Cell Annotation Service (CAS) Terms of Service

Last Modified: September 23, 2024
Effective Date: September 23, 2024

Certain terms (including capitalized terms) are defined in Section 12 (Definitions).

1. Introduction

Thanks for using the Cell Annotation Service (CAS)! CAS is an application developed by the Cellarium AI Lab in the Data Sciences Platform at The Broad Institute that enables registered users of the application (“Users”) to perform inverse search of single-cell RNA sequencing data against a repository of published and public-domain reference datasets, and carry over annotations and metadata from similar reference cells to User’s cells. These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) apply to your use of CAS, as described in Section 2 and as operated by The Broad Institute.

If you are accessing CAS as an employee of a company, research institution, or other entity with which you are affiliated, you represent that you have the legal authority to enter into these Terms on that entity’s behalf and agree that we may also contact such entity if you violate these Terms. If you do not understand these Terms, or do not accept any part of them, then do not use CAS. If you are not authorized to accept these Terms on behalf of your employer or the entity with which you are affiliated, do not use CAS until you have received consent to these Terms by an authorized official of your employer or the entity with which you are affiliated.

If you suspect or have confirmed you have identified a vulnerability in CAS, please report said vulnerability to us immediately at infosec@broadinstitute.org.

2. Your Use of CAS

Your use of CAS is governed by these Terms. At this time, any individual may become a CAS User. Users may use CAS, either in an individual capacity or on behalf of a company or other entity, for data analysis, teaching and educational activities, and/or sponsored research. Your use of CAS is governed by the Terms, whether you are using CAS in your individual capacity or on behalf of a company or other entity. If you are using CAS on behalf of a company or other entity, such company or other entity will also be bound by these Terms.

We reserve the right to amend these Terms of Service, including making the Terms more restrictive, as we move forward out of the current Beta program. We will inform all existing users via their registered email of any new changes to these Terms and require users to re-accept new terms once available.

Own Risk. CAS is provided as-is, and your use of CAS is at your own risk.

Your Conduct. Don’t misuse CAS. You may use CAS only as permitted by all applicable laws and regulations (“Law”), including applicable export and re-export control laws and regulations, and in accordance with the Acceptable Use Policy, which can be found at https://cellarium.ai/cas-acceptable-use-policy. You are responsible for your conduct while using CAS and any data you submit to CAS. By accessing CAS, you acknowledge and agree that we may monitor your conduct, your use of CAS, and your submitted data to filter spam, viruses, and other malware; ensure interoperability; fix bugs and resolve problems; ensure compliance with these Terms and applicable Laws; and to provide you with help desk services and support. You agree that we may use our understanding of the way Users interact with CAS to improve CAS. We may remove or refuse to process submitted data that we reasonably believe is spam, viruses, or other malware, not interoperable, not in compliance with these Terms, or Law, or is used outside of a restriction on its use.

Your CAS API Token. In order to use CAS, you will need to use your assigned API token. The credentials used for authenticating to CAS must belong to a single individual and only that individual may use those credentials. You or your organization are responsible for the activity that happens on or through your CAS API token. If you learn of any unauthorized use of your API token, contact us immediately and inform your organization, if applicable.

CAS Security Requirements. To use CAS, you must comply with any and all customer and user security requirements. Users must ensure that your Web browsers use Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2 (or higher). SSL and TLS must use a minimum of 256-bit encryption.

Announcements. In connection with your use of CAS, we may send you service announcements, administrative messages, and other information.

Retained Rights. The Broad Institute and any applicable co-owners retain all right, title, and interest in the CAS platform, and the Users or other entities who have submitted data to CAS, including but not limited to the U.S. Government, retain all right, title, and interest in the data they have submitted to CAS. Nothing in these terms shall be interpreted to give you ownership of any intellectual property rights in CAS or data submitted to CAS by another User. These Terms do not grant you the right to use any branding or logos used in CAS, including but not limited to the names, marks, logos, or branding of The Broad Institute or its affiliated or partnered entities. Do not remove, obscure, or alter any marks, designations, or legal notices displayed in or along with CAS.

Age Restrictions. In order to use CAS you must be 18 years of age or older, unless you are accessing CAS in connection with your activities using your account authorized by a Non-Profit Entity, in which case you must be 16 years of age or older.

Disclaimer: No Medical Advice

The information provided by CAS, including but not limited to data, results, text, graphics, images, and other material contained on our website or arising from your use of CAS, is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. CAS (including any result obtained through the use of CAS) is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Important Notice:

Non-Professional Guidance: Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on, or received through your use of, CAS. The information on our website and generated by CAS is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional and is not intended as medical advice.
Emergency Situations: If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the nearest emergency room, or call 911 immediately.
No Endorsements: The Broad Institute does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on our website. Any reliance on information provided by or through the use of CAS or from The Broad Institute’s employees or other visitors to the website is solely at your own risk.
Liability Disclaimer: The Broad Institute makes no representations or warranties about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, currentness, or timeliness of the content, software, text, graphics, links, or communications provided on or through the use of the Broad Institute’s website or CAS. In no event shall the Broad Institute or its employees, officers, agents, partner institutions, consultants, or students be liable for any damages (including, without limitation, incidental and consequential damages, personal injury/wrongful death, lost profits, or damages resulting from lost data or business interruption) resulting from the use of or inability to use the CAS website or its content, whether based on warranty, contract, tort, or any other legal theory, and whether or not the Broad Institute is advised of the possibility of such damages.
User Responsibility: It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice, or other content available through the website. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice, or other content.

3. Submitted Data

Your Submitted Data. You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that submitted data. Your submitted data will never be shared through CAS with any other User. By submitting data to CAS, you represent to us that you own, or have all necessary rights, to provide that data to CAS.

Permitted Uses. When you submit your data to CAS, you give us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that submitted data for the limited purposes of (a) processing your submitted data and give the analysis result back to you, (b) providing support to you in connection with your use of and access to CAS, (c) using Metadata to maintain, test and improve CAS, and (d) to comply with any Law. The license to your Metadata (but not your submitted data itself) continues even if you stop using CAS. We will never let any third party (other than a third party we engage to exercise our rights under these Terms, including operating CAS) access your submitted data without your permission, and will never access or use your submitted data (including letting our employees and other representatives access your submitted data) for any purpose not allowed by these Terms without a separate agreement between you and us. You agree that we may engage third parties to exercise our rights under these Terms, including operating CAS.

Feedback. We welcome you to provide ideas, suggestions, and other feedback about CAS! There is no requirement that you provide us any feedback. If you do provide any ideas, suggestions, or other feedback about CAS, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable, non-exclusive, worldwide right and license to use that feedback for any lawful purposes. The early access to CAS has a limited weekly usage quota for each User. If you provide feedback, The Broad Institute may (at its sole discretion) grant to you a one-time extra weekly quota as a token of our appreciation for your feedback.

4. Privacy Protection

Our Privacy Policy explains how we treat your personal data and protect your privacy when you use CAS. Any information submitted on CAS is subject to our Privacy Policy, the terms of which are incorporated herein by this reference. Please review our Privacy Policy to understand our practices. By using CAS, you agree that you have read, understood, and agree to the terms of the Privacy Policy, and you agree that we may retrieve, use, and disclose your personal data in accordance with the Privacy Policy. If you are in the European Economic Area or the UK, this Privacy Policy is provided for informational purposes only.

Compliance with Data Protection Laws. You may not use CAS to process submitted data that includes PHI or special category personal data as defined under GDPR or UK GDPR, as applicable. Otherwise, you will deidentify or anonymize data (as applicable) prior to submitting it to CAS. To the extent not prohibited by Law, you further agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from any and all claims, demands, losses, causes of action, damage, lawsuits, judgments, including attorneys’ fees and costs, arising out of or relating to your submitted data that includes PHI or special category personal data to CAS in violation of these Terms.

5. Copyright Protection

We respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement and terminate accounts of repeat infringers according to the process set out in the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act and related regulations, as updated from time to time.

6. Modifying and Terminating Use of CAS

Changes to CAS. While we have no obligation to maintain or update CAS, we are constantly changing and improving CAS. We may make performance or security improvements, change functionalities or features, or make changes to comply with Law or to prevent illegal activities on, or abuse of, our systems. Your continued use of CAS constitutes acceptance of any updates to these Terms. There may be times when we will need to make changes to CAS without giving notice. These will be limited to instances where we need to take action to ensure the security and operability of the service, prevent abuse or where we must act to meet legal requirements.

Suspension and Termination. You can stop using CAS at any time, although we’ll be sad to see you go. We reserve the right to suspend or permanently disable your access to CAS without notice for any reason in our sole discretion, including if: (1) you materially or repeatedly violate these Terms or the Acceptable Use Policy; or (2) you are using CAS in a manner that could give rise to legal liability.

Discontinuation of CAS. If we decide to discontinue CAS we will give you reasonable notice based on the circumstances, but may not be able to provide advance notice if we are required or advised to immediately discontinue CAS.

7. Our Warranties and Disclaimers

CAS IS PROVIDED AS-IS, WITHOUT REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, AND THE BROAD INSTITUTE DOES NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT THERETO WHATSOEVER, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE. ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES AS TO SATISFACTORY QUALITY, PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT ARE HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. We do not make any commitments about the specific form, features, or functionality available through CAS, its reliability, availability, or ability to meet your needs. We may change the form, features, or functionality of CAS at any time at our sole discretion.

You expressly understand and agree that your use of CAS is at your own risk. We do not warrant that your access to CAS will be uninterrupted, problem-free, free of omissions, or error-free; nor make any warranty as to the results that may be obtained from CAS. We do not warrant that CAS is safe to use or free from viruses or other malware. When you access CAS, your systems may be exposed to cybersecurity threats, including viruses and other malware. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ALL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED THROUGH CAS ARE MADE AVAILABLE “AS IS” AND WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OF ANY KIND AS TO THE OPERATION OR USE OF CAS. IN ADDITION WE SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT SUCH PRODUCTS OR SERVICES WILL BE OR OPERATE IN A FASHION THAT IS ERROR FREE, BE AVAILABLE OR ‘UP’ AT ANY TIME, OR WILL OPERATE IN A FASHION THAT IS FIT FOR ANY SPECIFIC RESEARCH OR COMMERCIAL APPLICATION.

8. Liability for CAS; Disclaimers and Limitations

In no event will we be liable for the incidental, indirect, special, punitive, exemplary, or consequential damages, arising out of your use of or inability to use CAS, including loss of revenue or anticipated profits, loss of goodwill, loss of data, computer failure or malfunction, or any and all other damages.

The total liability of us and our suppliers and distributors to you, for any claims arising from or related to your use of CAS, including claims for breach of any express or implied warranties, is limited to the amount (if any) you paid us to use CAS during the twelve-month period immediately preceding the time of the claim. If you did not pay us any amount for the use of CAS during the twelve month period immediately preceding the time of the claim, then the total liability of us and our suppliers and distributors to you for claims arising from or related to your use of CAS is limited to one hundred ($100) U.S. dollars.

Nothing in these Terms is intended to exclude or limit our liability, or that of our suppliers and distributors, for death or personal injury, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation or any liability that cannot be excluded by Law.

9. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by Law, you agree to fully defend, indemnify and hold us harmless from any third party claims arising from your use of CAS, including any claim arising from the submission of data or processing thereof.

10. Laws Governing these Terms.

The laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, U.S.A., excluding Massachusetts’s conflict of laws rules, will apply to any disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms or CAS.

We reserve the right to seek temporary or preliminary injunctive relief (or an equivalent type of urgent legal relief) in any jurisdiction. You waive the right to seek any equitable or legal remedies to restrain the operation of CAS. The Cellarium website will provide contact information for our designated agent for notifications under these Terms or delivery of service of process.

In the event of a dispute arising from your use of CAS, you and we agree that we will first contact each other in an attempt to informally resolve the dispute. If the dispute is not resolved, then either you or we may submit the dispute to binding arbitration. You and we will mutually agree on a qualified arbitrator who will conduct the arbitration solely by telephone, online, or based on written submissions without any personal appearances by any parties or witnesses unless mutually agreed. The arbitration shall be commenced and conducted under the rules and procedures of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS).

Any judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator will be binding on both you and us, final and unappealable, and may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. The prevailing party will be entitled to recover its fees and costs incurred in connection with the arbitration, including reasonable attorneys’ fees. You acknowledge and accept these dispute resolution measures, and waive all right to litigate any disputes arising from these Terms in court, including waiver of any right to a jury trial or to participate in a class action suit against us.

11. About these Terms

We may modify these Terms, the Acceptable Use Policy, or any additional terms that apply to CAS or your use of CAS, for any reason, including to reflect changes to CAS or Laws or to enable us to meet our obligations. Any change to these Terms will be effective immediately upon our posting notice unless we state otherwise. You should look at the Terms regularly. We will notify you by email of modifications or additions to the Terms in CAS. If you have opted out of receiving communications from us at signing up, it is your responsibility to look at the Terms of Service regularly.

These Terms control the relationship between us and you. If you do not comply with these Terms, and we don’t take action right away, this doesn’t mean that we are waiving or giving up any rights that we may have (such as taking action in the future). If a particular term is not enforceable, this will not affect any other term.

12. Definitions

“Acceptable Use Policy” means our Acceptable Use Policy, available at https://cellarium.ai/cas-acceptable-use-policy or such other location as we may notify you of.

“CCPA” means the California Consumer Protection Act, as amended, and its related regulations.

“Connect” means to submit, send, or otherwise make Content available to CAS.

“Content” means any data, information, material, documents, or other content, including any related Metadata. “your Content” means Content that you Connect to CAS. For clarity, Content will not include other copies of the same information that is not Connected to CAS.

“Deidentify” means, with respect to any Content you Connect to CAS, the process of removing individual identifiers to the extent required in order to render the Content deidentified under 45 CFR § 164.514 of HIPAA; anonymized under GDPR Recital 26; or in accordance with other applicable law.

“GDPR” means General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC, as may be amended, supplemented or replaced from time to time.

“HIPAA” means the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended, and its related regulations.

“including” means “including, without limitation and without limiting the foregoing.”

“Law” means all laws, regulations, court orders, frameworks, guidelines and standards applicable to your use of CAS (including all Content Connected to CAS), including HIPAA, CCPA, the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Data Protection Act 2018, U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework, and any similar laws in any other jurisdictions, any applicable ethical standards, and any applicable informed consent documents. Something is “illegal” if it violates any Law.

“Metadata” means information about a file or data object including the file size, number of rows, number of columns, column labels, and other descriptors that describe the format of the file or data object or about the behavior of a file or data object in a specific computer environment, such as the file’s level of compression or the latency to access, but does not include or mean the content of the file, including but not limited to any genotypic or phenotypic information contained in the Content.

“PHI” means protected health information, as defined in HIPAA.

“Privacy Policy” means our Privacy Policy, available at https://cellarium.ai/cas-privacy-policy or such other location as we may notify you of.

“Remove” means to cause Content to not be Connected to CAS.

“special category personal data” means, as defined in the GDPR, personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

“Terms” means these legally binding Terms of Service, as may be amended by us from time to time.

“CAS” means the Cell Annotation Service and all associated websites (including cellarium.ai).

“The Broad Institute” means The Broad Institute, Inc., located at 415 Main St, Cambridge, MA 02142.

“UK GDPR” means the GDPR as it forms part of the law of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland by virtue of section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and as amended by the Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/419), as may be amended, supplemented or replaced from time to time.

“User” means any person who has authorized access to CAS, under all applicable terms and requirements.

“you” means the person who accesses CAS under these Terms. If you are accessing or using CAS in your individual capacity, all references to “you” reference you as an individual. If you are accessing or using CAS on behalf of a company or other entity all references to “you” reference both you as an individual and that entity.

“we”, “us” and similar terms means The Broad Institute.