Terms of Service
Current Version: V1.00 Release Date: September 25, 2025
Welcome to the products and services (hereinafter referred to as the "Services") provided by United Societies of Science (registered in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, hereinafter referred to as "USS"). These Terms of Service (hereinafter referred to as "these Terms") constitute the general terms of use for USS. When you use specific products or services under USS, in addition to these Terms, you will also be subject to the specific terms attached to such products or services (if any).
Your use of USS products and services constitutes your having read, understood, and agreeing to all of these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the relevant services.
1. Use of Services
You shall use the Services in accordance with these Terms and the policies and guidelines published by USS and its specific services.
You commit to use the Services only in a legal and compliant manner and for designated purposes.
Prohibited conduct includes, but is not limited to:
- Interfering with the normal operation of the Services, or using unofficial interfaces or automated tools (such as crawlers or scripts) to access, scrape, or copy data;
- Bulk account registration, misappropriation of other people's accounts, or fraudulent operations;
- Posting illegal, infringing, false, harassing, or harmful information;
- Engaging in any other conduct that violates the laws and regulations of Hong Kong, Mainland China, or other applicable jurisdictions.
If you violate these Terms or related rules, USS reserves the right to take action, including issuing warnings, restricting functionality, suspending, or terminating the Services, without prior notice.
**Do Not Abuse the Service**
You may only use our services for the designated purposes permitted by law. Do not interfere with our services or attempt to access them using methods other than the interfaces and instructions we provide. If you fail to comply with our terms or policies, or if we are investigating suspected misconduct, we may suspend or terminate your service.
Our platform displays content that does not belong to USS. The entity that posted such content is solely responsible for that content. We may review content to determine whether it is illegal or violates our policies. If we reasonably believe that content violates our policies or is illegal, we may remove it or refuse to display it. However, this does not necessarily mean that we review content, so please do not assume that we do so.
2. USS Account
When using USS services or services created by third parties on the USS platform, you may need to register a USS account via (https://www.usssociety.org/public/signup.html) or USS services supplier Boomsci Limited (https://account.boomsci.com).
Our event management system is powered by Aconf.org. When you organize or attend our conference, the account will be created on https://www.aconf.org.
You can obtain an account through the following methods:
- Self-registration;
- Registration through an application integrated with our services;
- Managed accounts assigned by a USS administrator or a third-party application administrator (such as an institution, school, or enterprise).
If you use an account assigned by an administrator, in addition to these Terms, you must also comply with the administrator's policies, which may allow the administrator to access or disable your account.
You must maintain the security of your account and password and are fully responsible for all activities under your account. If you discover any issues, please contact our support team immediately.
3. Privacy and Data Security
For details on how we handle your personal information, please see our Privacy Policy:
https://www.usssociety.org/privacy.html.
By using our services, you consent to USS processing your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
We will take reasonable measures to ensure data security, but we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach, we will notify you and cooperate with legal action.
4. User-Generated or Submitted Content
4.1 Ownership of Content
You retain all legally owned intellectual property rights in the content you upload, publish, or submit (including but not limited to trademarks, patents, papers, text, images, audio and video, etc.), provided that you do not transfer any rights thereto.
4.2 Grant of License
You hereby grant USS Limited a **worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, perpetual** license to use your content as follows:
- Provide, operate, maintain, and improve the Services;
- Use, copy, store, display, and disseminate;
- Modify, translate, convert, and create derivative works (e.g., to optimize display effects);
- Lawful publicity and promotion (without disclosing sensitive identifying information unless otherwise agreed).
This license is limited to the extent necessary to achieve the purposes of the Services.
4.3 Restrictions on Use
- You ensure that you have full authorization and that the content does not infringe third-party rights;
- Specific services may have stricter restrictions, which are subject to the service descriptions;
- The license remains valid even after you cease use; you may request removal of content in accordance with the Privacy Policy, and we will handle it in accordance with the law.
5. Software and Code in Our Services
You are granted a limited, non-transferable, non-exclusive license to use USS services and their software. You may only use and benefit from the services provided by USS in the manner permitted by these Terms.
Without written permission, you may not:
- Reverse engineer, decompile, or decrypt the source code;
- Modify, distribute, rent, or sell the software;
- Remove copyright or rights notices.
The above restrictions do not apply to situations expressly permitted by law (such as fair use and compatibility testing), but they must be done legally and in compliance with regulations.
6. Service Changes and Termination
Unless otherwise required by contract, USS reserves the right to update, modify, suspend, or terminate the service at any time, including feature adjustments, without prior notice. If we plan to permanently terminate a service, we will provide advance notice and provide a data export method.
USS is not liable for compensation due to service changes or interruptions, but will make reasonable efforts to minimize the impact.
7. Disclaimer
USS will provide services using commercially reasonable skill and care, but **makes no warranties, express or implied**, regarding the services, including but not limited to:
- The continuity and error-free nature of the service;
- The accuracy, completeness, or applicability of the content;
- The authenticity of third-party information;
- The ability of the service to meet your specific needs.
Users are solely responsible for the content and services posted by users. USS reserves the right to review, modify, or delete content for compliance, quality, or policy reasons without prior notice.
Users should exercise their own judgment and risk and carefully assess the authenticity and reliability of content posted by third parties on the USS platform and its applications, as well as the products and services provided by them. USS is not responsible for any losses caused by reliance on such information.
We will provide services using commercially reasonable skill and care. Unless expressly provided in these Terms, Additional Terms, or a separate contract, USS makes no guarantees regarding the content, functionality, reliability, availability, or whether the Services meet specific requirements.
If any content used or published by a user, or the products and services provided on the USS platform and its affiliated applications, infringes the legal rights of a third party, the user shall bear all legal liability arising therefrom. USS will take appropriate legal action upon receipt of legally required notice of the rights.
Users should ensure they have obtained legal authorization when using patents, trademarks, images, fonts, and videos, or quoting and publishing works such as papers or books by others. Any liability for intellectual property infringement arising from such use is the sole responsibility of the user, and USS assumes no responsibility.
Users should maintain proper security of their accounts and account information and maintain awareness of information security. Losses arising from account password leaks, account theft, or other causes not attributable to the platform are the sole responsibility of the user, and USS and its affiliates assume no responsibility.
8. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, USS and its affiliates, employees, and suppliers are not liable for:
- Any indirect, incidental, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages;
- Loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or other economic loss.
**USS's aggregate liability** (whether based in contract, tort, or any other legal theory)** shall not exceed the fees actually paid by you for the relevant Services in the preceding 12 months (excluding third-party payments on our behalf)**, or, at our option, the re-supply of the Services.
In all cases, USS is not liable for **unreasonably foreseeable losses or damages**.
9. Liability for Services
To the extent permitted by law, USS is not liable for lost profits, revenue, data, financial loss, or indirect, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages.
To the extent permitted by law, USS's total liability for any claims under these Terms (including any implied warranties) is limited to the amount you paid us for your use of the Services (or, if we choose, to supplying you the Services again).
In all cases, USS and its suppliers and distributors will not be liable for any losses or damages that are not reasonably foreseeable.
10. Commercial Use and Indemnification Obligations
If you use the Services on behalf of an organization (such as a business, school, or research institution), that organization will be deemed a party to these Terms and assumes all legal responsibility.
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless USS and its employees from and against any claims, actions, losses, expenses (including attorneys' fees) arising out of:
- Breach of these Terms;
- Infringing Content;
- Use of the Services for purposes other than those specified in these Terms and the contract;
- Use of your account for unlawful purposes.
11. Non-Contractual Collection Services and Fees
When you collect publication charges, article processing fees, conference registration fees, review fees, or other fees through the USS platform, you will be responsible for the following fees:
**Expenses**
- Transaction Fee: This fee is charged by a third-party payment provider and is your responsibility.
- Service Fee: This fee is a fixed percentage of the total amount collected. The actual fee rate is determined by each application.
**Withdrawal Rules:**
- Minimum Withdrawal Amount: RMB 2,000 (or US$300);
- Withdrawal Fee: RMB 200 (or US$30) per withdrawal. Any withdrawal less than this amount will be charged a higher fee.
- Withdrawal transaction fees are the user's responsibility.
**Chargeback Processing:**
If a chargeback occurs for an international credit card payment:
- You must refund all withdrawn funds within 7 business days of receiving notification;
- You will also be responsible for any chargeback penalties imposed by the third-party payment platform (typically US$15–100 per transaction, subject to notification by the platform);
- USS reserves the right to directly deduct the aforementioned amount from your account balance or suspend service until the payment is cleared.
**Refund Processing:**
- If you initiate a refund for a completed transaction, either on your own initiative or at the request of an attendee:
- The transaction fee paid will not be refunded (collected by the payment platform);
- You will pay USS a refund processing fee of RMB 100 (or US$15) per transaction;
- The service fee will be deducted directly from your account.
**Transaction Dispute Processing:**
- In the event of a transaction dispute (such as a user complaint, fraud report, etc.), USS will assist in the investigation and provide transaction verification. - A dispute resolution service fee of RMB 350 (or US$45) will be charged for each dispute.
- If a dispute arises from false information, contract failure, or violation of platform rules, you will be solely responsible, and USS reserves the right to deduct funds from your account balance or suspend service.
**Fee Adjustment:**
USS reserves the right to adjust the above fees by announcing the change on its website 14 days in advance. If you disagree with the adjustment, you may terminate your use of the collection service.
**Membership Fee Refund Policy**
Membership fees, once paid, shall constitute funds for the operation of USS and the provision of member services. Such fees are non-refundable during the validity of the membership. Should membership be terminated for any reason (including voluntary withdrawal by the member or termination by USS due to violation of the constitution/rules), all paid fees shall remain non-refundable.
12. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
12.1 Governing Law
- Business operations and legal responsibilities in other regions shall be borne by USS;
- The interpretation and application of these Terms shall be governed by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, except for mandatory provisions of Mainland China laws.
12.2 Dispute Resolution
Disputes arising from these Terms or the Services shall be resolved as follows:
- Disputes involving matters under the exclusive jurisdiction of Mainland China, such as consumer rights protection and data localization, shall be submitted to the People's Court of the East Lake New Technology Development Zone, Wuhan City, Hubei Province for litigation resolution;
- For other disputes: unless otherwise agreed in the contract, the dispute shall be governed by the contract; if there is no such agreement, the dispute shall be submitted to the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) for final arbitration in accordance with the arbitration rules in effect at the time of application. The seat of arbitration shall be Hong Kong, and the language of arbitration shall be Chinese or English.
13. Modifications and Notices
USS reserves the right to modify these Terms to reflect legal, regulatory, or service changes.
Any modifications will be posted on this page and updated with at least 14 days' notice prior to taking effect (major compliance modifications may take effect immediately).
Continued use of the Service constitutes acceptance of the modifications.
In the event of a conflict between these Terms and the Additional Terms, the Additional Terms will prevail.
These Terms do not create any third-party beneficiary rights.
14. Contact Us
If you have any questions about these Terms or the Services, please contact USS via: https://www.usssociety.org/contact.html.
## Version History
**- V1** Initial Date: September 25, 2025
