Website Terms of Use

Last Updated: November 13, 2020

BY USING OR ACCESSING OUR WEBSITE OR DOWNLOADING MATERIALS FROM OUR WEBSITE YOU AGREE TO BE LEGALLY BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF USE.

This Terms of Use Agreement (the “Agreement”) is a legal agreement between you and YAplus d/b/a Yoga Alliance® and Yoga Alliance Registry d/b/a Yoga Alliance Foundation (collectively referred to herein as “Yoga Alliance,” “we” or “us”) governing your use of this website, yogaalliance.org, yastandards.com, or any other website linked to this Agreement (the “Website”).Please note that by accessing, viewing, using, or downloading materials from the Website, you agree to be legally bound by all of the terms, conditions and notices contained or referenced in this Agreement.

Table of Contents

Website Terms of Use
Updates to this Agreement
    User-Submitted Information and Grant of License
    Account Creation
    Interactive Forums
    User Conduct
    Website Security
    Unauthorized Use or Access
    Our Intellectual Property Rights
        Copyright
        Trademarks
    Notice of Copyright Infringement
    Promotions
    Other Policies and Terms
    Links to Third-Party Websites
    Third-Party Content
    Monitoring
    Social Media Pages
    Termination
    Disclaimer of Warranty
    Limitation of Liability
    Indemnity
    Children
    Effect of Invalidity
    Jurisdictional Issues
    Contact

Updates to this Agreement

We may revise the information on the Website or otherwise change or update the Website, including this Agreement. Please check the “Last Updated” legend at the top of this page to see when this Agreement was last revised. Changes will become effective immediately. A current version of this Agreement showing the effective date is always available at this location. We encourage you to periodically review this Agreement to see if there have been any changes to our policies that may affect you. Yoga Alliance may also make improvements and/or changes to this Website, add new features, or terminate this Website at any time without notice. If you do not agree to the Agreement as modified, then you must discontinue your use of the Website. Your continued use of this Website will signify your continued agreement to this Agreement as it may be revised.

User-Submitted Information and Grant of License

You must exercise caution, good sense and sound judgment in using this Website. You are responsible for any material and information (“Content”) you transmit to us through the Website (including through email via the Website and in any Forums). You agree, represent and warrant that any Content you transmit to us through the Website (including through email via the Website) is truthful, accurate, not misleading and offered in good faith, and that you have the right to transmit such Content. Certain Content collected from you on the Website is subject to our Privacy Policy.

Yoga Alliance does not want you to, and you should not, send any confidential or proprietary Content to us through this Website unless specifically requested. Please note that any unsolicited Content sent to us will be deemed not to be confidential or proprietary.

By submitting Content, other than personally identifiable information, through this Website, you grant to Yoga Alliance (or warrant that the owner of such information and material has expressly granted to Yoga Alliance) a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and unrestricted right and license (a) to use, reproduce, display, modify, adapt, publish, translate, transmit and distribute or otherwise make available to others such Content (in whole or in part and for any purpose) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or hereafter developed; (b) to exercise all copyright, trademark, publicity, privacy and other proprietary rights with regard to such Content; and (c) to use your name, or screen name, hometown, photograph, portrait, picture, voice, likeness and biographical information as news or information in any and all media and/or communications, whether or not in connection with your Content. You also hereby grant each user of the Website a non-exclusive license to access your Content through the Website, and to tag, rate, review, comment on, use, reproduce, distribute, display and perform such Content as permitted through the functionality of the Website and under this Agreement. You also agree that Yoga Alliance is free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques that you send to us for any purpose. PLEASE DO NOT SEND US ANY IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS, OR OTHER CONTENT THROUGH THIS WEBSITE THAT YOU WISH US TO KEEP CONFIDENTIAL OR FOR WHICH YOU EXPECT TO RECEIVE COMPENSATION.

You shall not upload, post or otherwise make available on or through this Website (including in any Forum) any Content that (a) infringes upon or violates the rights of any third party including any copyright, trademark, trade secret, or other intellectual property rights, rights of publicity, rights of privacy, or contract rights; (b) is illegal, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, vulgar, indecent, lewd, offensive, threatening, abusive, harmful, inflammatory, deceptive, false, misleading, or fraudulent; (c) promotes hatred, discrimination, bigotry, racism, harassment, violence or harm against any individual or group; (d) violates, or encourages any conduct that would violate, any applicable laws, rules or regulations or give rise to any civil liability; (e) contains any viruses, corrupted data or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files; (f) restricts, interferes with or inhibits any other person from using or enjoying Descript; or (g) that would otherwise expose us or any third party to liability, special regulations, or harm of any kind.. You shall be solely liable for any damages resulting from any violation of the foregoing rules or any other harm resulting from such a submission. Posting Content in violation of these rules may result in the removal of such Content and the suspension or termination of your right to use of the Website.

Account Creation

You are not obligated to create an account to access this Website. However, certain sections and features of this Website are available only to visitors to this Website who have created an account, by providing us with their first name, last name, and email address, and creating a password (“Secure Users”). If you are a Secure User, you agree to accurately maintain and update any information about yourself that you have provided to us. You further agree that you are responsible for all activities that occur under your Secure User account or password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and for restricting access to your computer so others may not access the Website in violation of this Agreement. You may only have one active Secure User account on this Website at any given time and only you may use your designated account to access the Website. You also agree to promptly notify us of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security that you become aware of involving or relating to this Website by emailing us at info@yogaalliance.org. In addition, you agree to exit from your Secure User account at the end of each session. WE EXPLICITLY DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ANY AND ALL LOSSES AND DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS SECTION.

Interactive Forums

We may host message boards, chat rooms, blogs, communities, and other interactive forums or services (each, a “Forum”) on the Website. Forums are intended to serve as discussion centers. Any user failing to comply with this Agreement may be expelled from and refused continued access to Forums in the future. You understand that our staff, our outside contributors, or other users connected with Yoga Alliance may participate in Forums or other aspects of the Website and may employ anonymous user names when doing so. You acknowledge and agree that Forums are public spaces and that your participation in such Forums creates no expectation of privacy. Further, you acknowledge that any personal information you communicate in Forums may be seen and used by others. We are not responsible for information that you or others choose to communicate in Forums, or for your actions or the actions of other users. IF YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE ANY OF YOUR PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE OR OTHER INFORMATION PUBLICLY AVAILABLE IN A FORUM OR OTHERWISE ON OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. In addition to these Terms, your use of Forums may be subject to certain rules and guidelines, such as the YA CommUnity Rules & Etiquette Guidelines, which you agree to by accessing or using such Forum. Yoga Alliance or its designated agents may remove, refuse to post, or alter any information or content posted or otherwise disclosed in any Forum at any time for any reason.

User Conduct

You are solely responsible for your conduct when using the Website and any Forums, and you agree not to do any of the following: (a) impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity; (b) stalk, intimidate, threaten, or otherwise harass or cause discomfort to other users; (c) send distribute or post spam, unsolicited or bulk commercial electronic communications, chain letters, or pyramid schemes; (d) harvest or otherwise collect or disclose information about other users without their consent; (e) use the Website or the Forums for any illegal or unauthorized purpose or engage in, encourage, or promote any illegal activity, or any activity that violates these Terms; (f) circumvent or attempt to circumvent any filtering, security measures or similar features that protect the Website, our users and Yoga Alliance; (g) use any data mining, robots or similar data gathering or extraction methods; and (h) distribute or enable any malware, spyware, adware or other malicious code. You acknowledge and agree that we are not liable in any manner for the conduct of other users. Violation of these user conduct rules may result in the suspension or termination of your right to use of the Website.

Website Security

You are prohibited from violating, or attempting to violate, the security of this Website. Any such violations may result in criminal and/or civil penalties against you. We will investigate any alleged or suspected violations and if a criminal violation is suspected, we will cooperate with law enforcement agencies in their investigations.

Unauthorized Use or Access

Unless otherwise expressly authorized in this Agreement or on the Website, you may not take any action to interfere with the Website or any other user's use of the Website. While using the Website you are required to comply with all applicable statutes, orders, regulations, rules, and other laws. In addition, we expect users of the Website to respect the rights and dignity of others. Your use of the Website is conditioned on your compliance with the rules of conduct set forth in this section. You may not (and you expressly agree that you will not) do any of the following, which violate this Agreement:

• Post, upload, share, transmit, distribute, facilitate distribution or otherwise make available to or through this Website any unlawful, infringing, harmful, harassing, defamatory, threatening, intimidating, fraudulent, tortious, vulgar or otherwise objectionable material of any kind, including unauthorized or unsolicited advertising;
• Impersonate any person or entity, including without limitation any representative of Yoga Alliance; falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity in connection with the Website; or express or imply that we endorse any statement you make;
• Disseminate on the Website any viruses, worms, spyware, adware, or other malicious computer code, file or program that is harmful or invasive or may or is intended to damage or hijack the operation of, or monitor the use of, any hardware, software or equipment;
• Use the Website to defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights of others, including without limitation others' privacy rights or rights of publicity, or harvest or collect personally identifiable information about users of the Website;
• Interfere with or disrupt the operation of the Website or others’ use of the Website in any way (including without limitation by hacking or defacing any portion of the Website);
• Reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or otherwise exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of, use of, or access to the Website;
• Modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any portion of the Website;
• Remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notice from the Website or materials originating from the Website;
• Use the Website for any fraudulent or unlawful purpose;
• Violate any applicable laws or regulations; or
• Assist or permit any persons in engaging in any of the activities described above.

Our Intellectual Property Rights

Copyright

Content made available on this Website is protected by copyright, and, except as set forth below, the use of any Content available on this Website is strictly prohibited. No Content from this Website may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way without written permission of the rights owner, except that you may use Content purposely made available by us for downloading from this Website, provided that you (1) keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices, (2) use such information pursuant to any licenses associated with such Content, (3) do not copy or post such information on any networked computer or broadcast it in any media, (4) make no modifications to any such information, and (5) do not make any additional representations or warranties relating to such information. You agree not to circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security-related features of this Website or features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any Content.

Any unauthorized use or modification of any of the Content available on this Website is a violation of the copyrights and other proprietary rights of Yoga Alliance, or other copyright owners where so indicated. Permission for all other uses of Content contained herein, including reproducing and distributing multiple copies or using Content on any other website or networked computer or linking to any page at this Website except the “home page” www.yogaalliance.org must be obtained from us or the appropriate rights owner in advance; otherwise, such use is prohibited. Requests for such authorization from us should be submitted via an email to info@yogaalliance.org. All design rights, databases and compilation and other intellectual property rights associated with this Website, in each case whether registered or unregistered, and related goodwill, are proprietary to Yoga Alliance. Except as otherwise expressly authorized herein or in writing in advance by Yoga Alliance, you agree not to reproduce, modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute, or create derivative works based (whether in whole or in part) on all or any part of the Website or the Content.

Trademarks

All rights in the trademarks, service marks, logos, trade names, product names, product packaging and designs of Yoga Alliance or third parties whether or not appearing in large print or with the trademark symbol, belong exclusively to us or their respective owners and are protected under national and international trademark and copyright laws. You are not permitted to reproduce, download or otherwise use such trademarks, service marks, logos, trade names, product names, product packaging and designs without the prior express written consent of the owner of such mark. All use of Yoga Alliance trademarks is subject to our Trademark Usage Guidelines.

Notice of Copyright Infringement

If you believe that any Content on this Website infringes upon any copyright which you own or control, you may send a written notification to our Designated Copyright Agent (the “Designated Agent”) as set forth below.

Designated Agent: Director of Administration

Email: copyright@yogaalliance.org

If you believe that your copyrighted work is available on the Website in violation of your copyright, you may provide our Designated Agent with a written notice which contains substantially the following information:

(a) Identify in sufficient detail the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed so that we can locate the alleged infringing material. If multiple copyrighted works are covered by your notification, you may provide a representative list of such works.

(b) Identify the URL or other specific location on the Website that contains the alleged infringing material described in Item (a) above. You must provide us with reasonably sufficient information to enable us to locate the alleged infringing material.

(c) Provide the electronic or physical signature of the owner of the copyright or a person authorized to act on the owner’s behalf.

(d) Include a 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.

(e) Include a statement by you that the information contained in your notice is accurate and that you attest under penalty of perjury that you are the copyright owner or that you are authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

(f) Include your name, mailing address, telephone number and email address.

If any user of the Website is deemed to be a repeat copyright infringer, we will terminate such user’s license to use the Website.

Promotions

Any sweepstakes, contests, or similar promotions made available through the Website will be governed by specific rules that are separate from this Agreement. By participating in any such sweepstakes, contest, or promotion, you will become subject to those rules, which may vary from the terms and conditions set forth herein and which, in addition to describing such sweepstakes, contest, or promotion, may have eligibility requirements, such as certain age or geographic restrictions. It is your responsibility to read the applicable rules to determine whether your participation, registration and/or entry are valid. You agree to read the applicable rules, which are linked from the particular activity, and to review our Privacy Policy which, in addition to this Agreement, governs any information you submit in connection with such activities.

Other Policies and Terms

This Agreement applies exclusively to your access to, and use of, the Website and does not alter in any way the terms or conditions of any other agreement you may have with Yoga Alliance. Additional policies and terms may apply to use of all or portions of the Website, including but not limited to submission of applications or participation in surveys, and are incorporated by reference into this Agreement. Please refer to and review all additional specific terms and conditions as applicable, including our Privacy Policy.

Links to Third-Party Websites

We may provide on this Website, solely as a convenience to users, links to websites operated by third parties. If you use these websites, you will leave this Website. If you decide to visit any linked website, you do so at your own risk and it is your responsibility to take all protective measures to guard against viruses or other destructive elements. We do not make any warranty or representation regarding, or endorse or otherwise sponsor, any linked websites or the information appearing thereon or any of the products or services described thereon. Links do not imply that Yoga Alliance is legally authorized to use any trademark, trade name, logo or copyright symbol displayed in or accessible through the links; or that any linked website is authorized to use any trademark, trade name, logo or copyright symbol of Yoga Alliance.

YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THIRD PARTY WEBSITES AND RESOURCES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION YOUR USE OF ANY CONTENT, INFORMATION, DATA, ADVERTISING, PRODUCTS, OR OTHER MATERIALS ON OR AVAILABLE THROUGH SUCH WEBSITES AND RESOURCES, IS AT YOUR OWN RISK AND IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE APPLICABLE TO SUCH WEBSITES AND RESOURCES.

Third-Party Content

Any information, statements, opinions or other information provided by third parties and made available on this Website are those of the respective author(s) and not Yoga Alliance. We do not guarantee the validity, accuracy, truthfulness, completeness, reliability or usefulness of any opinion, advice, service, offer, statement or other Content on the Website other than those from an authorized Yoga Alliance representative acting in his/her official capacity. Under no circumstance will Yoga Alliance be liable for or in connection with any loss or damage caused by your reliance on any Content.

Monitoring

You acknowledge and agree that we reserve the right (but have no obligation) to do one or all of the following, at our sole discretion: (a) evaluate Content before allowing it to be posted on the Website or any Forum; (b) monitor Content; (c) alter, remove, reject, or refuse to post or allow to be posted, without notice to you, any Content, for any reason or for no reason whatsoever; provided, however, that we shall have no obligation or liability to you for failure to do so or for doing so in any particular manner; and/or (d) disclose any Content, and the circumstances surrounding its transmission, to any third party in order to operate the Website; to protect Yoga Alliance and the Website's users and visitors; to comply with legal obligations or governmental requests; to enforce this Agreement; or for any other reason or purpose.

Social Media Pages

We may maintain a presence on several social media websites, including facebook.com, linkedin.com, pinterest.com, instagram.com, and twitter.com, (collectively, “Social Media Pages”) to provide a place for people to learn more about Yoga Alliance and to share experiences. All comments, visuals and other materials posted by visitors to our Social Media Pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions or ideas of Yoga Alliance. All visitors to our Social Media Pages must comply with the respective social media website’s Terms of Use. We review some but not all postings to our Social Media Pages, and we will remove any postings that we have determined are inappropriate or offensive.

Termination

The Website and this Agreement are in effect until terminated by us. In addition to any right or remedy that may be available to us under applicable law, we may suspend, limit or terminate all or a portion of your access to this Website or any of its features at any time with or without notice and with or without cause, including, without limitation, if we believe that you have not accurately maintained the information in your account, or you have violated or acted inconsistently with the letter or spirit of this Agreement. Upon any such termination, you must destroy all Content obtained from this Website and all copies thereof. The provisions of this Agreement concerning Website security, prohibited activities, copyrights, trademarks, user submissions, disclaimer, limitation of liability, indemnity and jurisdictional issues shall survive any such termination. You agree that if your use of this Website is terminated pursuant to this Agreement, you will not attempt to use this Website under any name, real or assumed, and further agree that if you violate this restriction after being terminated, you indemnify and hold us harmless from any and all liability that we may incur therefore.

Disclaimer of Warranty

YOGA ALLIANCE DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE, VALIDITY, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY OF, OR OTHERWISE RESPECTING THE CONTENT AVAILABLE ON THIS WEBSITE OR ANY OTHER WEBSITES LINKED TO OR FROM THIS WEBSITE. DOWNLOADING OR OTHERWISE OBTAINING ANY CONTENT THROUGH THIS WEBSITE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE CONTENT OF THIS WEBSITE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND ON AN "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT POSSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, YOGA ALLIANCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT.

Limitation of Liability

YOGA ALLIANCE AND EACH OF ITS AFFILIATES, DIVISIONS, AND RELATED ENTITIES (COLLECTIVELY, THE "RELEASEES") WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THIS WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT OR LINKS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES CAUSED BY OR RELATED TO ERRORS, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, DEFECTS, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, OR ANY COMPUTER VIRUS OR LINE FAILURE. RELEASEES WILL ALSO NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

RELEASEES SHALL NOT HAVE ANY LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ACTS, OMISSIONS OR CONDUCT OF ANY USER OR OTHER THIRD PARTY.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold Yoga Alliance and its directors, officers, employees, agents and contractors harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, costs (including without limitation reasonable attorneys’ fees) or other expenses that arise directly or indirectly out of or from (i) your breach of any provision of this Agreement; (ii) your activities in connection with this Website; or (iii) unsolicited information you provide to Yoga Alliance through the Website.

Children

This Website is not intended for children under the age of 13. If you are under 13 years of age, please do not use or access this Website at any time or in any manner. By using this Website, you affirm that you are over the age of 13. Yoga Alliance does not seek through this Website to gather personal information from or about persons under the age of 13.

Effect of Invalidity

In the event a court or other authority having jurisdiction finds any portion of this Agreement unenforceable, that portion shall not be effective and the remainder of the Agreement shall remain effective.

Jurisdictional Issues

The Website is controlled and operated by Yoga Alliance from our offices within the United States of America and with servers located in Canada. We make no representation that materials in the Website are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Those who choose to access the Website from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable. Access to the Website from jurisdictions where the contents of the Website are illegal or penalized is prohibited.

You agree that any dispute in connection with the Website, this Agreement or the Privacy Policy will be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States of America. You also consent to the adjudication of any disputes arising in connection with the Website in the state courts of Arlington County, Virginia and the federal courts of the Eastern District of Virginia.

Contact

If you have questions about this Agreement, or if you have technical questions about the operation of the Website, please contact us at info@yogaalliance.org or by mail at 4201 Wilson Blvd, Suite 605, Arlington, VA 22203.