Website Terms & Conditions

PLEASE READ THE TERMS OF THIS POLICY CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THE SITE

What’s in these terms?

This acceptable use policy sets out the content standards that apply when you upload content to our site, make contact with other users on our site, link to our site, or interact with our site in any other way.

Who we are and how to contact us

www.commonthreads.org.uk is a site operated by Common Threads Publications Limited (“We”). We are registered in England and Wales under company number 04500413 and have our registered office at Office 2, The Sackhouse, Jicklings Yard, Wells-next-Sea, Norfolk, UK NR23 1AU.

To contact us, please email info@commonthreads.org.uk or telephone us on +44 (0) 7831 487893.

By using our site you accept these terms

By using our site, you confirm that you accept the terms of this policy and that you agree to comply with them.

If you do not agree to these terms, you must not use our site.

We recommend that you print a copy of these terms for future reference.

There are other terms that may apply to you.

Our privacy policy and cookie policy also apply to your use of our site. If you choose to purchase goods or services from our site, the terms and conditions of supply will also apply.

We may make changes to the terms of this policy

We amend these terms from time to time. Every time you wish to use our site, please check these terms to ensure you understand the terms that apply at that time.

We may make changes to our site

We may update and change our site from time to time.

We may suspend or withdraw our site

Our site is made available free of charge.

We do not guarantee that our site, or any content on it, will always be available or be uninterrupted. We may suspend or withdraw or restrict the availability of all or any part of our site for business and operational reasons. We will try to give you reasonable notice of any suspension or withdrawal.

You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access our site through your internet connection are aware of these terms of use and other applicable terms and conditions, and that they comply with them.

We may transfer this agreement to someone else

We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to another organisation. We will always tell you in writing if this happens and we will ensure that the transfer will not affect your rights under the contract.

You must keep your account details safe

If you choose, or you are provided with, a user identification code, password or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential. You must not disclose it to any third party.

We have the right to disable any user identification code or password, whether chosen by you or allocated by us, at any time, if in our reasonable opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these terms of use.

If you know or suspect that anyone other than you knows your user identification code or password, you must promptly notify us at info@commonthreads.org.uk.

How you may use material on our site

We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our site, and in the material published on it. Those works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved.

You may print off one copy, and may download extracts, of any page(s) from our site for your personal use and you may draw the attention of others within your organisation to content posted on our site.

You must not modify the paper or digital copies of any materials you have printed off or downloaded in any way, and you must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from any accompanying text.

Our status (and that of any identified contributors) as the authors of content on our site must always be acknowledged (except where the content is user-generated).

You must not use any part of the content on our site for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence to do so from us or our licensors.

If you print off, copy, download, share or repost any part of our site in breach of these terms of use, your right to use our site will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.

No text or data mining, or web scraping

You shall not conduct, facilitate, authorise or permit any text or data mining or web scraping in relation to our site or any services provided via, or in relation to, our site. This includes using (or permitting, authorising or attempting the use of):

• Any “robot”, “bot”, “spider”, “scraper” or other automated device, program, tool, algorithm, code, process or methodology to access, obtain, copy, monitor or republish any portion of the site or any data, content, information or services accessed via the same.
• Any automated analytical technique aimed at analysing text and data in digital form to generate information which includes but is not limited to patterns, trends and correlations.

The provisions in this clause should be treated as an express reservation of our rights in this regard, including for the purposes of Article 4(3) of Digital Copyright Directive ((EU) 2019/790).

This clause shall not apply insofar as (but only to the extent that) we are unable to exclude or limit text or data mining or web scraping activity by contract under the laws which are applicable to us.

Do not rely on information on this site

The content on our site is provided for general information only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.

Although we make reasonable efforts to update the information on our site, we make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content on our site is accurate, complete or up to date.

We are not responsible for websites we link to

Where our site contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. Such links should not be interpreted as approval by us of those linked websites or information you may obtain from them.

We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources.

User-generated content is not approved by us.

This website may include information and materials uploaded by other users of the site, including to social media pages, video-sharing sites, bulletin boards and chat rooms. This information and these materials have not been verified or approved by us. The views expressed by other users on our site do not represent our views or values.

How to complain about or report content

If you become aware of any material that could comprise or be connected to child sexual abuse or exploitation or that could comprise terrorist content or be connected to terrorism, please contact us immediately on info@commonthreads.org.uk.

If you wish to complain about any other content, please contact us on info@commonthreads.org.uk.

Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you

Whether you are a consumer or a business user:

We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors and for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

If you are a business user:

We exclude all implied conditions, warranties, representations or other terms that may apply to our site or any content on it.

We will not be liable to you for any loss or damage, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, even if foreseeable, arising under or in connection with:

• use of, or inability to use, our site; or
• use of or reliance on any content displayed on our site.

In particular, we will not be liable for:

• loss of profits, sales, business, or revenue;
• business interruption;
• loss of anticipated savings;
• loss of business opportunity, goodwill or reputation; or
• any indirect or consequential loss or damage.

If you are a consumer user:

Please note that we only provide our site for domestic and private use. You agree not to use our site for any commercial or business purposes, and we have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity.

If defective digital content that we have supplied, damages a device or digital content belonging to you and this is caused by our failure to use reasonable care and skill, we will either repair the damage or pay you compensation.

How we may use your personal information

We will only use your personal information as set out in our Privacy Policy.

Uploading content to our site

Whenever you make use of a feature that allows you to upload content to our site, or to make contact with other users of our site, you must comply with the content standards set out in our Acceptable Use Policy below.

You warrant that any such contribution does comply with those standards, and you are liable to us and indemnify us for any breach of that warranty. This means you will be responsible for any loss or damage we suffer as a result of your breach of warranty.

Any content you upload to our site will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. You retain all of your ownership rights in your content, but you are required to grant us and other users of our site a limited licence to use, store and copy that content and to distribute and make it available to third parties. The rights you license to us are described in Rights you are giving us to use material you upload.

We also have the right to disclose your identity to any third party who is claiming that any content posted or uploaded by you to our site constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights or of their right to privacy.

We have the right to remove any posting you make on our site if, in our opinion, your post does not comply with the content standards set out in our Acceptable Use Policy.

If you wish to contact us in relation to content you have uploaded to our site and that we have taken down, please contact info@commonthreads.org.uk.

You are solely responsible for securing and backing up your content.

You must not upload any material that could incite a terrorist offence, solicit any person to participate in terrorist activities, provide instruction on any method or technique for committing a terrorist offence or threaten to commit a terrorist offence.

Rights you are giving us to use material you upload

When you upload or post content to our site, you grant us the following rights to use that content:

• a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable licence to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform that user-generated content in connection with the service provided by the website and across different media including to promote the site or the service to expire when the user deletes the content from the site; and
• a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable licence for other users, partners or advertisers to use the content for their purposes to expire when the user deletes the content from the site.

We are not responsible for viruses and you must not introduce them

We do not guarantee that our site will be secure or free from bugs or viruses.

You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programmes and platform to access our site. You should use your own virus protection software.

You must not misuse our site by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to our site, the server on which our site is stored or any server, computer or database connected to our site. You must not attack our site via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of service attack. By breaching this provision, you would commit a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use our site will cease immediately.

Rules about linking to our site

You may link to our home page, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it.

You must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists.

You must not establish a link to our site in any website that is not owned by you.

Our site must not be framed on any other site, nor may you create a link to any part of our site other than the home page.

We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice.

The website in which you are linking must comply in all respects with the content standards set out in our Acceptable Use Policy.

If you wish to link to or make any use of content on our site other than that set out above, please contact info@commonthreads.org.uk.

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

Prohibited uses

You may not use our site:

• If you are under 16.
• In any way that breaches any applicable local, national or international law or regulation.
• In any way that is unlawful or fraudulent or has any unlawful or fraudulent purpose or effect.
• For the purpose of harming or attempting to harm minors in any way.
• To bully, insult, intimidate or humiliate any person.
• To send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use or re-use any material which does not comply with our content standards.
• To transmit, or procure the sending of, any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising or promotional material or any other form of similar solicitation (spam).
• To knowingly transmit any data, send or upload any material that contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time-bombs, keystroke loggers, spyware, adware or any other harmful programs or similar computer code designed to adversely affect the operation of any computer software or hardware.
• In any way that involves child sexual exploitation or abuse.
• To upload terrorist content.

You also agree:

• Not to reproduce, duplicate, copy or re-sell any part of our site.
• Not to access without authority, interfere with, damage or disrupt:
• any part of our site;
• any equipment or network on which our site is stored;
• any software used in the provision of our site; or
• any equipment or network or software owned or used by any third party.

Interactive services

We may from time to time provide interactive services on our site, including, without limitation:

• Video-sharing facilities.
• Chat rooms.
• Bulletin boards.

Where we do provide any interactive service, we will provide clear information to you about the kind of service offered, if it is moderated and what form of moderation is used (including whether it is human or technical).

We will do our best to assess any possible risks for users (and in particular, for children) from third parties when they use any interactive service provided on our site, and we will decide in each case whether it is appropriate to use moderation of the relevant service (including what kind of moderation to use) in the light of those risks. However, we are under no obligation to oversee, monitor or moderate any interactive service we provide on our site, and we expressly exclude our liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of any interactive service by a user in contravention of our content standards, whether the service is moderated or not.

The use of any of our interactive services by a minor is subject to the consent of their parent or guardian. We advise parents who permit their children to use an interactive service that it is important that they communicate with their children about their safety online, as moderation is not fool proof. Minors who are using any interactive service should be made aware of the potential risks to them.

Where we do moderate an interactive service, we will normally provide you with a means of contacting the moderator, should a concern or difficulty arise.

We do not store terrorist content.

Content standards

These content standards apply to any and all material which you contribute to our site (Contribution), and to any interactive services associated with it.

The Content Standards must be complied with in spirit as well as to the letter. The standards apply to each part of any Contribution as well as to its whole.

We will determine, in our discretion, whether a Contribution breaches the Content Standards.

A Contribution must:

• Be accurate (where it states facts).
• Be genuinely held (where it states opinions).
• Comply with the law applicable in England and Wales and in any country from which it is posted.

A Contribution must not:

• Be defamatory of any person.
• Be obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory.
• Bully, insult, intimidate or humiliate.
• Promote sexually explicit material.
• Include child sexual abuse material.
• Incite violence or hatred against particular groups.
• Promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.
• Include content that would be considered a criminal offence under laws relating to terrorism, child sexual abuse material, racism or zenophobia.
• Infringe any copyright, database right or trade mark of any other person.
• Include video content that has been or would be likely to be given an R18 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
• Include video content not suitable for BBFC classification.
• Material that might impair the physical, mental or moral development of persons under the age of 18.
• Be likely to deceive any person.
• Breach any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
• Promote any illegal content or activity.
• Be in contempt of court.
• Be threatening, abuse or invade another’s privacy, or cause inconvenience or needless anxiety.
• Be likely to harass, upset, embarrass or alarm any other person.
• Impersonate any person or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person.
• Give the impression that the Contribution emanates from us, if this is not the case.
• Advocate, promote, incite any party to commit, or assist any unlawful or criminal act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse.
• Contain a statement which you know or believe, or have reasonable grounds for believing, that members of the public to whom the statement is, or is to be, published are likely to understand as a direct or indirect encouragement or other inducement to the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

For the avoidance of doubt, for any Contribution in the form of video content:

• You must tell us immediately, if you upload a video containing any of the following: criminal material (relating to terrorism, sexual exploitation of children, child pornography, racism and xenophobia), unclassified or unclassifiable videos, videos rated R18 or suitable for R18 rating and other material that might impair the physical, mental or moral development of persons under the age of 18 (restricted material).
• You must not upload a video containing harmful material.
• You must not upload a video containing advertising for any of the following:
• cigarettes and other tobacco products, electronic cigarettes or electronic cigarette refill containers, and prescription-only medicine; or
• alcoholic drinks that are aimed specifically at under 18s and do not encourage moderate consumption of alcohol.
• Any advertising included in a video you upload must not:
• prejudice respect for human dignity;
• include or promote discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation;
• encourage behaviour prejudicial to health or safety;
• encourage behaviour grossly prejudicial to the protection of the environment;
• cause physical, mental or moral detriment to persons under the age of 18;
• directly exhort such persons to purchase or rent goods or services in a manner which exploits their inexperience or credulity;
• directly encourage such persons to persuade their parents or others to purchase or rent goods or services;
• exploit the trust of such persons in parents, teachers or others; or
• unreasonably show such persons in dangerous situations.
• You must use the functionality provided on our site to declare whether, as far as you know or can reasonably be expected to know, any video contains advertising.

Breach of this policy

When we consider that a breach of this acceptable use policy has occurred, we may take such action as we deem appropriate. 

Failure to comply with the Acceptable Use Policy or the Terms of Use constitutes a material breach of the Terms of Use, and may result in our taking all or any of the following actions:

• Immediate, temporary or permanent withdrawal of your right to use our site.
• Immediate, temporary or permanent removal of any Contribution uploaded by you to our site.
• Issue of a warning to you.
• Legal proceedings against you for reimbursement of all costs on an indemnity basis (including, but not limited to, reasonable administrative and legal costs) resulting from the breach.
• Further legal action against you.
• Disclosure of such information to law enforcement authorities as we reasonably feel is necessary or as required by law.

We exclude our liability for all action we may take in response to breaches of this acceptable use policy. The actions we may take are not limited to those described above, and we may take any other action we reasonably deem appropriate.

Which country’s laws apply to any disputes?

If you are a consumer, please note that the terms of this policy, its subject matter and its formation are governed by English law. You and we both agree that the courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction except that if you are a resident of Northern Ireland you may also bring proceedings in Northern Ireland, and if you are resident of Scotland, you may also bring proceedings in Scotland.

If you are a business, the terms of this policy, its subject matter and its formation (and any non-contractual disputes or claims) are governed by English law. We both agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.