1. The Terms

These terms and conditions of use (“terms”) provide the legal basis for your use of the platform and the content you find there. By using the platform, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree to these terms, you must not use the platform.

The Platform is STA’s web-based platform that provides access to digital photographs, videos and other types of content (“Content”) for use in the context of promoting tourism to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Platform enables Users (“you”, “your”, etc.) to access Content and use it, subject to the requirements and restrictions set out in these Terms.

2. By using our Platform you accept the Terms of Use

By using our Platform, you confirm that you accept these Terms of Use and agree to comply with them. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, you must not use our Platform.

2.a) Commercial and Editorial uses

A Commercial Use is defined as the use of any Content in conjunction with or being an endorsement or promotion of any commercial product or service. Commercial Uses rely on all persons & properties who are featured in such Content having signed a legally binding talent release form. Commercial uses are likely to attract a usage fee. Inquire here about the fee for your proposed use.

An Editorial Use is defined as the use of any Content in print and/or digital media or publication which is designed to be informative, descriptive, and newsworthy. Such Content does not necessarily require a model release form signed by each person or property featured.

3. Using the Platform and Content on behalf of a Minor or legal entity

You must be at least 18 years old to use our Platform.

You may not use our Platform or register for an account on our Platform or use our services if you are under 18 years of age (a “Minor”). If you will use the Platform on behalf of a Minor, you agree to these Terms of Use on behalf of that Minor and you represent that you have the authority to do so. If you do not have such authority, you must not use our Platform or any Content.

When using the Platform on behalf of a legal entity (such as a company or employer), you accept these Terms on behalf of such entity and warrant that you are authorised to do so. (“you”, “your”, etc., shall be understood as referring to the legal entity on behalf of whom you act.)

By accessing the Platform, and by continuing to access and use the Platform and Content, you acknowledge that you have read, and agree to be bound by, these Terms. If you do not agree with any of the Terms, you may not use the Platform.

4. There are other terms that may apply to you

These Terms include the following additional terms, which also apply to your use of our Platform:

• Privacy Policy:
  We undertake that we require some personal data about you to ensure smooth running of the site and use of the Platform and its Content, but will not make any use of the data in a manner that will compromise your rights. We will not provide this data to any other entity who has no reason or right to obtain it .
  
  We set out the Terms on which we process any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us. By using our Platform, you consent to such processing
  
  By registering to access the Platform you warrant that the information and data that you provide is accurate. You further consent that we may process the personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us for purposes associated with your use of the Platform as further detailed herein and in our Privacy Policy. 
  
  We may monitor your use of the Platform for our own business purposes, including identifying issues with the Platform, to enhance functionality, to monitor for misuse, or for any other purpose relevant to our operations. Your use of the Platform is conditional upon this monitoring.
  
  The above terms are embodied in our Cookie Policy which sets out information about the workings of private information (“cookies”) on our Platform.
• Third-Party Terms & Conditions:
  We, or third-party service providers, may provide tools or links to other websites, applications, resources and/or services operated by third parties that have been used on or otherwise integrated or linked with our Platform (each an “Third-Party Service”). When you engage with a Third-Party Service, you are not interacting with us. If you choose to use a Third-Party Service, you acknowledge and accept that you will be subject to the Third-Party Service provider’s terms of use and privacy policy, as may be updated from time to time. Accessing and/or using a Third-Party Service is done at your own risk. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for your use of any Third-Party Service. You acknowledge that it is your responsibility to locate and review the most up to date versions of Third-Party Service providers prior to using such services.

5. Changes

We may make changes to our Terms from time to time without prior notice to you.

Changes in law or changes in the way we operate may lead us to make changes to these Terms from time to time. Such changes will become effective from the date on which they reflect on the Platform. Although we will endeavour to alert you to such changes (e.g. by email), we also encourage you to review the Terms from time to time to make sure that you remain familiar and comply with them in their current form.

Every time you wish to use our Platform, please check these terms to ensure you understand the terms that apply at that time. Your continued use of the Platform will constitute your acceptance of any changes made.

6. We may suspend or withdraw our Platform

Our Platform is made available free of charge, although some of the services provided through our Platform may be subject to fees from time to time. If any service provided through our Platform is to be subject to a fee, this will be clearly set out at the relevant section of the Platform.

We do not guarantee that our Platform, or any content on it, will always be available or be uninterrupted. We may suspend or withdraw or restrict the availability of all or any part of our Platform for business and operational reasons at any time. Notwithstanding this suspension or withdrawal right, we will try to give you reasonable notice of any suspension or withdrawal. You are responsible for ensuring that all persons who access our Platform through your internet connection are aware of these Terms of Use and other applicable terms and conditions and that they comply with them.

7. Your Online Account

To access Content on the Platform, you must register and create a user account (“Account”). Each user, natural or juristic entity is allowed to maintain only one active account on our Platform. We reserve the right to close duplicate Accounts or Accounts registered with someone else’s email address without notice. We may require users to re-validate their account if we believe they have been using an invalid email address or any incorrect information. Where multiple logins for the same person have been created these will be merged into the most recently logged in or recently created of the accounts. Content from all accounts will be merged into the new singular account.  

We reserve the right to disable any user account, without due notice, if in our reasonable opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these Terms of Use.

By creating an Account, you warrant that you are an adult in the jurisdiction in which you are located, and you agree to: (a) provide accurate, complete and up-to-date information as requested during the registration process (and maintain and update such information as required); (b) keep your Account log-in details secure and confidential, and not share such information with anyone else; (c) notify us of any unauthorized use of your Account; and (d) take responsibility for all activities undertaken using your Account, whether or not authorized by you. Once you have created an Account, you will be able to access Content, including by downloading it to use in accordance with the terms set out herein.

We may suspend or deactivate your Account at any time, at our sole discretion, and without notice to you. This could be for any reason at all, including concerns regarding misuse of your Account, or general security concerns, or for our own operational requirements. By registering an Account, you acknowledge that your Account will not be available to you indefinitely, and that you have no basis for any claim against us, or any redress from us, in the event that we suspend or deactivate your Account.

8. How you may use Content on our Platform

STA are the owners and/or the licensor of all intellectual property rights relating to Content on the Platform and/or published on it. These works are protected by copyright laws and treaties in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and around the world. The content relating to Third-Party Service providers are protected in terms of the law of their respective jurisdictions. All such rights are reserved.

Images may only be modified by means of cropping and/or colour enhancing technology, no other modifications are permitted without prior approval.

Our status, and that of any identified contributors, as the authors of content on our Platform must always be acknowledged.

You may not use any part of the content on our Platform for commercial purposes unless it is clearly marked model released.

If you print off, copy or download any part of our Platform in breach of these Terms of Use, your right to use our Platform will be ceased immediately and you will be required, upon our instruction and discretion, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.

9. Issues relating to accuracy or currency of Content found on our Platform

Although we make every reasonable effort to verify the accuracy and regularly update the Content and information on our Platform, we make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content on our Platform is accurate, complete or up to date, or that it is suitable for any particular purpose you may contemplate.

10. We are not responsible for websites we link to

Where our Platform contains links to or from other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only on an "as is" basis, with no warranty, express or implied, in relation to any of the content to be found on or emanating from such third-party sites.

Such links should not be interpreted as approval or endorsement by us of those linked websites or information you may obtain from them. A link to another site or platform should not be construed to imply that we are affiliated or associated with or are legally authorised to use any trademark, trade name, logo or copyrighted symbol that may be reflected in or through the link. We accept no responsibility for any third party-owned tools, products or content featured or made available to you on our Platform or for any third-party site(s) which our site(s) may link to.

We have no control over the contents of those sites/platforms or resources and any such links should not be construed as an endorsement of any Content, product or service embodied therein.

11. Content uploaded by other users

Our Platform may include information and Content uploaded by other users of the Platform, including to social media sites, bulletin boards and interactive features. This information and these contents have not been verified or approved by us. The views expressed by other users on our Platform do not represent our views or values.

12. Uploading contributions

STA Content Platform does not reimburse contributors for content uploaded, as it is designed for free use for the Purposes stated in clause 6 above. As such contributors will not receive any compensation for authorized uses of the content.

You confirm that your contribution is your own original work and/or that you are duly authorised to grant us such license. You will retain copyright in and to your contribution and allow STA and/or its approved partners or stakeholders to make use thereof as per the terms of this or any other agreement entered by STA regarding the use of the Content.

You agree that STA is authorized to make changes to your content, typically (but not exclusively) editing, cropping, adjusting colour and audio components. STA may also delete content considered to be inappropriate in its sole discretion.

By submitting Content, you grant STA and authorized third parties the right to offer such content for non-exclusive commercial or editorial use worldwide and in all media, in perpetuity, to reproduce, distribute, publicly display, and promote such content.

Always upload the best quality resolution available, no more than 10MB for images and 2GB for videos. Do not make excessive visual corrections. Avoid uploading excessive similar content of the same theme, event, or place.

You may not upload any content that may be considered derogatory, obscene, blasphemous, racist or in poor taste, or violates the rights of any other party, or violates any laws or regulations. You specifically may not submit content that belongs to any other party.

You further confirm that you have obtained all necessary consents from individuals appearing in your contributions for publishing and/or distributing their audiovisual representation including images, videos, and voice recordings. When uploading content, you should provide information relating to place names and descriptions and provide a signed release form for each person shown in the content. If you are unsure whether your content requires a release, feel free to contact us.

Furthermore, you must ensure that such content complies with the following standards:

Content must

1. be in English.
2. be accurate (where it states facts) and be genuinely held (where it states opinions).
3. be civil, tasteful.
4. comply with the laws of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and those applicable in any country from which it is posted.

Content must not

1. be unlawful or be defamatory of any person, obscene, offensive, hateful, inflammatory or blasphemous.
2. promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.
3. infringe any copyright, database right or trademark of any other person.
4. be likely to deceive any person, promote any illegal activity or contributed with the intention of causing harm.
5. threaten, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
6. amount to spam, advertising or promotional material (except where approved by us).
7. deliberately misuse the ratings facility.
8. impersonate any person, or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person.

12.1 Warranty

You warrant that any such contribution complies with the terms of this Clause 12, and as such you indemnify STA against loss and/or damages resulting from any breach of the warranty.

Any content you upload to our Platform will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. You retain all of your ownership rights in your content, but you are required to grant us and other users of our Platform a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide license to use, store and copy that content and to distribute and make it available to third parties, as contemplated in these Terms of Use.

We also have the right to disclose your identity to any third party who is claiming that any content posted or uploaded by you to our Platform constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights, or their right to privacy.

We have the right to remove any uploaded Content that you have provided on our Platform if, in our opinion, your Content does not comply with the content standards.

You are solely responsible for securing and backing up your Content.

13. Downloading and Using Content

All Content on the Platform is subject to copyright, which is owned by STA or its licensors.

Completed productions such as TV commercials and audio-visual productions may be downloaded for editorial use but must be used in their entirety. Taking and using extracts from these productions is strictly prohibited.

All Content may be used for editorial purposes without restrictions, but subject to the general Terms and Conditions. (“editorial uses" exclude commercial uses, or any use associated with any product, brand, or logo).

Content of persons or places identified as "not released" may not be used for any commercial use – i.e., use associated with any product, brand or logo. You will find the release status of any Content shown below the image, or clearly associated with it.

Content identified as "model released" or "property released" may be used for tourism-related commercial enterprises. For other commercial uses, permission must be granted by the authorised STA representative. Contact Contact Us for all queries and permissions relating to your proposed and intended commercial use.

Where potential conflicts of interest may arise from your proposed use, your request for Content may be declined.

14. Malware, and viruses

While we take every reasonable precaution, we do not guarantee that our Platform will be secure or free from malware, bugs or viruses.

You are responsible for configuring your own information technology, computer programmes and systems to access our Platform. You should use your own virus protection software.

You must not misuse our Platform by knowingly introducing or attempting to introduce malware viruses, trojans, worms, or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to our Platform, the server on which our Platform is stored, or any server, computer or database connected to our Platform. You must not attack our Platform via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack. By breaching this provision, you may be committing a criminal offence under the laws of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and/or another relevant jurisdiction. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities, and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use our Platform will cease immediately.

15. Rules about linking to our Platform

You may link to our home page, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it.

You must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval, or endorsement on our part where none exists. You must not establish a link to our Platform on any part of a website or other platform that is not owned or controlled by you.

Unless we have provided you with express linking permission, our Platform must not be framed on any other site or platform, nor may you create a link to any part of our Platform other than the home page.

We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice.

16. Disclaimer

Usage of our Platform is at your own risk, and we accept no liability in respect of the same and we disclaim all liability to the fullest extent permitted by the law.

We disclaim and exclude all warranties, express or implied and we shall not be liable for any damages (including, without limitation, consequential damages, claims for loss of business or loss of profits) arising from the use of or inability to use this site, or any Content contained in it, or from any action or decision taken as a result of using this site or any such Content.

Activities or events featured on our Platforms may not be suitable for you or your family and we do not advise on the suitability or unsuitability of such activities or events. We shall not be liable or responsible to any person or entity for any injury, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use or interpretation of the Content, or from taking part in any activity or event, featured on our Platform. We shall not be liable for the actions, omissions, or advice of any third party that has been introduced by us to users as part of, or otherwise through our Platforms.