Terms of Service

1. Agreement to Terms & Eligibility

By visiting, browsing, registering on, or interacting with DiseaseWatch UK ("the Service", "we", "our", or "us"), you irrevocably agree to comply with and be bound by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to all provisions of these terms, you must immediately discontinue use of the platform.

You must be at least 18 years of age and resident in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland) or representing a registered UK veterinary practice to create an account or submit case reports.

2. Medical Disclaimer & Veterinary Regulatory Notice

3. Closed Beta & Early Preview Mode

DiseaseWatch UK is currently operating in an active Closed Preview / Beta phase. Public registrations are temporarily restricted, and map datasets incorporate simulated outbreak incidents generated for platform load testing, UX validation, and algorithmic verification ahead of open general release.

You acknowledge that features may be modified, suspended, or updated without prior notice. Simulated records must not be relied upon for making travel, walking, or commercial veterinary business decisions during the preview phase.

4. Case Reporting Rules & Data Anonymity

When submitting disease reports to the platform, you warrant and agree that:

• Zero Personally Identifiable Information (PII): You will strictly refrain from entering owner names, pet names, microchip IDs, phone numbers, email addresses, or residential street addresses.
• RCVS Code Compliance: For veterinary professionals, all reports must adhere to Chapter 14 of the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct (Client Confidentiality). Reports must contain only anonymised clinical parameters.
• Truthfulness and Authenticity: You will not submit fabricated, fictitious, or malicious reports intended to induce public panic or defame local commercial kennels, walking parks, or veterinary practices.
• Abuse Detection: Submissions are subject to automated anomaly detection, rate-limiting, and manual administrative review. Accounts violating these standards will be permanently terminated.
• Report Removal & Modification Requests: Requests to withdraw, amend, or delete submitted reports must originate from verified reporters or authorized clinic representatives and are validated server-side against live database records. Speculative or automated deletion requests are automatically rejected.

5. Professional Veterinary Credentials & Verification Status

Users applying for Veterinary Surgeon, Veterinary Nurse, or Clinic Administrator verification must provide an active, authentic RCVS registration or premises number. By submitting such credentials, you warrant that you are legally entitled to practice in the United Kingdom.

6. Clinic Postcode Sponsorships & Territorial Fair-Use

Veterinary practices and community animal health partners may sponsor localized outward postcode districts (outcodes) subject to the following fair-use and integrity terms:

• Postcode Allocation per Sponsorship Ad: Each individual sponsorship ad or campaign may cover a maximum of 5 outward postcode districts (outcodes). Veterinary practices or organizations wishing to support additional geographical districts are free to create separate sponsorship ads with their own distinct sets of up to 5 outcodes.
• Verified Practice Contact: Sponsoring entities must represent bona fide UK veterinary clinics, hospitals, or recognized animal health charities with valid UK telephone contacts and legitimate web domains.
• Server-Side Pricing Integrity: Sponsorship pricing is computed server-side based on objective regional demand and surveillance tiers. Any client-side price tampering or unauthorized manipulation voids the sponsorship immediately without refund.
• Strict Editorial Independence: Postcode sponsorship grants localized branding visibility and community partner placement only. Sponsoring a postcode does not grant editorial authority, censorship powers, or the ability to modify or suppress disease outbreak alerts in that region.

7. Intellectual Property & Data Licensing

All software code, visual design, map interfaces, mathematical geo-fuzzing implementations, logos, and trademarks associated with DiseaseWatch UK are the exclusive property of DiseaseWatch UK.

By submitting reports or feedback to the platform, you grant DiseaseWatch UK a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to use, aggregate, anonymise, display, and distribute such data for biosecurity surveillance, public education, and academic research purposes.

8. Limitation of Liability (Consumer Rights Act 2015 & UCTA 1977)

To the maximum extent permitted under applicable laws of the United Kingdom:

• The Service is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis, without express or implied warranties of any kind regarding accuracy, fitness for a particular purpose, or uninterrupted availability.
• DiseaseWatch UK and its directors, volunteers, and agents shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential loss, animal injury, loss of profit, or veterinary care costs arising out of your use or inability to use the platform.
• Nothing in these Terms shall limit or exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability which cannot be lawfully excluded under applicable UK law.

9. Governing Law & Cross-Jurisdiction Rights (Scotland & Northern Ireland)

These Terms of Service, their subject matter, and their formation are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

Consumer Protections for Scotland & Northern Ireland: If you are an individual pet guardian resident in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you also retain the benefit of any mandatory statutory protections under your local law, and you may additionally bring legal proceedings in the Scottish courts or Northern Irish courts.

10. Contact & Legal Enquiries

For questions regarding these Terms of Service or to submit formal legal notices, please contact our team at: