Code of Conduct
Welcome to IPO Connect. Before creating a profile and using this service, you must agree that you have read and will follow the rules and suggested etiquette below. Scroll to the bottom of this page and click ACCEPT to accept this Code of Conduct and access IPO Connect. By doing so, you also agree to the General IPO Terms of Use. You will only be asked to do this once.
Rules
- Users agree to use IPO Connect only to post, upload, distribute, or disseminate messages and material that are proper. All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, infringing, or otherwise illegal materials are strictly prohibited.
- Users may not personally attack, harass, stalk, threaten, violate rights (including but not limited to rights of privacy and publicity), or restrict or inhibit other users’ use and enjoyment of the service.
- Users agree that they will not violate any libel, slander, or antitrust laws. See IPO Antitrust Compliance Policy.
- Users shall not use IPOConnect to share or discuss any competitively sensitive, non-public business information.
- Prohibited topics include, but are not limited to: royalty rates; other competitively sensitive licensing terms or conditions; prices; price formulas; margins; rebates; discounts; costs; output; inventory levels; non-public plans for expansion or contraction, pricing, advertising or marketing; and salary or benefit levels.
- In addition, IPOConnect shall not be used to reach or attempt to reach any agreement among competitors on royalty rates to be charged to others or other competitively sensitive licensing terms; pricing or any element thereof; division of markets, territories or customers; refusal to deal with certain potential licensors or licensees, customers or suppliers; limitations on production or output of any product or service; or hiring or non-solicitation of each other’s employees.
- Users should send messages only to appropriate communities or groups and must avoid spamming multiple lists with the same post or otherwise disseminating duplicative or unsolicited posts. Users may not post contests, pyramid schemes, chain letters, or other types of junk mail.
- Users may not mine or otherwise collect other users’ contact information in bulk.
- Falsifying any information, including creating a false identity to mislead other users, is prohibited.
Suggested Etiquette
- Include a signature tag on all messages that includes your name, company, and location.
- State concisely and clearly the topic of your post in the subject line. This allows members to search the archives by subject.
- Send a message to an entire community or group only when it contains information that could benefit the entire group.
- Send messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me, too" to individuals rather than to an entire community or group. Do this by using the "Reply to Sender" link that appears in every message.
IPO actively monitors the Open Forum on IPO Connect, and most individual communities are monitored by an IPO Staff Liaison. IPO does not generally undertake editorial control of postings, but does reserve the right to moderate or remove any posting at any time without prior notice and in its sole discretion.
Written views expressed on IPO Connect are not the views of IPO.
IPO reserves the right to terminate website access without notice for any user who does not abide by these guidelines and/or to suspend or terminate IPO membership for members who violate these rules.
IPO reserves the right to modify this Code of Conduct at any time without prior notice.
Questions about IPO Connect should be directed via email to connecthelp@ipo.org.