Guidelines

The Organization For People With Universities (hereafter, the organization) sets out the guidelines (hereafter, the guidelines) for use of the crowdfunding platform called Otsucle (https://otsucle.jp/) (hereafter, the service) operated by the organization as follows. Users of the service (hereafter, subscribers), must agree to all of the terms and conditions specified by these guidelines and separately by the organization. Subscribers who use the service will be deemed to agree to all the terms and conditions of the site.

The organization may change the guidelines to further improve the safety and quality of the service. The definitions of terms used in the guidelines comply with the terms and conditions prescribed.

Article 1  Overview of the service

The organization provides a crowdfunding platform where an unspecified number of supporters provides pecuniary support for projects posted by researchers using the service.

1. Researchers can opt to offer supporters projects that are either donation-type or purchase-type. Conditions will apply when selecting donation-type projects.
2. Supporters can opt to purchase products or donate, in order to support researchers.
3. If the cumulative total for the applications from supporters reaches the target amount set by the researcher, the project is established, and the support funds are paid by the supporters to the researcher in accordance with the conditions specified.
4. Researchers can advertise their projects through the service before they are established in order to solicit supporters. Also, once the project has been established, the researcher must report on its progress to supporters on the project page.
5. It is desirable for supporters to advertise projects before they are established in order to solicit more supporters. Also, once the project has been established, supporters can learn about its progress as sponsors of the project.

Article 2  Eligibility

1. If minors use the service, parental consent is required.
2. Researchers must have an address in Japan, a telephone number, a bank account in their own name, and identification issued by a public agency (driver's license, passport, health insurance card, etc.), or student identification card.

Article 3  Role of researchers

1. If the amount of target funding is reached within the project period specified by the researcher, the project is established at the time when the project period ends. In this case, after the establishment of the project, supporters pay the full amount of the support funds, and the researcher must start project activities.
2. If the amount of target funding is not reached within the project period, the project is not established. In this case, the supporters do not pay any support funds, and no right to a return or gift arises. The organization makes no payments whatsoever to researchers.
3. It is desirable for researchers to advertise the project before they are established to as many supporters as possible in order to establish the project, and to share information on its progress.
4. Even if the amount of target funding is exceeded within the project period, researchers must continue to solicit supporters until the project period ends.
5. If their projects are successful, researchers must provide the agreed return or gift promptly after the end of the project period. However, if it is difficult to provide the agreed return or gift promptly due to its nature, researchers must provide the return or gift in principle within 180 days.
6. In principle, the project that have been posted on the service cannot be withdrawn, nor can the project period, the target amount, or the content or amount of the return be changed. However, this does not apply if the organization or researchers deems it impossible to start the project for unavoidable reasons before the end of the project period. In this case, researchers shall inform the organization immediately and the two parties will consult.

Article 4  Role of supporters

1. Supporters will be entitled for a return or gift from researchers when the following two conditions are met.
   (1) When payment of support funds is complete
   (2) When the supported project is successful
2. Supporters shall pay the support funds having understood the upper limit for returns or gifts shown on the service. Supporters who provide support shall be deemed to have understood and agreed to the terms of use of the project supported (shown separately for each project on the service).
3. Supporters cannot demand returns or gifts other than those agreed for the project in advance.
4. Researchers shall indicate when supporters will obtain returns or gifts on the project pages posted on the service. The organization will bear no responsibility for any relationship between supporters and researchers, and if any trouble such as failure to receive returns or gifts should arise, supporters and researchers shall resolve the matter between themselves.
5. Use of the service may be subject to taxation for supporters and researchers. The organization will not be involved in matters of taxation, and supporters and researchers shall handle all such matters on their own responsibility.

Article 5  Prohibitions relating to posting projects

1. Researchers cannot post projects with which they are not involved, or projects whose proprietor has not given the necessary permission.
2. Subscribers who have obtained the addresses, the email addresses and other information and the support historyies of supporters shall not disclose such information on or off the internet without the permission of the owner. However, this does not apply to the subscriber names.
3. It is prohibited to post projects and projects that include returns or gifts that involve the following.
   (1) Illegal acts or acts related to criminal acts
   (2) Acts that violate public order and morals
   (3) Fraud or intimidation against the organization, other users of the service, or third parties
   (4) Acts that infringe the intellectual property rights, the personality rights, the right to privacy, and other rights and interests of the organization, other users of the service, or third parties
   (5) Unreasonable discrimination or defamation against the organization, other users of the service, or third parties
   (6) Soliciting membership and support of specific political parties or religious groups
   (7) Sending information through the service which the organization deems to correspond to the following
   a. Commercial advertising, promotion, solicitation
   b. Information including affiliate links
   c. Information requesting forwarding to third parties such as chain mail
   d. Information corresponding to obscenity, child pornography, or child abuse
   e. Information intended for meeting strangers of the opposite sex
   f. Information likely to offend others or encourage discrimination
   g. Information deemed inappropriate by the organization
   (8) Acts that burden the network or system of the service, or that could interfere with its operation
   (9) Unauthorized access to the network or system of the service, or attempted unauthorized access
   (10) Impersonating a third party
   (11) Use of another subscriber’s ID and password
   (12) Collection of user information
   (13) Payoffs to antisocial forces
   (14) Acts that violate the terms and conditions and guidelines of the service
   (15) Other acts deemed inappropriate by the organization

Article 6  Cancellation policy

1. After selecting returns or gifts and applying to offer support, supporters cannot cancel the subscription, return the goods, demand a refund, or otherwise withdraw payment.
2.  
3. Researchers cannot cancel or change the project once it has been established.
4.  
5. Supporters and researchers must resolve any problems concerning ongoing projects unrelated to the service, such as demands for refunds, or return of returns or gifts, or any other issues, and the organization will bear no responsibility.

Article 7  Payment of fees and support funds

1. If a project is successful, the organization must pay the researchers, with deduction of the fees listed below.
   (1) The management fee for the service
   (2) The fees of the payment facilitator used by the service
2. If for whatever reason payment does not go through correctly, the supporter is not eligible for a return or gift until the payment is made successfully.

Article 8  Administration of the service

1. The organization will bear no responsibility for damages incurred by researchers if supporters are unable to apply to provide support due to heavy access or the like.
2. The standard time for administration of the service (deadlines etc.) is the time indicated by the organization’s server and system. However the time indicated may not match the actual time. Subscribers are deemed to consent to this when using the service.
3. The organization will bear no responsibility for damages incurred by researchers if the support funds do not reach the target and the project is unable to start.
4. The organization will bear no responsibility for damages incurred by subscribers due to delays in identifying supporters as such, or in issuing returns, for reasons attributable to supporters (incorrect entries of email addresses or home addresses when registering or the like).

Article 9  Intellectual property rights

1. The copyrights, trademark rights and other intellectual property rights (hereafter, intellectual property rights) for texts, images, videos, logos and other information posted on the service belong to the organization, the linked site administrators, or persons permitted to use them. While subscribers are permitted to use the service, they do not have permission to use the associated intellectual property.
2. Researchers shall guarantee that projects which they post do not include works for which others hold the copyright or works for which they have not received usage permission.
3. Subscribers can reproduce the URL of projects specified by the organization, the project title, the text and images of the project description, and the profiles of researchers on the internet, as long as doing so does not hurt the reputation, rights or interests of the organization, the researchers or other parties.
   However, for reproduction other than on the internet such as print media, the prior consent of the organization and researchers is required.
4. Supporters have no rights concerning the copyrights and commercialization rights or any other rights related to the projects. However, this does not include the entitlement of supporters to returns or gifts when they have provided supports.

Article 10  Handling of personal information

The privacy policy applies.

Article 11  Changes to the guidelines

1. The organization may modify the guidelines without prior notice. Subscribers will be deemed to consent to the changes when using the service after the changes.
2. Even if all or part of the provisions of the guidelines are deemed invalid based on the laws and regulations, they shall be interpreted as closely as possible to the original intent of the provisions, and the parts other than the invalid portions of the provisions and the other provisions of the guidelines shall be valid.
3. Even if some of the provisions of the guidelines are deemed invalid or are canceled in relation to certain subscribers, the guidelines remain valid in relation to the other subscribers.