Terms & Conditions

WaterBear Network B.V.

Terms and Conditions Agreement

English

Latest Updated: 23 March 2023

Introduction and Welcome

Welcome to the terms of use of WaterBear Network B.V. ("WaterBear"), a profit for purpose organization with its registered offices at 105-107 Herengracht, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Please read these terms and conditions (“Terms”) carefully before using any of the WaterBear services or accessing our platform. If you have any questions, you may contact us at support@waterbear.com.

WaterBear is an interactive media impact platform, consisting of the website, www.waterbear.com and the WaterBear iOS and Android Apps (“WaterBear Platform”), which are accessible through various internet-connected devices and platforms. WaterBear collaborates with non-governmental organisations (“WaterBear NGO Partners”), other not-for-profit and for-profit organisations, content suppliers, producers, distributors, and individuals around the world (collectively “WaterBear Partners”) that are aligned to our vision, and we offer the WaterBear members ("Members") access to an array of organisations, content, media and interactive services (collectively “WaterBear Services”), which includes free, sponsor-supported or promotional video content, WaterBear Partners' content, images, environmental stories, travel experiences, e-commerce products and events amongst others (collectively “WaterBear Content”), which is accessible through various internet-connected devices, such as computers, smart phones, TV’s and other devices (“WaterBear Ready Devices”). The WaterBear Platform provides information regarding our WaterBear Partners, the work they do, as well as the products and services they offer and allows our Members to participate in the activities of the WaterBear Partners in various ways through interactive features and hyper-links that are presented on the WaterBear Platform.

Access to the WaterBear Platform is free of charge, however, in order for WaterBear to generate revenue, we have implemented a commercial strategy which includes brand sponsorship integration (“WaterBear Sponsors”).

As used in these Terms, the “WaterBear Solution”, means the service offering provided by WaterBear, which aims to personalize our WaterBear Platform through recommendations to support the discovery and subsequent watching of, or engaging with, any WaterBear Services, including the WaterBear Content, WaterBear Partners, WaterBear Sponsors, interactive features, and any other WaterBear content, or 3rd party content, such as references to relevant research, news articles and facts that may be of interest to you. It also includes all the features and functionalities, user interfaces, as well as all the software associated with the WaterBear Services.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you, on the one hand, and WaterBear, on the other. WaterBear reserves the right to change or modify any of the terms and conditions contained in these Terms or any policy or guidelines of WaterBear, at any time. Any changes will not impact the rights and/or provisions granted before such changes are made, e.g. the price for content already provided or the processing of personal data provided by consent without further consent being secured. These Terms apply regardless of whether you are accessing the WaterBear Solution via a WaterBear Ready Device or any other technology or device now known or hereafter developed or discovered. If you do not agree to any of these Terms, please do not participate in or use the WaterBear Solution, or any part of the WaterBear Platform or WaterBear Services.

The WaterBear Solution may contain and/or provide links to 3rd party sites and to content that is uploaded by the WaterBear Partners, including videos, images, descriptions, links and other content. WaterBear is not responsible or liable for the terms of use of these 3rd party sites and you should first review any terms of use when entering those 3rd party sites or viewing their content.

These Terms do not cover your rights or responsibilities with respect to 3rd party content, sites or links that may direct your browser or your connection to 3rd party content or sites, as well as any other 3rd party destinations accessible through any of the hyper-links that are provided by any of our WaterBear Partners or hyper-links published on the WaterBear Platform.

Purpose and Use

WaterBear holds all rights, title and interest in and to the WaterBear Platform and the WaterBear Solution and it is our aim to enable you to easily access our WaterBear Services, so that you can explore all content and features we have to offer. Our goal is to create a positive, useful and safe user experience on the WaterBear Platform. We provide our WaterBear Services for entertainment, informational and/or promotional purposes only. We grant our Members a non-exclusive, non-assignable, non-sublicensable limited license to use the WaterBear Platform and it is for your personal and non-commercial use only ("Licence"). This means that, once you have signed up as a Member, you can enjoy our WaterBear Services as a private individual, whether at home or on the go. Your Licence does not, however, include the right to use the WaterBear Solution as part of your commercial business operations or any other commercial activities, nor does it allow you to reproduce, modify or otherwise exploit our WaterBear Platform or any of the WaterBear Content that is provided on the WaterBear Platform.

Your experience when using the WaterBear Platform, its functionality and features, and the quality of the display of the WaterBear Services may vary from device to device and it may be affected by a variety of factors, such as your location, the bandwidth available and/or speed of your internet connection. You are responsible for all internet access charges and any additional costs that may arise from your use of the WaterBear Services and the WaterBear Platform. Please liaise with your internet provider for information on possible internet data usage charges when using the WaterBear Platform.

You agree under these Terms that you may not: (i) transfer, copy or display any of the WaterBear Services except as permitted in these Terms; (ii) sell, rent, lease, distribute or broadcast any right to the WaterBear Platform; (iii) harvest or collect email addresses or other personally identifiable information of users from the WaterBear Platform by electronic or other means for any purpose; (iv) remove any proprietary notices or labels that reside on the WaterBear Platform; (v) attempt to disable, bypass, modify, defeat, or otherwise circumvent any digital rights management or other content protection system used as part of the WaterBear Platform; (vi) attempt to gain unauthorised access to, interfere with, damage or disrupt any parts of the WaterBear Platform, the servers on which the WaterBear Platform is stored and hosted, or any server, computer or database connected to the WaterBear Platform; (vii) introduce any viruses, trojan horses, worms, logic bombs or other media or material which is malicious or technologically harmful to the WaterBear Platform and the WaterBear Services; or (viii) use the WaterBear Platform or WaterBear Services for any commercial or illegal purposes.

Due to technical and commercial restrictions imposed by content providers, certain WaterBear Content is only available in certain geographic locations. The technical means by which we deliver the WaterBear Solution, the WaterBear Platform and the WaterBear Services to you will vary over time and be subject to your geographic location. In this regard, WaterBear will use technologies to verify your geographic location. You may not use any technology or technique to obscure or disguise your geographic location to circumvent or bypass geographic restrictions that are imposed on the WaterBear Content.

These Terms will remain in full force and effect as long as you are a registered Member of WaterBear, and, and you will remain bound by your obligations under these Terms, such as any indemnifications, warranties and limitations of liability, to the extent permitted by law and subject to statutory consumer rights provisions.

If you are a Member of the WaterBear Services you will be notified when WaterBear intends to make any material changes to the Terms which may impact your use of the WaterBear Services. If you do not agree with any changes that are made to the Terms, you are entitled to terminate your use of the WaterBear Services by notifying us in writing at support@waterbear.com.

The WaterBear Platform and the software supporting the WaterBear Platform is developed for WaterBear and is designed to enable the viewing of and access to various WaterBear Services and features through WaterBear Ready Devices ("Software"). This Software may vary by device and medium and functionalities and features may also differ between devices. You acknowledge that the use of the WaterBear Platform may require third-party software that is subject to third party licenses ("Third-Party Software"). You agree that you may automatically receive updated versions of the WaterBear Platform, the Software and related Third-Party Software, as these may be revised or developed from time to time.

Membership

If you reside in the United States of America, you must be 13 years or older to use the WaterBear Solution (“US Minimum Age”).

If you reside in the European Union (“EU”), and are not 16 years of age, you can only create an account if you have verifiable parental consent ("EU Minimum Age"). In this regard, if you reside in Ireland, the Data Protection Act, 2018, prescribes that the digital age of consent is 16.

If you reside in South Africa, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand or the UK, you must be 18 years of age or older to become a Member of WaterBear. If you are younger than 18 years of age, then you must have the verifiable permission of a parent or legal guardian to agree to these Terms (collectively, the "General Minimum Age").

If you are younger than the US, EU or General Minimum Age or if for any reason, you do not agree with all of the Terms, please discontinue using the WaterBear Solution, or any part of the WaterBear Platform immediately because by using or attempting to use the WaterBear Platform, you expressly agree that you are at least in compliance with the US, EU or General Minimum Age and the necessary parental consent has been obtained for you to use and access the WaterBear Solution.

In order to access the WaterBear Services you will be required to create a member account with your name, surname, email address and personal password (“WaterBear Member Account”). You may not select a name that you don’t have the right to use, or another person’s name with the intent to impersonate that person. You may not transfer your WaterBear Member Account to anyone else. You agree to provide us with accurate, complete, and updated registration information about yourself and to keep your password confidential at all times. Your username and password are personal to you and you may not allow any other person to use your username or password under any circumstances. The use of the WaterBear Member Account is at the sole risk of the Member. You agree to immediately notify us at support@waterbear.com if you become aware of or believe that there is or may have been any unauthorised use of (or activity using) your WaterBear Member Account, including your username or password, or any other need to deactivate your WaterBear Member Account due to security concerns or compromises.

Should you wish to deregister or deactivate your WaterBear Member Account at any time and for any reason, you can do so by logging in to your WaterBear Member Account on the WaterBear Platform and then follow the instructions to deactivate your WaterBear Member Account. If you are unable to deactivate your WaterBear Member Account by using this method, or otherwise have questions about how to deactivate your WaterBear Member Account, please contact us at either support@waterbear.com or dpo@waterbear.com. The deregistration or deactivation of the WaterBear Member Account does not remove WaterBear's ability to claim payment of outstanding debts that are due and payable by the Member.

We may terminate your use of and registration to your WaterBear Member Account at any time for a breach of these Terms, or on such other basis, depending on the type of WaterBear Service that you subscribe for, without prior notice to you and without any liability or further obligation of any kind whatsoever to you or any other party, to the extent permitted by law and subject to statutory consumer rights provisions. In the appropriate and/or required circumstances, refunds will be provided by WaterBear. See in this regard our Privacy Policy for more information about deactivation or termination of the WaterBear Member Accounts by parents or legal guardians if you have not yet reached the US, EU, or General Minimum Age in the country in which you reside, as set out above.

WaterBear Network Trademarks

All intellectual property rights, title and interest vested in the WaterBear Platform and the WaterBear Solution are either our property or have been licensed to us by third parties. The WaterBear name and logo are registered trademarks and any other service name or slogan contained in the WaterBear Platform and the WaterBear Solution are trademarks of WaterBear, the WaterBear Partners, licensors or other respective intellectual property owners and may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of WaterBear or the applicable trademark proprietor. The look and feel of the WaterBear Platform and the WaterBear Solution, including all page headers, custom graphics, button icons and scripts are the trademarks of either WaterBear or any of the WaterBear Partners and licensors.

Any reference to WaterBear, the WaterBear Solution, or any part of the WaterBear Platform, WaterBear Services, WaterBear Partners, WaterBear Content, WaterBear Sponsors or references to any products, services or other information by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, supplier or otherwise does not constitute or imply the endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof by us.

United Nations

It is understood that United Nations Materials reproduced carries the following credit:

The content of this website/publication has not been approved by the United Nations and does not reflect the views of the United Nations or its officials or Member States”.

WaterBear provides access to the WaterBear Platform and publishes the WaterBear Content, which includes content of the WaterBear Sponsors and WaterBear Partners, that originates from all over the world. While WaterBear strives to ensure that all WaterBear Services are fully functional, factually correct and do not infringe on other people’s intellectual property rights, there may be an occasion when WaterBear Content is provided by other parties and/or may include material that infringes on the copyright of a 3rd party.

If you believe that any WaterBear Content published on the WaterBear Platform infringes on your intellectual property rights, please send a notice to WaterBear requesting that the material be removed, and/or access to such content be blocked. In such instance where WaterBear acts as the principal in relation to content, it shall respond to notices within 30 days, or such time period as indicated. Where WaterBear acts as the intermediary for any content, it shall process such notices within 24 to 48 hours as far as reasonably possible. The notice must be sent via email to support@waterbear.com and include the following information:

name, surname, email address and contact number;
detailed information about the specific work alleged to have been infringed in order for us to be able to identify the work;
your proof of title pertaining to the copyright work in question;
a statement explaining why the specific work, and the usage thereof, is not authorised by the copyright owner or law;
a statement that the information in the notification is accurate and that you are authorised to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed (if you are acting in a representative capacity); and
all information that is submitted is to be supported by an electronic or physical signature of the copyright owner or the person authorised to act on behalf of the copyright owner which alleges the infringement of a copyright protected work (including proof of such authorised representation).

All claims of copyright infringement should be emailed to support@waterbear.com.

Third-Party Content

The WaterBear Platform uses content, services, hyperlinks and URLs from various sources, including the WaterBear Content suppliers, WaterBear Sponsors and WaterBear Partners, and other 3rd party content sources, with references to relevant research, news articles, facts and other possibly relevant sources that may be of interest to you (collectively “Third-Party Content”) to ensure easy access to information that could potentially be related or relevant to the specific WaterBear Content that is presented on the WaterBear Platform.

The Third-Party Content may link to a 3rd party digital environment and we have no control over the content of those 3rd party digital environments, websites or resources ("Third-Party Sites") and therefore cannot accept responsibility for Third-Party Sites or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of such Third-Party Sites. You acknowledge and agree that your right to use such Third-Party Content may be subject to additional terms and conditions and privacy policies of the third parties providing these services and you do so entirely at your own risk and will not hold WaterBear liable for any loss or damage that may arise. If you do not agree to these additional conditions, you should not use Third-Party Content or Third-Party Sites.

The appearance, availability or use of hyperlinks or URLs referenced or included anywhere on the WaterBear Platform or any other form of link or re-direction of your connection to, with or through the WaterBear Platform, does not constitute an endorsement by WaterBear, nor does it incur any obligation, responsibility or liability on the part of WaterBear, and any of our respective officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, licensors, sponsors, suppliers, and operational service providers. It is expressly recorded that WaterBear only acts as an intermediary for any type of third party content or references made available on the WaterBear Platform

We do not verify, endorse or have any responsibility for any such Third-Party Sites, their business practices (including their privacy policies), or any goods or services associated with or obtained in connection with any such 3rd party, including Third-Party Content, even if the WaterBear logo, hyperlinks to the WaterBear Platform, or sponsorship identification is on the Third-Party Site as part of a co-branding, cross-marketing or other promotional arrangement.

If any 3rd party obtains or collects personal information or other information from you, in no event shall we assume or have any responsibility or liability for such collection or related processing activity, to the extent permitted by law and subject to statutory consumer rights provisions. Please read our WaterBear Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, which describe how WaterBear collects and uses your personal information and any other information related to your use of the WaterBear Platform, the WaterBear Solution and the WaterBear Services.

Social Login

In addition to third party content, the possibility of Social Login has been made available for membership of the WaterBear Platform. If you register or log into your account through a third-party social media service (like Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc.), we may have access to some of your third-party account information from that service, such as your name and other information on that account, as authorized by that service. To the extent we combine such third-party sourced information with personal data we collect directly from you on our Platform, we will treat the combined information as personal data under these Terms and Conditions.

Therefore, please note that your use of the Social Login is also subject to our WaterBear Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, which describe how WaterBear collects and uses your personal information and any other information related to your use of the WaterBear Platform, the WaterBear Solution and the WaterBear Services.

WaterBear is not responsible or liable for the information they receive from these third parties social media services when you log in via Social Login.

WaterBear Platform

To use the WaterBear Platform you must have reliable internet access, a WaterBear Ready Device and created a WaterBear Member Account.

The WaterBear Platform and supporting Software, platforms and devices, may provide WaterBear with information relating to your use of the WaterBear Platform, the WaterBear Solution and the performance of the WaterBear Services and supporting Software, as well as information regarding the devices on which you access and use the WaterBear Platform, the WaterBear Solution, the WaterBear Services and Software. As an example, the supporting Software may provide WaterBear with information related to the WaterBear Services, WaterBear Content or features that you access and stream on the WaterBear Platform as well as your use of those WaterBear Services, WaterBear Content or features such as whether and when you viewed or accessed specific WaterBear Content, or accessed any information related to our WaterBear Partners, WaterBear Sponsors, which may, among other things, help us measure your engagement with the WaterBear Platform and the WaterBear Solution. Any personal information we receive from your use of the WaterBear Platform, the WaterBear Solution and WaterBear Services is subject to the WaterBear Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

WaterBear Content

The WaterBear Platform and WaterBear Services allow you to access and select WaterBear Content on a free, sponsor-supported or promotional basis for viewing over a limited period of time ("FVOD" or "AVOD").

WaterBear Content may be available as FVOD or AVOD, or a combination of these.

Donations to WaterBear NGO Partners

WaterBear does not receive any commissions and is in no way responsible for donations that are made by our Members to the WaterBear NGO Partners. This means that even if there is a link on the WaterBear Platform that links to an external donation website of the WaterBear NGO Partners, WaterBear does not receive a commission from this arrangement.

Marketing and Promotional Messages

As part of the Member registration process you may choose to give WaterBear consent to communicate with you. Should you provide your consent, WaterBear may send you promotions or otherwise communicate with you electronically, which may include e-mails, newsletters, marketing campaigns and push notifications. WaterBear communications may include information related to any of the WaterBear Services, including detailed information pertaining to WaterBear Sponsors, WaterBear Partners, WaterBear Content, and may be recurring, meaning we will continue to communicate with you until you unsubscribe via any of our communication emails or if you send us an email with a request to unsubscribe at either support@waterbear.com, or dpo@waterbear.com, or any other disclosed methods.

Miscellaneous

No General Warranties.

Although the WaterBear Services will be provided with reasonable skill and care, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law and subject to statutory consumer rights provisions, the WaterBear Solution, videos, images, text, and any form of content presented on the WaterBear Platform is made available "as is" and WaterBear does not offer any warranty of any kind, or represent that any part of the WaterBear Platform or WaterBear Content will be accurate, complete or error-free. WaterBear is not liable for the usage of, implementation of, impact from, or communication of the ideas presented in any of the WaterBear Services or WaterBear Content.

In certain jurisdictions, legislation may imply warranties, guarantees or conditions or impose obligations which cannot be excluded, restricted or modified except to a limited extent. These Terms must be read subject to those statutory provisions.

Release and Indemnity

To the extent permitted by applicable law and statutory consumer rights provisions, you agree to release and waive any and all claims and/or liability against WaterBear arising from your connection with, or usage of, and of the WaterBear Platform, including the usage of any WaterBear Services or WaterBear Content, or any other possible use of the WaterBear Platform. You also agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless WaterBear, its parent organization, its shareholders, officers, directors, employees and third party licensors from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities (including but not limited to attorney fees) arising from any of the following conditions,

(i) your use and of access to any of the WaterBear Services on any of the supported devices and platforms,

(ii) your violation of any term of these Terms and

(iii) your violation of any third party right, including without limitation any copyright or privacy related to the WaterBear Platform and the WaterBear Solution.

In certain jurisdictions, legislation may impose obligations which cannot be excluded, restricted or modified except to a limited extent. These Terms must be read subject to those statutory provisions.

Limitation of Liability

Under no circumstances except as provided in this clause, and to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law and subject to statutory consumer rights provisions, shall WaterBear, or its shareholders, parent organization, officers, directors, employees, partners or licensors be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, punitive or consequential damages that may result from your access of, use or inability to use the WaterBear Platform, the WaterBear Solution or WaterBear Services, including without limitation, use of or reliance on information, interruptions, errors, defects, mistakes, omissions, deletions of files, delays in operation, transmission or access, non-delivery of information, disclosure of communications or any other failure of performance.

Waiver and Severability

No waiver of these Terms by WaterBear shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of any term or condition or any other term or condition, and any failure of WaterBear to assert a right or term under these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or term. If any provision of these Terms is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be amended to make it enforceable, eliminated or limited to the minimum extent such that the remaining provisions of the Terms will continue in full force and effect.

Termination

We may terminate your access to the WaterBear Platform and the WaterBear Solution, including any part of the WaterBear Services, without notice, except as may be required by applicable law. If you violate any of these Terms, your rights under these Terms will automatically terminate without notice and WaterBear may immediately revoke your access to the WaterBear Platform, the WaterBear Solution and to any WaterBear Services without refund of any fees. For the avoidance of doubt, any "unused" sums will be refunded upon termination.

WaterBear Content and Age Restrictions

At WaterBear we aim to showcase content that is family friendly. We have an internal classNameification process whereby we identify and mark all WaterBear video content with parental guidance classNameifications. By using the WaterBear Platform and WaterBear Services you may encounter content that may be sensitive to some viewers or Members. Nevertheless, you agree to use the WaterBear Platform and WaterBear Services at your sole risk, and WaterBear has no liability to you for any WaterBear Services, or WaterBear Content presented on the WaterBear Platform, which limitation is made to the extent permitted by law and subject to statutory consumer rights provisions. Content types, genres, categories, and descriptions are provided for convenience and WaterBear does not guarantee their accuracy.

Unsolicited Materials

WaterBear does not accept unsolicited materials or ideas for WaterBear content and is not responsible for the similarity of any of its content or programming in any media to materials or ideas that are transmitted to WaterBear.

Binding and Entire Agreement

By using the WaterBear Platform, the WaterBear Solution and WaterBear Services you agree to be bound by these Terms. These Terms constitute the sole and entire agreement between our Members and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations and warranties, both written and oral, with respect to the WaterBear Platform, the WaterBear Solution and the WaterBear Services, and are governed by the laws of the Netherlands, without regard to conflict of laws principles.

If you are a consumer residing in the European Union, we inform you according to Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 (Regulation on consumer ODR) of your rights in respect of extrajudicial dispute settlements. Detailed information can be found in the aforementioned Regulation on consumer ODR and at: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.

If you reside in the United States, you expressly agree: (i) to waive any rights to institute className action proceedings; and (ii) that disputes will be litigated and/or resolved by such other dispute resolution mechanism exclusively in the Netherlands.

Contact Information and Customer Support

For communications concerning these Terms, please contact WaterBear at support@waterbear.com.