General Terms of Use

Updated May 2020

The Explorers Network, a SAS (French Simplified Joint Stock Company) with registered capital of 1.071.000 euros, registered in the Paris Trade and Companies Register under number 852 303 239 RCS PARIS (Intra-Community VAT number: FR 11 852 303 239), whose registered office is located at 141 avenue Félix Faure, 75015 Paris, (Telephone: 33 (0) 1 44 05 12 11) and whose Publication Director is Olivier CHIABODO (hereinafter “the Publisher”), is the publisher of the website www.theexplorers.com (hereinafter “the Website”) hosted by Microsoft Azure whose registered office is located 39 quai du Président Roosevelt, 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux (Telephone: 09 70 01 90 90) and of THE EXPLORERS application available on the App Store, Google Play and Huawei AppGallery (hereinafter “the Application”).

Article 1. Scope and purpose

These General Terms of Use (hereinafter the “GTU”) are intended to set the terms and conditions by which, on the one hand, the Publisher makes the Website and the Application (hereinafter referred to together as the “Platform”) and the free services available to the User (hereinafter the “Services”) and, on the other hand, the User may access and use the Website, the Application and the Services. They are completed by the Privacy Policy which is available via https://theexplorers.com/privacy.

Accessing the Website and/or the Application implies full and complete acceptance by the User of these GTU.

Article 2. Services offered

The Explorers aims to create the Planet’s cultural, natural and human inventory.

The Platform enables the User to access articles, information and photographic and video content of high quality, published by the Publisher or shared by Users, and to share his own photos and videos via the Platform.

Three different services are offered on the Platform:

A free service which does not require registration, allowing the User free access to limited content via the Website
A free service which does require registration, allowing access to certain content and certain functions via the Website and the Application
A fee-based service allowing access not only to the content and functions available free of charge and with or without registration, but also to ultra-high definition (4K & 8K HDR) videos on demand. The General Terms and Conditions of Subscription and Use of the Video On Demand Service are available via the following link : https://theexplorers.com/cgau

The free Service without registration allows the User to:

access to a limited content composed of photos and video extracts available only via the Website (not available on the Application)

The following free Services are available after registration and allow the User to:

register to the Website and the Application to become an Explorer
share photos and videos on the Website and/or from the Application
see photos and videos, and different information
interact with other Users via the internal messaging and ‘like’ contents
create favorites lists
share content on social media (Facebook, Twitter) or via WhatsApp or Outlook

When registering to the Services, the User can also agree to receive e-mail notifications regarding marketing communications and occasional special offers. The User can easily unsubscribe from these e-mail notifications by following the ‘unsubscribe’ instructions which appear in said e-mails.

Article 3. Technical requirements and conditions for accessing the Services

3.1. Conditions for registering and accessing the Platform and the Services

Access to the Services from the Platform is restricted to Users residing in a country in which the Website and the Application are available and the internet and mobile internet allow access to the Services according to the technical requirements mentioned below in Article 3.2.

3.1.1. Creation of the personal account on the Platform or via a third-party account to access specific functionalities

In order to be able to use the Application and access certain Services on the Website, the User must be registered beforehand. Registration is free and opened to Users aged 15 and more.

Registration and creation by the User of his personal account implies (i) either that he uses an account held with a third party through the functionalities of Facebook Connect or Google Connect or Sign in with Apple; (ii) or that he completes the online registration form.

In the latter case, it requires the mandatory communication of the following information:

an e-mail address: the validity of this email address will be verified by the Publisher through an email sent to the email address indicated
a password
full name (first name and surname) of the User

The User undertakes to provide accurate, complete and truthful information and to update them regularly.

3.1.2. Conditions for accessing the Platform and the Services

The Publisher grants the User the right to access the Platform in SaaS mode throughout the duration of his registration on the Platform under the conditions more fully described in Article 7.1 of the GTU.

The User can access and use the Platform at any time on compatible devices by means of identifiers consisting of a username and a password chosen by the User or via their identifier linked to a social connector (Facebook Connect, Google Connect) (hereinafter the “Identifiers”). Users must use the Identifiers each time they log in.

The username and password provided by the User are personal and untransferable, and the latter undertakes not to pass it, voluntarily or negligently, to any third party.

The safekeeping and use of the Identifiers are under the full responsibility of the User.

The User acknowledges that the use made of any connection to the Platform or the Services with the User’s Identifiers shall be deemed to have been made by the User and is the full responsibility of the User.

If the Identifiers are fraudulently used or lost, the User must notify the Publisher immediately ,via the “Contact Us” section available on the homepage of the Website or by sending an email to: help@theexplorers.com, who will cancel the Identifier immediately and/or immediately change the password upon proof of the User’s identity.

If the User forgets their Identifiers, they can request a new password via the Website or the Application. Under no circumstances shall the Publisher be liable for consequences that are detrimental to the User resulting from the unlawful, fraudulent or improper use of their Identifiers by a third party.
The User, accessing the Platform, refrains from (i) using the Platform and the Services for other purposes than those strictly provided for in these GTU or in any way prohibited by a legal or reglementary provision; (ii) using the Platform or the Services in violation of the rights of others; (iii) using the Platform and the Services in a way that could damage the Platform and/or the Services or disrupt their use by another User; (iv) selling, hiring out, sub-licensing, marketing, distributing, transferring or putting, in any way whatsoever, the Platform and/or the Services or providing any type of services to third parties in connection with the Platform; (v) modifying (except as permitted and described in the documentation and in these GTU), adapting, reverse engineering, decompiling, disassembling or otherwise translating all or part of the Platform; vi) correcting errors, defects and any other anomalies of the Platform; vii) harming the legitimate interests of the Publisher and in particular its intellectual property rights and other rights relating or linked to the Platform; viii) deleting or modifying the trademark, logo or any other distinctive sign of the Publisher contained on the Platform.

3.2. Technical requirements

The User’s registration to the Website and/or the Application provides access to the content on all the following devices, subject to the conditions set out below:

indiscriminately and irrespective of the device used: a high-speed internet connection by ADSL, cable or fibre of 3 Mbps is necessary, it being stipulated that a minimum speed of 10 Mbps is recommended.

PC: The User must have a compatible micro-computer with Microsoft® Windows 10, with one of the following compatible browsers installed:

Internet Explorer 11 or higher
Edge 44 or higher
Firefox 65 or higher
Google Chrome 70 or higher

Mac: The User must have a Mac with OS X 10.5 or higher, with one of the following compatible browsers installed:

Firefox 65 or higher
Google Chrome 70 or higher
Safari 13.0.4 or higher

Mobile phones and tablets: Before it can be accessed, the Application must be downloaded free of charge from the App Store, Google Play or Huawei AppGallery and installed on the following terminals:

iPhone and/or iPad, with iOS 11.2 or higher
Android smartphones and tablets, with 5.1 (SDK 22) or higher

Television: The Explorers+ Service can also be accessed from a television provided it runs Samsung SmartTV (Tizen) 2018 or higher, tvOS 12.1 or higher or Android TV 5.1 or higher.

The User is responsible for any internet connection charges. The User should contact their internet provider or mobile operator for further information regarding any internet data usage charges. The period which elapses before video content can be watched varies depending on several factors, including the User’s location, the bandwidth available when the User is watching said video and the configuration of their compatible device, and the speed of the User’s internet connection.

 To obtain 4K resolution, the User’s system must have a high-speed internet connection, i.e. a minimum of 7 Mbps; for 8K resolution, the User’s system must have a high-speed internet connection of 25 Mbps and/or a mobile internet connection via the minimum third generation (3G) mobile phone standard. However, we recommend a faster connection to improve video quality. 4K/8K HDR availability depends on the internet connection and the device’s capabilities. Not all content is available in 4K/8K HDR. A download speed of at least 3 Mbps is recommended for watching content in 720p, 5 Mbps for content in 1080p, 7 Mbps for content in 4K HDR and 25 Mbps for content in 8K HDR.
The User is responsible for ensuring that their devices and their connection to the internet or to the mobile internet network are compatible with the necessary technical requirements before subscribing to The Explorers+ Service.

The Publisher’s streaming software is designed by or for the Publisher and streams content by means of compatible devices. This software may vary depending on the compatible device and the medium used; the functions may also vary according to the compatible device. By using The Explorers+ Service, the User acknowledges that it may require the use of third-party software, subject to that third party’s licensing terms. The User agrees to automatically receive updated versions of the Publisher’s software or third-party software associated with The Explorers+ Service.

Article 4. Publisher’s obligations

The Publisher provides the User with the Services via the Platform under the terms and conditions described in Articles 3.1. and 7.1. of the GTU.

The Services and the Platform are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, except in cases of force majeure events or events beyond the Publisher’s control (including breakdowns or outages) and subject to necessary Website and Application maintenance and updating periods.

The Publisher undertakes, under an obligation of means, to provide access to the Services via the Website and the Application in compliance with these GTU and to exercise diligence and skill and make every effort within reasonable limits to rectify any malfunctions brought to its attention. The Publisher is responsible for its failings in the provision and performance of Services, including with regard to the correct functioning of the Website and the Application.

In order to manage the Platform correctly, the Publisher may at any time:

make changes to the Website and/or the Application
suspend, interrupt or limit access to all or part of the Website and/or the Application, or reserve access to the Website and/or the Application, or to certain parts of the Website and/or the Application
delete any information that may disrupt the functioning of the Website and the Application or contravene national or international laws and/or these GTU
suspend access to the Website and/or the Application in order to carry out maintenance and/or updating operations

The Publisher may not be held liable in the event of operational failure, breakdown, difficulty or interruption, temporarily preventing access to the Website and/or the Application, or to any of its functions

The User acknowledges and accepts that the Publisher may not be held liable for any inconvenience or damage connected with the use of the Internet and/or the mobile Internet, including but not limited to:

the poor transmission and/or reception of any data and/or information on the mobile Internet or via satellite networks
the failure of any reception equipment or communication lines
any malfunction of the mobile internet or satellite networks preventing the proper functioning or good operating conditions of the Website and the Application and/or access to The Services

The transfer rate and response time of information circulating from the Website or the Application to the internet are not guaranteed by the Publisher. In fact, the speed at which information is circulated does not fall within the service offered by the Publisher, but is one of the inherent characteristics of the online or telecommunications networks.

Article 5. User’s obligations

The User undertakes to comply with these GTU.
In general, but without being limited to, the User refrains from:

using the Website, the Application or the Services for professional, commercial or non-private purposes
uttering or making comments or disseminating, in any form whatsoever, User Content that infringe the rights of others or are defamatory, abusive, obscene, offensive, violent or inciting violence, of a political, racist or xenophobic nature and, in general any content contrary to the laws and regulations in force
downloading, reproducing, recording, capturing and/or copying, by any process or means, the content of the Website, the Application and the Services, and in particular the photographs and/or videos offered in violation of the GTU
downloading, sending, transmitting, in any way whatsoever, any illegal or infringing content, any advertising, any unsolicited and unauthorized promotional material, as wall as any computer virus, code, file or program designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of the Website, the Application and the Services or servers, networks or networks connected to the Services
interfering with or disrupting the Website, the Application, the Services, the servers, the networks connected to the Services, or refusing to comply with the required conditions, procedures, general rules or regulations applicable to the networks connected to the Services
attempting to mislead other Users, by usurping the name or corporate name of others, and in particular by impersonating an employee or affiliate of the Publisher and/or the Website or a moderator or a host

The User undertakes that the User Content they post and/or disseminate the Website or through the Application do not infringe the rights of thirds, and in particular intellectual property rights (trademark, copyright, neighboring rights, design law in particular), personal rights (in particular defamation, insults, affronts, denigration, harassment, etc.), right to privacy (including right on the image), the protection of personal data of third parties, public order and morality (in particular apology of crimes against humanity, incitement to racial hatred, affront to human dignity, violence towards animals, violent or degrading images, etc.) and, more generally, the applicable regulations in force and the usual rules of politeness and courtesy.

Should the User provides information that is untrue, inaccurate, outdated or incomplete or that infringes third-party rights (image right, invasion of privacy, libel…), the Publisher shall be entitled to suspend or terminate the User’s registration or account immediately and to refuse them access, immediately and/or for the future, to all or part of the Services.

The User acknowledges and recognizes that by using the Website, the Application and the Services, they may be identified and recognized by third parties through their profile photo and their username. The User expressly waives the right to institute any proceedings against the Publisher due to of a potential invasion of their privacy or infringement of their image rights owing to the disclosure or dissemination of their username, profile photo and/or all or part of the content they have posted online.

Should the Publisher be held liable because of the User’s breach of their obligations under the law or these General Terms and Conditions, the User agrees to guarantee and indemnify the Publisher against any conviction handed down against it originating from a breach by the User, and also to reimburse all costs incurred and damage caused.

If the User sells their compatible device, they are asked to disconnect it from their The Explorers account. If the User does not disconnect their compatible device from their The Explorers account or if they do not disable it, the people who next use the compatible device will be able to access the Platform or the Services using the User’s account and the information in the User’s account. To disable a compatible device, follow the relevant instructions on the “Your Account” page. If their compatible device is lost or stolen, the User is asked to change their password from their User account.

Article 6. Moderation

The content of the Website and the Application is regularly checked.
The Website and the Application use a protection system for the photographs and videos posted online by the User, making their recording and duplication by another User or a third party theoretically impossible. However, the Publisher cannot be held liable if this system fails.

The Publisher may, at any time, at its own initiative or at the request of any User or third party, remove any content from the Website and the Application that it deems inappropriate, without having to give the User who submitted it prior notice, and may take any legal action when necessary.

Anyone who wishes to inform the Publisher of the presence of litigious content on the Website and the Application should use the “Report content” link which can be found on all content pages or the “Report profile” link which can be found on all profile pages, and give their full identity, a description of the litigious content and its exact location (hyperlink), and the reasons why the content should be removed (including the legal provisions and supporting evidence).

The Publisher shall only disclose the contact details or identifying information of the author of the litigious content only upon court order.

The Publisher shall systematically remove any content it considers to be illegal or a violation of human or animal dignity and reserves the right to report such contents to the appropriate authorities.

Article 7. Intellectual property

7.1. Right of access to and use of the Platform and rights over the Publisher Content
All of the Platform’s items and content as well as The Explorers domain names, texts, graphics, visuals, logos, trademarks, name, sounds, drawings, data, software and The Explorers photo and video content (hereinafter the “Publisher Content”) are protected by intellectual property rights and are the exclusive property of the Publisher and/or are licensed to the Publisher and may not be reproduced, used or represented without the Publisher’s prior written authorisation, including for creating derivative works, under penalty of legal proceedings.

Subject to compliance by the User with these GTU, the Publisher grants the User a non-exclusive, non-assignable and non-transferable right (including by means of a sub-licence) of access and use in SaaS mode of the Platform and all the elements that comprise it (including the Publisher Content) and the associated documentation, for the entire duration of the registration of the User on the Platform throughout the world.

The User may only use the Platform, the Publisher Content and the associated documentation in accordance with their designated use and for the User’s personal and private needs.

Any reproduction or representation produced for other purposes is only permitted with the Publisher’s express prior written agreement.

In particular, the User is not permitted to download, copy, alter, change, adapt, remove, distribute, transmit, disseminate, sell, lease, grant or operate the Platform and the Publisher Content in whole or in part, in any way whatsoever, without the Publisher’s express prior written agreement.

Any other use of the Platform or the Publisher Content constitutes counterfeiting and shall be punished under intellectual property law, unless with the Publisher’s express, prior written permission.

7.2. User Content

With regard to the use of the Platform and the Services, the User may need to publish certain content such as, but not limited to, photos, videos, music, sounds, descriptions and comments (hereinafter the “User Content”).

It is specified that the Publisher acts purely as an intermediary for disseminating User Content on the Platform and shall not be held liable under any circumstances towards Users or any third party for the User Content or its accuracy. In this respect, the User guarantees that the User Content they provide does not infringe the rights of any third party, including third-party intellectual property rights, or the right to protection of personal data of third parties. The User agrees to reimburse the Publisher for all costs, damages and compensation incurred by the Publisher as a result of an item of their User Content.

The User grants to the Publisher a free and non-exclusive licence to use the intellectual property rights attached to the User Content which they transmit for the purposes of sharing and disseminating on the Website and/or from the Application. This licence includes the Publisher’s right to reproduce, represent, use, as the case may be in a modified form, the User Content on all or part of the Website and the Application and in any promotional or advertising documents relating to the Website and the Application, in any form whatsoever, throughout the world.

Article 8. Term and termination

The registered User benefits from access to the platform and Services until the termination of his registration. The User may, at any time and free of charge, decide to terminate his registration by asking the Publisher to close his account, by accessing the section “Edit profile”.

This demand will be deemed to be made the business day following receipt by the Publisher of the demand for closing of the account.

The User acknowledges the right of the Publisher to terminate all or part of the right of access corresponding to his account and password, or to cancel his account and password, if the Publisher has reasonable grounds to believe that the User has violated or acted in contradiction with these GTU.

The Publisher can also unilaterally, at any moment and after having informed the User beforehand, interrupt without compensation of any kind the providing of all or part of the Website, the Application and/or the Services.

The termination of the User account upon his demand or by the Publisher will not give rise to any compensation for the User. The contents shared by the User will not be accessible on the Website anymore but may be indexed in search engines (Google for instance) for a few weeks, and the Publisher shall not be held responsible for such indexing and their effects.

The User will be informed of the termination of his account by email at the address indicated at the time of registration.

Article 9. Personal data protection

The use of the Website, the Application and the Services involves the processing of personal data. To find out more about the processes carried out using their data, the User should read the Privacy Policy available via the following link: https://theexplorers.com/privacy

Article 10. Hyperlinks

10.1. Links to third-party websites
The Website and Application pages may contain social network buttons for sharing functions on the various social networks and hyperlinks to third-party websites managed by companies separate from the Publisher over which the Publisher has no control.

The Publisher accepts no responsibility with regard to the information and content of third-party websites or to information and content to which the third-party websites may link. The Publisher is not responsible for any changes or updating regarding third-party websites or for the malfunctioning of such third-party websites. The presence of links to third-party websites does not mean that the Publisher in any way approves of the information and content on such third-party websites.

10.2. Links to the Publisher’s Website
The User may set up hyperlinks to all or part of the Website, provided that such links are set up from third-party websites which generally comply with all laws and regulations.

In any case, the User agrees to withdraw any hyperlink at the Publisher’s request, without the Publisher needing to state any reason.

Article 11. Miscellaneous provisions

11.1. Electronic communications
The Publisher shall send the User information about their account (changes of password, confirmation messages, any notifications of changes) solely by electronic means, for example by e-mail sent to the User’s electronic address which must be provided when they subscribe.

11.2. Subcontractors
The Publisher may use subcontractors for the performance of its obligations under these GTU.

11.3. Assignment
The Publisher may assign this contract and all of the attendant rights and obligations to any third party, without the User’s prior written consent, including in the case of an assignment of a branch of activity, a merger by the formation of a new company, a merger-takeover, a demerger or any change of control affecting the Publisher.

11.4. Contract documentation
These GTU constitute the entire agreement between the Publisher and the User with regard to the access and use of the Platform and the Services available on it, and replace any prior agreement on the same subject that may have been reached by the User and the Publisher. These GTU may be amended at any time by the Publisher.

The amendments will be brought to the attention of the User through a message sent on his message inbox “The Explorers” and their putting online on the Website and the Application.

The amendments shall enter into force from the date of their putting online on the Website and the Application.

The amendments are deemed unreservedly accepted by any person accessing the Website or the Application subsequent to their posting.

11.5 Force Majeure
Neither party may be held liable to the other party for failure to perform their obligations due to force majeure. Cases of force majeure or fortuitous events are considered to be those typically recognised by the case law of the French Supreme Court of Appeal.

11.6. Waiver
The Publisher’s failure to invoke any provision at a given time may not be considered as a waiver of the benefit of that provision or of the right to invoke said provision at a later date and/or seek redress for any breach of that provision.

11.7. Severability
If any of the provisions in these General Terms and Conditions is null and void, it is deemed unwritten and the other provisions retain their force and scope.

Article 12. Applicable law and disputes

The contract formed by the acceptance of these GTU is subject to French law.

In the event of any dispute as to the interpretation or execution of these GTU, and in the absence of an amicable settlement between the Publisher and the User, the dispute between them will be submitted to the Courts of competent jurisdiction.

Article 13. Contacting the Publisher

The User can obtain information or ask questions through the section “Contact US” available on the homepage of the Website and the Application or by sending an email at: help@theexplorers.com.