connect Parties or any other person or entity, and you represent and warrant to us that any content you upload, post, send, submit, transmit, or otherwise transfer to or through The Ark Connect Services (“Your Content”) does not misappropriate, infringe, or violate any person’s or entity’s Intellectual Property Rights, publicity rights, privacy rights, or other rights.
2.2. Trademarks.
2.2.1. What is a Trademark? A trademark is any word, slogan, symbol or design (such as a logo), or sound that is used by an individual, business, or organization to identify its goods or services and to distinguish them from those created, provided, or sold by others. The purpose of trademark law is to prevent consumers from being confused about who provides or is affiliated with a product or service. The owner of a trademark has the right to prevent others from using its trademarks (or similar trademarks) in a way (a) that is likely to confuse people into thinking that the person using the trademark is the trademark owner or has a relationship with the trademark owner or that the trademark owner approves or endorses the other person’s products or services, (b) or that dilutes or tarnishes the trademark owner’s trademark.
2.2.2. Using Trademarks. Your Content must not:
• Use any of the Ark Connect Parties’ trademarks (including the names “The Ark”, “The Ark Connect”, “Ark Connect”, and our logos), or any similar trademarks, except with our prior written permission;2
• Impersonate or attempt to impersonate any of the Ark Connect Parties or our employees or contractors;
• Use the name of another person, organization, or brand with the intent to impersonate that person, organization, or brand; or
• Use anyone else’s trademarks in any way that is likely to cause confusion about your relationship with the owner of the trademark or gives the impression that the owner of the trademark approves or endorses you or Your Content.
2.3. Copyrights. Copyright law protects original works of authorship (such as drawings, photos, and reviews). Copyright can protect the words or images that express an idea, but not facts or ideas themselves. Your use of The Ark Connect Services (including Your Content) must not infringe any person’s or entity’s copyrights.
3. Safety and Rights of Others. You agree that you will not:
• Transmit through The Ark Connect Services any other person’s private or sensitive information without that person’s permission, including, for example, Social Security numbers or taxpayer identification numbers, passport numbers, driver’s license numbers or other government-issued identification numbers, bank account numbers, credit or debit card numbers, login or authentication credentials (such as passwords), non-public contact information (including phone numbers, street or mailing addresses, and e-mail addresses), addresses or locations that are considered and treated as private, images or videos that are considered and treated as private under applicable laws, or other similar information;
• Use The Ark Connect Services for the purpose of exploiting or harming (or attempting to exploit or harm) minors in any way by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable information, or otherwise;
• Transmit spam, junk mail, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or the like through The Ark Connect Services;
• Use The Ark Connect Services to engage in phishing or any form of fraud;
• Use The Ark Connect Services to publish falsehoods or misrepresentations that could damage or harm the Ark Connect Parties or any other person;
• Submit any content that is vulgar, obscene, defamatory, libelous, slanderous, fraudulent, threatening, harassing, abusive, embarrassing, hateful, or racially or ethnically offensive to any other person, or that is unlawful or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, violate any law, or is otherwise inappropriate; or
• Use The Ark Connect Services to stalk, harass, or impersonate any person.
4. No Disruptive Activities. We want all of our users and Participating Organizations to enjoy a high-quality experience when using The Ark Connect Services. You agree that you will not:
• Upload, post, send, submit, transmit, or otherwise transfer to or through The Ark Connect Services any User Content that does not comply with this Acceptable Use Policy;
• Upload, post, send, submit, transmit, or otherwise transfer to or through The Ark Connect Services any User Content that is contrary to our Statement of Faith;
• Access or use The Ark Connect Services using the account of another user;
• Circumvent, compromise, or undermine the security or integrity of The Ark Connect Services, or attempt to do so;
• Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of The Ark Connect Services, or any systems, networks, servers, computers, devices, or equipment owned or controlled by the Ark Connect Parties, our users, our business partners, or our affiliates;
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, damage, or disrupt any part of The Ark Connect Services, or any server, network, computer, device, system, or database owned or controlled by any of the Ark Connect Parties, our users, our business partners, or our affiliates or related to, associated with, or connected to The Ark Connect Services;
• Use any automated device, process, or means (such as robots or spiders) to access or use The Ark Connect Services for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any content;
• Attack The Ark Connect Services via a denial-of-service or distributed denial-of-service attack;
• Use The Ark Connect Services in any manner that we believe could disable, overburden, damage, impair, or interfere with the proper operation of The Ark Connect Services;
• Interfere with or disrupt the performance or integrity of The Ark Connect Services or any data transmitted by or through The Ark Connect Services;
• Engage in any other conduct that, in our determination, restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of The Ark Connect Services or that may harm any of the Ark Connect Parties, our users, our Participating Organizations, our business partners, or our affiliates or expose the Ark Connect Parties, our users, our Participating Organizations, our business partners, or our affiliates to liability; or
• Transmit any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, malware, or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful through The Ark Connect Services.
5. Banned Users. We reserve the right to permanently ban any person who violates this Acceptable Use Policy (or any other provision of the Agreement). You agree that if you are banned you will not, at any time after being banned, access or use The Ark Connect Services or attempt to do so.
6. Prohibited Content. You are prohibited from uploading, posting, sending, submitting, transmitting, or otherwise transferring to or through The Ark Connect Services any content that includes visual depictions of nudity, pornography, sexual acts, the consumption of illegal substances, or acts of violence, or any content that is inappropriate for minors.
7. Contacting Us. If you have any questions about this Acceptable Use Policy, you may contact us by e-mail at support@thearkconnect.com.