Terms of Use

Updated Oct. 12, 2025

1. Introduction

Welcome to the website of The Our Debt of Gratitude Project (“ODG Project”, We, Our): www.OurDebtOfGratitude.org (the “Web Site”). The goal of the Web Site is to collect and highlight the stories of individuals of non-Japanese heritage who helped Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans during the World War II forced mass removal from the West Coast, incarceration in concentration camps and prisons, and the nationwide denial of civil rights. Your access to and use of the Web Site is subject to the following terms and conditions and all applicable laws. By accessing and using the Site, you agree to these Terms of Use. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, please do not use this Site.

2. Modification of Site or Content

The ODG Project reserves the right at any time, and from time to time, to amend, modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, any aspects or features of the Web Site and its Contents, or impose new conditions, with or without notice. Your continued use of the Site and its activities following the posting of changes to these Terms of Use will constitute your acceptance of any such changes. For material changes to the license grant in Section 4.2, we will provide reasonable notice to active users.

3. Use of the Web Site – General

3.1 Copyright

The Web Site collects information from its users (“User Submissions”, “Stories”) and publishes contributed stories and their accompanying text, photos, and other graphics as identified by their Author(s) and other Contributors (“User Content”, “Story Content”). The Non-Story Content of the Web Site includes without limitation, the non-story text, background, photos and graphics, software, instructions, information and interactive features and the like related to the project.

Prior to at least October 31, 2025, the Web Site is only in the story-collection phase and intends to begin publishing Stories (“User Content”) at some time after that date.

The Non-Story Content of the Web Site is owned by the Our Debt of Gratitude Project, subject to copyright and other intellectual property rights under the law.

Stories published on the Web Site remain under copyright of their respective authors; this includes the story text and accompanying text, photos and other graphics. Exceptions to this are text, photographs and graphics under a third-party copyright for which the Author(s) or Contributor(s) has/have been given permission to use.

3.2 Approved Use

The Non-Story Content of the Web Site is provided for you “as is” for your information and personal use. Unauthorized commercial use or publication of Non-Story Content contained on the Web Site is prohibited except as indicated; for example, a poster or flyer may be posted for User downloading and distribution. Otherwise, Non-story Content may not be downloaded, copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, broadcast, displayed, nor sold, licensed, or otherwise exploited for commercial use, publication or any other purposes whatsoever without the prior written consent of The ODG Project.

Stories published on the Web Site (User Content) are also provided to you “as is” for your information and personal use only; the copyright remains with the author or their designated third party.

A Story may show a Creative Commons license designation. Creative Commons (CC) licenses are a way an Author may choose to share their work under copyright, allowing others to use it under specific terms defined by the license. There are six different Creative Commons license options plus a CC0 Public Domain dedication (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/cclicenses), which denote varying permissions for sharing a published Story from the Web Site.

If no Creative Commons license is designated, the author retains all copyright and the Story content may not be downloaded, copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, broadcast, displayed, sold, licensed, or otherwise exploited for commercial use, publication or any other purposes whatsoever without the prior written consent of copyright owner(s). The ODG Project is not responsible for an Author’s choice of a Creative Commons license, nor for the breach of an Author’s copyright by a third party.

3.3 Permission for Reproduction

To request permission and written consent from the Our Debt of Gratitude Project for reproduction of Non-Story materials contained on the Site please send requests by e-mail to: OurDebtOfGratitude@gmail.com

To request permission and written consent required from the Author(s) of a Story, please contact the Author(s) or third-party copyright owner directly. If the Author(s) has/have chosen a Creative Commons designation, you should familiarize yourself with the specific rights and limitations of the particular license, and pursue correspondence with the Author(s) for any questions.

3.4 Remedies

If any of these Terms of Use are breached by a Web Site user, in addition to any remedies set forth in any license agreement, the ODG Project’s remedies shall include any monetary benefits that accrued to you or to the authorized users as a result of the breach, any damages incurred by the ODG Project related to such breach, and any other damages and relief available at law or in equity.

3.5 No Liability for Linked Content

The Web Site includes links to other online sites which are operated by third parties which have no affiliation with the ODG Project. These links are provided as a convenience to you in accessing the information contained therein. The ODG Project is not responsible for the content of any other sites or any products or services that may be offered through other sites. Inclusion of links to other sites should not be viewed as an endorsement of the content of linked sites. Different terms and conditions may apply to your use of any linked sites, and it is your responsibility to comply with such other terms and conditions. By clicking on any such link, you acknowledge that the ODG Project has no control over, and makes no representation of any kind with respect to such other sites or any content contained within such other sites, and you hereby revoke any claim against the ODG Project with respect to such other sites. Any concerns regarding any external link should be directed to that site’s site administrator or Webmaster.

4. User Submissions to the ODG Project

4.1 General Information

The ODG Project collects Stories submitted to the Project. You may submit, post, or transmit to the Web Site and to the email of the Project, your story and its accompanying text, photos and other graphics (“User Submission”, “Story”). You understand that whether or not such Stories are published by the ODG Project, we respect the privacy of your User Submission and your personal data (see Privacy Policy), but do not guarantee confidentiality with respect to any User Submission at any time after submission.

4.2 License Grant

Unless otherwise stated in a written agreement between you and the ODG Project, with respect to all User Submissions (Stories) and materials that you elect to submit, post, email, or transmit to the ODG Project through this Web Site or email, by submitting a User Submission (Story) you hereby grant the ODG Project and any of its affiliated projects/partners a worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, irrevocable, perpetual right and license to use, reproduce, reformat, display, publish, distribute, publicly perform, translate, create derivative works from and take any other action, including destroying User Submissions, with respect to any and all User Submissions in whole or in part.

The license grant contained in this Section 4.2 applies to the ODG Project and its affiliated projects/partners for all uses necessary to fulfill the Project’s mission and exhibit goals, regardless of any Creative Commons license chosen by the Author for the publicly-released Story.

While your User Submission (Story) implies that you consent to have your User Submission (Story) used by the ODG Project and its affiliated projects, we will typically contact you to confirm the finalized, edited version of your User Submission prior to publication to ensure accuracy and your continued agreement with the conditions of these Terms of Use.

You may request to withdraw your User Submission (Story) from use by the ODG Project after it is submitted; we will do our best to comply in a timely manner. While we will make reasonable efforts to remove or cease new uses of your User Submission (Story) upon your request, the license granted herein is irrevocable with respect to any use, reproduction, or distribution that occurred prior to our receipt of your written withdrawal request, and we cannot guarantee the removal of previously published or distributed copies, especially those made by third parties or in a non-editable digital archive.

4.3 Representations and Warranties with Respect to Content Submitted

You are solely responsible for your User Submission (Story) and the consequences of posting or publishing it as it becomes User Content of the Web Site and is used in other print or display exhibits. In connection with your User Submission, you affirm, represent and warrant that: (a) you own or have the full right, power and authority to grant to the Our Debt of Gratitude Project the use of and rights, including all copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights, to any and all of the User Submission (Story), whether owned by you or licensed to you by a third party; (b) your permission to the ODG Project to use your User Submission (Story) does not infringe any right or interest owned or possessed by any third party; and (c) there are no claims, judgments or settlements to be paid by you, or pending claims or litigation, relating to any and all content contained in any and all User Submissions (Stories).

You agree that you will not knowingly submit a story that infringes any proprietary rights of others or that is copyrighted, or otherwise assume you have proprietary rights of a Story, including privacy and publicity rights, unless you are the owner of such rights or have permission and authorization from their rightful owner to post and otherwise use the material, and grant to the ODG Project all of the license rights granted herein.

4.4 User Responsibility for Story Submissions

As an Author submitting a Story, you assume all responsibility for the Story text and accompanying text, photographs, videos and graphic content and their accuracy, and rights and permissions to have the Story and its photographs and associated materials used by the ODG Project on its Web Site and in other forms of presentation. The ODG Project is under no obligation to post or to use any User Submission. We may ask that User Submissions (Stories) be edited for clarity or length. Stories used on the Web Site (User Content) may be deleted at the discretion of the ODG Project for any reason. Images included in User Submissions may be resized, converted to other file types, and/or cropped for use.

5. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted under applicable law, you understand and agree that: (a) the ODG Project and its respective organizers, affiliates, and successors; and (b) any third party involved in creating, producing or delivering the Web Site or its Story and Non-Story Content (“Content”) shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive or any other damages relating to or resulting from your use or inability to use the Web Site or its Content, or any other site, content or services you access through a link from the Web Site, or from any actions we take or fail to take as a result of electronic or other messages you send us. These include, but are not limited to, damages for errors, omissions, interruptions, defects, delays, computer viruses, your loss of profits, loss of data, unauthorized access to and alteration of your transmissions and data, and other tangible and intangible losses, even if the ODG Project was previously advised of the possibility of such damages and regardless of whether such damages arise in contract, tort, under statute, in equity, at law or otherwise.. Your use of the ODG Project site is at your sole risk.

The ODG Project does not make any warranty whatsoever, including without limitation: that any and all of its website properties will be uninterrupted or error-free; that defects will be corrected; that the sites, including the servers that make them available, are free of viruses or other harmful components; as to the results that may be obtained from use of the material on the Web Site; or as to the accuracy, reliability, availability, suitability, quality or operation of any information, software, or service provided on or accessible from the Web Site.

The Web Site and all Content included or accessible from the Web Site are provided “as is” and without warranties of any kind (express, implied, and statutory), including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement and the implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose, which the ODG Project disclaims to the fullest extent permitted by law.

6. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the ODG Project, its organizers, agents, shareholders, affiliates, and successors, to the fullest extent allowed by law, from and against any third party claim or demand (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), arising out of or relating to User Content, including information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, images, graphics, video, messages and any other content you submit, post, display, e-mail or transmit through the Site, or your violation of the Terms of Use. You further agree to indemnify and hold harmless the ODG Project, its organizers, agents, shareholders, affiliates, and successors to the fullest extent allowed by law regarding all matters related to your use of the Site. You agree to cooperate as fully as reasonably required in the defense of any such claim or demand.

7. Your Liability

7.1 General Prohibitions for Web Site Security

You agree not to circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the WebSite or features that prevent or restrict the use or the copying of any Content or enforce limitations on use of the Web Site or Content therein.

You agree not to do any of the following: Post, upload, publish, submit or transmit any User Content that

infringes or violates a third party’s copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other intellectual property rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
violates or encourages any conduct that would violate any applicable law or regulation or would give rise to civil liability;
is fraudulent, false, misleading or deceptive;
is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, vulgar or offensive;
promotes discrimination, bigotry, racism, harassment or harm against any individual or group;
is violent or threatening;
promotes violence or actions that are threatening to any person or entity or promotes illegal or harmful activities.

7.2 Your Liability

If you breach any of the above or cause a technical disruption of the Site or Content or the systems transmitting them to you or others, you agree to be responsible for any and all liabilities, costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) arising from said breach or disruption. We further reserve the right to investigate all violations of these terms including consulting and/or cooperating with law enforcement authorities to prosecute users who violate the law.

8. Choice of Forum, Choice of Law, and Jurisdiction

These Terms of Use shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania applicable to agreements that are executed and fully performed within said Commonwealth. All disputes arising out of these Terms of Use shall be exclusively resolved and adjudicated in the federal and state courts of Pennsylvania. Each of the parties hereby submits to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of said courts and waives its rights to have disputes arising out of these Terms and Conditions adjudicated in any other forum.

Updated Oct. 12, 2025