Terms of Use

Introduction

Experiment is a platform for researchers to fundraise seed grants for new scientific ideas and for users to discover and directly support these research projects.

Experiment provides a place for project creators, users, and interested parties to interact, share information, and support content creation.

In addition, Experiment enables You to donate to research projects You like, follow projects You like, tell others about what You like, discover new things You never knew, and find out what Your friends enjoy, all in one place, through our Site.

Your understanding of our Terms of Use is important to us, so we tried to draft these terms to be readable to people like us.  It is unfortunate that the realities of the legal world made this task very difficult. If You have questions about the Terms of Use please do not hesitate to contact us at support@experiment.com.  We want to help You simply understand how we do things here at Experiment.

Acceptance of Terms

Please review the following terms carefully.  These Terms of Use (these “Terms”) form a binding agreement between You and us, and govern Your access to and use of our web site located at www.experiment.com (collectively, the “Site”) provided by us, including, without limitation, any content, information, products or services offered therein or that You post or submit thereto. 

The Site is designed for use by people who are at least 13 years old. If you are not yet 13, then you can’t use the Site. If you are 13 or older, you promise to us that you have never been suspended from the Site, and promise that your use of the Site won’t break any laws or regulations. If you are using the Site on behalf of a company, organization, or other kind of entity, you represent to us that you have authority to bind the organization to these Terms on its behalf.

By using the Site, You are agreeing to be bound by all of the terms and conditions described herein, and these Terms will govern Your use of the Site.  If You do not agree with these Terms, You must stop using the Site.  The terms “Experiment” or “us” or “we” or “our” refer to Experiment Inc., the owner and operator of the Site.  The term “You” or “Your” refer to the person accessing or using the Site, or the company or organization on behalf of which that person accesses the Site.  These Terms apply to You whether You are a registered user of the Site or a non-registered user of the Site.

Modification of Terms

We reserve the right to change or modify these Terms or any policy or guideline of the Site at any time or from time to time on a going-forward basis, and any such changes or modifications shall become effective immediately upon being posted to the Site. It is Your sole responsibility to check the Site from time to time to view any such changes or modifications to these Terms. If You do not agree to all of the changes or modifications, if and when such changes may be made to these Terms, You must cease use of the Site. Your use of the Site after any changes or modifications to the Agreement indicates that You agree to such modified Agreement.

Rules and Conduct

By accessing the Site, You hereby represent, warrant, acknowledge and agree that You:

  • Are able to form a binding contract in Your jurisdiction;
  • Will comply in all respects with these Terms;
  • Will not copy or distribute any part of any part of the Site in any medium without Experiment’s prior written authorization, which may be withheld in our sole discretion;
  • Shall not change any part of the Site other than in ways that may be reasonably necessary for You to use the Site for its intended purposes;
  • Shall provide accurate and complete information when creating an account;
  • Are solely responsible for the activity that occurs while signed in to or while using the Site;
  • Shall not collect any personally identifiable information, including full names, physical addresses or e-mail addresses, except as permitted by these Terms (including, without limitation, for commercial purposes);
  • Are solely responsibility for Your content submissions, including discussion posts, profile information and links, pictures, and other such content;
  • Own or have the necessary licenses, rights, permissions and consent to use and authorize Experiment to use all patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights in and to any and all submissions to enable inclusion and use of the submissions across the Site;
  • Grant each Experiment user, whether using Experiment or an application developed by us or via a third-party developer, a non-exclusive license to access Your submissions through Experiment and to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display and perform such submissions as permitted through Experiment’s functionality or under these Terms;
  • Will not submit material that is copyrighted or subject to third party proprietary rights, including, without limitation, privacy, publicity, trade secret, patent, trademark, copyright or any other intellectual or proprietary rights, unless You are the owner of such material or have the appropriate permission from the rightful owner of such material to specifically submit such materials to Experiment.
  • Shall not post, upload, transmit, distribute, store, create or otherwise publish through the Site any content that is unlawful, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, harassing, threatening, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, deceptive, fraudulent or otherwise objectionable (as determined in our reasonable discretion); and
  • Shall not use the content for the development of any software program, including, but not limited to, training a machine learning or artificial intelligence (AI) system.
  • Affirm we have the right, but not the obligation, to determine whether any of Your submissions are appropriate and complies with these Terms, remove any and/or all of Your submissions, and terminate Your account with or without prior notice.

Registration

You may browse the Site and view content without registering, but as a condition to using certain aspects of the Site, You may be required to register with Experiment and select a password and screen name (a "username"). You shall provide Experiment with accurate, complete, and updated registration information. Failure to do so shall constitute a breach of these Terms, which may result in immediate termination of Your Experiment account. You shall not (i) select or use as a username or domain a name of another person with the intent to impersonate that person; (ii) use as a username or domain a name subject to any rights of a person other than You without appropriate authorization; or (iii) use as a username or domain a name that is otherwise offensive, vulgar or obscene. Experiment reserves the right to refuse registration of, or cancel a username and domain in our sole discretion. You are solely responsible for activity that occurs on Your account and shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Experiment password. You shall never use another user’s account without such other user’s express permission. You will immediately notify Experiment in writing of any unauthorized use of Your account, or other account related security breach of which You are aware.

Research Project Fundraising

Experiment is a venue for fundraising.  Experiment allows certain users (“Researchers”) to list projects (“Projects”) and raise funds from other users (“Donors”, “Supporters”, or “Backers”).  All funds are collected through a third party processor, which we may change at any time or from time to time in our sole discretion (the “Processor”).  User credit card information never touches Experiment’s servers. 

You acknowledge and agree that Experiment shall not be liable for Your interactions with any organizations and/or individuals found on or through the Experiment service, and You hereby release and waive any and all claims, demands and/or damages You may have or assert against Experiment arising from or related to any such interactions. This includes, but is not limited to, delivery of goods and services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with listings on Experiment. Experiment does not oversee the performance or punctuality of projects. Experiment is not responsible for any damage or loss incurred as a result of any such dealings. All dealings are solely between You and such organizations and/or individuals. Experiment is under no obligation to become involved in disputes between Backers and Researchers, or between site members and any third party. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, in the event of a dispute, You hereby release Experiment, its officers, directors, employees, agents and successors in rights from any and all claims, damages and demands of every kind, known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to such disputes and our service.

Though Experiment cannot be held liable for the actions of a Researcher, Researchers are nevertheless wholly responsible for fulfilling obligations both implied and stated in any project listing they create. Experiment reserves the right, but has no obligation, to cancel, interrupt or suspend a project listing and refund all associated members' payments at any time for any reason. Experiment reserves the right, but has no obligation, to remove a project listing from public listings for any reason.

Experiment makes no guarantees regarding the performance or fairness of the Processor. Additionally, because of occasional failures of some credit cards, Experiment cannot guarantee the full receipt of the targeted amount.

Project Creators may initiate refunds at their own discretion. Experiment is not responsible for issuing refunds for funds that have been collected by Project Creators.

If changed circumstances should at some future time cause the continuation of the program supported to be inappropriate or impractical, or any of the restrictions on the use of the fund become obsolete, inappropriate or impracticable as determined by the Board of Regents, then the university may redesignate the purpose of these funds to another fund that adheres as closely as possible to the donor(s)' original intent.

Fees and Payments

It is free to join Experiment.  However, we do charge fees for certain services.   When You use a service that has a fee You have an opportunity to review and accept the fees that You will be charged, which we may change from time to time.  Such changes shall be effective after we provide You with notice by posting notice of the changes on the Site.  We may choose to temporarily change the fees of our services for promotional events (for example, free listing days) or new services, and such changes shall be effective when we post notice of the temporary promotional event or new service on the Site.

You are responsible for paying all fees and applicable taxes associated with Your use of the site. In the event a listing is removed from the Service for violating these Terms, all fees paid will be non-refundable, unless we determine, in our sole and absolute discretion, that a refund is appropriate.

It is solely Your choice to contribute to a Project. You understand that making a contribution to a Project does not give You any rights in or to that Project, including without limitation any ownership, control or distribution rights, and that the Researcher shall be free to solicit other funding for the Project, enter into contracts for the Project, allocate rights in or to the Project, and otherwise direct the Project in its sole discretion. You further understand that nothing in this Agreement or otherwise limits Experiment's right to enter into agreements or business relationships relating to Projects. Experiment does not guarantee that any Project's fundraising goal will be met. Any perks offered to You are between You and the Researcher only, and Experiment does not guarantee that perks will be delivered or satisfactory to You. Experiment does not warrant the use of any Project funding or the outcome of any Project.

Contributions to Projects are nonrefundable. Under certain circumstances Experiment may, but is under no obligation to, seek the refund of Project funding if the Researcher misrepresents the Project or misuses the funds. You acknowledge and agree that any and all contributions You make are between You, the Researcher and the Processor only, and that Experiment is not responsible for contribution transactions, including without limitation any personal or payment information You provide to the Processor.

Experiment makes no representations regarding the deductibility of any contribution for tax purposes. Please consult Your tax advisor for more information.

Payment processing services on Experiment are provided by Stripe and are subject to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement and/or the Stripe Recipient Agreement, which includes the Stripe Terms of Service (collectively, the “Stripe Services Agreement”). By agreeing to these terms or continuing to use Experiment, you agree to be bound by the Stripe Services Agreement, as the same may be modified by Stripe from time to time. As a condition of Experiment enabling payment processing services through Stripe, you agree to provide Experiment accurate and complete information about you and your business, and you authorize Experiment to share it and transaction information related to your use of the payment processing services provided by Stripe.

Third Party Site

The Site may permit You to link to other web sites or resources on the internet, and other web sites or resources may contain links to the Site. When You access third party web sites, You do so at Your own risk. These other web sites are not under Experiment's control, and You acknowledge and agree that Experiment is not responsible or liable for the content, functions, accuracy, privacy policies, legality, appropriateness or any other aspect of such web sites or resources. We encourage You to read the terms of service and privacy statements of each and every web site You visit.  The ability to access information of third parties from Experiment, or links to other web sites or locations, is for Your convenience only and the inclusion of any such link does not imply endorsement by Experiment or any association with the operators of any third party web site. You further acknowledge and agree that Experiment shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for, and You hereby release and waive any and all claims, demands and damages against Experiment arising from or in connection with, any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with Your use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such web site or resource.

Content and License

You agree that the Site contains content specifically provided by Experiment or its partners and that such Content is protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents, trade secrets or other proprietary rights and laws. You shall abide by and maintain all copyright notices, information, and restrictions contained in any content accessed through the Site.

Experiment grants each user of the Site and/or Service a limited, worldwide, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable and non-transferable license to use, modify and reproduce the content, solely for personal, non-commercial use. Use, reproduction, modification, distribution or storage of any Content for other than personal, non-commercial use is expressly prohibited without prior written permission from Experiment, which consent may be withheld in our sole discretion, or from the copyright holder identified in such content's copyright notice. You shall not sell, license, rent, or otherwise use or exploit any Content for commercial use or in any way that violates any third party right.

Third Party Intellectual Property – Copyright Notifications

At Experiment, we respect the intellectual property of others, and we ask You to do the same.  If You believe that Your copyrighted work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement and is accessible via the Service, please notify Experiment's copyright agent, as set forth in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA"). For Your complaint to be valid under the DMCA, You must provide the following information in writing:

  • An electronic or physical signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner;
  • Identification of the copyrighted work that You claim has been infringed;
  • Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and where it is located on the Site;
  • Information reasonably sufficient to permit Experiment to contact You, such as Your address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
  • A statement that You have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or law; and
  • A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information is accurate, and that You are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the owner.

The above information must be submitted to the Experiment’s DMCA Agent at george@experiment.com.

UNDER FEDERAL LAW, IF YOU KNOWINGLY MISREPRESENT THAT ONLINE MATERIAL IS INFRINGING, YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR PERJURY AND CIVIL PENALTIES, INCLUDING MONETARY DAMAGES, COURT COSTS, AND ATTORNEYS' FEES.

Please note that this procedure is exclusively for notifying Experiment and its affiliates that Your copyrighted material has been infringed. The preceding requirements are intended to comply with Experiment's rights and obligations under the DMCA, including 17 U.S.C. § 512(c), but do not constitute legal advice. It may be advisable to contact an attorney regarding Your rights and obligations under the DMCA and other applicable laws.

In accordance with the DMCA and other applicable law, Experiment has adopted a policy of terminating, in appropriate circumstances and at Experiment's sole discretion, members who are deemed to be repeat infringers. Experiment may also at its sole discretion limit access to the Service and/or terminate the accounts of any Users who infringe any intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement.

Intellectual Property Rights – Project Creators

The Site provides You with the ability upload, add, create, upload, submit, distribute, collect, or post ("Submitting" or "Submission") Your videos, audio clips, written forum comments, data, text, photographs, software, scripts, graphics, or other information to the Site (collectively, the “User Content”). Experiment will not have any ownership rights in Your User Content, however, Experiment needs the following license to perform the services made available through the Site. You hereby grant to Experiment and each user of the Site the worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable and transferable license and right to (and to allow others acting on its behalf to) (i) use, host, display, perform and otherwise fully exploit the User Content including, without limitation, use, host, stream, transmit, playback, transcode, copy, display, feature, market, sell, distribute and otherwise exploit ("Host") Your User Content, along with all associated copyrightable works or metadata, including without limitation photographs, graphics, and descriptive text in connection with the services made available through the Site; (ii) use, stream, transmit, playback, download, display, feature, distribute, collect, and otherwise use Your User Content; and (iii) use and publish, and permit others to use and publish, the name(s), trademarks, likenesses, and personal and biographical materials of You and the members of Your group, in connection with the provision of the services made available through the Site, in all cases on Your behalf and/or in connection with the Site and Experiment’s (and our successor’s and assigns’) business including, without limitation, for promoting and redistributing all or part of the Site (and derivative works thereof) and the services made available on the Site in any media formats and through any media channels including, without limitation, third party web sites.

By Submitting any User Content to the Site, You hereby represent, warrant, acknowledge and agree that:

  • You are publishing that User Content, and that You may be identified publicly by Your username association with any such User Content;
  • You (i) own or otherwise control all rights to all content in Your User Content, or that the content in such User Content is in the public domain, (ii) have full authority to act on behalf of any and all owners of any right, title or interest in and to any content in Your User Content to use such content as contemplated by these Terms and to grant the license rights set forth above, (iii) have the permission to use the name and likeness of each identifiable individual person and to use such individual’s identifying or personal information as contemplated by these Terms; and (iv) are authorized to grant all of the aforementioned rights to the User Content to Experiment and all users of the Site;
  • You agree to pay all royalties and other amounts owed to any person or entity due to Your Submission of any User Content to the Site;
  • The use or other exploitation of such User Content by Experiment and the use or other exploitation by users of the Site as contemplated by this Agreement will not infringe or violate the rights of any third party, including without limitation any privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, contract rights, or any other intellectual property or proprietary rights of any kind; and
  • You understand that Experiment shall have the right, but not the obligation, to delete, edit, modify, reformat, excerpt, or translate any materials, content or information submitted by You; and that all information publicly posted or privately transmitted through the Site is the sole responsibility of the person from which such content originated and that Experiment will not be liable for any errors or omissions in any content; and that Experiment cannot guarantee the identity of any other users with whom You may interact in the course of using the Site.

Without limiting the foregoing, to enable Experiment to Host Your content pursuant to the above provisions, You hereby grant to Experiment the worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free, sublicensable and transferable right to use, reproduce, copy, and display Your trademarks, service marks, slogans, logos or similar proprietary rights (collectively, the "Trademarks") solely in connection with the services made available through the Site.

You further acknowledge and agree that Experiment does not endorse and has no control over any User Content. Experiment cannot guarantee the authenticity of any data which users may provide about themselves. You acknowledge that all content accessed by You through the Site is at Your own risk and You will be solely responsible for any damage or loss to any party resulting therefrom.

Termination

Experiment may terminate Your access to all or any part of the Site at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately, which may result in the forfeiture and destruction of all information associated with Your membership. If You wish to terminate Your account, You may do so by following the instructions on the Site. Any fees paid hereunder are non-refundable. All provisions of these Terms which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

Warranty Disclaimer

Experiment has no special relationship with or fiduciary duty to You. You acknowledge that Experiment has no control over, and no duty to take any action regarding any of the following: which users gains access to the Site; what content You access via the Site; what effects the content may have on You; how You may interpret or use the content; or what actions You may take as a result of having been exposed to the content. You release Experiment from all liability for You having acquired or not acquired content through the Site. The Site may contain, or direct You to web sites containing, information that some people may find offensive or inappropriate. Experiment makes no representations concerning any content contained in or accessed through the Site, and Experiment will not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality or decency of material contained in or accessed through the Site or the services made available through the Site.

THE SITE AND THE SERVICES MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" AND ARE WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ANY WARRANTIES IMPLIED BY ANY COURSE OF PERFORMANCE OR USAGE OF TRADE, ALL OF WHICH ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. EXPERIMENT, AND ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, PARTNERS AND CONTENT PROVIDERS DO NOT WARRANT THAT: (A) THE SITE WILL BE SECURE, UNINTERRUPTED OR AVAILABLE AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME OR LOCATION; (B) ANY DEFECTS OR ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED; (C) ANY CONTENT OR SOFTWARE AVAILABLE AT OR THROUGH THE SITE IS OR WILL BE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS; OR (D) THE RESULTS OF USING THE SITE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS. YOUR USE OF THE SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.  EXPERIMENT FURTHER DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES FOR SERVICES OR GOODS RECEIVED THROUGH OR ADVERTISED ON THE SITE OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY SERVICES MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE OR RECEIVED THROUGH ANY LINKS PROVIDED BY THE SITE, AS WELL AS FOR ANY INFORMATION RECEIVED FROM OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE OR ANY LINKS RECEIVED THROUGH THE SITE.

SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND ALL SUBMISSIONS OF USER CONTENT SHALL BE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Electronic Communications Privacy Act Notice (18 USC § 2701-2711): EXPERIMENT MAKES NO GUARANTY OF CONFIDENTIALITY OR PRIVACY OF ANY COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TRANSMITTED ON THE SITE OR ANY WEB SITE LINKED TO THE SITE.

Experiment will not be liable for the privacy of email addresses, registration and identification information, disk space, communications, confidential or trade-secret information, or any other content stored on Experiment’s equipment, transmitted over networks accessed by the Site, or otherwise connected with Your use of the Service.

Indemnification

You shall, at Your sole expense, defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Experiment, its affiliates and each of its, and its affiliates employees, contractors, directors, suppliers and representatives from any and all liabilities, claims, damages, judgments and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, that arise from or relate to Your use or misuse of, or access to, the Site, the services or content made available through the Site, Your Submission of User Content, or otherwise from Your use of the Site, violation of these Terms, or infringement by You, or any third party using Your account, of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity. Experiment reserves the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by You, in which event You will assist and cooperate with Experiment in asserting any available defenses.

Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT SHALL EXPERIMENT, OR ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, PARTNERS, SUPPLIERS, REPRESENTATIVES OR CONTENT PROVIDERS, BE LIABLE UNDER CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, NEGLIGENCE OR ANY OTHER LEGAL OR EQUITABLE THEORY WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE OR THE SERVICES MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM, ANY (I) LOST PROFITS, DATA LOSS, COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, OR SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER, SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES (HOWEVER ARISING), (II) BUGS, VIRUSES, TROJAN HORSES, OR THE LIKE (REGARDLESS OF THE SOURCE OF ORIGINATION), OR (III) DAMAGES IN EXCESS OF (IN THE AGGREGATE) ONE-HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100.00). SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

International

Accessing the Site is prohibited from territories where such Content is illegal. If You access the Site from other locations, You do so at Your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

© 2024 Experiment Inc.  Experiment reserves all rights to Experiment and the Experiment logo.

Questions and Contact Information

If you have any questions or complaints regarding a project, donation, or content, contact us using our contact form or by email at support@experiment.com.

Last updated Feb 24th, 2024.