Terms of use

RCVS KNOWLEDGE VETERINARY EVIDENCE TERMS OF WEBSITE USE

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE

Your use of www.veterinaryevidence.org (the “Site”), whether as a guest or a registered user, is subject to the following terms and conditions (“Terms”) (together with the documents referred to in them). By using the Site you agree to be bound by these Terms.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use this Site.

Other applicable terms
These Terms refer to the following additional terms, which also apply to your use of the Site:

Our Privacy Policy , which sets out the terms on which we process any personal data we collect from you or that you provide to us. By using our Site, you consent to such processing and you warrant that all data provided by you is accurate.

Our Cookie Declaration , which sets out information about the cookies on the Site.

Information about us
www.veterinaryevidence.org is a site operated by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Trust (trading as RCVS Knowledge) ("we"; “us”; “our”). We are registered as a company limited by guarantee in England & Wales with company number 598443, with our registered office at First Floor, 10 Queen Street Place, London, EC4R 1BE. Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Trust is  also registered as a charity: registered charity number 230886.

Accessing our Site
The Site is made available free of charge.

We do not guarantee that the Site, or any content on it, will always be available or be uninterrupted. Access to the Site is permitted on a temporary basis. We may suspend, withdraw, discontinue or change all or any part of the Site without notice.

You are responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the Site.

You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access the Site through your internet connection are aware of these Terms and other applicable terms and conditions, and that they comply with them.

Our Site is directed to people residing in the United Kingdom. We do not represent that content available on or through our Site is appropriate or available in other locations. We may block the availability of our Site or any service described on our Site to any person or geographic area at any time. If you choose to access our Site from outside the United Kingdom, you do so at your own risk.

Your account and password
If you choose, or you are provided with, a user identification code, password or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential. You must not disclose it to any third party.

We have the right to disable any user identification code or password, whether chosen by you or allocated by us, at any time, if in our reasonable opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these Terms.

If you know or suspect that anyone other than you knows your user identification code or password, you must promptly notify contact us.

Intellectual property rights
Our Intellectual Property Rights
The rights in the design, logos, layout and graphics of this Site are owned by or licensed to us. They are protected by copyright, trademarks and other intellectual property rights. You may not copy, reproduce, modify, distribute, republish, display, post or transmit such design, logos, layout or graphics except where expressly permitted by us. You may view or print individual pages only for your own personal use. 

Your Uploaded Content
Summaries of evidence (each a “Knowledge Summary”) and articles on the Site (together, “Uploaded Content”) are published on the Site under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ) (the “Licence”). This means that:

As a user you may copy and redistribute Uploaded Content, provided that you comply with the terms of the Licence including in particular giving appropriate credit to the creator of the Uploaded Content.

As a contributor of Uploaded Content, you understand, acknowledge and agree to the terms of the Licence, and that your Uploaded Content may be copied and redistributed by fellow users of the Site in whole or in part in any medium or format, in accordance with the terms of the Licence.

No reliance on information
The information on the Site is intended to be used by veterinary professionals in combination with their best judgment. The content on the Site is provided for general information only.

You agree and acknowledge that the information and views contained on the Site shall not in any way constitute professional advice and that any information you may receive through the Site is in no way a substitute for professional advice.

Although we make reasonable efforts to update the information on the Site, we make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content on the Site is accurate, complete or up-to-date or suitable for any particular purpose. Users are reminded that the nature of archived literature means that the information presented on the Site may not reflect current best evidence or practice. Users use this information at their own risk. 

Limitation of our liability 
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for human death or personal injury arising from our negligence, or our fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by English law.

To the extent permitted by law, we exclude all conditions, warranties, representations or other terms which may apply to the Site or any content on it, whether express or implied.

The information contained on this Site does NOT constitute veterinary advice. Neither we nor our Site designers and hosting company will be liable to any user for any loss or damage, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, even if foreseeable, arising under or in connection with:

  • use of, or inability to use, the Site; or
  • use of or reliance on any content displayed on the Site.

We will not be liable to you if for any reason our Site is unavailable at any time for any period.

We will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a virus, distributed denial-of-service attack, or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data or other proprietary material due to your use of the Site or to your downloading of any content on it, or on any website linked to it. 

Submitting Content to the Site
If you contribute material to our Site we have the right to disclose your identity to any third party who claims that content posted or submitted by you to the Site constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights, or of their right to privacy.

You agree that you will not post or contribute any material to the Site that is libellous or defamatory or threatening, abusive, violent, pornographic, harassing, malicious or harmful to any person or entity or invasive of another’s privacy.

You will be fully responsible for any Uploaded Content. We will not be responsible, or liable to any third party, for the content or accuracy of any Uploaded Content posted by you or any other user of the Site.

The views expressed by other users on the Site do not represent our views or values.

You are solely responsible for securing and backing up your Uploaded Content.

We have the right (but not the obligation) in our sole discretion to remove any Uploaded Content for any reason, including but not limited to where such Uploaded Content is in breach of these Terms of Use.  

Viruses
We do not guarantee that the Site will be secure or free from bugs or viruses.

You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programmes and platform in order to access the Site. You should use your own virus protection software.

You must not misuse the Site by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Site, the server on which the Site is stored or any server, computer or database connected to the Site. You must not attack the Site via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of service attack. By breaching this provision, you would commit a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use the Site will cease immediately. 

Third party links and resources on the Site
The Site may contain links to other websites not owned or operated by us. We make no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or authenticity of the information or opinions contained in these websites. Any link to another website shall in no way be construed as an endorsement of that website by us nor an affiliation with the owner of such website. We have no control over such third party websites and accept no responsibility or liability for any content, material or information contained in them. 

Linking to the Site 
You may link to the home page of our Site, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it.

You must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists.

We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice. 

Changes to these Terms or the Site
We reserve the right to change this Site or these Terms at any time by amending the Site and/or these Terms. If you continue to use the Site after such changes you will be bound by the new terms, so please ensure that you check the Site from time to time for any relevant updates. 

Applicable law
These Terms and your use of this Site are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and any disputes will be decided by the Courts of England and Wales. However, if you are a consumer and are a resident of another country, you may bring proceedings in that country. 

Your statutory rights are not affected by these Terms.