Terms of Use and Conditions
As of 1 July 2024
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the United Nations specialized agency responsible for the safety and security of shipping and preventing marine and atmospheric pollution by ships.
The IMO Publishing Service maintains IMO ePublications, a digital reading platform that provides access to IMO's regulatory instruments, including resolutions, codes, conventions, and other legal and technical documents, hereinafter referred to as the "Content." Customers can purchase access to individual titles or annual subscriptions.
1. General
The Customer acknowledges having read and understood these Terms and Conditions and, by purchasing access to individual titles or subscriptions, agrees to abide by them unless agreed otherwise between the Customer and IMO. By accessing IMO ePublications and/or using any Content found therein, any designated “Authorized Users”, as defined below, also acknowledge that they have read and fully understood, and agree to be bound by, the Terms and Conditions.
"Authorized Users" are defined as individuals affiliated with the Customer who are authorized to access IMO Content on the ePublications platform in particular:
a) For academic entities - those members of faculty or staff, either permanent, temporary, contract, visiting or retired, or students, alumni, or other persons permitted to use the institution's informational resources.
b) For all other entities, current staff members, whether on a permanent, temporary, or contract basis.
2. Access and Usage
In consideration of the payment, and the agreement to abide by these Terms and Conditions, IMO grants the Customer a non-exclusive and non-transferable right to access and display on its secure internal network, for use by Authorized Users only, the online service "IMO ePublications" (https://imo-epublications.org/) and the individual title (or titles) and Content contained therein which has (or have) been purchased or subscribed to including the back catalogue when available.
The Content may be accessed by Customer’s Authorized Users either directly from IMO itself or from a designated Third Party (Ingenta) either on the Customer's premises or from a remote location. Irrespective of the method of access, the conditions of use, as described in these Terms and Conditions, remain in force. IMO affirms that it holds all rights granted herein and reserves all those not expressly granted to the Customer.
Customers must not share account login details of purchased titles or subscription licenses with third parties, including colleagues who aren't designated Authorized Users within their organization.
Customers must protect their login details and passwords. If they suspect a security breach, they should contact the IMO Publishing Service immediately and promptly change their affected credentials.
Customers may print up to ten pages per session, with a maximum of 50 pages per title.
Customers may only use the services and Content in the ways expressly permitted in these Terms and Conditions (as updated from time to time).
3. Expiration
Customers will have indefinite access to purchased individual titles as long as the title is supported by IMO. Customers with subscriptions must renew annually for uninterrupted access after their licenses expire. However, the grant of access and usage will automatically terminate if any provision of these Terms and Conditions is not complied with. In this eventuality, the Customer must cease use of the Content and destroy all backup copies made.
4. Payment and Refunds
Customers must pay in full before access to the titles or subscription can be granted. All sales are final; payments cannot be canceled or refunded. By agreeing to these Terms and Conditions, Customers acknowledge that transactions are binding and non-refundable. The full list of titles with prices included in the annual subscription or available for individual purchase can be accessed here.
5. Service Commitment
For subscriptions, IMO reserves the right to add, delete, or cease updating titles on the platform. IMO will make reasonable efforts to ensure that the Content is available to the Customer and its Authorized Users 24 hours a day (except for routine maintenance) once payment has been received. Any interruptions will be resolved as quickly as possible.
6. Ownership of Material
Title and ownership of the Content remains with IMO. For all inquiries regarding copyright or translation rights, please contact copyright[at]imo.org.
7. Transfer Restrictions
Access to the Content may not be transferred, assigned, rented, leased, sold, or disposed of temporarily or permanently to any third party. Commercial use of the Content is strictly prohibited without prior written consent from IMO. Only IMO authorized distributors and resellers can purchase and assign annual subscription licenses to end users. A complete list of authorized distributors is available here. For more information, contact us at sales[at]imo.org
8. Disclaimer of Warranty
IMO does not warrant, guarantee, or make any representations, either expressly or implied, regarding, but not limited to, the correctness, accuracy, reliability, currentness, merchantability, fitness of use for a particular purpose, or otherwise, of the Content – it is supplied "as is”. The IMO shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, or loss of business information) arising out of the use or inability to use the Content and/or the platform by the Customer/Authorized User.
Accordingly, the customer agrees to indemnify IMO and its officials, agents, and employees from and against all third-party actions, claims, losses, damages, and liabilities arising out of the Customer’s/designated user’s use of the Content and/or the platform.
Under no circumstances shall IMO’s liability under this agreement exceed the price paid by the Customer per annum.
9. No Endorsement
You may not publicly represent or imply that the IMO is participating in or has sponsored, approved, or endorsed the manner or purpose of your use of Content from the IMO ePublications platform.
10. No Association, No Use of IMO ePublications Logo and Name
The Customer may not use any trademark, official mark, official emblem, name or logos of IMO ePublications and IMO Publishing, or any of its other means of promotion or publicity, without IMO Publishing Service's prior written consent or in any event to represent or imply an association or affiliation with IMO.
11. Privacy policy
Access to your personal data is limited to relevant staff within IMO. In addition, we make your data available outside IMO for:
Payment processing: We use a third-party service, Chase Paymentech, to process credit card payments.
Analytics: We use the third-party service Google Analytics to help us improve user experience. We allow Google Analytics to access the data generated by your activity and store it using cookies. This data is processed in a way that does not directly identify you.
Email communications: We use the third-party service Mail Chimp for sending email communications such as newsletters and updates. Mail Chimp stores contact information that you provide to us as well as information about your interactions with these emails, such as opens and clicks. Data you provide directly is kept until you unsubscribe from the service.
Online surveys: We occasionally conduct online surveys to gather user feedback via third-party survey companies.
To find out more about the information IMO collects and how IMO handles the information required to enable access to the IMO e-publications, please consult IMO’s Privacy Policy here.
12. Preservation of Immunities
Nothing in or relating to these Terms and Conditions shall be deemed a waiver, express or implied, of any of the privileges and immunities of IMO, including its subsidiary organs.
Contact:
IMO Publishing Service
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7735 7611 Email: sales[at]imo.org