Acceptable Use Policy

General Statement

This Acceptable Use Policy sets out the terms between you and us under which you may access our website [http://cws.dmu.ac.uk] (our website). This Acceptable Use Policy applies to all users of, and visitors to, our website. Your use of our website means that you accept, and agree to abide by, all the policies in this Acceptable Use Policy, which supplement our Terms and Conditions.

Changes to the acceptable use policy

We may revise this Acceptable Use Policy at any time by amending this page. You are expected to check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes we make, as they are legally binding on you. Some of the provisions contained in this Acceptable Use Policy may also be superseded by provisions or notices published elsewhere on our website.

Who we are

Compose with Sounds is operated by De Montfort University (“we” or “us” or “our»).  We are a Higher Education Corporation established in accordance with the Education Act 1988 .  Our main address is The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH UK.

Typical Uses

The following are typical (non-exhaustive) uses of the Compose with Sounds website to guide users on key aspects of acceptable use of the website in a manner which also complies with the websites Terms and Conditions:

USE BY TEACHERS, STUDENTS AND INDIVIDUAL COMPOSERS

We hope that use of this website by educators, teachers and composers will enable them and their students to learn more about electro acoustic composition and enable users to compose their own music with sounds in an enjoyable manner. As users of then website we expect that:

  • Teachers, students and other users will observe the copyrights on music works and sound recordings owned by others;
  • Users must create their own original sounds and sound cards, or record original sound works with which they can legally compose their own novel and original pieces of music;
  • In creating music users are not permitted to use copy protected sounds or music files or recordings of public concerts, radio broadcasts or the like. Even individual sounds should not be copied from a recording without the consent of the rights holders;
  • Users should also ensure that they do not knowingly plagiarise any melodies or the like, but instead compose their own material;
  • If users wish to use sounds or notes from existing musical work, they must ensure that they have requested and received permission from the relevant intellectual property owner;
  • At all times the sounds, soundcards and musical works created by users remain their intellectual property. We accept no liability in regard to any dispute regarding the ownership, misuse or infringement associated with such works;
  • Works and soundcards generated by the system will be stored on your local storage media and will not be accessible to the general public. As such use of the website does not create a collection or compilation of sounds or works that we accept any responsibility or liability for, and to the fullest extent of the law we exclude any and all such liability. This exclusion may not apply to you in a jurisdiction that does not allow such exclusions;
  • The system offers the capability for teachers and users to define groups of individually selected users to share access to soundcards and works. This must be conducted in a way that is compatible with the Acceptable Use Policy and the Terms and Conditions;
  • If we request the removal or deletion of individual sound templates, sound cards or composed works you agree to immediately comply; and
  • Where users wish to make their works available to the general public they can request that compositions be considered for posting on our website but this is at the sole discretion of our team. To enable use of such materials their owner warrants that the works are original, have not been copied and are aware of no infringement issues. Such contributions remain the intellectual property of their creator who must agree to grant to us a world-wide, non-exclusive, royalty free licence to enable the legal placement of the work on our website. To submit works for public access consideration on our website please contact cws@dmu.ac.uk.

Prohibited uses

In all circumstance you may use our website only for lawful purposes.

You may not use our website:

  • In any way that breaches any applicable local, national or international law or regulation.
  • In any way that is unlawful or fraudulent, or has any unlawful or fraudulent purpose or effect.
  • For the purpose of harming or attempting to harm minors in any way.
  • To send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use or re-use any material which does not comply with our content standards.
  • To transmit, or procure the sending of, any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising or promotional material or any other form of similar solicitation (spam).
  • To knowingly transmit any data, send or upload any material that contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time-bombs, keystroke loggers, spyware, adware or any other harmful programs or similar computer code designed to adversely affect the operation of any computer software or hardware.

You also agree:

  • Not to reproduce, duplicate, copy or re-sell any part of our website in contravention of the provisions of our Terms and Conditions.
  • Not to access without authority, interfere with, damage or disrupt any part of our website; or any software used in the provision of our website.

Interactive services

The Compose with Sounds website offers a number of interactive services comprising:

    • A blogging feature; and
    • A group chat ‘forum’ feature.
  • All chat and blog feature users must comply with the Compose with Sounds Acceptable Use Policy and website Terms and Conditions at all times
  • We actively promote a safe, friendly environment within the website and reserve the right to deny access to part or all of our services
  • Anyone using the chat or blog feature of the Compose with Sounds service must be aged 13 or above, or have received explicit permission from their parents to be enrolled into a group by the group founder, typically their teacher
  • The use of any of our interactive services by a minor is always subject to the consent of their parent or guardian. We advise parents who permit their children to use an interactive service that it is important that they communicate with their children about their safety online, and minors who are using any interactive service should be made aware of the potential risks to them
  • The group chat feature enables users with allocated access to a group to communicate within each other via the available interactive features. This particular feature should ideally remain closed, which means that all group members should be known to each other and the group founder has clear visibility of all group participants in the interests of safety
  • Compose with Sounds is not responsible for the membership of and access to such groups which are formed by an initial group founder (class teacher or teaching supervisor)
  • Teachers and supervisors who form groups and grant individuals access to the same shall be responsible for the activities of all group participants in abiding by the terms of this Acceptable Use Policy and website Terms and Conditions
  • Content submitted to the chat and group features of the website is normally not moderated by us and group management remains the responsibility of those forming groups
  • We do not accept any liability or responsibility for the behaviour of individuals or groups
  • Any messages or communication on the Compose with Sounds website may be subject to review, and action that we deem fit will be taken in the event that any misuse is discovered
  • In the event that we provide additional interactive features we will do our best to assess any possible risks for users (and in particular, for children) from third parties and we will decide in each case whether it is appropriate to use moderation of the relevant service in the light of those risks. However, we are under no obligation to oversee, monitor or moderate any interactive service we provide on our site
  • We expressly exclude our liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of any interactive service by a user in contravention of our content standards, whether the service is moderated or not
  • You agree that all content submitted to the interactive features will meet the content standards as defined by this Acceptable Use Policy
  • By entering and using the interactive features of our website you agree to be bound by the Acceptable Use Policy and website Terms and Conditions

Content standards

These content standards apply to any and all material (sounds, compositions and related contributions) which you upload and make available via our website (contributions). You must comply with the spirit of the following standards as well as regional, national and international law. The standards apply to each part of any contribution as well as to its whole.

Contributions must:

  • Comply with applicable law in the UK and in any country from which they are posted.

Contributions must not:

  • Contain any material which is defamatory of any person.
  • Contain any material which is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory.
  • Promote sexually explicit material.
  • Promote violence.
  • Promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.
  • Infringe any copyright, database right or trade mark of any other person.
  • Be likely to deceive any person.
  • Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
  • Promote any illegal activity.
  • Be threatening, abuse or invade another’s privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
  • Be likely to harass, upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy any other person.
  • Be used to impersonate any person, or to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person.
  • Give the impression that they emanate from us, if this is not the case.
  • Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse.

Website Suspension and termination

We will determine, in our discretion, whether there has been a breach of this Acceptable Use Policy through your use of our website.  When a breach of this policy has occurred, we may take such action as we deem appropriate.

Failure to comply with this Acceptable Use Policy constitutes a material breach of the Terms and Conditions of our service and will result in the removal of non-complying materials, suspension of your access to our website and may result in legal action against you. We exclude liability for actions taken in response to breaches of this Acceptable Use Policy and the actions in this policy are not limited, and we may take any other action we reasonably deem appropriate against you.