Terms of Use.

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1. Agreement

1.1 Dubai International Financial Centre (collectively referred to in these Terms of Use as "DIFC", "we", "us", "our"), is a financial free zone established under Dubai Law No. 9 of 2004, in the Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A reference to DIFC in these Terms of Use, includes where appropriate, a reference to Dubai International Financial Centre Authority, DIFC Investments LLC and their affiliates.

1.2 DIFC owns and operates the internet websites at difc.ae, fintechhive.difc.ae, properties.difc.ae, retailportal.difc.ae, portal.difc.ae, academy.difc.ae, and venuebooking.difc.ae (the "Website"). By accessing and using the Website, you are expressly consenting to these Terms of Use that are effective as of the date and time you use or access the Website (the "Terms"). Please read these Terms carefully before accessing or using the information and services available through this Website.

1.3 DIFC also owns and operates the mobile application DIFC Connect (the “App”). By downloading or streaming a copy of the App onto your mobile phones or handheld device (“Device”), you are expressly consenting to these Terms of Use that are effective as of the date and time you use or access the App. Please read these Terms carefully before accessing or using the information and services available through this App.

1.4 These Terms will constitute a legal agreement between "you" (the user of the Website) and DIFC. If you do not agree to, or cannot comply with, the Terms, please kindly refrain from using the Website.

1.5 These Terms may be modified or revised at any time without notice. By using this Website, you are agreeing to be bound by the then current version of the Terms. If you do not agree with any of the Terms or any change to the Terms, then you must immediately stop using the Website.

1.6 The Property Website referred to in Clause 3, Retail Portal referred to in Clause 4 and App referred to in Clause 5 are subject to additional terms conditions. By using the Property Website, the Retail Portal and/or App, you agree to be bound by these Terms, including the additional terms set out in Clause 3, Clause 4 and Clause 5.

1.7 Advertisers providing content for the Website are also subject to additional terms and conditions. Advertisers providing content for the Website agree to be bound by these Terms, including the additional terms set out in Clause 6.

1.8 Please refer to our Privacy Policy in Clause 7 and Cookies Policy in Clause 8 for information about how we use your data.

2. Use of Website Content

2.1 All information, text, materials, graphics, logos, button icons, images, video and audio clips, trademarks (whether registered or not), advertisements, layout, arrangement, graphical user interface, look and feel, and control features of the Website (collectively, "Website Content") is provided to you as a service to allow you and other users to browse the Website Content.

2.2 Except as provided otherwise in Clauses 3, 4 and 5, you are only permitted to access and use the Website for your personal, non-commercial purposes, and you must not:

  1. modify, publish, transmit, transfer, sell, reproduce, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit any of the Website Content, in whole or in part, except as otherwise expressly permitted in these Terms;
  2. use the Website in violation of any applicable law or regulation;
  3. use the Website to transmit, distribute, store or destroy material, including without limitation Website Content, in a manner that will infringe the copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property rights of DIFC or others or violate the privacy, publicity or other personal rights of others;
  4. sell, modify or delete the Website Content or reproduce, display, publicly perform, distribute or otherwise use the Website Content in any way for any public or commercial purpose;
  5. access data not intended for you or logging into a server or account which you are not authorised to access;
  6. attempt to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system or network or to breach security or authentication measures without proper authorisation;
  7. copy or adapt the code created to generate any Website Content or the pages making up the Website;
  8. use the Website Content to impersonate or otherwise misrepresent your identity or affiliation with DIFC or any other person or entity;
  9. use the Website Content to send unsolicited mail or email, make unsolicited phone calls or send unsolicited faxes regarding promotions and/or advertise of products or services;
  10. use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Website or any activity being conducted on the Website, including without limitation, material that contains viruses, Trojan horses or other computer programming routines or engines that are intended to damage detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or information; or
  11. attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer any of the software comprising or in any way making up a part of the Website.

2.3 You may download or copy the Website Content only for your own personal, non-commercial use, provided that you maintain and include all copyright and other notices contained in such Website Content. You shall not store electronically any portion of the Website Content. You may not copy, store, redistribute or publish any Website Content without the express written permission of DIFC or the owners of the Website Content (as the case may be). Any unauthorised use or reproduction of the Website Content is strictly prohibited.

2.4 DIFC is not responsible for any Website Content posted on the Website and reserves the right to change or remove any content it sees fit.

3. Property Website Terms & Conditions

3.1 DIFC also owns and operates the Internet website at www.properties.difc.ae (the "Property Website") on which we provide information relating to property for sale and lease, located within the geographical boundaries of DIFC (the "Properties").

3.2 By accessing and using the Property Website, you are expressly consenting to the Terms, including the terms and conditions outlined in this section on the Property Website that are effective as of the date and time you use or access the Property Website. Please read the Terms carefully before accessing or using the information and services available through the Property Website.

3.3 We are not a real estate agency, and we provide a service whereby owners of the Property ("Owners") (including DIFC) and their Agents (as defined below), may market the Property, which you may view, together with other content hosted and developed by us. Owners and their Agents are responsible for preparing the Property Website Content related to Properties ("Property Details") and fielding enquiries directly from you. DIFC does not get involved in any communications between you, the Owners and their Agents and does not participate in any part of the transaction, unless it is a Property owned or managed by DIFC.

"Agent" means a person or entity authorised to act for and on behalf of the Owner, and can bind the Owner.

For Users of the Property Website

3.4 Property Details are hosted by DIFC in good faith and we do not verify material produced by Owners and their Agents. You are responsible for making your own enquiries and we provide no guarantee and accept no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any information contained within the Property Details.

3.5 You acknowledge that:

  1. you are responsible for checking, confirming and satisfying yourself about the accuracy of any and all Property Details;
  2. you are responsible for instructing a surveyor and obtaining legal advice before committing to any purchase; and
  3. you are responsible for ensuring that you act in good faith towards any other parties.

For Owners and their Agents

3.6 Owners and their Agents who post Website Content on to the Property Website;

  1. grant DIFC the non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sub-licensable right to commercialise, use, copy, reproduce, distribute, licence to other persons, perform, display or modify and adapt the Website Content you generate or submit for any purpose;
  2. warrant that they are the holder of the rights in the Website Content that they post and are authorised to make the Website Content available;
  3. permit any other user of the Property Website to access, display, view, store and reproduce such Website Content;
  4. will only list Properties on the Property Website which are currently available for purchase or lease within DIFC and ensure that any particular Property is only listed once;
  5. warrant that they will, within 72 hours of a sale or leasing contract being entered into for a Property, remove that Property from the Property Website;
  6. ensure that no other person, authorised or otherwise, makes use of their access to the Property Website in breach of these Property Terms;
  7. ensure that the Website Content they post is not unlawful or posted for an improper purpose, including information that is defamatory, misleading or deceptive, in breach of copyright or would otherwise expose DIFC to any liability, legal proceedings or other sanctions;
  8. ensure that they do not make, arrange, or authorise the insertion of any reference to DIFC, the Property Website or the Website in any document (including promotional or merchandising material) or any other website, without DIFC’s prior written consent;
  9. acknowledge that DIFC is under no obligation to monitor or censor the material that appears on the Property Website (whether generated by you or others), however DIFC reserves the right to do so and may penalise content which it deems unfit;
  10. acknowledge the disclaimers and limitation of liability contained in Clause 12;
  11. acknowledge that they are responsible for the security and integrity of their data and that DIFC is not responsible for any errors or omissions in any Website Content that they provide or that is provided on their behalf;
  12. warrant that they will comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations; and
  13. agree to comply with all reasonable instructions of DIFC and all relevant laws in relation to their use of the Property Website.

4. Retail Portal Terms & Conditions

4.1 DIFC also owns and operates the internet website at retailportal.difc.ae (the "Retail Portal") on which we provide information relating to Active Registered retailers, located within the geographical boundaries of DIFC.

4.2 By accessing and using the Retail Portal, you are expressly consenting to the Terms, including the terms and conditions outlined in this section on the Retail Portal that are effective as of the date and time you use or access the Retail Portal. Please read the Terms carefully before accessing or using the information and services available through the Retail Portal.

4.3 Retailers are responsible for preparing the Retail Portal Content related to their Retail outlet ("Retail Details").

4.4 Retailers acknowledge that you are responsible for checking, confirming and satisfying yourself about the accuracy of any and all information on the Retail Portal;

4.5 Retail Details are hosted by DIFC in good faith and we may not verify all material produced by Retailers. Retailers are responsible for the information shown and we provide no guarantee and accept no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any information contained within the Retail Portal.

For Retailers

4.6 Retailers who post Website Content on to the Retail Portal;

  1. grant DIFC the non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sub-licensable right to commercialise, use, copy, reproduce, distribute, licence to other persons, perform, display or modify and adapt the Website Content you generate or submit for any purpose;
  2. warrant that they are the holder of the rights in the Website Content that they post and are authorised to make the Website Content available;
  3. ensure that no other person, authorised or otherwise, makes use of their access to the Retail Portal in breach of these Retail Portal Terms;
  4. ensure that the Website Content they post is not unlawful or posted for an improper purpose, including information that is defamatory, misleading or deceptive, in breach of copyright or would otherwise expose DIFC to any liability, legal proceedings or other sanctions;
  5. acknowledge that DIFC is under no obligation to monitor or censor the material that appears on the Retail Portal (whether generated by you or others), however, DIFC reserves the right to do so and may penalise content which it deems unfit;
  6. acknowledge the disclaimers and limitation of liability contained in Clause 12;
  7. acknowledge that they are responsible for the security and integrity of their data and that DIFC is not responsible for any errors or omissions in any Content that they provide or that is provided on their behalf;
  8. warrant that they will comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations; and
  9. agree to comply with all reasonable instructions of DIFC and all relevant laws in relation to their use of the Retail Portal.

5. App Terms, Conditions & Policy

5.1 DIFC owns and operates the mobile application DIFC Connect (the “App”). By downloading or streaming a copy of the App onto your mobile phone or handheld device (“Device”), you are expressly consenting to these Terms of Use that are effective as of the date and time you use or access the App. Please read these Terms carefully before accessing or using the information and services available through this App.

5.2 Use of App Content

All information, text, materials, graphics, logos, button icons, images, video and audio clips, trademarks (whether registered or not), advertisements, layout, arrangement, graphical user interface, look and feel, and control features of the App (collectively, "App Content") is provided to you as a service to allow you and other users to browse the App Content.

5.3 Except as provided otherwise in Clauses 3, 4 and 5, you are only permitted to access and use the App for your personal, non-commercial purposes, and you must not:

  1. modify, publish, transmit, transfer, sell, reproduce, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit any of the App Content, in whole or in part, except as otherwise expressly permitted in these Terms;
  2. use the App in violation of any applicable law or regulation;
  3. use the App to transmit, distribute, store or destroy material, including without limitation the App Content, in a manner that will infringe the copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property rights of DIFC or others or violate the privacy, publicity or other personal rights of others;
  4. sell, modify or delete the App Content or reproduce, display, publicly perform, distribute or otherwise use the App Content in any way for any public or commercial purpose;
  5. access data not intended for you or logging into a server or account which you are not authorised to access;
  6. attempt to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system or network or to breach security or authentication measures without proper authorisation;
  7. copy or adapt the code created to generate any App Content or the screens making up the App;
  8. use the App Content to impersonate or otherwise misrepresent your identity or affiliation with DIFC or any other person or entity;
  9. use the App Content to send unsolicited mail or email, make unsolicited phone calls or send unsolicited faxes regarding promotions and/or advertise of products or services;
  10. use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the App or any activity being conducted on the App, including without limitation, material that contains viruses, Trojan horses or other computer programming routines or engines that are intended to damage detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or information; or
  11. attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer any of the software comprising or in any way making up a part of the App.

5.4 You may download the App Content only for your own personal, non-commercial use, provided that you maintain and include all copyright and other notices contained in such App Content. You may not copy, redistribute or publish any App Content without the express written permission of DIFC or the owners of the App Content (as the case may be). Any unauthorised use or reproduction of the App Content is strictly prohibited.

5.5 DIFC is not responsible for any App Content posted on the App and reserves the right to change or remove any content it sees fit.

6. Terms & Conditions for Advertisers

6.1 A person or entity that enters into an Advertising Agreement with DIFC ("Advertiser"), expressly consents to these Terms, including the terms and conditions outlined in this section, by submitting advertising material to be posted onto the Website or the Property Website. These Terms should be read in conjunction with the Advertising Agreement and any other document provided to you by DIFC or during the term of the Advertising Agreement.

6.2 Advertisers who submit material to be posted on the Website or the Property Website:

  1. ensure that the material they submit is not unlawful or posted for an improper purpose, including information that is defamatory, misleading or deceptive, in breach of copyright or would otherwise expose DIFC to any liability, legal proceedings or other sanctions;
  2. ensure that they do not make, arrange, or authorise the insertion of any reference to DIFC, the Website or the Property Website in any document (including promotional or merchandising material) or any other website, without DIFC’s prior written consent;
  3. warrant that they will comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations; and
  4. grant DIFC the non-exclusive, worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free, right to use, copy, reproduce, distribute, display or modify and adapt the advertising material you generate or submit, for any purpose;
  5. warrant that they are the holder of the rights in the material that they submit and are authorised to make the material available;
  6. permit any user of the Website or the Property Website to access, display, view, store and reproduce the material submitted by the Advertiser;
  7. agree to comply with all reasonable instructions of DIFC and all relevant laws in relation to the advertising material they submit;
  8. acknowledge that DIFC is under no obligation to monitor or censor the material that appears on the Website or the Property Website (whether generated by you or others), however DIFC reserves the right to do so and may penalise content which it deems unfit;
  9. acknowledge the disclaimers and limitation of liability contained in Clause 13; and
  10. acknowledge that they are responsible for the accuracy, authenticity and completeness of any advertising material they submit and that DIFC is not responsible for any errors or omissions in any material that they provide or that is provided on their behalf.

7. Privacy Policy

7.1 DIFC has its own data protection law, Data Protection Law

Data Protection Law, DIFC Law No. 5 of 2020 (the “DP Law”), and may for certain types of personal data processing, be subject to laws from other jurisdictions. As such, it is the policy of DIFC to respect the privacy of our Website and App Users. Whenever and wherever possible, DIFC will treat the information you provide with utmost care and confidentiality, in accordance with the DP Law and any applicable laws.

7.2 The information provided by you will be processed in accordance with the DIFC Online Data Protection Policy.

8. Cookies Policy

A cookie is a small text file that is unique to the web browser on your computer or mobile device, which is used to retain user preferences, and enhance browsing experience ("Cookie"). DIFC uses Cookies to track overall site usage and enables us to provide a better user experience. The use of Cookies is addressed in the DIFC Online Data Protection Policy.

9. External Links

The Website and App may contain links to other websites on the Internet that are owned and operated by third parties (the "External Sites"). These links are provided solely as a convenience to you and not as an endorsement by DIFC of the contents on such External Sites. You acknowledge that DIFC is not responsible for the availability of, or the information and content of any External Site. You should contact the site administrator or webmaster for those External Sites if you have any concerns regarding such links or the content located on such external Sites. If you decide to access linked third-party websites, you do so at your own risk. DIFC does not accept any liability, and shall not be liable to you for any loss or damage arising from or as a result of your acting upon the content of another website to which you may link from the Website or App.

10. Intellectual Property

Except as otherwise expressly stated, DIFC owns or is an approved licensee to the copyright and all other intellectual property contained on the Website, App, and the Website Content, including but not limited to all text, images or links. All product names, trade names, service names, tag lines, or logotype distinguished in form, text, or otherwise from surrounding text (e.g. all capital letters), (collectively, "Marks") are trademarks owned by or licensed to DIFC, unless otherwise noted. The Marks on the Website and/or App are variously protected by the laws of the United Arab Emirates and other countries. No use of any of these Marks may be made without the prior written authorisation of DIFC, except for the sole purpose of identifying the products or services originating from DIFC.

11. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold the Indemnified Parties (as defined below) harmless from and against any and all claims, liability, suits, judgments, litigation costs, causes of action, demands, recoveries, damages (actual and consequential), fines, penalties, losses, costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) of any kind or nature incurred by any Indemnified Party arising from or in any way related to: your use of this Website (including, by third parties); your breach of these Terms or any other terms referenced herein your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.

"Indemnified Parties" means DIFC, its affiliates and their respective officers, directors, owners, agents, employees, information providers and copyright owners.

12. Termination of Service

DIFC reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to restrict, suspend or terminate your access to all or any part of the Website and/or App at any time for any reason without prior notice or liability. DIFC may change, suspend or discontinue all or any aspect of the Website and/or App at any time, including the availability of any feature, database, Website Content, or App Content without prior notice or liability. Notwithstanding such termination or suspension, you will continue to be subject to clauses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13 of these Terms. Except as otherwise expressly stated in these Terms, DIFC shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, termination, suspension or discontinuation of the Website.

13. Disclaimers of Warranties & Limitation of Liability

13.1 The Website, the App, the Website Content and the App Content is provided for information purposes only and should not be used as a basis for making business decisions nor should it be regarded by you as a substitute for specific professional advice. DIFC makes no warranties or representations to you as to the accuracy, authenticity or completeness of the content on the Website, which is subject to change at any time without notice.

13.2 The Website, the App, the Website Content and the App Content are provided on an "AS-IS", “without faults” and “as available” basis and, to the extent lawful, with no warranties whatsoever. DIFC expressly disclaims (to the fullest extent permitted by law) any and all express, implied, and statutory warranties, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, freedom from computer virus, title, and non-infringement of proprietary rights.

13.3 DIFC and its personnel are not liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special, or consequential damages or loss (including, without limitation, incidental and consequential damages, lost profits, or damages resulting from lost data or business interruption) arising out of, or in any way connected with, the use or inability to use the Website, the App, the Website Content and the App Content, or inability to enter into an agreement for the sale or rent of any Property listed on the Property Website, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence), or any other legal theory, and whether or not DIFC is advised of the possibility of such damages.

13.4 Without limiting the above Clause 13.3, DIFC does not accept any liability in respect of your involvement in any mediation, arbitration, tribunal hearing, court proceeding or other proceedings (of whatever nature) with any Owner, Agent, Advertiser or third-party advertiser in any way.

13.5 The material appearing on our Website and/or App may include technical, typographical or photographic errors. DIFC does not represent, warrant or endorse that any of the Website Content and/or App Content is accurate, complete, reliable or current. DIFC may make changes to the materials contained on the Website and/or App at any time without notice. You acknowledge that any reliance upon such Website Content and/or App Content shall be at your sole risk.

13.6 DIFC is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email due to technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or on the Website or the App or combination thereof, including any injury or damage to any users or to any person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading materials in connection with the Website.

13.7 Reference to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favouring by DIFC. The views and opinions of document authors do not necessarily state or reflect those of DIFC or any of its affiliates.

14. General

14.1 These Terms contain everything the parties have agreed in relation to the subject matter it deals with. No party can rely on an earlier written document or anything said or done by or on behalf of another party before this document was executed.

14.2 Each provision of these Terms is individually severable. If any provision is or becomes illegal, unenforceable or invalid in any jurisdiction it is to be treated as being severed from this document in the relevant jurisdiction, but the rest of this document will not be affected. The legality, validity and enforceability of the provision in any other jurisdiction will not be affected.

14.3 These Terms as well as your access to the Website and App is subject to and governed by the laws of DIFC in the Emirate of Dubai without giving effect to conflicts of law principles thereof. Any dispute regarding this Policy or our handling of your Personal Information and General Information is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of DIFC Courts.