Terms of Use

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Oil Climate Index plus Gas Model (the “OCI⁺”) Terms of Use

Copyright © 2022 Rocky Mountain Institute

All rights reserved.

These terms of use are entered into by and between the user ("You") and Rocky Mountain Institute ("RMI" or "We" or "Us"). By using the Oil Climate Index plus Gas Model (the "OCI⁺"), You have accepted and agreed to be bound by the following terms and conditions (these "Terms"). These govern Your access to and use of the OCI⁺ http://ociplus.rmi.org (the "Website"), including any data, reporting or other content ("Content"), functionality, and other products or services offered on or through the OCI⁺ or the Website (collectively, the "Services"). RMI may update these Terms of Use at any time. All changes shall be effective immediately.

You may use the Services only in compliance with these Terms and all applicable laws. Any use or access by anyone under the age of 16 is prohibited, and certain regions may have additional requirements and/or restrictions. If You do not want to agree to these Terms, You must not access or use the OCI⁺ or Website.

The OCI⁺ is an integrated model and web tool that combines several open-source models and data to systematically estimate the total life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions embodied in oil and gas sources. The OCI⁺ is updated routinely to include additional oil and gas resources, as new input data are collected.

  1. Access and Use of Services
    1. Use of OCI⁺ Services
      1. The Content and other Services may only be used for non-commercial personal, scientific, academic or internal purposes ("Permitted Use"), unless otherwise expressly granted by RMI in writing on a case-by-case basis.
      2. You shall not, and shall not permit any third party to, (A) sell, rent, lease, lend, license or commercially distribute, or charge third parties for access to or use of, any Content or other Services or any derivatives of any Content, (B) use the Content or other Services or any derivatives of any Content to create, enhance or modify a product, service or other commercial offering, (C) use any Content or other Services to update any commercial database or profile, or reverse engineer any Services, (D) access any Content or other Services using automated or unauthorized means, including bots, spiders, scrapers and other similar technologies, or frame or mirror any Content or other Services, (E) use any Content or other Services in connection with any advertising, promotional, solicitation or other marketing activities, including implying any endorsement or approval by, or affiliation with, RMI or its licensors, (F) use any Content or other Services in violation of applicable law, rules or regulations or third-party rights or to publish material that is otherwise misleading, defamatory, harassing, harmful or similarly objectionable, (G) disrupt or otherwise interfere with the provision of any Content or other Services, including by introducing malware, ransomware or other malicious code, disabling or circumventing any security measures or placing a disproportionate or unreasonable load on RMI’s systems, (H) remove any copyright or other rights notices from any Content or other Services, or (I) otherwise use, display, modify, distribute, publish, perform or create derivative works of the Content or other Services for commercial purposes or any other purpose outside the Permitted Use.
      3. RMI has endeavored to ensure that the information made available via the Website and OCI⁺ is accurate. However, the data have been (1) modelled using data from third-party sources that are either publicly available or available through licensing agreements, or (2) collected from publicly available sources. We have no control over any aspects of such data, including its accuracy, timeliness, completeness or consistency. Users of OCI⁺ are advised to exercise caution and evaluate the methodology, data sources, and limitations of the data, including model outputs that are erroneous or uncertain. Users are encouraged to contact RMI in case of any questions, or if any errors are identified.
      4. You acknowledge that, to help ensure a fully comparable and comprehensive estimate of total life-cycle GHG emissions for sources of oil and gas, the OCI⁺’s underlying models must be used together.
    2. Third Party Content and Copyright Attribution
      1. Through the Services, You may have the ability to access and/or use content provided by other third parties and links to websites and services maintained by third parties.
      2. Specifically, OCI⁺ contains, uses or is derived from the following models or data:
        1. Petroleum Refinery Life-Cycle Inventory Model (PRELIM) Copyright © 2021 Dr. Joule A. Bergerson of the University of Calgary, all rights reserved, together with the relevant operating manuals (the "PRELIM License"). User agrees and acknowledges it is subject to the PRELIM License terms and conditions located at: https://www.ucalgary.ca/energy-technology-assessment/open-source-models/prelim.
        2. Oil Production Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimator (OPGEE) Copyright © 2012-2018 The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, all rights reserved, together with the relevant materials (the "OPGEE License") The OPGEE model is developed at Stanford University in the Environmental Assessment and Optimization group (https://eao.stanford.edu). User agrees and acknowledges it is subject to the OPGEE License terms and conditions located at:https://eao.stanford.edu/opgee-oil-production-greenhouse-gas-emissions-estimator
        3. Colorado School of Mines. The annual flare volumes for oil and gas fields are sourced from the Earth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines.
        4. Methane Global Fuel Emission Inventory (GFEI v2). Scarpelli, Tia R.; Jacob, Daniel J., 2019, "Global Fuel Exploitation Inventory (GFEI)", https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/HH4EUM, Harvard Dataverse, V2
      3. RMI cannot guarantee that third party content, in the Services or elsewhere, will not generate or be free of material You may find objectionable or otherwise inappropriate or of malware or other contaminants that may harm Your computer, mobile device, or any files therein. RMI disclaims any responsibility or liability related to Your access or use of, or inability to access or use, such third party content.
  2. Intellectual Property, Citation, and OCI⁺ Copyright
    1. The Website, including its features, and functionality, Content (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video, and audio, and the design, selection, and arrangement thereof) and other Services are owned by RMI, its licensors, or other providers of such material and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.
    2. The RMI name, the words Rocky Mountain Institute, and all related names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans (“Marks”) are trademarks of RMI or, if applicable, its licensors. You must not use such Marks without the prior written permission of. All other names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans on this Website are the trademarks of their respective owners.
    3. When referencing official outputs from the OCI⁺, subject to these Terms, You agree to cite the OCI⁺ as follows:  “RMI, Oil Climate Index plus Gas Model v.2.1.0, 2024”. Subject to these Terms, if users input different assumptions into the OCI⁺ and publicly report their own results citing the OCI⁺, they must specify what they changed, make their input data public, and cite the OCI⁺ as follows: “User’s modifications to RMI, Oil Climate Index plus Gas Model v.2.1.0, 2024”.
    4. You acknowledge that the Website may contain links to other third party websites and resources, which are provided for the underlying models and may be subject to additional copyright conditions and terms of use. RMI does not endorse or assume responsibility for third party websites or resources or content at linked sites.
  3. Modifying or Terminating Our Services
    1. We may seek to improve or otherwise change our Services. We may change, add or remove Content, functions, features, or requirements, and We may suspend or stop part of Our Services altogether. Accordingly, RMI may terminate Your use of any Service at any time and for any reason or no reason.
    2. We may not be able to deliver the Services to certain regions or countries for various reasons, including due to applicable export control requirements or internet access limitations and restrictions from governments. None of RMI, its contributors, sponsors, licensors and other business partners, and their employees, contractors, and other agents (the "RMI Parties") shall have any liability to You for any such action.
  4. Disclaimers
    1. You understand that You are using the Services, including OCI⁺, entirely at Your own risk.
    2. You acknowledge that the OCI⁺ has not been designed or tested for commercial distribution. No maintenance or support is extended to support use of the tool.
    3. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICES AND ALL INCLUDED CONTENT ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. THE RMI PARTIES SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE. THE RMI PARTIES FURTHER DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY RELATED TO YOUR ACCESS OR USE OF THE SERVICES OR ANY RELATED CONTENT OR ANY ERRORS, BUGS OR INTERRUPTIONS. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT ANY ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE SERVICES OR SUCH CONTENT IS AT YOUR OWN RISK.
  5. Limitation of Liability
    1. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE RMI PARTIES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUES, WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, RESULTING FROM: (A) YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICES; (B) ANY CONDUCT OR CONTENT OF ANY PARTY OTHER THAN THE APPLICABLE RMI PARTY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE, OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT; OR (C) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, USE, OR ALTERATION OF YOUR CONTENT OR INFORMATION. THIS SECTION APPLIES EVEN IF ANY RMI PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
    2. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THE DISCLAIMERS AND THE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY SET FORTH IN THIS TERMS OF USE REFLECT A REASONABLE AND FAIR ALLOCATION OF RISK BETWEEN YOU AND THE RMI PARTIES, AND THAT THESE LIMITATIONS ARE AN ESSENTIAL BASIS TO RMI'S ABILITY TO MAKE THE SERVICES AVAILABLE TO YOU AT ZERO COST.
  6. Indemnity
    1. You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the RMI Parties from any and all claims, liabilities, expenses, and damages (to the extent attributable to You under the applicable law), including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, made by any third party related to: (a) Your use or attempted use of the Services in violation of these Terms and (b) Your violation of any law or rights of any third party, including without limitation any claim of infringement or misappropriation of intellectual property or other proprietary rights.
  7. Miscellaneous
    1. Governing Law and Venue. The Services are managed by Rocky Mountain Institute, which is located in Boulder, Colorado. You agree that these Terms will be governed by the laws of the State of Colorado, excluding its conflicts of law provisions. You and RMI will submit to the personal jurisdiction of and exclusive venue in the federal and state courts located in and serving City and County of Boulder, Colorado as the legal forum for any such dispute.
    2. Revisions to the Terms. We reserve the right to revise the Terms at Our sole discretion at any time. Any revisions to the Terms will be effective immediately upon posting by us. For any material changes to the Terms, We will take reasonable steps to notify You of such changes, via a banner on the website, email notification, another method, or combination of methods. In all cases, Your continued use of the Services after publication of such changes, with or without notification, constitutes binding acceptance of the revised Terms. These Terms may not be otherwise modified without RMI’s prior written agreement.
    3. Severability; Waiver. If it turns out that a particular provision of these Terms is not enforceable, this will not affect any other terms. If You do not comply with these Terms, and We do not take immediate action, this does not indicate that We relinquish any rights that We may have (such as taking action in the future).
    4. Assignment. You may not assign or otherwise transfer these Terms, including any rights or licenses. RMI may assign or otherwise transfer these Terms, in whole or in part, without consent.
    5. Entire Agreement. These Terms are the entire agreement between you and RMI regarding their subject matter.