APQC Terms of Service

Welcome to the American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC). These Terms of Service govern your use of APQC’s Online Resources, which include the APQC website, Resource Library, Benchmarking Portal, Open Standards Benchmarking® Database, and all associated products and services. The specific content available to you may vary depending on whether you are a registered user, if your organization is a current APQC Member, and what level of membership your organization subscribes to. 

In the event of any conflict between these Terms of Service and any other written agreement between APQC and you or your organization (e.g., an APQC membership or license agreement), the terms of that other agreement shall control.

Use and Copyright

All rights not expressly granted to you herein are reserved to APQC and all uses of APQC’s Online Resources not expressly permitted hereunder are prohibited.  

APQC grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to access and use APQC’s Online Resources to support the understanding, assessment, measurement, and improvement of internal processes and knowledge management within your organization. Accordingly, you may not publicly display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, transfer, sell, or distribute any part of APQC’s Online Resources except as expressly permitted by an applicable APQC membership or license agreement. 

All text, graphics, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, trademarks, logos, sounds, music, artwork, and computer code, including but not limited to the design, structure, selection, coordination, expression, and “look and feel” of APQC’s Online Resources, are owned and/or licensed to APQC and are protected by U.S. and international intellectual property laws. 

Account Access & Security

If any of APQC’s Online Resources requires registration you must complete the registration process by providing current, complete, and accurate information as prompted during the registration process. If you leave the organization under which you first registered, you are prohibited from accessing APQC’s Online Resources until you re-register through a new organization or otherwise update your registration profile.  

You are prohibited from sharing your password or account access privileges with others and shall not use anyone else’s account at any time. You must promptly notify APQC of any unauthorized use of your account. 

APQC does not warrant and makes no guarantee that APQC’s Online Resources will be always available to all users. APQC’s Online Resources may become temporarily unavailable to some or all users due to inclement weather, technical or engineering difficulties, power failures, civil disturbance, fire, flood, or other causalities, and for planned and unplanned system maintenance. APQC disclaims all liability resulting from any service disruption or the unavailability of any of APQC’s Online Resources. APQC may update, revise, replace and/or remove portions of APQC’s Online Resources from time to time without notice.

Use of Online Resources

You shall not use APQC’s Online Resources for any improper purpose.  For example, you shall not: 

  • Use APQC’s Online Resources in violation of any applicable law, rule, or regulation; 
  • Defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten, or otherwise violate the rights of others in connection with any APQC product or service; 
  • Publish, post, or upload any content that is profane, defamatory, obscene, indecent, or unlawful or that violates the intellectual property rights of others; 
  • Upload files that contain viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots, corrupted files, or any other similar program or code that are intended to damage, compromise, or interfere with the operation of any IT system or process; 
  • Violate APQC’s Benchmarking Code of Conduct in connection with any benchmarking activities; 
  • Restrict or inhibit any other user from the lawful use of APQC’s Online Resources; 
  • Collect information about other users, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, or other personally identifying information; 
  • Create a false identity; 
  • Reverse-engineer any software, system, or process;  
  • Employ a bot or other automated tool to make automated downloads of content; or 
  • Publicly display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, transfer, sell, or distribute any part of APQC’s Online Resources except as expressly permitted by an applicable APQC membership or license agreement.  

Violation of any of these Terms of Service may result in the immediate suspension or termination of your access to APQC’s Online Resources.

Links to Other Sites

APQC’s Online Resources may contain links to independent, third-party websites, which are provided solely as a convenience to our users. These third-party sites are not under APQC’s control and APQC is not responsible for and does not endorse the content of such sites. 

Privacy Policy

APQC is committed to respecting your privacy. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for more information about the types of personal data we collect and how and why we use your personal data in connection with APQC’s products and services.

Accessibility Statement

As a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing best practices, APQC strives to make its products and services accessible to everyone, including persons with disabilities. We recognize that this is an ongoing obligation, and that technologies and standards are ever evolving. As a result, we are continuously looking for ways to make our products and services more accessible, including by making changes to our website and downloadable content to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

If you have any trouble accessing any of our products and services or have suggestions on how we may improve the accessibility of any of our content, please email us at [email protected] or call +1-713-681-4020 and ask to speak with a member of our Digital Experience team. We welcome your constructive feedback and suggestions. 

Disclaimer of Warranty

APQC’S ONLINE RESOURCES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS," WITH NO WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES WHATSOEVER. APQC EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW ALL EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, AND OTHER WARRANTIES, GUARANTEES, OR REPRESENTATIONS OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. YOUR USE OF APQC’S ONLINE RESOURCES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. 

Limitation of Liability 

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL APQC BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY OR CAUSE OF ACTION FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND RELATED TO OR ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF APQC’S ONLINE RESOURCES, INCLUDING ANY LOSS OF PROFIT, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, DAMAGE TO REPUTATION, LOSS OF OPPORTUNITY, OR LOSS OF DATA, EVEN IF APQC HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBLITY OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Dispute Resolution 

EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN ANY WRITTEN AGREEMENT BETWEEN APQC AND YOU OR YOUR ORGANIZATION, THESE TERMS OF SERVICE AND YOUR USE OF APQC’S ONLINE RESOURCES ARE GOVERNED EXCLUSIVELY BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, USA, WITHOUT REGARD TO ANY CONFLICT OF LAWS. ANY CLAIM, DEMAND, OR CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST APQC ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO THESE TERMS OF SERVICE OR YOUR USE OF APQC’S ONLINE RESOURCES SHALL BE BROUGHT SOLELY AND EXCLUSIVELY IN THE STATE OR FEDERAL COURTS LOCATED IN HOUSTON, TEXAS, USA. AT APQC’S SOLE OPTION, ANY SUCH ACTION SHALL BE REFERRED TO BINDING ARBITRATION ADMINISTERED BY THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION RULES, AND JUDGMENT ON THE AWARD RENDERED BY THE ARBITRATOR(S) MAY BE ENTERED IN ANY COURT HAVING JURISDICTION THEREOF. THE PLACE OF ARBITRATION SHALL BE HOUSTON, TEXAS, USA.

Copyright & Trademark Notices 

Copyright © 1994 – 2023 by APQC and/or its partners and suppliers, 123 North Post Oak Lane, Houston, Texas 77024 U.S.A. All rights reserved. 

 

Last modified: March 2023