Oxford Owl - Terms and conditions
For account creation.
Updated on: 22 December 2020
Effective from: 4 April 2018
You must complete all mandatory fields in the account creation form. You undertake (i) to complete the account creation form with true and accurate information about yourself; and (ii) inform us of any changes to such information to keep it current, true, accurate and complete by emailing us via the OUP site from which you were referred to this account creation page. Failure to do so may result in your user account being suspended or removed. Upon completing the account creation form, we will use reasonable endeavours to create a user account for you.
Once your account is created, you will be provided with a username and password. You must not create more than a single account unless authorised by us in writing. In the event you create more than a single account without our authorisation, we reserve the right to suspend or determine your access.
You are solely responsible for the security of your username and password and must not disclose your username and password to anyone. You must inform us immediately if your username and/or password have been compromised due to your action or negligence. In such a case, we will suspend your user account and provide you with a new user account.
For subscription customers
Updated on: 4 April 2018
Effective from: 4 April 2018
These Terms (defined below) govern your use of the Oxford Owl (defined below). They override any other terms and conditions found on the Oxford Owl website.
In consideration of OUP making the Oxford Owl available to you, you agree to accept these Terms.
You should print a copy of these Terms or save them to your computer for future reference.
1. INTERPRETATION
1.1 In these Terms, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions shall have the following meanings:
Authorised User means (i) you, the Buyer who has a valid username and password to access the Oxford Owl and has valid subscription to access any Product(s); or (ii) you an individual who has (a) a valid username and password to access the Oxford Owl; and (b) been authorised by a Buyer who has a valid subscription to access any Product(s) and "the Authorised User" means the relevant Authorised User.
Buyer means the school, college or similar institution or entity engaged in the field of education that is granted access to the Oxford Owl by OUP, and who has purchased a licence to access a Product or any number of Products from OUP. For the avoidance of doubt, where an organisation consists of a number of individual entities, branches and/or a federation, each entity, branch or entity within that federation shall be deemed as an individual Buyer unless otherwise agreed in writing by OUP.
Extended Licence Period means Extended Licence Period as defined in Clause 11.1.
Fees mean the relevant Product fees payable by the Buyer to access the Product in question on the Oxford Owl.
Free Resources means the free resources made available by OUP on Oxford Owl.
Initial Licence Period means the period set out in the Product Specific Terms during which the Product in question is accessible by You.
Intellectual Property Rights mean all patents, rights to inventions, copyright and related rights, trade marks, service marks, trade, business and domain names, rights in trade dress or get-up, rights in goodwill or to sue for passing off, unfair competition rights, rights in designs, database right, topography rights, moral rights, rights in confidential information (including knowhow and trade secrets) and any other intellectual property rights, in each case whether registered or unregistered and including all applications for and renewals or extensions of such rights, and all similar or equivalent rights or forms of protection in any part of the world.
Licence Period means the period set out in the Product Specific Term during which the Product in question is accessible by You.
OUP, we, us, or our means or mean (as the context requires) Oxford University Press, a department of the University of Oxford whose trading address is Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom.
Oxford Owl means OUP's Oxford Owl platform.
Parent means a parent or guardian of an Authorised User who is a pupil, or a Registered User.
Personal Data means information about an individual person that can identify that individual person (e.g. name, email address or age).
Products mean the OUP products and services (which may be courses or online books) purchased by a Buyer for the use by its Authorised Users which are accessed and used via Oxford Owl, and "the Products" mean the relevant Product(s) purchased by the Buyer which it makes available to the Authorised User(s).
Product Specific Terms mean the licence and usage terms and conditions relating a specific Product.
Registered Users means an individual who has a valid username and password to access the Free Resource on Oxford Owl but not any Product.
Software means the software provided by us or our licensors which enables You to use and access the Oxford Owl, the Free Resource and/or the Products.
Terms mean these terms and conditions.
You or Your means you the Buyer, the Registered User or the Authorised Users (as the context requires).
1.2 Headings in these conditions shall not affect their interpretation.
1.3 Words importing any gender shall include any other gender.
1.4 Words importing the singular number shall include the plural number and vice versa including the definitions referred to in Clause 1.1 hereof.
1.5 Where any word or expression is defined in these Terms, the definition shall extend to all grammatical variations and cognate expressions of the word or expression so defined.
1.6 All references to provisions of statutes include such provisions as amended, modified or re-enacted.
1.7 Where applicable, the Buyer shall procure that each and every one of its Authorised Users comply with the provisions of these Terms; and the Buyer shall be liable for any breach of these Terms by its Authorised Users as though the breach were committed by the Buyer. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing the Buyer who has purchased a licence to access a Product is responsible for ensuring that the actual user of the Oxford Owl and/or the Product complies with these Terms.
2 LICENCE
2.1 In consideration of the Fees paid by the Buyer to OUP, OUP grants to the Buyer and its Authorised Users a non-exclusive licence to access and use the Product(s) via the Oxford Owl during the Licence Period. In this regard, the Buyer and its Authorised Users are entitled to use the Software (in object code form) to access the Products and to use the Oxford Owl as part of the Buyer’s internal teaching tools and teaching resources or personal study (as the case may be).
2.2 In return for You complying with these Terms, OUP grants You a non-exclusive licence to access and use the Free Resources via the Oxford Owl which OUP may at its discretion terminate or vary. In this regard, You are entitled to use the Software (in object code form) to access the Free Resources and to use the Oxford Owl as Your internal teaching tools and teaching resources or Your personal study (as the case may be).
2.3 Notwithstanding Clauses 2.1 and 2.2, You must not:
2.3.1 sub-license or assign the benefit or burden of the licence set out in Clauses 2.1 and 2.2 in whole or in part to anyone;
2.3.2 attempt to duplicate, modify, disclose or distribute any portion of the Software;
2.3.3 attempt to reverse compile, disassemble, reverse engineer or otherwise reduce to human-perceivable form any of the Software, except as is allowed by any applicable law which is incapable of exclusion by agreement between OUP and You;
2.3.4 transfer, temporarily or permanently, any rights or obligations under these Terms (save as provided under these Terms); or
2.3.5 attempt to obtain, or assist others in obtaining access to the Oxford Owl, the Software, the Free Resources and where applicable, the Products other than as provided under Clause 2.
3 ACCESSING OXFORD OWL AND YOUR PRODUCTS
3.1 The Buyer and its Authorised Users acknowledge that they will only be able to access the Products on the Oxford Owl during relevant Licence Periods for the Products in question and that their access and use of each of the Products will be governed by the Product Specific Terms which relate to that Product. Without prejudice to the foregoing, You must not:
3.1.1 systematically make printed or electronic copies of content and/or materials in any Products and/or Free Resources for any purpose in either print or electronic format;
3.1.2 remove or alter the copyright notices or other means of identification or disclaimers as they appear in any of the Products and/or Free Resources;
3.1.3 display or distribute any part of the Products on any electronic network, including without limitation the Internet and the World Wide Web, where access is possible by anyone not an Authorised User;
3.1.4 permit anyone other than the Authorised Users to access or use any of the Products including any content and material making up those Products; and/or
3.1.5 use all or any part of the Products for any commercial use provided that a Buyer may use the Products as teaching and learning resources within its organisation.
3.2 If You are purchasing any Products on behalf of an institution or an organisation, You warrant that You have the authority to do so and agree to the Product Specific Terms on behalf of the Your institution or organisation (as the case may be).
3.3 If You are:
3.3.1 the Buyer’s administrator for the Oxford Owl, You agree that:
3.3.1.1 You will only create teacher user accounts for teachers at your institution or organisation;
3.3.1.2 You must not create teacher user accounts for pupils;
3.3.1.3 You must not link any Registered Users to the Buyer’s account unless that Registered User is a teacher or a pupil at your institution or organisation.
3.3.2 a pupil, You must not use a teacher user account; and
3.3.3 an Organisation, must agree to procure that only teachers will have access to teacher user accounts and You will only create users accounts for teachers and pupils at Your Organisation.
4 YOUR OBLIGATIONS
4.1 The Buyer is responsible for the selection of the Products it purchases and whether such Products meet its and its Authorised Users requirements.
4.2 You agree not to make available Your username and/or password to anyone. If there has been a disclosure of Your username and/or password, You agree to notify us promptly of such disclosure, so that we can take appropriate security measures.
4.3 You agree that You will promptly notify us of any errors or inaccuracies which relate to the Products and/or Free Resources. In this regard, please contact us using the "Contact us" page.
4.4 You must not introduce any malicious codes or harmful element e.g. virus and Trojans onto the Oxford Owl.
4.5 Unless otherwise agreed in writing by OUP, You are solely responsible for configuring Your computer devices in order to access the Oxford Owl, and the Products and/or Free Resources (as the case may be), and to provide for Your own virus protection software. To access the Oxford Owl, Free Resources and/or the Products, Your computer device must meet the specification detailed here.
4.6 You warrant that any Personal Data that You provide to OUP for OUP to process would not put OUP in breach of any applicable data protection laws including the Data Protection Act 2018 and You agree to indemnify and keep OUP indemnified against breach by You of the foregoing warranty.
5 OUR OBLIGATIONS
5.1 We will:
5.1.1 use reasonable endeavours to ensure that Your Products and the Free Resources are accessible on the Oxford Owl;
5.1.2 provide the Buyer with the ability to create usernames and passwords for its Authorised Users (which could include the Buyer); and
5.1.3 (if we have agreed to do so in writing) provide You with training and help notes on how to use the Oxford Owl.
6 WITHDRAWAL OF PRODUCTS
6.1 We reserve the right at any time to withdraw a Product and/or Free Resource including any components within a Product or Free Resource (e.g. an activity or chapters from an online book) at our discretion without giving any reason. In that circumstance, we shall notify the Buyer if such withdrawal relates to Product as soon as reasonably practicable.
6.2 On receipt of the notice referred to in Clause 6.1, the Buyer shall promptly inform its Authorised Users of OUP’s notice set out
in Clause 6.1.
6.3 You agree to immediately cease all use of the withdrawn material and shall comply with our instructions with respect to the deletion and/or removal of such withdrawn material.
7 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
7.1 As between You and OUP, You acknowledge that OUP and/or OUP’s licensors own all Intellectual Property Rights in the Oxford Owl, the Software, the Free Resources and the Products. Except as expressly stated in these Terms and the Product Specific Terms, OUP does not grant You any rights to or in any Intellectual Property Rights or any other rights or licences.
7.2 If You become aware of any Intellectual Property Rights infringement or potential Intellectual Property Rights Infringement involving the Oxford Owl, the Software, the Free Resources and/or the Products (e.g. an unauthorised third party is using the Oxford Owl or if You get a letter from a third party stating that the Software infringes such third party's Intellectual Property Rights) You must inform us promptly.
We will:
7.2.1 in our absolute discretion, determine what action if any shall be taken in respect of the matter;
7.2.2 have sole control over and shall conduct any action as we deem necessary; and
7.2.3 pay all costs in connection with that action and we shall be entitled to all damages and other sums which may be paid or awarded as
a result of any such action. You agree to (at our cost) provide us with any assistance which we may request.
7.3 In the defence or settlement of a claim that the Oxford Owl, the Software, Free Resources and/or the Products infringe third party Intellectual Property Rights ('Infringing Items'), we may at our discretion:
7.3.1 obtain for You the right to continue using the Infringing Items;
7.3.2 replace or modify the Infringing Items with equivalent items so that they become non-infringing; or
7.3.3 if such remedies are not reasonably available, withdraw the Infringing Items and if applicable, we will refund any of the Fees paid by the Buyer (less a reasonable sum in respect of the Buyer’s and its Authorised Users' use of the Infringing Items).
7.4 Clauses 7.2 and 7.3 set out Your sole and exclusive rights and remedies, and our entire obligations and liability, for infringement of Intellectual Property Rights.
8 WARRANTIES
8.1 Subject to the other provisions in these Terms and to our right to carry out scheduled maintenance, during the period when You have access to the Oxford Owl, we warrant to the Buyer that we will use reasonable endeavours to ensure that the Oxford Owl is available to You.
8.2 We do not warrant that the use of the Oxford Owl, the Free Resource and/or the Products will be uninterrupted or error-free.
We may also carry out scheduled maintenance from time to time.
8.3 The Buyer accepts responsibility for the selection of the Oxford Owl and the Products to achieve its intended results.
8.4 Except as expressly stated in these Terms, there are no conditions, warranties, representations or other terms, express or implied,
that are binding on us. Any condition, warranty, representation or other term concerning the supply of the Oxford Owl, the Free Resources, the Products and the Software which might otherwise be implied into, or incorporated in, these Terms whether by statute, common law or otherwise, is excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
9 LIABILITY
9.1 This Clause 9 sets out the entire financial liability of OUP (including any liability for the acts or omissions of its employees, agents, consultants, and subcontractors) to You including those arising from breach of contract, use made by You of the Oxford Owl, the Software, the Free Resources and/or the Products, and representation, statement or tortious act or omission (including negligence) arising under or in connection with Your use of the Oxford Owl, the Software, Free Resources and/or the Products.
9.2 Nothing in these Terms excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence; or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
9.3 OUP’s Liability if You are a Business
9.3.1 Subject to Clause 9.2 we shall not be liable to You for any:
9.3.1.1 indirect, consequential and/or special loss or damage;
9.3.1.2 loss of profit (direct or indirect);
9.3.1.3 loss of revenue, loss of teaching time or loss of business (in each case whether direct or indirect);
9.3.1.4 loss of goodwill, loss of reputation or loss of opportunity (in each case whether direct or indirect);
9.3.1.5 loss of anticipated saving or loss of margin (in each case whether direct or indirect);
9.3.1.6 wasted management, operational or other time (in each case whether direct or indirect);
9.3.1.7 loss of any data, content and/or material (in each case, whether direct or indirect); and/or
9.3.1.8 liability of any of the other parties to third parties (whether direct or indirect), arising out of or in connection with these Terms and/or in connection with Your use of the Oxford Owl, the Software and/or the Products, whether in contract, tort, misrepresentation, under statute or otherwise, howsoever caused including (without limitation) by negligence and also including (without limitation) any liability arising from a breach of, or a failure to perform or defect or delay in performance of, any of our obligations under these Terms.
9.3.2 Subject only to Clause 9.2 but without prejudice to Clause 9.3.1, our total aggregate liability in contract, tort (including negligence
or breach of statutory duty), misrepresentation, restitution or otherwise, arising in connection with the performance or contemplated performance of these Terms shall be limited to the Fees You paid to us during the 12 months preceding the date on which the claim arose
or £5000 (whichever is higher). You acknowledge that this limitation is reasonable.
9.4 OUP’s Liability if You are an Authorised User or a Registered User who is a consumer
9.4.1 As the Product and/or the Free Resources are provided to You without any direct cost to you and/or receipt of any payment by OUP from You, subject to Clause 9.2 we shall not be liable to You for any losses, damages, wastes resources and/or cost incurred by You whether directly or indirectly which relate to Your use of Oxford Owl, the Software, the Free Resources and/or the Products.
9.5 If You are an Authorised User who is not also the Buyer, You irrevocably agree not to bring or threaten to bring any claims or proceedings directly against OUP. Any claims, proceedings, problems, dissatisfaction or issues which You have should be brought or raised directly with Your Buyer. If any Authorised Users bring or threaten to bring any claims or proceedings against OUP, the Buyer shall indemnify and keep OUP indemnified against any costs, losses, damage and/or expenses incurred by OUP.
10 TERM AND TERMINATION
10.1 Unless expressly stated otherwise in the relevant Product Specific Terms, You agree that the licence to access any Product shall automatically extend for a period of 12 months ("Extended Licence Period") at the end of the Initial Licence Period and at the end of each Extended Licence Period, unless either party gives notice to the other party, not later than 7 days before the end of the Initial Licence Period or the relevant Extended Licence Period (as the case may be), to terminate such licence.
10.2 Without prejudice to any rights which have accrued under these Terms, You or OUP may terminate Your access to the Oxford Owl, the Free Resources, the Products and/or any contracts (“Contracts”) arising between OUP and You which relate to the Oxford Owl and/or the Products if the other party:
10.2.1 is in material breach of any of its obligations under these Terms and if such breach is remediable, fails to remedy that breach within 30 days of that party being notified in writing of the breach; or
10.2.2 is made bankrupt, is unable to pay its debts within the meaning of section 123 of the Insolvency Act 1986, or if the other party ceases or threatens to cease to trade, or if the other party makes an assignment for the benefit of, or a composition with its creditors or other arrangement of similar import or has a receiver, administrative receiver, administrator or a similar officer appointed over all or a substantial part of its assets, or if a petition is passed or an order is made by a court of competent jurisdiction or resolution is passed for the winding up of the other party (other than for the purpose of a bona fide solvent reconstruction or amalgamation) or any similar circumstances arise in any jurisdiction.
11 EFFECT OF TERMINATION
11.1 On expiry or termination of any Contracts (as defined in Clause 10.2 above) or Your right to use the Oxford Owl and/or the Products for any reason and subject to any express provisions set out elsewhere in these Terms:
11.1.1 all outstanding sums payable by the Buyer to OUP shall immediately become due and payable; and
11.1.2 all rights and licences granted to You to use the Software, the Products and the Oxford Owl under these Terms shall cease.
11.2 The accrued rights and liabilities of the parties as at termination and the continuation of any provision expressly stated to survive or implicitly surviving termination shall not be affected.
12 FORCE MAJEURE
We will have no liability to You if we are prevented from, or are delayed in performing our obligations due to any circumstances and/or reasons which are outside of our control. These circumstances and reasons include strikes, lock-outs or other industrial disputes (whether involving the workforce of OUP or any other party), failure of a utility service or transport network, act of God, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, compliance with any law or governmental order, rule, regulation or direction, sanctions, accident, breakdown of plant or machinery, fire, flood, storm, default of suppliers or subcontractors and/or non-performance of any services by OUP's suppliers, banks or subcontractors.
13 MAINTENANCE
13.1 If You are unable to access the Oxford Owl, You must first ascertain whether the inability to access the Oxford Owl is caused by a failure on the part of Your device. If the fault lies with the Oxford Owl and not Your device, You must report the issue by email by emailing OUP at owlsupport@oup.com:
13.2 Upon receiving Your report, OUP shall use reasonable endeavours to resolve and rectify the problem to allow You to access the Oxford Owl.
13.3 In the case of a Buyer, where it is subsequently established that the fault does not lie with the Oxford Owl but with Your device or Your internet services, we reserve the right to charge the Buyer a reasonable administrative fee.
14 NOTICES
14.1 Unless these Terms prescribe a specific manner in which notice should be given, all notices to be given under these Terms shall be in writing and shall either be delivered personally or sent by courier and shall be deemed duly served:
14.1.1 in the case of a notice delivered personally, at the time the same is left at the address of, or handed to a representative of, the party to be served; and
14.1.2 in the case of courier, two clear business days after the date of dispatch.
15 GENERAL PROVISIONS
15.1 These Terms constitute the whole agreement between OUP and You and supersede all previous agreements between OUP and You relating to Your use of the Oxford Owl. Nothing in these Terms shall limit or exclude any liability for fraud.
15.2 We may amend these Terms from time to time. If we have to revise these Terms, we will give You at least one month's written notice of any changes to these Terms before they take effect. If You do not wish to accept the changes:
15.2.1 in case of a Buyer or Authorised User, the Buyer can choose to cancel the contract in respect of the Products affected by the change to these Terms and we will refund the Buyer any portion of the Fees paid by You (less a reasonable sum in respect of the Your use of the Product purchased by the Buyer); and
15.2.2 in the case of a Registered User you request OUP to cancel your access to Oxford Owl and the Free Resources.
15.3 A waiver of any right under these Terms is only effective if it is in writing and it applies only to the party to whom the waiver is addressed and the circumstances for which it is given. No waiver shall be implied by taking or failing to take any other action.
15.4 If any provision (or part of a provision) of these Terms is found by any court or administrative body of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal, the other provisions shall remain in force.
15.5 If any invalid, unenforceable or illegal provision would be valid, enforceable or legal if some part of it were deleted, the provision shall apply with whatever modification is necessary to give effect to the commercial intention of the parties.
15.6 To the extent that it is applicable and legally enforceable, in the event of any inconsistencies between the provisions set out in these Terms and those in the terms and conditions governing the purchase of the Products from OUP, the parties agree that the provisions in these Terms will prevail.
16 GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION
16.1 These Terms and any disputes or claims arising out of or in connection with its subject matter are governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England.
16.2 The parties irrevocably agree that the courts of England have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim that arises out of or in connection with these Terms and/or Your use of the Oxford Owl, the Free Resources, the Products and the Software.
16.3 Notwithstanding Clauses 16.1 and 16.2, nothing in these Terms shall limit the right of OUP to take proceedings against You in any other court of competent jurisdiction, nor shall the taking of proceedings in any one or more jurisdiction preclude the taking of proceedings in any other jurisdiction, whether concurrently or not, to the extent permitted by the law of such other jurisdictions.
16.4 Without prejudice to clauses 16.1 to 16.3, if you are a consumer (i.e. you are not (i) an organisation; or (ii) an individual acting wholly or mainly within your trade, business craft or profession) located in the European Union and a dispute arises between you and OUP, we strongly encourage you to get in touch with us directly first to seek a resolution by contacting onlinequeries.uk@oup.com. If the dispute cannot be resolved between you and OUP, we will consider your reasonable request to resolve the dispute through an alternative dispute resolution process (“ADR”). ADR is a process where an independent body considers the facts of a dispute and seeks to resolve it, without having to go to court. If we agree to using an ADR process, you can submit your complaint to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution via its website https://www.cedr.com/ or https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/main/index.cfm?event=main.home2.show&lng=EN. You should not submit your complaint until you have received notice from us in writing (and this could be an email) that we have agreed to resolve your complaint via ADR.