Terms and conditions
Effective Date: March 15, 2026
1. Acceptance of terms
By accessing or using our websites—including biochar.org, biochar-us.org, and biocharconference.com (collectively, the “Service”)—you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. The Service is operated by the North American Biochar Council, doing business as the American Biochar Institute (“ABI,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). If you do not agree to these terms, please discontinue use of the Service immediately.
2. Intellectual Property Rights
- Ownership: All content, including text, graphics, logos, images, research data, and software, is the exclusive property of ABI or its content suppliers and is protected by United States and international copyright laws.
- Limited License: We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and print materials for personal, non-commercial, or educational use, provided you maintain all copyright and proprietary notices.
- Prohibited Use: You may not scrape, redistribute, sell, or “frame” our content for commercial purposes without express written consent from ABI.
3. User Conduct & Prohibited Acts
Users of the Service strictly agree not to:
- Violate any applicable laws or regulations.
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Attempt to gain unauthorized access to our systems, hosting environment, or networks.
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Upload malicious code, viruses, or harmful software.
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Misrepresent affiliation with the American Biochar Institute.
ABI reserves the right to restrict or terminate access for users who violate these provisions.
4. User-Contributed Content & Media
If you upload images, documents, or links to our platforms (such as the Directory or Conference portals):
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You represent that you own the rights to the content.
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You grant ABI a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, display, and distribute said content for professional and educational purposes. This ensures the integrity of ABI’s research and conference archives.
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We reserve the right to remove any content deemed inappropriate or in violation of third-party rights.
5. Disclaimer of Warranties (The “As-Is” Clause)
The Service is provided on an “as-is” and “as-available” basis. ABI makes no warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of technical data. Content is for educational purposes and does not constitute professional engineering, agricultural, environmental, or financial advice.
6. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the North American Biochar Council and the American Biochar Institute shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from your use of, or inability to use, the Service. This includes, but is not limited to, reliance on technical data or any errors or omissions in content.
7. Third-Party Links & Services
Our Service may integrate with third-party providers including payment processors, hosting services, analytics platforms, and event management tools. Your interactions with third-party providers are governed by their respective terms. Payments for conference registrations, directory, or donations made through the Service are processed by secure third-party payment providers. ABI does not store full financial payment information on its servers. Any refund or cancellation policies related to events or services will be provided separately where applicable.
8. Governing Law
These Terms and Conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Oregon, without regard to its conflict of law principles. Any legal action arising out of these terms shall be filed in the courts located in Portland, Oregon.
9. Changes to Terms
ABI reserves the right to update these Terms at any time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Effective Date.” Your continued use of the site after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms.
10. Contact Information
American Biochar Institute
1120 SE Madison St.
Portland, OR 97214
Email: info@biochar.org