Power Over Pain – Terms of Use

About the POP Portal | Third-party Service Providers | Intellectual Property | Permitted Uses | Prohibited Uses | Termination or Restriction of Access | Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability | Indemnification | Governing Law and Jurisdiction | Data Use and Privacy | Miscellaneous Terms

This page outlines the Terms of Use (“Terms”) that apply to your use of the Power Over Pain website (“Portal”). The Portal is operated through the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (“OHRI”), the research arm of The Ottawa Hospital (“TOH”), referred to herein as “Operator”. Power Over Pain (“POP”) is an OHRI project funded by Health Canada and as such has certain obligations to Health Canada.

These Terms are a legal agreement between you and the Operator. They may be updated from time-to-time. As such, we invite you to review them regularly. Therefore, by using the Portal you are agreeing to the terms described in this document. If you do not agree with these Terms, please do not use the Portal.

1. About the POP Portal

The Portal provides access to free resources and services for pain management, mental health and substance use health support. This includes videos and articles, self-directed courses, peer support, workshops, and one-on-one counselling. The Portal also provides a self-assessment tool to help you track your pain, mood, functioning, and substance use.

The Portal does not function as a healthcare provider. Should you have any inquiries regarding your physical, mental, or substance use health, we strongly recommend consulting a member of your healthcare team. In case of immediate danger, a crisis, or an emergency concerning your physical or mental health, please dial 911 or reach out to your local emergency services.

2. Third-party Service Providers

Many of the resources and services available through the Portal are provided by third-party service providers. When you engage with any of these service providers, such as for peer support or individual counseling, you establish a distinct relationship with that particular service provider that is independent of the Portal. Your relationship with the service provider is governed by the terms or agreement that the service provider may have with you.

3. Intellectual Property

The Portal and its website content, which includes text, graphics, audio, video, user interfaces, and software, are protected by copyright, trademark, and relevant laws. They are the exclusive property of their respective owners. The use of this intellectual property on the Portal is only permitted for personal, non-commercial purposes. Any reproduction, extraction, modification, creation of derivative works, reverse engineering, decompilation, or attempts to extract the source code of the site's software are strictly prohibited.

4. Permitted Uses

You can use and access the Portal and the content accessible through this website strictly for your personal use. You are permitted to use the Portal for lawful purposes only and in accordance with these Terms. It is your responsibility to cover any wireless charges incurred when using the Portal on mobile devices.

5. Prohibited Uses

You are not permitted to use the Portal or the content it offers to create a competing website or service. You agree to refrain from utilizing the Portal in any manner that violates these Terms or any applicable laws, whether they are federal, provincial/territorial, local, or international. Additionally, you must avoid any actions that may potentially disable, burden, harm, or disrupt the functioning of the Portal or negatively impact the intellectual property or privacy rights of others, as well as their overall experience using the Portal. To provide further clarity, you are prohibited from:

  • Transmitting, distributing, or uploading programs or materials containing harmful code, such as viruses, time bombs, cancelbots, worms, trojan horses, spyware, or any other potentially harmful programs or information to the site;
  • Gaining or facilitating unauthorized access to the site or any of its features or functions, including other users' accounts, usernames, passwords, personal information, or other computers, websites, or pages connected to the site.
  • Modifying, disrupting, impairing, altering, or interfering with the site's use, features, functions, operation, or maintenance, or with any other person's use and enjoyment of the site.

6. Termination or Restriction of Access

Your ability to access and utilize the Portal might be ended or limited at any point if the Operator, at their sole discretion, believes it is essential to safeguard the Portal, POP, the Operator, or any other individual.

7. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

In certain jurisdictions, such as Quebec, there are laws that prohibit the exclusion or limitation of legal warranties or liability related to the goods or services offered through the Portal. If these laws are applicable to you, some or all of the exclusions or limitations outlined below may not be enforceable in your case, and you may possess additional rights.

Using the Portal is undertaken at your own risk. The Portal, along with any content accessible on or through it, is presented in an "as is" and "as available" manner. Within the limits permitted by law, the Operator and our service providers explicitly renounce all forms of representations, warranties, and conditions, whether express, implied, or collateral. This includes, but isn't restricted to: (a) assurances of merchantability, fitness for a specific purpose, or non-infringement; (b) affirmations regarding the accuracy or entirety of any content accessed via the Portal; (c) assurances that the Portal will fulfill your needs; (d) assurances that the Portal or its content will be accessible, or that your usage of the Portal will be continuous, punctual, secure, or devoid of errors; (e) guarantees of defect corrections; or (f) confirmations that the Portal is devoid of viruses or other detrimental elements.

In no circumstance shall the Operator or the service providers be accountable for any kind of damages, which include, but are not restricted to, direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, or consequential damages resulting from the usage, inability to use, or the outcomes of using the Portal. This encompasses accessing any websites linked to the Portal or any external resources or services mentioned or connected on the Portal. These potential damages may arise regardless of whether they are based on warranty, contract, tort, or any other legal theory, and whether or not you were informed about the potential for such damages. To the maximum extent allowed by law, the Operator, the service providers, or any other parties involved in producing, creating, or providing the Portal or any of its content, features, resources, or services accessible through the Portal will not be held liable to you in any way. This includes any decisions, actions, or lack of actions made by you based on the content, features, resources, or services provided through the Portal.

8. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the OHRI, TOH, their affiliates, their service providers and any other party involved in creating, producing, or delivering the Portal, POP, or any content, features, resources or services available through the Portal and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives, including without limitation all third parties referenced or mentioned on the Portal, from and against any and all claims, actions or demands, including without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, resulting from or related to: (a) your breach of these Terms; (b) your access to, use of, or reliance on the Portal, the content of the Portal, or any features, resources or services available through the Portal; or (c) your infringement of any intellectual property, privacy rights or other rights of any person.

9. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

If you access the Portal while in the Province of Quebec, these Terms are governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Province of Quebec and the laws of Canada applicable in the Province of Quebec and you irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in the Province of Quebec. If you access the Portal from anywhere else, , the Terms of the resources and services accessed via the Portal are governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the laws of Canada applicable in the Province of Ontario. This is trueunless the laws of the Canadian jurisdiction in which you reside require that the laws of such jurisdiction apply, in which case the laws of such jurisdiction shall apply. You irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in the Province of Ontario, unless required otherwise by applicable laws of your Canadian jurisdiction of residence.

10. Data Use and Privacy

All uses of data will be in accordance with the Privacy Policy.

11. Miscellaneous Terms

These Terms, together with the Portal Privacy Policy, contain the entire understanding and agreement between you and the Operator and replaces any and all prior or inconsistent understandings relating to the Portal and your use of the Portal. These Terms cannot be changed; they cannot be terminated orally; and they cannot be modified except as described in these Terms. If any part of these Terms is found to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, this will not affect any other parts. Instead, the Terms will be deemed amended as necessary to make it legal, valid and enforceable. Any provisions necessary to uphold their intent will endure even after the termination of these Terms. The headings within these Terms are for convenience and hold no legal significance.

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