Terms and conditions of use

Introduction and subject matter

These conditions govern access to and use of the donarteassociation.org website (the “Site”) and the content published on it. The Site is an institutional information resource: it presents the association, its history, its activities, the DONARTE congress and the Premio DONARTE. It is not a shop, it offers no paid service and it does not allow contracts to be concluded online.

Who operates the Site

The Site is operated by DONARTE Association for Organ Donation and Transplantation ETS, registered office at Viale Regina Margherita 59, 98121 Messina (ME), Italy, tax code 97143880835, email info@donarteassociation.org. This identifying information is published even though the association is probably not required to publish it: Legislative Decree 70 of 9 April 2003 concerns information society services normally provided for remuneration, a category a free institutional site of a non-commercial body very likely falls outside. It is published anyway, because it is what a reader expects to find.

Acceptance of these conditions

Accessing the Site and reading its content means accepting these conditions in the version published at the time of access. Anyone who does not wish to accept them should not use the Site. No registration is required: the Site has no accounts, no members-only areas and no login credentials.

Non-commercial nature and absence of distance selling

Nothing is sold on the Site: there are no baskets, no payments and no purchase flow. The Italian Consumer Code provisions on distance contracts, including the right of withdrawal, therefore do not apply: they presuppose a contract concluded online, and none is concluded here. Three things could be mistaken for commercial transactions and are not:

• Donations are made by bank transfer, outside the Site, which does no more than publish the account details. A donation is a gift, not the purchase of goods or a service. Requests to reverse a manifestly mistaken transfer will be considered, without this amounting to recognition of any right to a refund.
• Congress registration is completed on an external platform, which acts as an independent controller and to whose terms the registration is subject.
• Becoming a member is governed by the association's statute: the Site collects expressions of interest only, which do not constitute admission.

Notice on medical and scientific content

The Site deals with organ donation and transplantation and publishes scientific and educational content, including congress programmes, abstracts and information materials. That content is provided for information and awareness purposes only. It does not in any circumstances constitute medical advice, clinical opinion, diagnosis, prescription or treatment guidance, and it is no substitute for the relationship with your doctor, your specialist or your transplant centre. No decision about your health, a relative's health, organ donation or a course of treatment should be taken on the basis of anything read on this Site without first consulting a qualified healthcare professional. In an emergency, contact the emergency medical services immediately. Views expressed by speakers, abstract authors and contributors are their own and do not bind the association.

Congress information and programme changes

Information about the DONARTE congress — programme, speakers, venues, times, fees and deadlines — is published in good faith and kept up to date so far as possible, but it may change. Announced speakers may become unavailable, sessions may be moved and venues may change. In the event of any discrepancy, the secretariat's official communications and the confirmations issued at registration prevail. The association is not liable for travel or accommodation costs incurred on the basis of information subsequently changed. Any ECM continuing-education credits are stated only when, and to the extent that, the accredited provider has confirmed them.

Intellectual property

The content of the Site — text, photographs, illustrations, the DONARTE seal and name, the design, the layout and the code — is protected by Italian copyright law (Law 633 of 22 April 1941) and by the law on distinctive signs, and belongs to the association or to the respective rights holders who authorised its publication. Photographs are published with the consent of those who took them and of the people shown. The association claims no rights over images it neither owns nor licenses; requests for attribution or removal can be sent to the address at the foot of this page. The name “DONARTE”, the association's seal and the name “Premio DONARTE” may not be used without written authorisation, and in particular may not be used in a way that suggests a patronage, affiliation or endorsement that does not exist.

Permitted use

The following are permitted without needing authorisation:

• reading, printing and saving content for personal, study or non-commercial research use;
• quoting extracts, citing the source and the Site's address, within the limits of art. 70 of the copyright law;
• linking to pages of the Site, provided the link does not alter their content, does not present them inside a frame as the linking party's own, and does not suggest a relationship that does not exist;
• reproducing the awareness materials intended for schools and public initiatives, in full and unmodified, for non-commercial purposes and crediting the association.

Prohibited conduct

When using the Site it is prohibited to:

• reproduce, distribute or make content available for commercial purposes without written authorisation;
• attempt to access areas, systems or data that are not publicly accessible, or to compromise their security;
• interfere with the operation of the Site, including by automated or bulk submissions through the contact form;
• use the contact form to send unsolicited commercial communications, or unlawful, defamatory or degrading content;
• systematically extract content by scraping, crawling or similar means.

Text and data mining reservation

The association expressly reserves the text and data mining rights in the content of the Site, under art. 4(3) of Directive (EU) 2019/790 and art. 70-quater of the Italian copyright law. This constitutes an express reservation in machine-readable form and applies to any use of the content for training artificial intelligence systems. Uses permitted for scientific research purposes by research organisations and cultural heritage institutions are unaffected.

Material and messages sent by visitors

The Site hosts no comments, forums or user-published content. The contact form is the only channel for sending anything. Those who write are responsible for what they send and confirm that they are entitled to communicate the information their message contains, including anything relating to other people. We expressly ask you not to put health information in the message, whether about yourself or anyone else: the reason is explained in the privacy policy, and for clinical or personal matters it is better to write directly to the association's address. Sending a proposal, an abstract or a suggestion gives the association no rights over what was sent beyond reading it and replying, except as the rules governing individual initiatives provide.

Accuracy and updating of content

Content is prepared with all due care and updated periodically, but the association does not warrant that it is complete, accurate and up to date at all times, nor that it is free of typographical error. Reports of inaccuracies are welcome and will be checked: see the “Reports and removal requests” section.

Third-party links, partners and patronages

The Site contains links to third-party sites, including transplant-sector bodies, institutions, partners and the external congress registration platform. These links are offered as a service to the reader. The association exercises no control over those sites, does not necessarily share their content, and is not responsible for their availability, accuracy or lawfulness, nor for the data processing practices applying on them, which are governed by their own notices. Listing a partner or a patronage records the stated relationship with the association and implies no mutual endorsement of content; patronages still being confirmed are identified as such.

Availability of the Site

The Site is made available free of charge and as it stands. The association does not warrant that access will be continuous, uninterrupted or error-free, and reserves the right to suspend, modify or discontinue it, in whole or in part, without notice, for technical, organisational or security reasons. Some services depend on third-party suppliers, whose unavailability may affect the Site.

Limitation of liability

To the extent permitted by law, the association is not liable for damage arising from access to the Site or from being unable to access it, from reliance placed on content that is informational in nature, or from the use of third-party sites reached through links. Nothing in these conditions excludes or limits the association's liability for wilful misconduct or gross negligence, such clauses being void under art. 1229 of the Italian Civil Code, nor for personal injury or in any other case where the law does not permit limitation.

Personal data

The processing of personal data of those who read the Site or write through the contact form is described in full in the privacy policy, which is a separate document and prevails over these conditions on any data protection matter. In summary, and without replacing a reading of that notice: the controller is the association; no data protection officer has been designated, the legal conditions for one not being met; the Site uses no analytics, does not profile visitors, carries no advertising, runs no newsletter and has no accounts.

Reports and removal requests

Anyone who considers that content published on the Site is inaccurate, infringes their rights — including copyright and image rights under art. 10 of the Italian Civil Code and arts. 96 and 97 of the copyright law — or is otherwise unlawful, may write to info@donarteassociation.org identifying the page, the specific content and the reason for the report. The association reviews the reports it receives and, where they are well founded, corrects or removes the content without undue delay.

Transparency

The association is a third-sector entity and carries that indication in its name, as art. 12 of Legislative Decree 117 of 3 July 2017 requires. The publication obligations under art. 14 of the same decree, concerning remuneration and fees, apply above the income thresholds it sets, which are not currently met. Any public grants, contributions or economic benefits subject to the publicity obligations of Law 124 of 4 August 2017 are published within the statutory deadlines.

The Site is not a news publication

The Site is not a registered news publication and is not updated at any predetermined interval. It is therefore not subject to the Italian publishing rules under Law 62 of 7 March 2001.

Changes to these conditions

The association may amend these conditions, in particular to reflect changes in the law or in the Site. The version published on this page is always the one in force and carries its date of entry into force at the top. Changes take effect on publication and apply to subsequent visits. As there are no accounts, individual notice cannot be given: please check this page from time to time.

Severability

If any single clause is void, invalid or unenforceable, the remaining clauses are unaffected and remain in full force. Tolerating a breach does not amount to waiving the rights arising under these conditions.

Governing law and jurisdiction

These conditions are governed by Italian law. The courts of Messina, where the association has its registered office, have jurisdiction over any dispute concerning their interpretation, performance or validity. For anyone qualifying as a consumer under the Italian Consumer Code, the mandatory jurisdiction of their place of residence or elected domicile applies where relevant.

Language and entry into force

These conditions are published in Italian and in English. In the event of any discrepancy between the two, the Italian text prevails. They enter into force on the date shown at the top of this page and remain effective until a later version is published. For any communication concerning these conditions: DONARTE Association for Organ Donation and Transplantation ETS, Viale Regina Margherita 59, 98121 Messina (ME), Italy, info@donarteassociation.org.