TERMS OF USE

AGREEMENT TO OUR LEGAL TERMS

These Legal Terms constitute a legally binding agreement made between you, whether personally or on behalf of an entity ("you"), and uminotes, concerning your access to and use of the Services. You agree that by accessing the Services, you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by all of these Legal Terms.

Supplemental terms and conditions or documents that may be posted on the Services from time to time are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to make changes or modifications to these Legal Terms at any time and for any reason. We will alert you about any changes by updating the "Last updated" date of these Legal Terms, and you waive any right to receive specific notice of each such change. It is your responsibility to periodically review these Legal Terms to stay informed of updates. You will be subject to, and will be deemed to have been made aware of and to have accepted, the changes in any revised Legal Terms by your continued use of the Services after the date such revised Legal Terms are posted.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. OUR SERVICES

The information provided when using the Services is not intended for distribution to or use by any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would subject us to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or country. Accordingly, those persons who choose to access the Services from other locations do so on their own initiative and are solely responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable.

Public Content Platform

uminotes is a public platform where users can share educational content, including lecture recordings, study materials, and notes. Content uploaded to uminotes may be:

• Publicly accessible to all users and visitors
• Indexed by search engines (including Google, Bing, and others)
• Shared, embedded, or linked by other users
• Viewed by instructors, educational institutions, and the general public

By uploading content to uminotes, you acknowledge that it will be publicly available and searchable on the internet.

Platform Role and Limitations

uminotes is NOT an educational institution. We are a technology platform that hosts user-generated educational content. We do not:

• Act as a "school official" under FERPA or similar privacy laws
• Have a contractual relationship with your educational institution
• Receive data from educational institutions
• Operate under institutional control or direction
• Determine compliance with FERPA, academic policies, or institutional requirements
• Pre-screen, review, approve, or endorse uploaded content
• Verify the accuracy, legality, or appropriateness of uploaded materials

Users are solely responsible for ensuring their uploads comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and institutional policies.

2. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Our intellectual property

We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our Services, including all source code, databases, functionality, software, website designs, audio, video, text, photographs, and graphics in the Services (collectively, the "Content"), as well as the trademarks, service marks, and logos contained therein (the "Marks").

Our Content and Marks are protected by copyright and trademark laws (and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws) and treaties around the world.

The Content and Marks are provided in or through the Services "AS IS" for your personal, non-commercial use or internal business purpose only.

Your use of our Services

Subject to your compliance with these Legal Terms, including the "PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES" section below, we grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to:

• access the Services; and
• download or print a copy of any portion of the Content to which you have properly gained access,

solely for your personal, non-commercial use or internal business purpose.

Except as set out in this section or elsewhere in our Legal Terms, no part of the Services and no Content or Marks may be copied, reproduced, aggregated, republished, uploaded, posted, publicly displayed, encoded, translated, transmitted, distributed, sold, licensed, or otherwise exploited for any commercial purpose whatsoever, without our express prior written permission.

3. USER REPRESENTATIONS

By using the Services, you represent and warrant that:

1. All registration information you submit will be true, accurate, current, and complete;
2. You will maintain the accuracy of such information and promptly update such registration information as necessary;
3. You have the legal capacity and you agree to comply with these Legal Terms;
4. You are not a minor in the jurisdiction in which you reside, or if a minor, you have received parental permission to use the Services;
5. You will not access the Services through automated or non-human means, whether through a bot, script, or otherwise;
6. You will not use the Services for any illegal or unauthorized purpose;
7. Your use of the Services will not violate any applicable law or regulation;
8. You own or have obtained all necessary rights, licenses, consents, and permissions to upload and share any content you submit to the Services;
9. You have complied with all applicable recording consent laws when creating audio or video recordings uploaded to the Services;
10. You have obtained all necessary permissions from copyright holders, instructors, students, and other parties whose intellectual property, image, or voice appears in uploaded content;
11. You understand and comply with your educational institution's policies regarding recording, sharing, and distribution of course materials;
12. You will not upload content that violates FERPA, institutional policies, copyright law, or the privacy rights of others;
13. You will not upload lecture recordings or course materials without explicit authorization from all relevant parties.

If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, we have the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Services (or any portion thereof).

4. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES

You may not access or use the Services for any purpose other than that for which we make the Services available. The Services may not be used in connection with any commercial endeavors except those that are specifically endorsed or approved by us.

As a user of the Services, you agree not to:

• Systematically retrieve data or other content from the Services to create or compile, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, database, or directory without written permission from us.
• Trick, defraud, or mislead us and other users, especially in any attempt to learn sensitive account information such as user passwords.
• Circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the Services, including features that prevent or restrict the use or copying of any Content or enforce limitations on the use of the Services and/or the Content contained therein.
• Disparage, tarnish, or otherwise harm, in our opinion, us and/or the Services.
• Use any information obtained from the Services in order to harass, abuse, or harm another person.
• Make improper use of our support services or submit false reports of abuse or misconduct.
• Use the Services in a manner inconsistent with any applicable laws or regulations.
• Engage in unauthorized framing of or linking to the Services.
• Upload or transmit (or attempt to upload or to transmit) viruses, Trojan horses, or other material, including excessive use of capital letters and spamming (continuous posting of repetitive text), that interferes with any party's uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the Services or modifies, impairs, disrupts, alters, or interferes with the use, features, functions, operation, or maintenance of the Services.
• Engage in any automated use of the system, such as using scripts to send comments or messages, or using any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools.
• Delete the copyright or other proprietary rights notice from any Content.
• Attempt to impersonate another user or person or use the username of another user.
• Upload or transmit (or attempt to upload or to transmit) any material that acts as a passive or active information collection or transmission mechanism, including without limitation, clear graphics interchange formats ("gifs"), 1×1 pixels, web bugs, cookies, or other similar devices (sometimes referred to as "spyware" or "passive collection mechanisms" or "pcms").
• Interfere with, disrupt, or create an undue burden on the Services or the networks or services connected to the Services.
• Harass, annoy, intimidate, or threaten any of our employees or agents engaged in providing any portion of the Services to you.
• Attempt to bypass any measures of the Services designed to prevent or restrict access to the Services, or any portion of the Services.
• Copy or adapt the Services' software, including but not limited to Flash, PHP, HTML, JavaScript, or other code.
• Except as permitted by applicable law, decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any of the software comprising or in any way making up a part of the Services.
• Except as may be the result of standard search engine or Internet browser usage, use, launch, develop, or distribute any automated system, including without limitation, any spider, robot, cheat utility, scraper, or offline reader that accesses the Services, or use or launch any unauthorized script or other software.
• Use a buying agent or purchasing agent to make purchases on the Services.
• Make any unauthorized use of the Services, including collecting usernames and/or email addresses of users by electronic or other means for the purpose of sending unsolicited email, or creating user accounts by automated means or under false pretenses.
• Use the Services as part of any effort to compete with us or otherwise use the Services and/or the Content for any revenue-generating endeavor or commercial enterprise.
• Upload or share lecture recordings without proper authorization from instructors and consent from all identifiable participants.
• Upload content that violates copyright law, including unauthorized reproductions of textbooks, exam questions, assignments, or proprietary course materials.
• Upload recordings that violate state or federal recording consent laws.
• Use the Services to facilitate academic dishonesty, cheating, or violations of institutional honor codes.
• Upload content containing personally identifiable information of students without their consent.
• Process, analyze, or extract biometric identifiers (facial recognition, voiceprints) from uploaded recordings for any purpose.

5A. LECTURE RECORDING UPLOAD REQUIREMENTS

Pre-Upload Verification Requirements

By uploading lecture recordings or educational materials to uminotes, you certify that you have completed ALL of the following:

1. Copyright and Ownership Rights

You represent and warrant that:

• You own all rights in the recording, OR you have obtained explicit written permission from all copyright holders
• If you are a student uploading a lecture: You have verified that you have the legal right to record and share the lecture under your institution's policies
• If you are an instructor: You own the copyright in your lecture, or your institution has authorized you to share it publicly
• Any third-party copyrighted materials included (images, video clips, articles, textbook excerpts, software) are either:
  • Used with explicit permission from the copyright holder, OR
  • Licensed for such use, OR
  • In the public domain, OR
  • Used in a manner you reasonably believe constitutes fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107

IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Educational purpose alone does NOT guarantee fair use protection. Fair use requires analysis of four factors: (1) purpose and character of use, (2) nature of copyrighted work, (3) amount used, and (4) effect on the market. You are responsible for making your own fair use determination.

2. Recording Consent Compliance

You certify that you have complied with all applicable recording consent laws, including:

• Obtained explicit consent from the instructor to record the lecture
• If recording occurred in a two-party consent state (California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Washington, or Delaware), obtained consent from ALL participants whose voices are recorded
• Provided clear notice to all participants that recording was occurring
• Verified compliance with your institution's recording policies
• Maintained documentation of all consents and permissions

3. Privacy Protection

You certify that your recording does NOT contain:

• Personally identifiable information of other students without their written consent (names, faces, voices, student work)
• Sensitive educational records protected by institutional policies
• Information about students' disabilities, health conditions, or accommodations
• Student financial information, disciplinary records, or grades
• Images or information about minors (under 18) without parental consent

4. Institutional Policy Compliance

You certify that:

• You have reviewed your institution's policies on recording and sharing course materials
• Your upload does not violate your institution's academic honor code or conduct policies
• You are not violating any terms of enrollment or student agreements
• Your institution permits public sharing of the specific content being uploaded

Consequences of Unauthorized Uploads

Uploading content without proper authorization may result in:

• Criminal prosecution: Recording consent law violations can result in imprisonment (up to 5 years in some states) and substantial fines
• Civil liability: Copyright infringement damages range from $750-$30,000 per work ($150,000 for willful infringement), plus attorneys' fees
• Biometric privacy violations: Illinois BIPA violations carry statutory damages of $1,000-$5,000 per violation with private right of action
• Academic sanctions: Suspension, expulsion, degree revocation, or honor code violations at your institution
• Account termination: Immediate and permanent removal from uminotes with no refund
• Legal liability to uminotes: You agree to indemnify and defend uminotes against all claims arising from your unauthorized uploads

5B. RECORDING CONSENT LAWS COMPLIANCE

Two-Party Consent States

The following states require ALL parties to consent before audio recording:

• California
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Illinois
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• Pennsylvania
• Washington

If you recorded in any of these states, you MUST have obtained explicit consent from:

• The instructor before recording began
• ANY student who speaks, asks questions, or is otherwise identifiable in the audio
• All other participants whose voices are captured

Recording Consent Documentation

You must maintain and be able to produce upon request:

• Written permission from instructors (emails, signed forms, syllabus statements)
• Signed consent forms from identifiable students
• Email authorizations or documented institutional approvals
• Evidence of recording notice provided to participants
• Proof of institutional policy compliance

Violations and Penalties

Recording consent law violations can result in:

• California: $5,000 fine and/or imprisonment (misdemeanor or felony)
• Florida: Third-degree felony (up to 5 years imprisonment)
• Illinois: Class 4 felony (1-3 years imprisonment)
• Maryland: Up to 5 years imprisonment and $10,000 fine
• Massachusetts: Up to 5 years imprisonment and $10,000 fine
• Pennsylvania: Third-degree felony (up to 7 years imprisonment)

In addition to criminal penalties, you may face civil lawsuits for damages, invasion of privacy, and emotional distress.

Interstate Recording Issues

When recordings cross state lines, courts typically apply the law of the jurisdiction where the recording occurred. However, some courts have extended protection to residents of two-party consent states even when the recorder is in a one-party consent state.

Best Practice: When in doubt, obtain consent from all parties before recording, regardless of location.

Platform Disclaimer

uminotes does NOT determine compliance with recording consent laws. Users uploading recordings are solely responsible for ensuring they have obtained all legally required consents. Violation of recording consent laws may result in immediate content removal, account termination, and reporting to law enforcement.

5C. EDUCATIONAL CONTENT OWNERSHIP AND COPYRIGHT

Complex Ownership Landscape

Who Owns Lecture Recordings?

Copyright ownership depends on multiple factors with NO uniform rule:

Instructor-Created Lectures

• Public Universities: Traditionally, professors retain copyright under the "teacher exception," but this varies by institutional policy
• Private Institutions: Increasingly claim ownership, especially for online courses created with institutional resources
• Work-for-Hire: If lecture creation is within the scope of employment and uses substantial institutional resources, the institution may own the copyright
• Contractual Agreements: Employment contracts and institutional IP policies govern ownership—always review these documents

Student-Recorded Lectures

• Fixation Issue: Oral lectures have no copyright until "fixed" in tangible form; student recording creates this fixation
• Instructor Rights: The instructor likely owns copyright in the lecture content itself
• Recording Rights: The student may have rights in the recording as a derivative work, but cannot distribute it without permission
• Institutional Claims: Some universities claim ownership of student recordings made using institutional systems

University-Recorded Lectures

• Universities typically claim ownership when using automated capture systems, videographers, or institutional equipment
• Lecture capture agreements may specify ownership and permitted uses

Required Ownership Verification

Before uploading, you MUST:

• Instructors: Review your employment agreement and institution's intellectual property policy. Obtain written authorization from your institution if they claim ownership
• Students: Obtain explicit written permission from BOTH the instructor AND your institution before uploading any lecture recording
• All Users: Do not assume you have the right to upload just because you created the recording

Fair Use Is Not Automatic

Many users incorrectly believe that educational use automatically qualifies as "fair use" under copyright law. This is FALSE.

Fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107 requires analysis of four factors:

1. Purpose and character of use: Is it transformative? Commercial vs. educational?
2. Nature of copyrighted work: Creative vs. factual? Published vs. unpublished?
3. Amount used: How much of the work was used? Was it necessary?
4. Effect on market: Does it harm the copyright owner's potential market?

Educational purpose is only ONE factor and does not guarantee fair use protection. Public distribution of entire lecture recordings to a global audience typically fails fair use analysis due to the amount used and market harm.

Classroom Teaching Exemptions Do NOT Apply

Important: Section 110(1) (face-to-face teaching exception) and Section 110(2) (TEACH Act for distance education) do NOT protect publicly accessible platforms like uminotes. These exemptions apply only to:

• Closed classroom settings, OR
• Distance education to enrolled students at accredited institutions under strict technological controls

Uploading lectures to a public platform accessible to anyone worldwide does NOT qualify for these exemptions.

Third-Party Materials in Lectures

Many lectures contain third-party copyrighted materials:

• Textbook excerpts and images
• Journal articles and research papers
• Video clips and audio recordings
• Software screenshots and code
• Diagrams, charts, and graphs from published sources

If your recording contains ANY third-party copyrighted materials, you must either:

• Have explicit permission from the copyright holder, OR
• Ensure the use qualifies as fair use (rare for full lecture recordings), OR
• Remove those materials before uploading

Ownership Disputes

When multiple parties claim ownership rights (student uploader vs. instructor vs. university), uminotes:

• May suspend content pending resolution
• May request documentation from all claiming parties
• May defer to the institution's official determination
• Requires parties to resolve disputes independently
• Will remove content if any party demonstrates valid legal claim

Platform Disclaimer

uminotes makes no representations regarding ownership of educational content. You are solely responsible for resolving ownership disputes with your institution, instructors, or other parties. We strongly recommend obtaining legal advice before uploading any lecture recordings.

6. CONTRIBUTION LICENSE

License Grant to uminotes

By uploading lecture recordings or other content to uminotes, you grant uminotes a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable license to:

Operational Rights

• Host, store, encode, reproduce, and cache your content
• Publicly display and perform your content to users
• Create derivative works solely for technical purposes (format conversion, transcoding, thumbnails, automated transcripts and captions, search indexing)
• Distribute your content through our Service and authorized distribution partners (CDN providers, cloud storage services, embedding on third-party educational sites)
• Use your content to improve our Service through aggregated, anonymized analysis

Promotional Rights

• The right to use, display, and reference your content in promotional materials, features, and demonstrations of the Service, with appropriate attribution

Sublicensing Limitations

Sublicensing rights extend ONLY to service providers necessary for platform operations (CDN providers, cloud storage, transcription services, search engines). uminotes will NOT license your specific content on an individual, standalone basis to third parties for commercial exploitation without your express written permission.

License Duration

This license continues for the duration that your content is on uminotes and for a commercially reasonable period thereafter for cached copies and backups (typically up to 180 days after deletion).

Your Retained Rights

You retain all ownership rights to your content. This license does NOT:

• Transfer ownership to uminotes
• Give uminotes the right to license your content to third parties for their independent commercial use
• Prevent you from using, licensing, or distributing your content elsewhere
• Allow uminotes to claim authorship or alter the educational substance of your content

Attribution

uminotes will preserve and display attribution information including your name/username, content title, and copyright notice.

Viewer and Downloader Rights

uminotes grants viewers a non-exclusive license to access and view content through the Service as permitted by the uploader and Service functionality.

Default Restrictions

Unless explicitly authorized, viewers may NOT:

• Download, reproduce, or redistribute content
• Create derivative works or adaptations
• Use content for commercial purposes
• Circumvent access controls or technical protection measures
• Remove or obscure attribution, watermarks, or copyright information

Personal Educational Use Only

Content is provided for personal, non-commercial educational purposes only. Any other use requires explicit permission from the content owner.

Content Deletion and Retention

When You Delete Content or Your Account:

Immediate Actions:

• Content removed from public view immediately
• Content no longer appears in search results or recommendations
• Sharing links become inactive
• Content no longer accessible to other users

Grace Period (60 days):

• Content retained in recoverable state for 60 days to allow account recovery or reversal of accidental deletion
• You may contact support during this period to restore deleted content

Permanent Deletion Timeline:

• After 60 days, content enters permanent deletion process
• Complete removal from all systems within 180 days maximum

Required Retention Exceptions:

• Server cache copies (deleted in commercially reasonable timeframe)
• Backup archives (removed in next backup cycle)
• Content subject to legal holds, disputes, DMCA subpoenas, or investigations
• Content already embedded or shared by third parties (beyond uminotes' control)
• Aggregated, anonymized analytics data
• Metadata required for security, abuse prevention, or legal compliance

Legal Compliance: uminotes may retain content to the extent required to: (1) comply with legal obligations, (2) enforce Terms of Service, (3) protect against fraud and security threats, (4) resolve disputes, or (5) exercise or defend legal rights.

7B. COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND DMCA COMPLIANCE

DMCA Safe Harbor Protection

uminotes complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512) and maintains safe harbor protection for user-uploaded content. We promptly respond to valid copyright infringement notices and have implemented a repeat infringer policy.

Designated Copyright Agent

If you believe content on uminotes infringes your copyright, please notify our designated DMCA Agent:

Copyright Infringement Notice Requirements

Your DMCA notice must include ALL of the following to be valid under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3):

1. A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or person authorized to act on their behalf
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed (or if multiple works, a representative list)
3. Identification of the material claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate it (specific URLs preferred)
4. Your contact information, including name, address, telephone number, and email address
5. A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law
6. A statement under penalty of perjury that the information in the notification is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner

Takedown Process

Upon receiving a valid DMCA notice, uminotes will:

• Act expeditiously to remove or disable access to allegedly infringing material, typically within 24-48 hours
• Notify the uploader with a copy of the notice and information about the counter-notice procedure
• Apply a copyright strike to the uploader's account under our repeat infringer policy

Counter-Notice Procedure

If you believe content was wrongly removed due to mistake or misidentification, you may submit a counter-notice to our DMCA Agent including:

1. Your physical or electronic signature
2. Identification of the content that was removed and its location before removal
3. A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief the content was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification
4. Your name, address, and telephone number
5. A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located (or if outside the United States, any judicial district in which uminotes may be found)
6. A statement that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the original DMCA notice or their agent

Restoration Timeline: Content will be restored in 10-14 business days after we receive a valid counter-notice, unless the copyright claimant files a legal action seeking a court order to restrain you from engaging in infringing activity.

Repeat Infringer Policy

uminotes will terminate accounts of users who repeatedly infringe copyright in appropriate circumstances. Our graduated response system works as follows:

• First Strike: Warning email with educational resources about copyright and consequences of infringement
• Second Strike: 7-day account suspension and final warning
• Third Strike: Permanent account termination with no refund

Strike Removal:

• Strikes expire automatically after 12 months if no additional violations occur
• Strikes removed immediately upon successful counter-notice or claimant withdrawal of DMCA notice

False DMCA Claims

Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), anyone who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys' fees. Submitting false or misleading DMCA notices may result in legal liability and account termination.

Fair Use and Platform Obligations

uminotes does not make fair use determinations for users. Per *Lenz v. Universal* (9th Cir. 2015), copyright holders must consider fair use before sending takedown notices, but platforms are not required to evaluate fair use before removing content.

Users who believe their content was wrongly removed may file a counter-notice. We will not make independent fair use judgments but will follow the statutory counter-notice process.

No Monitoring Obligation

Important: uminotes has no obligation to monitor user-uploaded content or to actively seek facts indicating infringing activity. We review content only in response to valid DMCA notices or user reports.

Accommodation of Standard Technical Measures

uminotes will not interfere with standard technical measures used by copyright owners to identify or protect copyrighted works, provided such measures are consistent with industry standards.

7D. INSTITUTIONAL POLICY AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Platform Disclaimer Regarding Institutional Policies

uminotes is not affiliated with any educational institution and does not determine compliance with institutional policies. We are a technology platform that hosts user-generated content. Users are solely responsible for ensuring their uploads comply with their institution's:

• Academic honor codes
• Student conduct policies
• Recording and content-sharing policies
• Intellectual property policies
• Technology use agreements

Common Institutional Policy Violations

Many educational institutions prohibit or restrict:

• Recording lectures without explicit instructor permission
• Sharing course materials outside the enrolled class
• Distributing exam questions, answers, or study guides created from course materials
• Uploading proprietary institutional content (custom textbooks, course packs, institutional videos)
• Using commercial platforms to share course materials
• Violating student privacy by sharing recordings containing other students

Academic Consequences

Violating your institution's policies may result in:

• Honor code violations and disciplinary proceedings
• Failing grades or course failure
• Academic suspension or expulsion
• Degree revocation for graduated students
• Notation on permanent academic record
• Loss of scholarships, financial aid, or athletic eligibility

Institutional Takedown Requests

Educational institutions may request removal of content that:

• Violates institutional policies or terms of enrollment
• Contains proprietary institutional materials
• Was uploaded without proper authorization
• Infringes institutional intellectual property rights

Institutional Takedown Process:

Official institutional representatives (Academic Integrity Officers, General Counsel, authorized administrators) may request takedowns by submitting to contact@uminotes.com with:

• Verification of official status (institutional email, documentation of authority)
• Identification of specific content with URLs
• Explanation of policy violation or unauthorized use
• Documentation of institutional ownership or policy

Timeline: 3-5 business days for verification and review. Content will be removed if institution demonstrates valid claim.

Academic Integrity Commitment

uminotes supports academic integrity and will cooperate with educational institutions investigating academic misconduct. We may:

• Remove content identified as facilitating academic dishonesty
• Terminate accounts of users engaging in academic misconduct
• Provide information to institutions pursuant to valid legal process
• Implement content restrictions based on institutional feedback

User Responsibility

Before uploading any educational content, you MUST:

• Read your institution's student handbook and acceptable use policies
• Review your course syllabi for recording and sharing restrictions
• Obtain explicit permission from instructors when required
• Consult your institution's academic integrity office if unsure
• Understand that violations may have serious academic consequences

15. INDEMNIFICATION

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless uminotes, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, and suppliers from and against all claims, losses, liabilities, expenses, damages, and costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs, arising from or relating to:

1. Your violation of these Terms of Service or any applicable law or regulation;
2. Your violation of any third party rights, including without limitation any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, moral rights, privacy rights, rights of publicity, or any other intellectual property or proprietary rights;
3. Any content you upload, post, transmit, or otherwise make available through the Services, including claims that such content infringes or violates third-party rights;
4. Your violation of FERPA, recording consent laws (state or federal wiretapping statutes), biometric privacy laws (including Illinois BIPA, Texas CUBI, Washington BIPA), or other privacy regulations;
5. Your violation of copyright law, including unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or public performance of copyrighted works;
6. Your violation of educational institution policies, including academic honor codes, student conduct policies, recording policies, or technology use agreements;
7. Any false or misleading representations or warranties you made in connection with your use of the Services;
8. Claims by instructors, students, educational institutions, or copyright holders arising from your uploads;
9. Any harm to minors resulting from content you uploaded;
10. Your unauthorized recording of lectures or educational content;
11. Your upload of content containing personally identifiable information of others without consent;
12. Your processing, analysis, or extraction of biometric identifiers from uploaded content;
13. Your use of the Services in violation of these Terms;
14. Any other party's access and use of the Services with your unique username, password, or other appropriate security code.

Indemnification Procedures

uminotes will provide you with notice of any claim, suit, or proceeding for which you must provide indemnification. You agree to:

• Promptly assume control of the defense and settlement of the claim
• Cooperate with uminotes in the defense of any claim
• Not settle any claim that imposes obligations on uminotes without our prior written consent
• Pay all costs, damages, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees

Survival

This indemnification obligation survives termination of your account and these Terms of Service. Even after your account is closed, you remain liable for claims arising from content you uploaded or actions you took while using the Services.

Examples of Indemnifiable Claims

You will be required to indemnify uminotes for claims such as:

• An instructor files a copyright infringement lawsuit because you uploaded their lecture without permission
• A student sues for privacy violations after appearing in a recording you shared without consent
• An educational institution files a claim for violation of proprietary materials
• A copyright holder files a DMCA takedown and subsequent lawsuit for repeated infringement
• Criminal prosecution or civil lawsuit for violating state recording consent laws
• Illinois BIPA class action lawsuit related to biometric data processing
• Academic sanctions or disciplinary proceedings resulting from your unauthorized uploads

16. USER DATA

We will maintain certain data that you transmit to the Services for the purpose of managing the performance of the Services, as well as data relating to your use of the Services. Although we perform regular routine backups of data, you are solely responsible for all data that you transmit or that relates to any activity you have undertaken using the Services.

You agree that we shall have no liability to you for any loss or corruption of any such data, and you hereby waive any right of action against us arising from any such loss or corruption of such data.

Privacy and Data Protection

Our collection and use of personal information in connection with the Services is described in our Privacy Policy available at [PRIVACY POLICY URL].

Biometric Data Handling

Platform Policy on Biometric Data:

uminotes does NOT collect, capture, process, or create biometric identifiers or biometric information as defined by state biometric privacy laws (including Illinois BIPA, Texas CUBI, and Washington BIPA). We do NOT use:

• Facial recognition technology to identify individuals in uploaded videos
• Voice recognition technology to create voiceprints or identify speakers
• Biometric authentication systems based on facial geometry, fingerprints, or voice patterns
• Any automated systems that extract, analyze, or store biometric identifiers

User Prohibition on Biometric Processing

Users shall NOT:

• Submit recordings to third-party facial recognition services
• Use automated biometric identification on content uploaded to or accessed through uminotes
• Create biometric templates, voiceprints, or facial geometry scans from recordings
• Otherwise process recordings to collect biometric identifiers for any purpose
• Use uploaded content for commercial biometric products or services

Illinois BIPA Compliance

If you collect, use, or possess biometric identifiers or biometric information derived from recordings containing individuals located in Illinois, you MUST comply with the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (740 ILCS 14/), including:

• Informing subjects in writing of the specific purpose and duration of biometric data collection and storage
• Obtaining written releases from all subjects before collecting biometric identifiers
• Making publicly available a retention schedule and destruction policy
• Implementing reasonable security measures to protect biometric data
• NOT selling, leasing, trading, or otherwise profiting from biometric identifiers

BIPA Violations: Illinois BIPA provides for statutory damages of $1,000 per negligent violation or $5,000 per intentional violation, plus attorneys' fees, with a private right of action allowing class action lawsuits.

Educational Data Protections

For educational content and student data, we implement additional protections:

• Limited use: Educational data will not be used for AI model training without explicit consent
• Access controls: Only authorized personnel have access to educational data
• Audit trails: All access to sensitive data is logged and monitored
• Data minimization: We collect only data necessary for service provision

Voice Recordings as Biometric Data

Voice recordings may constitute biometric data under applicable laws. We handle such data as follows:

• Consent required: Users uploading voice recordings certify they have obtained all necessary consents
• Purpose limitation: Voice data is used solely for hosting and playback services
• No voice analysis: We do not create voiceprints or use voice recognition technology unless explicitly disclosed
• No sharing: Voice recordings are not shared with third parties except as necessary for platform operations (CDN, cloud storage)

Data Retention and Deletion

We implement the following data retention practices:

• Uploaded recordings: Retained according to your account settings; may be deleted at any time by the user
• User account data: Retained during the term of your account and for 60 days thereafter to allow account recovery
• Deleted content: Permanently removed from all systems within 180 days of deletion request
• Legal hold exceptions: Content subject to legal obligations, disputes, or investigations retained as legally required
• Backup copies: Removed in the next backup cycle (typically within 30 days)

Your Data Rights

You have the following rights regarding your data:

• Access: You can request access to your personal data
• Correction: You can request correction of inaccurate data
• Deletion: You can request deletion of your data (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Portability: You can request a copy of your data in a machine-readable format
• Restriction: You can request limitation of processing in certain circumstances
• Objection: You can object to processing for certain purposes

To exercise these rights, contact contact@uminotes.com with your request.

Cross-Border Data Transfers

Your data may be processed in countries other than your country of residence, including the United States. By using our Services, you consent to such transfers. We implement appropriate safeguards to protect your data during international transfers in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data, including:

• Encryption of data in transit and at rest
• Access controls and authentication systems
• Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments
• Employee training on data security and privacy
• Incident response procedures for data breaches

However, no system is completely secure. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of your data.

17. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS, TRANSACTIONS, AND SIGNATURES

Visiting the Services, sending us emails, and completing online forms constitute electronic communications. You consent to receive electronic communications, and you agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications we provide to you electronically, via email and on the Services, satisfy any legal requirement that such communication be in writing.

You hereby waive any rights or requirements under any statutes, regulations, rules, ordinances, or other laws in any jurisdiction which require an original signature or delivery or retention of non-electronic records, or to payments or the granting of credits by any means other than electronic means.

18. MISCELLANEOUS

These Legal Terms and any policies or operating rules posted by us on the Services or in respect to the Services constitute the entire agreement and understanding between you and us. Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Legal Terms shall not operate as a waiver of such right or provision. These Legal Terms operate to the fullest extent permissible by law. We may assign any or all of our rights and obligations to others at any time. We shall not be responsible or liable for any loss, damage, delay, or failure to act caused by any cause beyond our reasonable control. If any provision or part of a provision of these Legal Terms is determined to be unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision or part of the provision is deemed severable from these Legal Terms and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. There is no joint venture, partnership, employment or agency relationship created between you and us as a result of these Legal Terms or use of the Services. You agree that these Legal Terms will not be construed against us by virtue of having drafted them. You hereby waive any and all defenses you may have based on the electronic form of these Legal Terms and the lack of signing by the parties hereto to execute these Legal Terms.

19. CONTACT US