Terms of Use
Last updated: 19 August 2026
Welcome to the website of the Society for Microbial Ecology and Disease (SOMED), available at somed.nu.
These Terms of Use govern access to and use of this website and its content. By accessing, browsing or using the website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood these Terms and agree to use the website in accordance with them and with applicable law.
1. About SOMED
The Society for Microbial Ecology and Disease (SOMED) is an international, non-profit scientific society dedicated to promoting scientific knowledge, research, education and international collaboration in the field of microbial ecology and its relationship to human health and disease.
SOMED is registered in France and operates in accordance with its Constitution and Bylaws and the applicable legal framework.
The Society may be contacted at:
Society for Microbial Ecology and Disease (SOMED)
38 cours Georges Clémenceau
33000 Bordeaux, France
Email: sandrine.claus@l-n-c.fr
Telephone: +33 5 57 83 15 03
2. Purpose of the Website
The website provides information about SOMED, its objectives, governance, membership, scientific meetings and congresses, publications, official journal activities, newsletters, news and other scientific or organisational activities.
The website is intended primarily for informational, educational, scientific and organisational communication purposes.
SOMED may update, modify, reorganise, suspend or discontinue any part of the website or its content where reasonably necessary, including for technical, security, organisational or legal reasons.
3. Scientific and Medical Information
Content published on this website may concern microbiology, microbial ecology, human health, disease, biomedical science and related scientific fields.
Such content is provided for scientific, educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, treatment advice or an individual clinical recommendation.
Visitors should not rely on information published on the website as a substitute for advice from an appropriately qualified healthcare, medical or scientific professional.
Scientific knowledge develops continuously. Although SOMED aims to provide accurate and reliable information, it does not guarantee that every item of scientific content is complete, current or applicable to a particular individual, research context or circumstance.
4. Membership and Membership Applications
Information concerning membership eligibility, categories, rights, obligations, annual dues and procedures is governed primarily by the Constitution and Bylaws of SOMED and by decisions validly adopted by its competent governing bodies.
Submission of a membership application through the website does not automatically create or confirm membership.
Applications may be reviewed by authorised officers, Council members or other authorised representatives of SOMED in accordance with the Society’s applicable membership procedures.
SOMED may request additional information reasonably necessary to assess or administer a membership application.
Where information published on the website conflicts with formally adopted provisions of the Constitution, Bylaws or valid decisions of SOMED’s governing bodies, those official documents and decisions shall prevail.
5. Scientific Meetings, Congresses and Events
Information concerning scientific meetings, congresses, programmes, venues, dates, speakers, organisers and related documents is published in good faith on the basis of information available to SOMED at the relevant time.
Schedules, programmes, speakers, venues and other event details may be changed, postponed or cancelled where circumstances require.
Where an event is organised jointly with another organisation, scientific institution, local organising committee or third party, additional registration terms, participation conditions, cancellation rules or privacy notices may apply.
6. Intellectual Property
Unless otherwise indicated, the website, its original design elements, SOMED name and branding, original texts, graphics, documents and other original material are protected by applicable intellectual property laws and belong to SOMED or are used with appropriate permission.
Third-party trademarks, journal names, photographs, logos, publications, research materials and other third-party content remain the property of their respective owners and may be subject to separate terms or licences.
Visitors may view and download material for lawful personal, educational, academic or scientific reference purposes where such use is permitted.
Content may not be reproduced, republished, commercially exploited, systematically distributed, altered, misrepresented or presented as originating from another source without appropriate authorisation, except where such use is permitted by applicable law or by the relevant licence.
Proper academic citation, attribution and acknowledgement of authorship and source must be respected where applicable.
7. Documents and Downloads
The website may provide access to downloadable documents including newsletters, congress brochures, statutes, programmes, scientific materials and historical publications.
Such documents may contain material created at different times and may reflect information that was accurate when originally published but is no longer current.
Unless expressly stated otherwise, making a document available through the website does not imply that all information contained in that document remains current or that SOMED endorses every third-party statement or reference appearing within it.
8. Material Submitted to SOMED
When you submit information through a contact form, membership application or other communication channel, you are responsible for ensuring that the information you provide is accurate and that you are entitled to provide it.
You must not submit unlawful, defamatory, malicious, misleading, infringing or harmful material, or content containing malware, harmful code or instructions intended to interfere with the website or its systems.
Please do not submit sensitive personal data, confidential patient information, identifiable medical records or other special categories of personal data through general website forms unless SOMED has expressly requested such information through an appropriate and secure process.
The processing of personal data submitted through website forms is governed by the SOMED Privacy Policy.
9. Acceptable Use
You may not use the website in a manner that:
- interferes with its normal operation or availability;
- compromises or attempts to compromise its security;
- attempts unauthorised access to systems, accounts or data;
- introduces malware, malicious code or other harmful technology;
- performs abusive, excessive or unauthorised automated scraping;
- impersonates another person or organisation;
- infringes intellectual property, privacy or other legal rights;
- uses website content for unlawful or misleading purposes;
- otherwise violates applicable law.
SOMED reserves the right to take reasonable technical, administrative or legal measures to protect the website, its users, content and infrastructure against misuse.
10. Third-Party Websites and Services
The website may contain links to, or integrate content and services from, external websites and providers including scientific publishers, journals, universities, research institutions, social media platforms, Google Maps and other third-party resources.
Such links and integrations are provided for information, scientific reference or convenience.
SOMED does not control independent third-party websites and is not responsible for their content, availability, accuracy, security, privacy practices or terms of use.
Access to or use of a third-party website or service is subject to the terms, policies and practices of that third party.
Where third-party content requires consent before activation, its use is also subject to the visitor’s choices as described in the SOMED Cookie Policy.
11. Website Availability and Security
SOMED takes reasonable technical and organisational measures to maintain the security, integrity and availability of the website.
Nevertheless, uninterrupted, error-free or completely secure operation cannot be guaranteed.
Temporary interruptions may occur as a result of maintenance, software updates, hosting issues, network failures, cyber-security incidents or other circumstances beyond SOMED’s reasonable control.
Users are responsible for maintaining appropriate security measures on their own devices, software and internet connections.
12. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the website and its informational content are provided without warranties concerning uninterrupted availability, absolute accuracy, fitness for a particular purpose or the absence of every error or omission.
SOMED shall not be responsible for loss or damage resulting solely from inappropriate reliance on general scientific, historical, informational or third-party content where professional, medical, scientific or other specialised advice would reasonably be required.
SOMED shall not be responsible for the acts, omissions, content, availability or security of independent third-party websites or services accessed through external links.
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where such exclusion or limitation would be prohibited by mandatory applicable law, including liability arising from fraud, wilful misconduct or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
13. Privacy, Cookies and Analytics
The processing of personal data through the website is governed by the SOMED Privacy Policy.
The use of cookies and similar technologies is described in the SOMED Cookie Policy.
The website uses a consent management system to allow visitors to accept, reject or manage non-essential technologies.
Where consent is legally required for a cookie, analytics technology, embedded third-party service or other tracker, that technology is managed according to the visitor’s consent choices.
The website may use Google Analytics 4, Google Consent Mode and Google Maps as described in the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.
14. Changes to These Terms
SOMED may update these Terms where necessary to reflect changes to the website, the Society’s activities, applicable law, technologies used by the website or organisational requirements.
The current version will be published on this page together with its Last updated date.
Continued use of the website following publication of revised Terms means that subsequent use of the website is subject to the revised version.
15. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms shall be interpreted in accordance with directly applicable European Union law and the national law applicable to SOMED as an organisation established in France.
Nothing in these Terms is intended to deprive a user of any protection that cannot lawfully be excluded under mandatory provisions applicable to that user.
Where a dispute arises, the parties are encouraged to seek an amicable resolution before commencing formal proceedings.
Where a dispute cannot be resolved amicably, jurisdiction shall be determined in accordance with the applicable rules of French and European Union law.
16. Relationship with SOMED’s Governing Documents
These Terms govern use of the public website. They do not replace or amend the Constitution, Bylaws, resolutions or other formally adopted governing documents of SOMED.
Where a matter concerning membership, governance, elections, voting rights, officers, Council powers or other internal Society affairs is regulated by SOMED’s official governing documents, those documents shall prevail.
17. Contact
Questions regarding these Terms may be addressed to:
Society for Microbial Ecology and Disease (SOMED)
38 cours Georges Clémenceau
33000 Bordeaux, France
Email: sandrine.claus@l-n-c.fr
Telephone: +33 5 57 83 15 03
