Terms and Conditions

Last Updated: 12 August 2020

These Terms and Conditions (the “Terms”) govern your use of all PCI Security Standards Council (the “Council,” “we” or “our”) Web sites, Web pages, domains, portals, registries and other online resources (collectively, the “Services”), including but not limited to resources used to provide or in connection with online Council meetings and events.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Council may from time to time require users of specific Council portals or resources to agree to corresponding additional or separate terms and conditions (“Additional Terms”), and such Additional Terms shall govern to the extent necessary to resolve any express conflicts between such Additional Terms and these Terms.

Please carefully review these Terms.  Your use of the Services constitutes your unconditional agreement to follow and be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Services, provide any materials via the Services, or download any materials from the Services. We reserve the right to update or modify these Terms at any time without prior notice. Your use of the Services following any such change constitutes your unconditional agreement to follow and be bound by these Terms as changed. For this reason, we encourage you to review these Terms whenever you use the Services. These Terms apply only to the use of the Services and do not extend to any linked third party sites. These Terms, our Privacy Policy (incorporated herein by this reference) and any applicable Additional Terms, contain the entire agreement between you and the Council with respect to your use of the Services.

Permitted and Prohibited Uses. You may access the user accessible aspects of the Services solely for their intended purposes. You may view, download and print any materials and information owned and made available by the Council on or through the Services (collectively “Content”), solely for your own personal, non-commercial, review, study and informational purposes. Except for the limited rights expressly granted herein, or as otherwise required by law or granted pursuant to a separate written agreement between you and the Council, you may not publish, distribute, copy, assign, license, sublicense, transfer, sell, prepare of derivative works of, or use for any non-personal purpose, any Content; and all right, title and interest in and to the Services and all Content is hereby reserved.

Without limiting the foregoing, you may not use the Services to violate any applicable local, state, national, or international law, including without limitation any applicable laws relating to antitrust or other illegal trade or business practices, federal and state securities laws, regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any rules of any national or other securities exchange, and any U.S. laws, rules, and regulations governing the export and re-export of commodities or technical data. You may not upload or transmit any material that infringes or misappropriates any person’s copyright, patent, trademark, or trade secret, or disclose via the Services any information the disclosure of which would constitute a violation of a confidentiality obligation on your part. You may not upload any viruses, worms, Trojan horses, or other forms of harmful computer code, nor subject the Council’s network or servers to unreasonable traffic loads, or otherwise engage in conduct deemed disruptive to the ordinary operation of the Services. You are strictly prohibited from communicating on or through the Services any unlawful, harmful, offensive, threatening, abusive, libelous, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, profane, hateful, fraudulent, sexually explicit, racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable material of any sort, including, but not limited to, any material that encourages conduct that  would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national, or international law.

User Submissions. We do not want to receive confidential or proprietary information through your use of the Services, except to the extent expressly provided for under applicable Additional Terms. Subject to such Additional Terms, any material, information, or other communication that you transmit, post or upload to or through the Services (“Communications”) will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary, and you agree that we (a) will be under no obligation of any kind with respect to such information, (b) may reproduce, make derivative works from, use, disclose, and distribute the Communications to others without limitation or compensation, and (c) at our sole election, may attribute authorship of Communications to you by listing your name.

User Discussion Forums. The Council may, but is not obligated to, monitor or review any and all Communications, including but not limited to Communications through chat rooms, bulletin boards or other user forums available through the Services, and the content thereof. The Council, however, will have no liability related to the content of any such Communications, whether or not arising under the laws of copyright, libel, privacy, obscenity, or otherwise. The Council may edit or remove any content or Communications from the Services at its discretion at any time.

User Accounts; Accuracy of Information.  In order to access certain content and/or additional features made available as part of the Services, you may need to register or create an account, and may be asked to supply your name, address, a User ID and password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and account credentials and are fully responsible for all activities that occur in connection with your password or account. You agree to immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of either your password or account or any other breach of security. You further agree that you will not permit others, including those whose accounts have been terminated, to access the Services using your account or User ID. You grant the Council, its affiliated companies, and all other persons or entities involved in the operation of the Services the right to transmit, monitor, retrieve, store, and use your information in connection with the operation of the Services and in the provision of related services to you.  We cannot and do not assume any responsibility or liability for any information you submit, or your or third parties’ use or misuse of information transmitted or received using the Services.

You agree to provide true, accurate, current, and complete information when registering to use any of the Services. It is your responsibility to maintain and promptly update this account information to keep it true, accurate, current, and complete. If you provide any information that is fraudulent, untrue, inaccurate, incomplete, or not current, or we have reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is fraudulent, untrue, inaccurate, incomplete, or not current, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account without notice and to refuse any and all current and future use of the Services.

Personally Identifiable Information and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance. Personally identifiable information that you provide to us through the Services (“Personal Data”) is only collected with your consent and is governed by our Privacy Policy.  If you are a resident of or are located in the European Union or European Economic Area (“EEA”), you may also have certain rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). 

Contact the Council, through its Data Protection Program at dataprivacy@pcisecuritystandards.org if you have concerns regarding your Personal Data, or wish to exercise any of your rights under the GDPR.  To learn more about these rights and how we protect the privacy of Personal Data, please visit the Privacy Policy.

Indemnification. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Council, its employees, directors, officers, affiliated companies, agents, vendors or suppliers from and against any and all third party claims and associated damages, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, incurred as a result of your violation of these Terms or the infringement, by you or any other user of your account, of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity, as a result of the use of any content available on or through the Services.

Termination. These Terms are effective until terminated by either party. If you no longer agree to be bound by these Terms, you must cease use of the Services. If you are dissatisfied with the Services, any content therein, or any of these terms, conditions, and policies, your sole legal remedy is to discontinue using the Services. We reserve the right to terminate or suspend your access to and use of the Services, or parts thereof, without notice, if we believe, in our sole discretion, that such use is (i) in violation of any applicable law; (ii) is harmful to our interests or the interests, including intellectual property or other rights, of another person or entity; or (iii) where we believe that you are in violation of these Terms.

WARRANTY DISCLAIMERS. THE SERVICES AND ASSOCIATED MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE COUNCIL DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. THE COUNCIL MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR FREE; NOR DOES THE COUNCIL MAKE ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICES. THE COUNCIL MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE OPERATION OF THE SERVICES OR THE INFORMATION, CONTENT, MATERIALS, OR PRODUCTS INCLUDED OR AVAILABLE THEREIN. 

YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT ANY CONTENT DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OR USE OF ANY SUCH CONTENT. THE COUNCIL SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED, OR ALLEGED TO HAVE BEEN CAUSED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, BY THE INFORMATION OR IDEAS CONTAINED, SUGGESTED OR REFERENCED IN OR APPEARING THROUGH THE SERVICES. YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM OR THROUGH THE COUNCIL, ITS EMPLOYEES, OR THIRD PARTIES SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY MADE HEREIN. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE, BY YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, THAT SUCH USE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.

LIABILITY LIMITATIONS. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL OR EQUITABLE THEORY, WHETHER IN TORT, CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, SHALL THE COUNCIL OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATED COMPANIES, EMPLOYEES, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, AGENTS, VENDORS OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSSES OR DAMAGES OF ANY NATURE ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF, MISUSE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES OR FOR ANY BREACH OF SECURITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRANSMISSION OF SENSITIVE INFORMATION THROUGH THE SERVICES OR FOR ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE SERVICES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OR CORRUPTION OF DATA, WORK STOPPAGE, ACCURACY  OF  RESULTS, OR COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, EVEN IF AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COUNCIL HAS BEEN ADVISED OF OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.  BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS PROHIBIT THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

THE COUNCIL’S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY FOR ANY AND ALL CLAIMS IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES SHALL NOT EXCEED TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND U.S. DOLLARS ($25,000.00). YOU AGREE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY ARE AN ESSENTIAL BASIS OF THE BARGAIN AND THAT THE COUNCIL WOULD NOT PROVIDE THE SERVICES ABSENT SUCH DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS. 

General. The Council is based in the United States. We make no claims that any information or content accessible through the Services is appropriate or may be downloaded outside of the United States. Access to such information or content may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the Services from outside the United States, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for compliance with the laws of your jurisdiction. These Terms are governed in all respects by the laws of the State of Delaware, excluding Delaware’s conflicts of laws provisions. The provisions of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods will not apply to these Terms. A party may give notice to the other party only in writing at that party’s principal place of business, attention of that party’s principal legal officer, or at such other address or by such other method as the party shall specify in writing. Notice shall be deemed given upon personal delivery or facsimile, or, if sent by certified mail with postage prepaid, 5 business days after the date of mailing, or, if sent by international overnight courier with postage prepaid, 7 business days after the date of mailing. If any provision herein is held to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force without being affected in any way. Further, the parties agree to replace such unenforceable provision with an enforceable provision that most closely approximates the intent and economic effect of the unenforceable provision. Section headings are for reference purposes only and do not define, limit, construe or describe the scope or extent of such section. The failure of the Council to act with respect to a breach of these Terms by you or others does not constitute a waiver and shall not limit our rights with respect to such breach or any subsequent breaches. Any action or proceeding arising out of or related to these Terms or your use of the Services must be brought in the state or federal courts of the State of California, and you consent to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of such courts. Any cause of action you may have with respect to your use of the Services must be commenced within one (1) year after the claim or cause of action arises. The waiver of a breach of any provision of these Terms shall not be construed as a waiver of any other or subsequent breach.

Links to Other Materials. The Services may contain links to Web sites owned or operated by third parties. These links are provided for your convenience and reference only. We do not control such sites and, therefore, is not responsible for any content posted on such sites. The fact that we offer links to such sites should not be construed in any way as an endorsement, authorization, or sponsorship of those sites, their content or the companies or products referenced therein. If you decide to access any third party sites linked to from the Services, you do this entirely at your own risk. Because some sites employ automated search results or otherwise link to sites containing information that may be deemed inappropriate or offensive, you agree that the Council is not liable or responsible for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality, or decency of material contained in third party sites, and you hereby irrevocably waive any claim against the Council with respect to such sites or the content thereof.

Notification Of Possible Copyright Infringement. In the event you believe that material or content published as part of the Services may infringe on your copyright or that of another, please provide detailed written notice of such possible infringement to the PCI Security Standards Council at secretariat@pcisecuritystandards.org, 781-876-8855 (phone), or 781-224-1239 (fax).