At iMarS, we want to connect ship operators and surveyors through marine survey services. This document explains what information we receive from operators and surveyors and how we use these to improve our services.
Scope of this Privacy Policy
iMarS (“iMarS,” “we,” “our,” and/or “us”) values the privacy of individuals who use our application, websites, and related services (collectively, the “iMarS Platform”). This privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) explains how we collect, use, and share information from iMarS users (“Users”), comprised of both operators (“Operators”) and surveyors (including Individual Surveyor applicants and Surveyors from a Survey Company applicants) (“Surveyors”). Beyond the Privacy Policy, your use of iMarS is also subject to our Terms of Service.
Information We Collect
We collect both personally identifiable information (PII) and non-personally identifiable (NPII) information from you as explained below. By signing up, you agree to the “Terms of Service” and this “Privacy Policy”. This policy is governed by Texas Law, and you agree to terms of service including governing law and dispute resolution procedure in “Terms of Service”. If you are a resident of the State of California, your privacy rights are governed by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and if you are a resident of one of the member countries of European Union (EU), your privacy rights are governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR).
A. Information You Provide to Us
Registration Information. When you sign up for an iMarS account, you give us certain information including your name, email address, and phone number. For operator companies and survey companies, company name and company tax ID are also required during sign up. After logging in, we may ask additional information from users for verification purposes. For companies, invoice addressed to the company, utility bill, incorporation certificate, personal identification document, and Tax ID document are asked for company verification. Survey companies and individual surveyors may add years of experience, a profile picture, and “About Me” section to their user profile. We may share this information with our partners, who help us by running background checks on Surveyors and Operators to help protect the iMarS platform.
User Profile Information. When you join iMarS platform as a surveyor (company or individual), you can create an “About me” section to share information about yourself and services you provide. Filling out an “About Me” section is optional, and you can share as little or as much as you want. Your name (and for Surveyors, Profile photos) is always part of your Profile. Surveyor name, company name, rating, reviews, “About me”, years of experience (some of which are PII) may be shared with operators while searching for a surveyor. You give consent for sharing this information with registered operators.
Payment Method. Operator companies use wire transfer to iMarS associated bank account provided in the invoice sent to the operator companies, therefore operators do not share their bank account information in iMarS platform. Survey companies and individual (freelance) surveyors select payment method (ACH payment, PayPal, or Wire Transfer) and share the receiving account information for iMarS to transfer their accumulated balance when a balance transfer is requested. iMarS use the payment method information entered by surveyors (Survey Company or Individual Surveyors) solely to transfer funds.
Communications. If you contact us directly, we may receive additional information about you. For example, when you contact our Customer Support Team, we will receive your name, email address, phone number, the contents of a message or attachments that you may send to us, and other information you choose to provide.
Payment Information. To make sure Surveyors get paid, we keep information about Surveyors’ bank routing numbers, tax information, and any other payment information provided by Surveyors.
B. Information We Collect When You Use the IMarS Platform
Port and Services Information. Surveyors share the list of ports they provide services, and the kind of services they would like to provide in these ports. Surveyors enter the pricing for services and transportation costs for each port. This information is shared with operators who are searching for a service at a port.
Device Information. iMarS may receive information from Users’ devices, including IP address, web browser type, mobile operating system version, phone carrier and manufacturer, application installations, device identifiers, mobile advertising identifiers, push notification tokens.
Usage Information. To help us understand how you use the iMarS Platform and to help us improve it, we may receive information about your interactions with the iMarS Platform, like the pages or other content you view, your actions within the iMarS app, and the dates and times of your visits.
Messaging Information. iMarS provides a messaging service between Operators and Surveyors who have been connected for a marine survey. We receive information about these communications including the date and time of the messages, and the content of messages.
User Feedback. At IMarS, we want to make sure Operators are always satisfied with marine survey services provided by Surveyors. Operators may rate and review Surveyors at the end of every marine survey conducted. We receive information about ratings and reviews and give Operators information about Surveyors’ ratings and reviews during appointing surveyors.
Information from Cookies and Similar Technologies. We may collect information through the use of “cookies”, tracking pixels, and similar technologies to understand how you navigate through the iMarS Platform and interact with iMarS advertisements, to learn what content is popular, and to save your preferences. Cookies are small text files that web servers place on your device; they are designed to store basic information and to help websites and apps recognize your browser. We may use both session cookies and persistent cookies. A session cookie disappears after you close your browser. A persistent cookie remains after you close your browser and may be accessed every time you use the iMarS Platform. You should consult your web browser(s) to modify your cookie settings. Please note that if you delete or choose not to accept cookies from us, you may be missing out on certain features of the iMarS Platform.
C. Information We Collect from Third Parties
How We Use the Information We Collect
We use the information we collect from all Users to:
Connect Operators with Surveyors;
Provide, improve, expand, and promote the iMarS Platform;
Analyze how the iMarS Users uses the iMarS Platform;
Communicate with you, either directly or through one of our partners, including for marketing and promotional purposes;
Personalize the iMarS experience for you;
Send you emails, text messages and push notifications;
Facilitate transactions, payments, and fund transfers;
Provide you with customer support;
Find and prevent fraud; and
Respond to issues that may arise, including disputes between Operators and Surveyors, and requests from government authorities.
Additionally, we use the information we collect from Surveyors and Operators for the following purposes related to using iMarS Platform:
Sending emails and text messages to Surveyors and Operators who have signed up regarding the status of their user verification;
Determining a Surveyor’s and Operator’s eligibility to use iMarS Platform
How We Share the Information We Collect
A. Sharing Between Users
Sharing between Operators and Surveyors. Operators and Surveyors that have been matched for a marine survey are able to see basic information about each other, such as names, photo, ratings, reviews, pricing, and any information they have added to their Profiles. Surveyors see vessel, port, date, agent, and any other information Operator has provided. Operators see a Surveyor’s name, company name (if a survey company), rating, reviews, pricing, experience, “About Me”, and any other information Surveyor have added to their Profile. Operators’ ratings of Surveyors are shared with Surveyors and other Operators. Information submitted in survey reports by surveyors is shared with the operators and is within the responsibility of the surveyors who generate the reports. The chat messaging between operators and surveyors are also not controlled by iMarS and the information you provide is shared with the other party of the chat. You understand and acknowledge that iMarS does not have control of how the user PII or NPII is used by the users of the platform.
B. Sharing Between iMarS and Marine InfoTech
iMarS platform is a product of Marine InfoTech LLC and the contact information such as your name, email address and phone number may be shared with Marine InfoTech LLC and you may receive communication regarding new products developed by Marine InfoTech LLC.
Other Sharing. We may share your information with third parties in the following cases:
While negotiating or in relation to a change of corporate control such as a restructuring, merger or sale of our assets;
If a government authority requests information and we think disclosure is required or appropriate in order to comply with laws, regulations, or a legal process;
With law enforcement officials, government authorities, or third parties if we think doing so is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of the iMarS platform, iMarS, or the public;
To comply with a legal requirement or process, including but not limited to, civil and criminal subpoenas, court orders or other compulsory disclosures.
If you signed up for a promotion with another User’s referral or promotion code, with your referrer to let them know about your redemption of or qualification for the promotion;
To provide information about the use of the iMarS Platform to potential business partners in aggregated or de-identified form that can’t reasonably be used to identify you; and
Whenever you consent to the sharing.
Your Choices
Email Subscriptions. You can always unsubscribe from our commercial or promotional emails by contacting us at imars@marineinfotech.com but we will still send you transactional and relational emails about your account use of the iMarS Platform.
Text Messages. You can opt out of receiving commercial or promotional text messages anytime, but we may send you transactional and relational texts about phone number verification and account use of iMarS platform. You may opt out of receiving all texts from iMarS, but this may impact your use of the iMarS Platform.
Push Notifications. You can opt out of receiving push notifications through your device settings for iMarS mobile app. Please note that opting out of receiving push notifications may impact your use of the iMarS Platform (such as receiving a notification that you have a new survey request).
Profile Information. While Surveyors’ name, and company name (if applicable) will be shared with Operators during appointing a marine survey, and Operators’ name and company name, vessel information will be shared with Surveyors who the Operators select for the marine survey, Surveyors can remove their profile picture, or “About Me” section anytime they want.
Editing and Accessing Your Information. You can review and edit certain account information by logging in to your account and profile. If you would like to terminate your IMarS account, please contact us through “Report an Issue” menu for your request. If you choose to terminate your account, we will deactivate it for you but may retain information from your account for a certain period of time and disclose it in a manner consistent with our practices under this Privacy Policy for accounts that are not closed. We also may retain information from your account to collect any fees owed, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, analyze usage of the iMarS Platform, assist with any investigations, prevent fraud, enforce our Terms of Service, or take other actions as required or permitted by law.
Other
Data Security. We are committed to protecting the data of the IMarS platform. Even though we take reasonable precautions to protect your data, no security measures can be 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of your data.
Children’s Privacy. iMarS is not directed to children, and we don’t knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we find out that a child under 13 has given us personal information, we will take steps to delete that information. If you believe that a child under the age of 13 has given us personal information, please contact us through “Report an Issue” menu for your request.
Changes to Our Privacy Policy. We may make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make any material changes, we will let you know through the iMarS Platform, by email, or other communication. We encourage you to read this Privacy Policy periodically to stay up-to-date about our privacy practices. During your use of the iMarS Platform, you are agreeing to this Privacy Policy and any updates we make to it.
Contact Information. Feel free to contact us at any time with any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, your personal information, our use and sharing practices, or your consent choices through “Report an Issue” menu.
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Conduct Surveys
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Terms & Conditions
Legal Terms of Use
Effective: May 1, 2020
1. Contractual Relationship
“iMarS Platform” is a product of “Marine Infotech LLC”, and the term “iMarS Platform” will be used for “Marine InfoTech LLC” throughout this document. These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your access or use, from within the United States and its territories and possessions, and any country that iMarS Platform is doing business, of the applications, websites, content, products, and services (the "Services," as more fully defined below in Section 3) made available in the United States and its territories and possessions and all other countries served by iMarS Platform and its parents, subsidiaries, representatives, affiliates, officers and directors. PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY, AS THEY CONSTITUTE A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND IMARS PLATFORM. In these Terms, the words "including" and "include" mean "including, but not limited to."
By accessing or using the Services, you confirm your agreement to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Services. These Terms expressly supersede prior agreements or arrangements with you. iMarS Platform may immediately terminate these Terms or any Services with respect to you, or generally cease offering or deny access to the Services or any portion thereof, at any time for any reason.
IMPORTANT: PLEASE REVIEW THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT SET FORTH BELOW CAREFULLY, AS IT WILL REQUIRE YOU TO RESOLVE DISPUTES WITH IMARS PLATFORM ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS THROUGH FINAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION. BY ENTERING THIS AGREEMENT, YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT AND HAVE TAKEN TIME TO CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS IMPORTANT DECISION.
Supplemental terms may apply to certain Services, such as policies for a particular event, program, activity or promotion, and such supplemental terms will be disclosed to you in separate region-specific disclosures or in connection with the applicable Service(s). Supplemental terms are in addition to, and shall be deemed a part of, the Terms for the purposes of the applicable Service(s). Supplemental terms shall prevail over these Terms in the event of a conflict with respect to the applicable Services.
iMarS Platform may amend the Terms from time to time. Amendments will be effective upon iMarS Platform 's posting of such updated Terms at any location or in the amended policies or supplemental terms on the applicable Service(s). Your continued access or use of the Services after such posting confirms your consent to be bound by the Terms, as amended. If iMarS Platform changes these Terms after the date you first agreed to the Terms (or to any subsequent changes to these Terms), you may reject any such change by providing iMarS Platform written notice of such rejection within 30 days of the date such change became effective, as indicated in the "Effective" date above. This written notice must be provided by email from the email address associated with your account to: imars@marineinfotech.com. In order to be effective, the notice must include your full name and clearly indicate your intent to reject changes to these Terms. By rejecting changes, you are agreeing that you will continue to be bound by the provisions of these Terms as of the date you first agreed to the Terms (or to any subsequent changes to these Terms).
iMarS Platform’s collection and use of personal information in connection with the Services is described in iMarS Platform’s Privacy Statement.
2. Arbitration Agreement
By agreeing to the Terms, you agree that you are required to resolve any claim that you may have against iMarS Platform on an individual basis in arbitration, as set forth in this Arbitration Agreement. This will preclude you from bringing any class, collective, or representative action against iMarS Platform, and also preclude you from participating in or recovering relief under any current or future class, collective, consolidated, or representative action brought against iMarS Platform by someone else.
Agreement to Binding Arbitration Between You and iMarS Platform.
You and iMarS Platform agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to (a) these Terms or the existence, breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof, or (b) your access to or use of the Services at any time, whether before or after the date you agreed to the Terms, will be settled by binding arbitration between you and iMarS Platform, and not in a court of law.
You acknowledge and agree that you and iMarS Platform are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class action or representative proceeding. Unless both you and iMarS Platform otherwise agree in writing, any arbitration will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, collective, consolidated, or representative proceeding. However, you and iMarS Platform each retain the right to bring an individual action in small claims court and the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of a party's copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents or other intellectual property rights.
Rules and Governing Law.
The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") in accordance with the AAA’s Consumer Arbitration Rules and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (the "AAA Rules") then in effect, except as modified by this Arbitration Agreement. The AAA Rules are available at https://www.adr.org/Rules or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879.
The parties agree that the arbitrator (“Arbitrator”), and not any federal, state, or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve any disputes relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability or formation of this Arbitration Agreement, including any claim that all or any part of this Arbitration Agreement is void or voidable. The Arbitrator shall also be responsible for determining all threshold arbitrability issues, including issues relating to whether the Terms are unconscionable or illusory and any defense to arbitration, including waiver, delay, laches, or estoppel.
Notwithstanding any choice of law or other provision in the Terms, the parties agree and acknowledge that this Arbitration Agreement evidences a transaction involving interstate commerce and that the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. (“FAA”), will govern its interpretation and enforcement and proceedings pursuant thereto. It is the intent of the parties that the FAA and AAA Rules shall preempt all state laws to the fullest extent permitted by law. If the FAA and AAA Rules are found to not apply to any issue that arises under this Arbitration Agreement or the enforcement thereof, then that issue shall be resolved under the laws of the state of Texas.
Process.
A party who desires to initiate arbitration must provide the other party with a written Demand for Arbitration as specified in the AAA Rules. (The AAA provides a form Demand for Arbitration - Consumer Arbitration Rules at www.adr.org or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879). The Arbitrator will be either (1) a retired judge or (2) an attorney specifically licensed to practice law in the state of Texas and will be selected by the parties from the AAA's roster of consumer dispute arbitrators. If the parties are unable to agree upon an Arbitrator within seven (7) days of delivery of the Demand for Arbitration, then the AAA will appoint the Arbitrator in accordance with the AAA Rules.
Location and Procedure.
Unless you and iMarS Platform otherwise agree, the arbitration will be conducted in Texas, USA. If your claim does not exceed $10,000, then the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of documents you and iMarS Platform submit to the Arbitrator, unless you request a hearing or the Arbitrator determines that a hearing is necessary. If your claim exceeds $10,000, your right to a hearing will be determined by the AAA Rules. Subject to the AAA Rules, the Arbitrator will have the discretion to direct a reasonable exchange of information by the parties, consistent with the expedited nature of the arbitration.
Arbitrator's Decision.
The Arbitrator will render an award within the time frame specified in the AAA Rules. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court having competent jurisdiction to do so. The Arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the claimant and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the claimant's individual claim. An Arbitrator’s decision shall be final and binding on all parties. An Arbitrator’s decision and judgment thereon shall have no precedential or collateral estoppel effect. If you prevail in arbitration you will be entitled to an award of attorneys' fees and expenses, to the extent provided under applicable law. iMarS Platform will not seek, and hereby waives all rights iMarS Platform may have under applicable law to recover, attorneys' fees and expenses if iMarS Platform prevails in arbitration.
Fees.
Your responsibility to pay any AAA filing, administrative and arbitrator fees will be solely as set forth in the AAA Rules. iMarS Platform will not pay any fees for your filing of Arbitration to AAA.
Changes.
Notwithstanding the provisions in Section I above, regarding consent to be bound by amendments to these Terms, if iMarS Platform changes this Arbitration Agreement after the date you first agreed to the Terms (or to any subsequent changes to the Terms), you may reject any such change by providing iMarS Platform written notice of such rejection within 30 days of the date such change became effective, as indicated in the "Effective" date above. This written notice must be provided by email from the email address associated with your account to: imars@marineinfotech.com. In order to be effective, the notice must include your full name and clearly indicate your intent to reject changes to this Arbitration Agreement. By rejecting changes, you are agreeing that you will arbitrate any dispute between you and iMarS Platform in accordance with the provisions of this Arbitration Agreement as of the date you first agreed to the Terms (or to any subsequent changes to the Terms).
Severability and Survival.
If any portion of this Arbitration Agreement is found to be unenforceable or unlawful for any reason, (1) the unenforceable or unlawful provision shall be severed from these Terms; (2) severance of the unenforceable or unlawful provision shall have no impact whatsoever on the remainder of the Arbitration Agreement or the parties’ ability to compel arbitration of any remaining claims on an individual basis pursuant to the Arbitration Agreement; and (3) to the extent that any claims must therefore proceed on a class, collective, consolidated, or representative basis, such claims must be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not in arbitration, and the parties agree that litigation of those claims shall be stayed pending the outcome of any individual claims in arbitration.
3. The Services expand upon
The Services comprise web application, mobile applications and related services (each, an "Application"), which enable users to arrange and schedule marine surveys including with third party providers of such services under agreement with iMarS Platform or certain of iMarS Platform's affiliates ("Third Party Providers"). Unless otherwise agreed by iMarS Platform in a separate written agreement with you, the Services are made available solely for commercial use.
FOR OPERATOR COMPANIES; YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOUR ABILITY TO OBTAIN MARINE SURVEYS THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICES DOES NOT ESTABLISH IMARS PLATFORM AS A PROVIDER OF MARINE SURVEYS SERVICES OR AS SURVEY CONDUCTOR.
FOR SURVEY COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUAL SURVEYORS; YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOUR ABILITY TO OBTAIN MARINE SURVEY REQUESTS THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICES DOES NOT ESTABLISH IMARS PLATFORM AS A PROVIDER OF MARINE SURVEY REQUESTS AND SERVICES OR AS AN OPERATOR COMPANY.
For operator companies, survey companies, and individual surveyors, iMarS Platform only provides the platform for facilitating survey requests from operator companies to survey companies or individual surveyors.
License.
Subject to your compliance with these Terms, iMarS Platform grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, revocable, non-transferable license to: (i) access and use the Applications on your personal device solely in connection with your use of the Services; and (ii) access and use any content, information and related materials that may be made available through the Services, in each case solely for commercial use. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved by iMarS Platform and iMarS Platform's licensors.
Restrictions.
You may not: (i) remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary notices from any portion of the Services; (ii) reproduce, modify, prepare derivative works based upon, distribute, license, lease, sell, resell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast or otherwise exploit the Services except as expressly permitted by iMarS Platform; (iii) decompile, reverse engineer or disassemble the Services except as may be permitted by applicable law; (iv) link to, mirror or frame any portion of the Services; (v) cause or launch any programs or scripts for the purpose of scraping, indexing, surveying, or otherwise data mining any portion of the Services or unduly burdening or hindering the operation and/or functionality of any aspect of the Services; or (vi) attempt to gain unauthorized access to or impair any aspect of the Services or its related systems or networks.
Provision of the Services.
You acknowledge that portions of the Services may be made available under Marine Infotech LLC’s various brands currently referred to as “iMarS”, “iMarS Platform”, and “imarinesurvey.com”. You also acknowledge that the Services may be made available under such brands in connection with: (i) certain of Marine Infotech LLC’s subsidiaries and affiliates; or (ii) independent Third Party Providers, including Surveyors from a Survey Company, or Individual (Freelance) Surveyors.
Third Party Services and Content.
The Services may be made available or accessed in connection with third party services and content (including advertising) that iMarS Platform does not control. You acknowledge that different terms of use and privacy policies may apply to your use of such third-party services and content. iMarS Platform does not endorse such third-party services and content and in no event shall iMarS Platform be responsible or liable for any products or services of such third-party providers. Additionally, Apple Inc., Google, Inc., Microsoft Corporation or BlackBerry Limited will be a third-party beneficiary to this contract if you access the Services using Applications developed for Apple iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows, or Blackberry-powered mobile devices, respectively. These third-party beneficiaries are not parties to this contract and are not responsible for the provision or support of the Services in any manner. Your access to the Services using these devices is subject to terms set forth in the applicable third-party beneficiary's terms of service.
Ownership.
The Services and all rights therein are and shall remain iMarS Platform's property. Neither these Terms nor your use of the Services convey or grant to you any rights: (i) in or related to the Services except for the limited license granted above; or (ii) to use or reference in any manner Marine Infotech LLC’s company names, logos, product and service names, trademarks or services marks.
4. Access and Use of the Services
User Accounts.
In order to use most aspects of the Services, you must register for and maintain an active personal or company user Services account ("Account"). You must be at least 18 years of age, or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction (if different than 18), to obtain an Account, unless a specific Service permits otherwise. Account registration may require you to submit some or all of the documents listed here to iMarS Platform; these information may include your name, address, mobile phone number, email address, personal ID, social security number, tax ID number, and for survey companies and operator companies, company tax ID, company name, address, tax ID document, an invoice under the company name, utility bill, company SAC document, and incorporation document. After signing up, survey companies and individual surveyors must provide at least one valid payment method supported by iMarS Platform for the country they reside to receive funds that accumulate in their account balance. You agree to maintain accurate, complete, and up-to-date information in your Account. Surveyors’ and Surveyor Companies’ failure to maintain accurate, complete, and up-to-date Account information, including having an invalid or expired payment method on file, may result in inability to receive funds in the account balance. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your Account, and you always agree to maintain the security and secrecy of your Account username and password. Unless otherwise permitted by iMarS Platform in writing, you may only possess one Account.
In the case certification or any other requirements for conducting marine surveys is required by law or the local authorities or any other public or private entity at a particular port, city, or a country, going through account verification for individual surveyors or survey companies does not guarantee that these requirements are met. In the case of survey companies, the screening and verification and certifications of surveyors of the company added by the Designated Person of the company are within the responsibility of the Designated Person and the Survey Company. Similarly, the operators added by the Designated Person of the Operator company is within the responsibility of the Designated Person and the Operator Company.
User Requirements and Conduct.
The Service is not available for use by persons under the age of 18. You may not authorize third parties to use your Account, and you may not allow persons under the age of 18 to receive services from Third Party Providers unless they are accompanied by you. You may not assign or otherwise transfer your Account to any other person or entity. You agree to comply with all applicable laws when accessing or using the Services, and you may only access or use the Services for lawful purposes. You may not in your access or use of the Services cause nuisance, annoyance, inconvenience, or property damage, whether to the Third Party Provider or any other party. In certain instances you may be asked to provide proof of identity or other method of identity verification to access or use the Services, and you agree that you may be denied access to or use of the Services if you refuse to provide proof of identity or other method of identity verification.
Text Messaging, Telephone Calls, and E-mails.
You agree that iMarS Platform may contact you by telephone or e-mail or messages (including by an automatic telephone dialing system) at any of the phone numbers provided by you or on your behalf in connection with a iMarS Platform account, including for marketing purposes. You understand that you are not required to provide this consent as a condition of purchasing any property, goods or services. You also understand that you may opt out of receiving text messages from iMarS Platform at any time. If you do not choose to opt out, iMarS Platform may contact you as outlined in its User Privacy Statement.
Referrals and Promotional Codes.
iMarS Platform may, in its sole discretion, create referral and/or promotional codes ("Promo Codes") that may be redeemed for discounts on future Services and/or a Third Party Provider's services, or other features or benefits related to the Services and/or a Third Party Provider's services, subject to any additional terms that iMarS Platform establishes. You agree that Promo Codes: (i) must be used for the intended audience and purpose, and in a lawful manner; (ii) may not be duplicated, sold or transferred in any manner, or made available to the general public (whether posted to a public form or otherwise), unless expressly permitted by iMarS Platform; (iii) may be disabled by iMarS Platform at any time for any reason without liability to iMarS Platform; (iv) may only be used pursuant to the specific terms that iMarS Platform establishes for such Promo Code; (v) are not valid for cash; and (vi) may expire prior to your use. iMarS Platform reserves the right to withhold or deduct credits or other features or benefits obtained through the use of the referral system or Promo Codes by you or any other user in the event that iMarS Platform determines or believes that the use of the referral system or use or redemption of the Promo Code was in error, fraudulent, illegal, or otherwise in violation of iMarS Platform’s Terms.
User Provided Content.
iMarS Platform may, in iMarS Platform's sole discretion, permit you from time to time to submit, upload, publish or otherwise make available to iMarS Platform through the Services textual, audio, and/or visual content and information, including commentary and feedback related to the Services, initiation of support requests, and submission of entries for competitions and promotions ("User Content"). Any User Content provided by you remains your property. However, by providing User Content to iMarS Platform, you grant iMarS Platform a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, modify, create derivative works of, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, and otherwise exploit in any manner such User Content in all formats and distribution channels now known or hereafter devised (including in connection with the Services and iMarS Platform's business and on third-party sites and services), without further notice to or consent from you, and without the requirement of payment to you or any other person or entity.
You represent and warrant that: (i) you either are the sole and exclusive owner of all User Content or you have all rights, licenses, consents and releases necessary to grant iMarS Platform the license to the User Content as set forth above; and (ii) neither the User Content, nor your submission, uploading, publishing or otherwise making available of such User Content, nor iMarS Platform's use of the User Content as permitted herein will infringe, misappropriate or violate a third party's intellectual property or proprietary rights, or rights of publicity or privacy, or result in the violation of any applicable law or regulation.
You agree to not provide User Content that is defamatory, libelous, hateful, violent, obscene, pornographic, unlawful, or otherwise offensive, as determined by iMarS Platform in its sole discretion, whether or not such material may be protected by law. iMarS Platform may, but shall not be obligated to, review, monitor, or remove User Content, at iMarS Platform's sole discretion and at any time and for any reason, without notice to you.
Data, Network Access and Devices.
You are responsible for obtaining the data network access necessary to use the Services. Your mobile network's data and messaging rates and fees may apply if you access or use the Services from your device. You are responsible for acquiring and updating compatible hardware or devices necessary to access and use the Services and Applications and any updates thereto. iMarS Platform does not guarantee that the Services, or any portion thereof, will function on any particular hardware or devices. In addition, the Services may be subject to malfunctions and delays inherent in the use of the Internet and electronic communications.
iMarS is not responsible for any potentially infringing material (pictures, reports, documents, files) data that is uploaded to the iMarS by the users of the platform. It is users’ responsibility to not upload and create any potentially infringing content within the platfom.
For any confidential information or user related data stored in iMarS platform, iMarS does not warranty that the information will be stored and held in iMarS platform for a period of time, it is the users’ responsibility to keep a record of the confidential information or user related data. Any content shared through the platform by the users is treated as non-confidential and non-propriety.
5. Payment
You understand that use of the Services may result in charges to you for the services or goods you receive ("Charges"). iMarS Platform will receive and/or enable your payment of the applicable Charges for services or goods obtained through your use of the Services. Charges will be inclusive of applicable taxes where required by law. Charges may include other applicable fees, processing fees, bank/payment transfer fees, cancellation fees, fees for not providing services that are agreed to be provided using iMarS Platform services, fees or penalties for late payments of invoices.
All Charges and payments of Operators to Marine Infotech LLC will be transferred by Operator Companies to the bank account information of Marine Infotech LLC specified on the invoice sent to Operators. Balance transfers from iMarS platform to Surveyors will be transferred to the Surveyors using the preferred payment method selected in Surveyors’ Account. Charges paid by you are final and non-refundable, unless otherwise determined by iMarS Platform.
As between you and iMarS Platform, iMarS Platform reserves the right to establish, remove and/or revise Charges for any or all services or goods obtained through the use of the Services at any time in iMarS Platform's sole discretion. Further, you acknowledge and agree that Charges applicable in certain geographical areas may differ. iMarS Platform will use reasonable efforts to inform you of Charges that may apply, provided that you will be responsible for Charges incurred under your Account regardless of your awareness of such Charges or the amounts thereof. iMarS Platform may from time to time provide certain users with promotional offers and discounts that may result in different amounts charged for the same or similar services or goods obtained through the use of the Services, and you agree that such promotional offers and discounts, unless also made available to you, shall have no bearing on your use of the Services or the Charges applied to you. After Operators have received services obtained through the Service, they will have the opportunity to rate their experience with the Surveyor and leave additional feedback. iMarS does not reviews ratings submitted by the operators, and if there is a dispute, or a false review, iMarS does not arbitrate disputes between rater and the rated parties. The rating disputes needs to be handled between rater and rated party. iMarS Platform may use the proceeds of any Charges for any purpose, subject to any payment obligations it has agreed to with Surveyors or other third parties.
With respect to Surveyors, Charges Operators incur will be owed directly to Surveyors, and iMarS Platform will collect payment of those charges from Operators, on the Surveyors’ behalf as their limited payment collection agent, and payment of the Charges shall be considered the same as payment made directly by Operators to the Surveyors. iMarS Platform will respond accordingly to any request from a Surveyor or Operator to modify the Charges for a particular marine survey.
Survey Cancellation
Operators or surveyors may elect to cancel a request for Services at any time prior to the commencement of such Services, in which case they may be charged a cancellation fee. iMarS will monitor survey cancellations by users and may take actions for users that are excessively cancelling surveys. These actions may include cancellation fees and account suspension. Cancelling surveys is not recommended for keeping positive user experience across the platform.
Charges to Operator Companies
The Charges to Operator Companies for using services provided by iMarS Platform and Surveyors will be listed at the time of scheduling of the services. These may include service charges for the marine survey and the transportation cost for the survey. For custom occasional surveys, the Charges will be determined by a bidding process and the choice of the Surveyor by the Operator Company. For daily priced surveys, the final invoice amount may be determined by the number of days the service took place, which is entered by the Surveyor after the survey is complete and survey report finished and provided to the Operator Company through services provided by iMarS Platform. If there will be a dispute on the total number of days the survey took place, there may be a dispute process which will be finalized by the Operator Company and the Surveyor after the survey is completed through “Report an Issue” menu. iMarS Platform has the right to intervene and make a final decision for disputed surveys if not resolved between you and the Surveyors, for which you agree to this final decision.
Operator company is responsible for transferring the full amount on the invoice by the due date shown on the invoice to Marine Infotech LLC’s bank account as shown on the invoice on behalf of the Surveyor. Operator company is responsible for all the bank transfer charges that may be charged to the Operator Company at the time of transfer. The net amount received by Marine Infotech LLC must match the total amount due on the invoice. Operator companies must follow the instructions on the invoice provided by Marine Infotech LLC for the transfer. Operator Companies may transfer funds for one invoice or for more than one invoice at a time before the due date for the invoice. Operator company must include Survey Number(s) shown on the invoice(s) in the description during the transferring of the funds, and if asked by iMarS Platform, Operator companies must provide the survey numbers for payments sent to iMarS Platform if they are not included in the transfer.
Charges to Third Party Providers (Surveyor Companies and Individual Surveyors)
You agree that iMarS Platform creates invoices, sends invoices to Operator Companies, and collects funds from Operator Companies on your behalf for the services you provide to Operator Companies. The funds for the services provided by you to Operator Companies will be available for you to request from iMarS Platform only after the funds are received by iMarS Platform from the Operator company you provide the service to. The funds available for you to request will be a portion of the full amount received from Operator companies due to the Charges deducted from the funds received.
iMarS Platform is not responsible for the short-received invoice amounts from the Operator Companies, although iMarS Platform will try to ensure to prevent this to happen in its ability by communicating Operator Companies to send the net full amount on the invoice to iMarS Platform. For multiple invoices received from an Operator Company in a one time transfer, iMarS Platform may distribute the short received payment amount among the surveys that are paid in that transfer by dividing the short received amount (total of the invoice amounts minus the actual fund received) by the number of surveys paid in that payment.
iMarS Platform is not responsible for invoices that are not paid by the Operator Companies or invoices paid later than the due date on the invoice. Operator Companies that delay payments or do not pay invoices may be suspended by iMarS. This is to protect surveyors from operator companies that are not misusing the platform. iMarS will try to ensure to prevent this to happen in its ability by communicating Operator Companies to pay the invoices on time. If the invoices are not paid within certain time, Operator company account may be suspended to protect surveyors and the surveyors who have pending payments from the Operator company will be informed that the invoice has not been paid.
The Charges applied to the funds received from Operator companies is 20% of the actual funds received from Operator Company. For every survey completed and accepted by the Operator Company, 80% of the funds received from the Operator Company for that survey goes to your account balance. If the invoice is not fully paid by the operator company, 80% of the amount received from Operator Company goes to your balance. If the invoice is not paid by the Operator company, iMarS is not responsible for unpaid invoices, but will communicate with the Operator Company to have the invoice paid and may terminate the account of the Operator Company as a means to protect you. You may request transfer of your account balance anytime subject to additional charges in some cases. iMarS Platform may refuse to send your balance if your balance is less than the transfer cost for that transfer using the method you select. Based on the country you sign up from, you may have one or more of the following payment methods to select from and additional charges in certain cases.
ACH Method: For USA only. There is no additional charge for receiving funds in your available balance. You will receive the balance you requested in your bank account as an ACH payment.
PayPal: For certain countries other than USA. There is no additional charge for receiving funds in your available balance. You will receive the funds in your PayPal account. There may be additional charges while transferring your funds from your PayPal account to your bank account in the country you have your PayPal and bank accounts, iMarS Platform is not responsible for these charges by PayPal or your bank.
Wire Transfer: For certain countries other than USA. For balances greater than or equal to 2000 USD, there is no additional charge for receiving funds in your available balance. For balances less than 2000 USD, there is an early withdrawal fee that does not exceed 40 USD as of the day of this agreement. In this case, iMarS Platform will cover a portion of the 40 USD fee. This portion is 2% of the balance you request for payment, and you will be charged the remaining of the early withdrawal fee of 40 USD. This maximum 40 USD fee and the 2000 USD threshold for no early withdrawal fee can be adjusted anytime by iMarS Platform based on the wire transfer costs of iMarS Platform to your bank account in the country you reside.
6. Disclaimers; Limitation of Liability; Indemnity.
DISCLAIMER.
THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." IMARS PLATFORM DISCLAIMS ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, NOT EXPRESSLY SET OUT IN THESE TERMS, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN ADDITION, IMARS PLATFORM MAKES NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR GUARANTEE REGARDING THE RELIABILITY, TIMELINESS, QUALITY, SUITABILITY, OR AVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICES OR ANY SERVICES OR GOODS REQUESTED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICES, OR THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. IMARS PLATFORM DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE QUALITY, SUITABILITY, SAFETY OR ABILITY OF SURVEYORS. YOU AGREE THAT THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, AND ANY SERVICE OR GOOD REQUESTED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, REMAINS SOLELY WITH YOU, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.
IMARS PLATFORM SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, PERSONAL INJURY, OR PROPERTY DAMAGE RELATED TO, IN CONNECTION WITH, OR OTHERWISE RESULTING FROM ANY USE OF THE SERVICES, REGARDLESS OF THE NEGLIGENCE (EITHER ACTIVE, AFFIRMATIVE, SOLE, OR CONCURRENT) OF IMARS PLATFORM, EVEN IF IMARS PLATFORM HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
IMARS PLATFORM SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, LIABILITY OR LOSSES ARISING OUT OF: (i) YOUR USE OF OR RELIANCE ON THE SERVICES OR YOUR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICES; OR (ii) ANY TRANSACTION OR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND ANY THIRD PARTY PROVIDER, EVEN IF IMARS PLATFORM HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IMARS PLATFORM SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DELAY OR FAILURE IN PERFORMANCE RESULTING FROM CAUSES BEYOND IMARS PLATFORM'S REASONABLE CONTROL. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS PROVIDING MARINE SURVEY SERVICES REQUESTED MAY NOT BE PROFESSIONALLY LICENSED OR PERMITTED.
THE SERVICES MAY BE USED BY YOU TO REQUEST AND SCHEDULE MARINE SURVEYS SERVICES WITH THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS, BUT YOU AGREE THAT IMARS PLATFORM HAS NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY TO YOU RELATED TO ANY MARINE SURVEY SERVICES PROVIDED TO YOU BY THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS OTHER THAN AS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THESE TERMS.
THE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMER IN THIS SECTION DO NOT PURPORT TO LIMIT LIABILITY OR ALTER YOUR RIGHTS AS A CONSUMER THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. BECAUSE SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATES OR JURISDICTIONS, IMARS PLATFORM’S LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. THIS PROVISION SHALL HAVE NO EFFECT ON IMARS PLATFORM’S CHOICE OF LAW PROVISION SET FORTH BELOW.
Indemnity.
You agree to indemnify and hold iMarS Platform and its affiliates and their officers, directors, employees, and agents harmless from any and all claims, demands, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including attorneys' fees), arising out of or in connection with: (i) your use of the Services or services or goods obtained through your use of the Services; (ii) your breach or violation of any of these Terms; (iii) iMarS Platform's use of your User Content; or (iv) your violation of the rights of any third party, including Third Party Providers.
7. Other Provisions
Choice of Law.
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas, U.S.A., without giving effect to any conflict of law principles, except as may be otherwise provided in the Arbitration Agreement above or in supplemental terms applicable to your region. However, the choice of law provision regarding the interpretation of these Terms is not intended to create any other substantive right to non-Texans to assert claims under Texas law whether that be by statute, common law, or otherwise. These provisions, and except as otherwise provided in Section 2 of these Terms, are only intended to specify the use of Texas law to interpret these Terms and the forum for disputes asserting a breach of these Terms, and these provisions shall not be interpreted as generally extending Texas law to you if you do not otherwise reside in Texas. The foregoing choice of law and forum selection provisions do not apply to the arbitration clause in Section 2 or to any arbitrable disputes as defined therein. Instead, as described in Section 2, the Federal Arbitration Act shall apply to any such disputes.
Claims of Copyright Infringement.
Claims of copyright infringement should be sent to iMarS Platform's designated agent. Please visit iMarS Platform's web page to reach to iMarS Platform regarding copyright infringement claims.
Notice.
iMarS Platform may give notice by means of a general notice on the Services, electronic mail to your email address in your Account, telephone or text message to any phone number provided in connection with your account, or by written communication sent by first class mail or pre-paid post to any address connected with your Account. Such notice shall be deemed to have been given upon the expiration of 48 hours after mailing or posting (if sent by first class mail or pre-paid post) or 12 hours after sending (if sent by email or telephone). You may give notice to iMarS Platform, with such notice deemed given when received by iMarS Platform, at any time by first class mail or pre-paid post to Marine Infotech LLC with attention to: iMarS Platform, USA. The current contact information for Marine Infotech is available at www.marineinfotech.com/ContactUs.
General.
You may not assign these Terms without iMarS Platform's prior written approval. iMarS Platform may assign these Terms without your consent to: (i) a subsidiary or affiliate; (ii) an acquirer of iMarS Platform's equity, business or assets; or (iii) a successor by merger. Any purported assignment in violation of this section shall be void. No joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you, iMarS Platform or any Third Party Provider as a result of this Agreement or use of the Services. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions shall be enforced to the fullest extent under law. iMarS Platform's failure to enforce any right or provision in these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by iMarS Platform in writing. This provision shall not affect the Severability and Survivability section of the Arbitration Agreement of these Terms.