Terms of Use
Welcome to GeneCards, an integrated database of information dealing with human genes and their products, assembled, developed and produced by scientists at the Crown Human Genomics Center and the Bioinformatics Unit of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel (the "WIS").

The rights in and to GeneCards (excluding information contained therein obtained from third parties), vest in Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd., the commercial arm of the WIS ("YEDA").

If you are an academic non-profit institution, please read the following Terms of Use ("ToU") carefully because they apply to your access to and use of GeneCards. By accessing and using GeneCards you agree to be bound by all the terms and conditions set forth in these ToU, whereupon, these ToU shall constitute a legally binding agreement between you and YEDA. If you do not wish to be bound by these ToU, please refrain from accessing or using GeneCards. In these ToU you shall be referred to as "Academic User".

If you are a commercial entity, in order to access and use GeneCards, you will need to enter into a licence agreement with Xennex, Inc. ("Xennex"), which has been granted the exclusive right by Yeda to licence the access to and use of GeneCards to commercial end-users worldwide and you will need to pay the applicable fees for such licence. For information on obtaining a licence to access and use GeneCards, please consult www.xennexinc.com and/or contact sales@xennexinc.com. You will also need to obtain a licence for the use and access of Swiss Prot from Geneva Bioinformatics S.A..

  1. Subject to the terms and conditions of these ToU, YEDA grants Academic User a non-exclusive, non-transferable and non-sublicenseable licence to access and use GeneCards via the World Wide Web only, through the http://genecards.org/index.shtml website (the "Website") or any of its academic mirrors listed in http://genecards.org/mirror.shtml (the "Service").

    No licence is granted hereunder to any enhancement or update of or to the Service.

  2. Academic User may not sell, lease, rent, sublicense, assign, export or transfer in any other manner the Service or the rights of access to or use thereof, or any underlying information, software or other technology, and/or any documents, CDs or any other tangible media representing, embodying or containing any of the foregoing or portion thereof, to any person or entity.

  3. The Service is provided free of charge to academic non-profit institutions.

  4. The licence granted hereunder shall become effective on the date Academic User first accesses the Service and remains in force until terminated as provided in these ToU.

  5. YEDA may modify the Service and/or the Website, including, without limitation, by the removal, reduction or addition of functionality or content; and/or discontinue, temporarily or permanently access to or use of the Service and/or the Website; and/or change and amend these ToU as provided in clause 19 below, including, without limitation, by adding terms that YEDA may be required to "pass through" to Academic User as a result of a separate agreement between YEDA and a third party.

  6. Although steps have been taken to prevent unauthorized alterations or modifications to the Service and the Website, security mechanisms implemented for the Service and the Website have inherent limitations. YEDA expressly disclaims any warranty that queries to the Service and/or the Website and other information which Academic User transmits over the World Wide Web will be protected from third party access. Any loss or damage caused to Academic Userarising out of or in connection with the access to and/or use of the Service and/or the Website will be borne exclusively by User, and Academic User agrees that neither the WIS nor YEDA nor any of their respective directors, offices or employees shall have any liability for any such loss or damage.

  7. Notwithstanding that the access to and use of the Service is currently free of charge and requires no registration, in consideration for the Licence, YEDA may require Academic User to provide certain information to the WIS and/or YEDA. If so requested, Academic User agrees to: (i) provide true, accurate, current and complete information about Academic User as required (such information, the "User Information"), and (ii) maintain and promptly update the User Information on the Website to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. If YEDA requests Academic User to provide User Information and Academic User provides such information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or if YEDA has reason to believe the same, then YEDA shall have the right to suspend or terminate the licence granted hereunder and to refuse to provide Academic User with any current or future access to and use of the Service.

  8. The WIS and/or YEDA are entitled to monitor access to and use of the Service and/or the Website, as long as no personally identifiable information is collected without User's prior consent. The WIS and/or YEDA may use certain aggregate information related to the use of the Service and/or the Website, provided that such information will not include personally identifiable information, except as authorized by User. Notwithstanding the aforegoing, such personally identifiable information (if collected) may be provided by the WIS and/or YEDA to third parties in the good faith belief that such action is reasonably necessary to comply with applicable laws, legal process or to enforce these ToU. Furthermore, Yeda may provide Xennex with personally identifiable information with respect to commercial users.

  9. Neither the WIS nor YEDA shall provide (or be obligated to provide) Academic User with any support relating to the use of the Service, except for online documentation contained in the Service.

  10. The Service and/or the Website may provide links to other World Wide Web sites or resources. Neither the WIS nor YEDA endorse or are responsible for any data, software or other content available from such sites or resources or their privacy policies. Academic User acknowledges and agrees that neither the WIS nor YEDA shall be liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss (direct or indirect) relating to User's use of or reliance on such data, software or other content. Academic User shall be solely responsible for obtaining any necessary licences and/or for compliance with applicable terms of use, as may be required to use data, software or other content from such sites or resources.

  11. ACADEMIC USER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE SERVICE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE DATABASE OF INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN, IS EXPERIMENTAL AND ACADEMIC IN NATURE, AND IS NOT LICENSED BY THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION OR ANY OTHER REGULATORY BODY.

  12. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN 'AS IS' AND 'AS AVAILABLE' BASIS WITH ALL FAULTS. YEDA MAKES NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR THE WEBSITE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS. WITHOUT DEROGATING FROM THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, YEDA DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL MEET USER'S REQUIREMENTS OR THAT USE OF THE SERVICE WILL BE FREE OF INFECTION OR VIRUSES, ERROR-FREE, UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE OR WILL PRODUCE ACCURATE RESULTS. ACADEMIC USER SHALL BEAR TOTAL AND EXCLUSIVE RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR THE USE OF THE SERVICE. ACADEMIC USER SHALL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY RESULTING DAMAGE TO USER'S COMPUTER SYSTEMS OR LOSS OF DATA.

  13. ACADEMIC USER AGREES THAT THE WIS, YEDA AND THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES (COLLECTIVELY, THE "INDEMNITEES") SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIMS, DEMANDS, LIABILITIES, COSTS, LOSSES, DAMAGES OR EXPENSES (INCLUDING LEGAL COSTS AND ATTORNEYS' FEES) CAUSED TO OR SUFFERED BY ANY PERSON OR ENTITY (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, USER), THAT DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISE OUT OF OR RESULT FROM USE OF THE SERVICE BY USER, BREACH OF THESE ToU BY ACADEMIC USER OR VIOLATION OF ANY RIGHTS OF ANY THIRD PARTY (ALL OF THE FOREGOING, COLLECTIVELY, "CLAIMS"). WITHOUT DEROGATING FROM THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, THE INDEMNITEES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOST DATA OR LOST PROFITS WHETHER ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE.

  14. Academic User agrees to indemnify and hold the Indemnities harmless from and against any Claims as referred to in clause 13 above.

  15. The licence granted hereunder will automatically terminate if Academic User does not comply with these ToU. Either YEDA or Academic User may terminate the licence granted hereunder and these ToU (as between YEDA and User) without notice, at any time, for any reason. Upon any termination of the said licence and these ToU, User's right to use the Service shall immediately cease. The provisions of clauses 12, 13 and 14 above and clauses 16 and 17 below shall survive the termination of these ToU.

  16. Academic User acknowledges and agrees that the Service, including, without limitation, text, data, compilation, software, sound, photographs, video, graphics or other material contained in or presented to Academic User as part of the Service and the arrangement thereof, and any YEDA software used in connection with the Service, contain proprietary and confidential information that is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws. Academic User shall not copy, reproduce, distribute or create derivative works of or otherwise modify the Service or any part thereof.

  17. Academic User agrees not to reverse engineer, recompile, disassemble, copy or otherwise attempt to discern the source code of any component of the Service. YEDA reserves the right to terminate any CPU intensive processes. Academic User may not mount an attack against the Service, attempt to gain root access, or conduct any other activity intended to disrupt the Service.

  18. Academic User may not assign or transfer User's rights under these ToU. YEDA may assign all or any of its rights and obligations under these ToU to any third party without User's consent. These ToU will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the successors and assignees of YEDA.

  19. Changes and amendments to these ToU shall be published on the Website and become effective upon the date of publication. Academic User will not receive a personal notice of such changes and amendments. Academic User agrees to monitor the Website regularly for notices of such changes. By continuing to access and/or use the Service after such changes and amendments become effective, Academic User shall be deemed to have accepted the modified ToU.

  20. Academic User agrees to access and use the Service in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. Academic User agrees not to use the Service for any illegal or wrongful purposes.

  21. If any provision of these ToU is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such provision shall be substituted by a provision which achieves to the greatest extent possible, the same effect as would have been achieved by the invalid provision and all other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

  22. YEDA's failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these ToU shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

  23. These ToU shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Israel, without regard to or application of choice of law rules or principles. Academic User hereby consents to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts in Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, Israel.