Terms and conditions for participants

By attending this conference in any capacity (speaker, poster presenter, delegate, sponsor, etc), you accept the following terms and conditions.

1. Services offered:
   1. Please note that, without exception, all services are offered on an ‘as-is’ basis.
   2. We cannot guarantee correctness of the information provided by event presenters, sponsors, or suppliers, as such information will come from diverse sources and is outside our capacity to validate it.
   3. Furthermore, as we will be using third-party software to deliver the virtual component of the conference, we cannot guarantee 100% up-time of our online services or the platform(s). No refund can be issued for any down-time during the provision of our online services.
   4. Occasionally, it may be unavoidable to change the event agenda and the identity of speakers and the venue for reasons beyond our control. Registered delegates will be notified of any changes to the agenda as soon as possible.
   5. If a delegate has registered to attend in-person, they will have the option of attending a part or the whole of the conference both in-person as well as virtually.
   6. If a delegate has registered to attend virtually, they will only be able to attend virtually.
2. Payment of fees:
   1. Please select the correct payment option(s) in the registration form that applies to you.
   2. Correct fees must be paid in full at the time of registration, or within 10 working days of the invoice date if you are paying from a UK bank account via bank transfer. We will only be able to confirm your registration once we have received your fees. All money transfer charges, including bank and PayPal fees, are for the senders/registrants.
   3. Payment by bank transfer is for the UK delegates only. You must add £10 per transaction to your final payment if you are paying from a non-UK bank account. Furthermore, if you pay from a non-UK bank account, and we have to give you a refund, we will deduct additional associated banking costs.
   4. If the delegate is making the payment using their employers bank account, card or another payment method, they confirm that they are authorised to do so.
   5. If the registration fee is paid by someone else on behalf of the delegate, the person making the payment confirms that they are authorised to do so on behalf of the delegate and their employe.
3. Upgrade to in-person attendance:
   1. The delegate(s) will have the option to upgrade their registration from virtual to in-person attendance by paying the applicable fee difference on the day of the upgrade (subject to availability).
4. Refund, cancellation and charges: Once a delegate has registered via our online portal and we have issued them their invoice, they become liable for paying the invoice by the given due date.
   1. Cancellation and charges for online attendance: A delegate may cancel their virtual attendance by emailing VirusesOxford@gmail.com. However, once paid, any fees and other payments cannot be refunded. We warmly welcome substitute delegates at any time. Please let us know of any changes by emailing VirusesOxford@gmail.com as soon as possible, but before the given registration deadline. The substitute delegate will be required to register (free of charge).
   2. If a delegate underpays their fee by selecting an incorrect payment option, they will be required to pay the remaining fee as soon as possible, or within 10 days in order for their registration to be confirmed. No refund of the partial payment will be given if they fail to complete their full payment.
   3. A refund will not be issued if the online event cannot be held on advertised dates due to reasons beyond our control (force majeure). We will, however, offer the delegate alternative dates.
   4. If we cancel the meeting for reasons other than force majeure, we will only refund the net payment received by us. Thus the refund will be minus any banking/money transfer costs (such as PayPal charges) and exchange rate losses. We will not be liable for any additional costs to the delegate.
   5. Payment by bank transfer is for the UK delegates only. If a participant opts to pay from a non-UK bank account, and we have to give them a refund, we will deduct additional associated banking costs and any exchange rate losses.
   6. Cancellation and charges for in-person attendance: If a delegate cancels in-person attendance for medical or other reasons, the refund given will be the applicable difference between the fees paid for in-person attendance and virtual attendance on the day of the cancellation. Admin charges (up to 30 June = £50 | 01 July – 31 July = £100), any bank transfer fees and exchange rate losses will apply to all refunds. We are unable to refund thereafter, but the delegate will still be able to attend the conference online. We warmly welcome substitute delegates at any time. Please let us know of any changes by emailing VirusesOxford@gmail.com as soon as possible but before the given registration deadline. The substitute delegate will be required to register (free of charge).
      1. If the in-person element of the conference is cancelled by the organisers, the delegate will be refunded the difference between the applicable fee for online attendance and that for in-person attendance which we received from them. The delegate will still be able to attend the conference virtually.
      2. If the in-person element of the conference is cancelled due to a government legislation, force majeure cancellation terms will apply.
      3. Cancellation due to rejection of visa application: If the delegate’s UK visa application is rejected, we may, at our discretion, refund the registration in full, minus any banking/PayPal fees, exchange rate losses and an administration fee (minimum £50). However, to qualify for this refund, the delegate must notify us as soon as they receive the decision from the British consulate, but no later than 48 hours of the date of the decision received by them. The delegate must also send us full documentation showing the decision of the British consulate and that they applied for their visa in good time for the conference. Furthermore, we will not be responsible for any associated costs, such as (but not limited to) travel/flights and accommodation, etc.
      4. ‘Force majeure’ cancellation policy: If the cancellation of the event is caused, for example, but limited to, by a natural disaster, a disease epidemic or pandemic, war or an act of terrorism, the maximum liability to us shall be limited to 80% of the net fees received by us at the time of booking, with no additional liability whatsoever to the event organisers and hosts, LibPubMedia or any individuals affiliated with the event or LibPubMedia in any capacity. We may deduct any additional bank transfer fees associated with the refund.
5. Comprehensive insurance:
   1. The participants are strongly advised to be comprehensively insured at all times to cover any losses due to their inability to attend the conference for medical or other reasons, or due to the cancellation of the conference by the organisers.
   2. Please beware that we cannot guarantee that you will not be exposed to COVID-19 coronavirus while attending this event in-person. Therefore, we strongly urge that you take comprehensive travel and medical insurance to cover any losses due to catching COVID-19 (or other reasons, e.g., personal, professional or medical), for example, quarantining, cancellation of the conference, flights, and accommodation, etc. Please consult the following link for the latest UK Government travel advice: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-to-england-from-another-country-during-coronavirus-covid-19
6. Privacy and consent
   1. Personal information (such as name, postal address, email, telephone and fax) provided by participants will be held in our database, and may be used by LibPubMedia and its partners to inform you about their products of interest.
   2. By participating in this event as an attendee, speaker, sponsors, or a poster presenter, you agree to our following policies: During the process of registration and communication with us, we will collect your name, business/institution/postal address and email address that you provide us in the registration/booking form and/or oral/poster abstracts, or that you use to communicate with us. We are always committed to respecting and protecting this information, and will use this information on the basis of legitimate interest in accordance with our Terms & Conditions. We will contact you to deliver information about the event that you are attending (for example, your contact information will also be used by the organisers, including the meeting Chairs and Co-chairs, to send you further information about the event and the links to access the meeting), as well as other similar events and publications that we think may be of interest to you. You can unsubscribe from our emailing list anytime by writing to the event email address. Also, we are able to offer highly-subsidised registration fees due the generous support of our sponsors. Therefore, we may share your contact information with our sponsors if you meet our criteria of ‘active participation’ in the event (e.g., if you are a presenter/abstract author, or are attending scientific sessions). Thus, by participating in this event, you are consenting to our policy statements, and you are allowing our sponsors to contact you.
   3. Your contact information will also be used by the organisers (including the meeting Chairs and Co-chairs) to send you further information about the event and the links to access the meeting.
7. Internet access:
   1. The participants are responsible for ensuring that they have access to the Internet to attend the virtual meeting.
   2. We cannot take the responsibility of corruption of a participant’s computing equipment by a computer virus or malware while attending this virtual event.
8. Disclaimer:
   1. The event organisers and hosts, LibPubMedia, or any individuals associated with the event or LibPubMedia, make no representation or warranty of gain of business or profits as a result of the use of services or information provided in connection with the event, and shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damages, loss of business, employment, profits or anticipated savings resulting from the use of the services or information provided in connection with the event, in any country or court of law.
9. Infringement of rights:
   1. The event organisers and hosts, LibPubMedia or any individuals associated with the event or LibPubMedia shall not be liable, in any country or court of law, for infringement of third party rights, including copyright, by an event participant.
10. External links:
    1. The event website and that of LibPubMedia contains links to a number of other websites, provided for the convenience of the users. The contents of these websites are maintained by their owners, for which we take no responsibility. Neither providing a link on our website means that we necessarily agree to their contents, nor are we responsible for contents of any websites linking to this website.
11. Acceptance of registration:
    1. This is a private event, and so we have the right to accept or reject a registration and/or presentation application without giving reasons and our decision shall be final.
    2. We also reserve the right to reject a previously accepted application or presentation without giving reasons and our decision shall be final. A refund will be issued in such a case, minus any banking costs and exchange rate losses.
12. Removal from the virtual meeting: 
    1. By accepting your place at this event, you confirm that you will be polite and respectful to other meeting participants when interacting with them, keeping discussions non-confrontational and based around the scientific content. Breaching this code of conduct may result in your removal from the meeting. Our decision will be final and incontestable, and no refund will be issued in such a case.
13. We reserve the right to change the Terms and Conditions, prices or the contents of the website at any time without prior notice.
14. These Terms and Conditions apply to all participants of this event, including speakers, abstract authors/co-authors, presenter, sponsors and exhibitors.
15. Speakers and sponsors may also consult other specific Terms and Conditions that may apply to them.
16. We cannot guarantee that the content on our website or this document are error-free.