Terms and Conditions for use of The Middle English Compendium

1. Users are allowed to.

1. make searches of the MEC
   
   
2. make one or more copies in hard copy form of the output of any search; such copies may not be sold and may not be distributed to anyone who is not an authorized user except as permitted by fair use
   
   
3. download search results to hard drive or diskette, provided that such data is not made available to anyone who is not an authorized user except as permitted by fair use.
   
   

User may not make the MEC available to anyone, whether by telephone link or by permitting access through his or her terminal or computer, or by other similar or dissimilar means or arrangements.

2. Copyright.

The Middle English Compendium and its contents are subject to copyright, database protection, and other rights of the publisher (The Regents of the University of Michigan) under the laws of the United States and the country of use.

The user acknowledges that it has no claim to ownership by reason of its use of or access to the MEC. Downloading of data is permitted solely for the personal use. Recompiling, copying, publication, or republication of the data, or any portion thereof, in any form or medium whatsoever, may be done only with specific written permission from the University of Michigan Press, except as permitted by fair use.

3. Disclaimer of Warranties/Limitation of Liability.

1. The UMP has made and will make good faith efforts to ensure that the MEC is complete and accurate. However, the UMP does not warrant completeness or accuracy, and does not warrant that the subscriber's use of the MEC will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that the results obtained will be useful or will satisfy the subscriber's requirements.
   
   
2. The UMP warrants that it is entitled to grant access to the material, but makes no other warranties or representations of any kind, expressed or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
   
   
3. The UMP will not be liable for any delay, down time, or other failure of performance, but will use reasonable efforts to correct any performance problem brought to its attention. Problems may be reported to site-licenses@umich.edu.
   
   
4. The UMP will not be responsible for incidental, consequential, or any other damages arising out of or in connection with the service or materials provided hereunder.
   
   
5. The MEC is provided on an "as is" basis. The user agrees that all use of the MEC is at the user's sole risk and that the UMP will have no liability to any person for any loss or damage arising out of use of, or inability to use, the MEC.

4. Archiving.

1. The University of Michigan Press (UMP) will maintain the digital archive of the Middle English Dictionary (MED) and HyperBibliography of Middle English Prose and Verse (HyperBib). In addition to the version online (replicated on several servers), the UMP stores a current version of the content on gold CD-ROM using ISO 9660 file naming conventions.
   
   
2. It is UMP's intention to maintain the digital files of the MED and HyperBib in perpetuity, converting them as appropriate if the technology used for storage or access changes. The current format standard is SGML and both files are being maintained in this format, along with appropriate DTDs and documentation for their encoding.
   
   
3. UMP understands that the permanent availability of these archival files is of critical concern to its users. Therefore, it makes the commitment that, in the unlikely event that neither it nor any other University of Michigan organization can assume the responsibility for maintaining the archive, it will transfer the archive to one or more depositories mutually acceptable to UMP and the University of Michigan Library.

5. Privacy.

It is the policy of UMP that the privacy of all users shall be respected in compliance with federal and state laws and professional standards. MEC tracks or "logs" the actions performed by users of those systems. Such transaction-level logging that can be tied to individuals may be kept intact for a limited period of time for trouble-shooting and problem resolution related to system functions and service transactions. During the period that this information is retained, it is held in confidence and is not shared with third parties, unless required by law. After such period of time as the information may be reasonably useful for problem resolution, this information may be aggregated for reporting on types of use and use of materials. Information regarding individual transactions is removed. The period of time needed for storing full transaction level logging for the MEC materials is typically one month. Original transaction logging information that has been processed in this way is destroyed, and care taken to ensure that backups or other inadvertently stored forms of the data are not retained. Statistical reports or data that reveal personal information about individual or institutional users will not be sold to third parties or otherwise shared, unless required by law.

6. General.

1. This agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties and supersedes any prior communication between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof.
   
   
2. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Michigan. The UMP and the Regents of the University of Michigan, in their individual capacities, shall in no manner, individually or collectively, be liable for any damage arising out of or related to this Agreement. All claims, demands, or actions hereunder shall be filed against the Regents of the University of Michigan in a corporate capacity and shall be brought in the Michigan Court of Claims.