MEC FOUNDATION

Effective Date: January 14, 2026

IMPORTANT! PLEASE CAREFULLY READ THESE TERMS OF USE (“TERMS”) BEFORE USING THIS WEB SITE, AS THEY AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. These Terms apply to the official web sites of the Michelet and Elmire Cherenfant Foundation, also known as the MEC Foundation (“Foundation,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), located at mec-foundation.org, cherenfantfoundation.org, and cherenfant.org. This includes other interactive features (including, without limitation, any mobile versions of the Site or Widgets) that are owned or controlled by the Foundation and are available through these domains (collectively, the “Site”). These Terms govern your use of the Site. These Terms do not apply to any other website or any offline activities by the Foundation (unless specifically stated).

You agree to these Terms by accessing or using the Site. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY ALL OF THESE TERMS, DO NOT USE THE SITE.

In some instances, both these Terms and a separate terms of service or guidelines document setting forth additional conditions may apply to a service or product offered via the Site (“Additional Terms”). To the extent there is a conflict between these Terms and any Additional Terms, the Additional Terms will control unless the Additional Terms expressly state otherwise. Please also review the terms of the Site’s Privacy Policy.

Ownership of Site Materials

Unless otherwise explicitly specified, all materials that are included in or are otherwise a part of the Site (including past, present and future versions of the Site), including, without limitation: graphics; layout; text; instructions; images; audio; videos; designs; technology; applications; widgets; artwork; information; data; compilation; advertising copy; logos; domain names; MEC Foundation, The Michelet and Elmire Cherenfant Foundation Logo, trademarks and services marks, and any other logos or names that are trade identities of the Foundation (the “Foundation Marks”); any and all copyrightable material (including source and object code); the “look and feel” of the Site; the compilation, assembly and arrangement of the materials of the Site; and all other materials related to the Site (collectively, the “Materials”) are owned, controlled or licensed by the Foundation, its subsidiaries or affiliates and are protected from unauthorized use, copying and dissemination by copyright, trademark, patent, publicity and other laws, rules, regulations and international treaties.

Except as expressly set forth in these Terms or otherwise expressly granted to you in writing by the Foundation, no rights (either by implication, estoppel or otherwise) are granted to you. Any and all rights to use any Materials not expressly granted to you under this Terms are hereby reserved for the Foundation and/or its parent, members, managers, subsidiaries affiliates or its licensors. Nothing contained in this Terms will affect, impair, or limit in any way the Foundation’s rights to exploit fully any or all of the Materials.

You acknowledge and agree that you will not, directly or indirectly, contest, challenge, aid or abet in contesting or challenging the validity or ownership of the Materials, or take any action whatsoever in derogation of the Foundation’s rights therein, or in breach of, any terms and conditions contained in this Terms. You acknowledge and agree that you will not acquire or claim any rights in the Materials, or aid or abet anyone else in doing so.

The Materials may not be copied, reproduced, downloaded or distributed in any way, in whole or in part, without the prior written authorization of the Foundation unless and except as is expressly provided in these Terms. Any unauthorized use of the Materials or the Foundation Marks without the prior written authorization of the Foundation is strictly prohibited.

To seek the written authorization of the Foundation for reproductions of Materials, please contact us at the email provided on our official website.

Your License to Use Materials on Our Site

Subject to your strict compliance with these Terms, the Foundation grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-commercial, revocable, non-assignable and non-transferable license to download, view and/or play one copy of the Materials (excluding source and object code) on any single computer (or other device you use to access the Site) for your personal, non-commercial use only, provided that:

(a) you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the original Materials or any authorized copy you may make of the Materials;
(b) you do not use the Materials in a manner that suggests an association with any of our products, services or brands;
(c) you make no modifications to the Materials;
(d) you do not allow or aid or abet any third party (whether or not for your benefit): (i) to copy or adapt the source or object code of any Site’s software, HTML, JavaScript or other programming code; or (ii) reverse engineer, decompile, reverse assemble, modify or attempt to discover any source code that the Site creates to generate its web pages or any software or other products or processes accessible through the Site; and
(e) you do not insert any code or product to manipulate the Materials in any way that affects any user’s experience of the Site.

You also agree that you will not:

(a) use any robot, spider, rover, scraper, or any other data mining technology or automatic or manual process to monitor, cache, frame, mask, extract data from, copy or distribute the Materials (except as may be a result of standard Internet browser or search engine use of the Site);
(b) fail to follow the instructions provided on the Site in a “robots.txt” file or similar mechanism; or
(c) modify, frame, reproduce, archive, sell, lease, rent, exchange, create derivative works from, publish by hard copy or electronic means, publicly perform, display, disseminate, distribute, broadcast, retransmit, circulate to any third party or on any third-party web site, or otherwise use the Materials in any way for any public or commercial purpose except as specifically permitted by these Terms or with the prior written consent of the Foundation.

Copyright Agent

You may not use the Site for any purpose or in any manner that infringes the rights of any third party. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”), the Foundation has a designated agent for receiving notices of copyright infringement and follows the notice and take down procedures of the DMCA.

If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide our copyright agent the following information:

(a) a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
(b) identification of the copyright work claimed to have been infringed;
(c) identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material;
(d) information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party;
(e) a statement that the complaining party has a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
(f) a statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Information/Content You Submit

The Site may provide you and others with the opportunity to participate in blogs, comment areas and other communication functionality to submit User Content. Except as otherwise described in the Privacy Policy, you agree that your User Content will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary and will not be returned.

You grant to the Foundation the unrestricted, unconditional, unlimited, worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual and royalty-free right and license to host, use, copy, distribute, reproduce, disclose, sell, re-sell, sub-license, display, perform, transmit, publish, broadcast, modify and create derivative works of all or any portion of your User Content for any purpose whatsoever in all formats and through any media or technology now known or later developed. You further agree that the Foundation is free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques contained in any User Content for any purposes whatsoever without obligation, remuneration or attribution of any kind to you or anyone else.

You further acknowledge and agree that the Foundation does not and will not have any obligation to review, monitor, display, accept or exploit any User Content and we may, in our sole discretion, delete, move, or refuse to exploit User Content at any time without notice or liability.

Viral Distribution and Widgets

By express written direction on the Site, the Foundation may grant you the limited, revocable permission to engage in Viral Distribution. This means personal uses only:

(a) sending Materials to friends at no charge;
(b) reproducing copies of Materials for personal use;
(c) posting a copy of Materials on a personal web site or a third-party web site that permits users to post content, provided that the web site does not charge for access or associate the materials with advertising.

For any Widgets that we make available on the Site, we grant you a license to include the Embed Code into your personal page. You agree that you will not embed a Widget on a web site containing content that is distasteful, unlawful, harmful, threatening, or otherwise objectionable (in the Foundation’s sole opinion). We make no specific warranties about Widgets and may discontinue them at any time.

Paid Services

Some services on the Site may require a fee. You agree to pay all fees and charges that you incur. Unless otherwise noted, all currency references are in U.S. dollars. We may at any time change the amount of, or basis for determining, any fee or charge. All fees and charges are payable in accordance with payment terms in effect at the time the fee becomes payable.

Acceptable Use Policy

You agree to not use the Site to:

(i) upload or transmit content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, or hateful;
(ii) harm minors in any way;
(iii) impersonate any person or entity, including a Foundation official;
(iv) forge headers or manipulate identifiers to disguise the origin of content;
(v) transmit content you do not have a right to transmit;
(vi) infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, or copyright;
(vii) transmit unsolicited advertising or “spam”;
(viii) transmit material containing software viruses;
(ix) disrupt the normal flow of dialogue or interfere with the Site’s servers or networks;
(x) violate any applicable local, state, national or international law;
(xi) “stalk” or harass another; or
(xii) collect or store personal information about other users.

Membership, Registration, and Warranties

Certain areas of the Site may require registration. If you register, you accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account or password. You agree to provide only true, accurate, current and complete information.

You represent and warrant that:

(i) you have the legal right and capacity to enter into these Terms;
(ii) all information you provide is accurate;
(iii) you hold all rights necessary to perform your obligations under these Terms.

User Interactions and Third-Party Links

You are solely responsible for your interaction with other users of the Site. We are not responsible for the conduct of any user. Exercise common sense and your best judgment in all online activities.

The Site may contain links to third-party web sites that we do not control. Accessing third-party sites requires you to leave our Site. We are not responsible for the content, policies, or damages arising from those third-party sites. YOUR CORRESPONDENCE AND BUSINESS DEALINGS WITH OTHERS FOUND ON OR THROUGH THE SITE ARE SOLELY BETWEEN YOU AND THE THIRD PARTY.

Linking Policy

The Foundation grants you the revocable permission to link to the Site, provided that your web site:

(a) must not frame or create a browser environment around Site content;
(b) must not imply that the Foundation is endorsing it without prior written consent;
(c) must not present false information about or disparage the Foundation;
(d) must not use Foundation trademarks without prior written permission;
(e) must not contain content that could be construed as distasteful or offensive.

Mobile Features and Downloads

The Site may offer features available via your mobile device. Standard messaging, data, and other fees may be charged by your carrier. You agree to notify the Foundation of any changes to your mobile number.

Any items made available for download from the Site are the copyrighted work of the Foundation or its licensors. COPYING OR REPRODUCING THE DOWNLOADABLE ITEMS TO ANY OTHER SERVER OR LOCATION FOR FURTHER REPRODUCTION IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED.

Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SITE, INCLUDING THE MATERIALS, ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS,” “AS AVAILABLE” AND “WITH ALL FAULTS” BASIS. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY LAW, THE FOUNDATION PARTIES MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WE DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL BE ERROR-FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED, OR THAT THE SERVER IS FREE FROM HARMFUL COMPONENTS. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE, BY YOUR USE OF THE SITE, THAT YOUR USE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE DISCLAIMER OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE DISCLAIMER MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Limitation of Liability

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE FOUNDATION PARTIES BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, ECONOMIC, EXEMPLARY, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSSES. IN NO EVENT WILL THE FOUNDATION’S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES OR CAUSES OR ACTION EXCEED TEN UNITED STATES DOLLARS ($10.00). BY ACCESSING THE SITE, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU MAY BE WAIVING RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO CLAIMS THAT ARE AT THIS TIME UNKNOWN OR UNSUSPECTED.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation Parties harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, costs, and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, that arise from:

(a) your User Content;
(b) your use of the Site;
(c) your breach of these Terms;
(d) your violation of any laws;
(e) material transmitted through your device that infringes any intellectual property right.

Location, Governing Law, and Jurisdiction

The Foundation controls and operates the Site from offices in the United States. Software from this Site may be subject to United States export controls.

THESE TERMS WILL BE GOVERNED BY THE INTERNAL LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. YOU AGREE THAT JURISDICTION OVER ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS MUST BE IN THE STATE OR FEDERAL COURTS LOCATED IN: COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS; MANHATTAN COUNTY, NEW YORK; OR LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. ANY CAUSE OF ACTION MUST BE COMMENCED WITHIN ONE YEAR AFTER THE CLAIM ARISES.

Entire Agreement and Modifications

These Terms constitute the entire agreement regarding your use of the Site. The Foundation reserves the exclusive right to modify, withdraw, or discontinue any Materials or the Site itself at any time without notice. We also reserve the right to modify or add to these Terms at any time (“Updated Terms”). Your use of the website after we have posted Updated Terms constitutes your agreement to them.

Terms of Use