Terms of use

1. Definitions  

In the context of these terms and conditions, the following words shall have the following meanings: “The Ivors Academy” means The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors Ltd trading as The Ivors Academy, a not for profit company limited by guarantee registered under number 03643088 having its registered office at Prager Metis LLP, 5A Bear Lane, Southwark, London SE1 0UH. VAT Registration No: 722 684038. “The Website” means any website under the ownership or control of The Ivors Academy from which a link has been created to these terms and conditions; “The Material” means all of the information, data, text, graphics, links or computer code published on, contained or available on the Website; ”User” means the individual, firm, company or organisation accessing this website or making an Order.  

2. Applicable terms and conditions  

The Website is owned by The Ivors Academy and any use made of this site (including registrations and payments made via the Website), are subject to these terms and conditions. The Ivors Academy may, at its sole discretion, modify or revise these terms and conditions at any time by updating the text of this page. 

The following additional terms also apply to your use of this site: 

• Our Privacy Policy, which explains how we collect, use and store your personal information. 

• Our Cookie Policy, which sets out information about the cookies on this site.  

3. Use of the Website  

Anyone is entitled to view any non-password protected parts of the Website and to use for their own purposes the information contained therein, provided:  

• It is used for information purposes only, for reproduction for personal use only and not for reproduction on any other website or for commercial gain.  

• Any links created to the Website are notified to and approved by The Ivors Academy before they are created.  

• No part of the Website is copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means to any third party without the written permission of The Ivors Academy.  

4. Copyright and trademarks  

• Copyright in the Material is owned by The Ivors Academy or its content suppliers. Unauthorised use of the Material including reproduction, storage, modification, distribution or republication without the prior written consent of The Ivors Academy or, where applicable, the respective copyright owner(s) is prohibited.  

• Our status (and that of any identified contributors) as the authors of content on our site must always be acknowledged (except where the content is user-generated). 

• You must not use any part of the content on our site for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence to do so from us or our licensors. 

• The names and logos of The Ivors Academy and all related product and service names, designs marks and slogans are the trade names, service marks or trademarks of The Ivors Academy and may not be used without the prior consent of The Ivors Academy.  

• All works in the nature of databases attract database rights.  

5. Disclaimer  

The website is intended to provide general information only and, as such, should not be considered as a substitute for advice covering any specific situation. Users should seek appropriate advice before taking or refraining from taking any action in reliance on any information contained in this website. So far as permissible by law, The Ivors Academy does not accept any liability to any person relating to the use of any such information. Whilst The Ivors Academy has taken every precaution in compiling this site neither it nor any contributors to the site can be held responsible for any action (or the lack thereof) taken by any person or organisation wherever they shall be based, as a result, direct or otherwise, on information contained in or accessed through this internet site.  

6. Uploading content to our site  

Whenever you make use of a feature that allows you to create content directly on our site, upload or share content to our site, or to make contact with other users of our site, you must comply with the standards set out in our Acceptable Use Policy (will be published shortly). 

You warrant that any such contribution complies with those standards, and you are liable to us and indemnify us for any breach of that warranty. This means you will be responsible for any loss or damage we suffer as a result of your breach of warranty. 

We will consider any content you upload to our site to be non-confidential and not protected by any trade mark, patent or copyright, that is, in the public domain. You own your content, but you are required to grant us and other users of our site a limited licence to use, store and copy that content and to distribute and make it available to others. The rights you license to us are described in clause 7 and that licence will be deemed to be in place from the time of your first upload of the relevant content. 

We also have the right to disclose your identity to anyone who is claiming that any content posted or uploaded by you to our site violates their intellectual property rights or their right to privacy, or that content posted by you is defamatory to them or otherwise infringes their legal rights. 

We have the right to remove any posting you make on our site if, in our opinion, your post does not comply with the acceptable use standards set out in our Acceptable Use Policy (will be published shortly) or is otherwise unlawful. 

If you wish to contact us in relation to content you have uploaded to our site and that we have taken down, please contact membership@ivorsacademy.com. 

7. Rights you are giving us to use material you upload  

When you upload or post content to our site, you grant us the following rights to use that content: 

• A worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free, transferable licence to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform that user-generated content in connection with the service provided by the website and across different media including to promote our site or the service. 

8. User-generated content is not approved by us

Our site may include information and materials uploaded by other users. This information and these materials have not been verified or approved by us. The views expressed by other users on our site do not represent our views or values. 

9. How we protect you from illegal content  

This provision sets out what we will do to protect you from unlawful content in the event that third parties attempt to upload it to the site (unlawful content includes content that encourages criminality, glorifies terrorism, features the sexual exploitation of minors, and/or which is designed to threaten or harass other users – this list is not exhaustive and all forms of unlawful content will be dealt with).  

We minimise the length of time for which unlawful content is present on the site by utilising automated tools to detect and block unlawful content and via a clearly marked “Report” button where users can flag concerning content. Reports will be reviewed as soon as possible, with priority given to alerts related to terrorist content, child sexual exploitation and abuse and other priority offences. We will swiftly take down unlawful content where it is reported to us, or where we detect it via other means.  

10. Content and behaviours you should report  

You can report or complain about the following content and behaviours: 

• Content you consider to be unlawful. 

• When you think we are not dealing with unlawful content or activity as we should. 

• Where your content has been taken down on the basis that it is illegal. 

• Where we have given you a warning, suspended, banned or restricted you in any way as a result of your content which we consider to be illegal content. 

• Technology we use results in your content being taken down, access-restricted or deprioritised and you think the technology has been used in a way not set out in our terms of service. 

11. Complaints on Community Forum

Users may submit complaints via membership@ivorsacademy.com.   Complaints must include relevant details such as date/time, individuals involved, a clear description of the issue and a link to the issue on the community forum. Anonymous complaints will be accepted, although limited information may affect investigation. 

All complaints are reviewed by the community support team within 72 hours of submission. The investigation may involve interviews, review of platform activity, and consultation with relevant stakeholders. No retaliatory actions will be tolerated against anyone submitting a complaint. 

If a complaint is substantiated, appropriate action will be taken including warning, content removal, temporary or permanent ban. If unsubstantiated, the complainant will be notified respectfully and provided with any additional recourse available.  Appeals can be submitted within 7 days of a resolution notice. 

12. Target audience 

The Website is intended for use by a global audience and much of its content will be applicable wherever you are and whoever you are creating for, but please remember that the Ivor’s Academy is based in the UK. You should always consider your own local laws and regional practices before using any materials of information provided via the site. The Ivors Academy does not represent or warrant that the information accessible via the Website is accurate, complete or correct. The Ivors Academy has no liability whatsoever in respect of any use which you make of such information except in the case of personal injury or death caused by the negligence of The Ivors Academy. The information provided on this Website has not been written to meet individual requirements and it is your sole responsibility to satisfy yourself prior to using the information in any way for your purposes. Before making any decisions based on the information contained on the Website, you are strongly advised to refer to alternative, independent sources of information to substantiate the basis for your decision.  

13. Warranty and indemnity 
 
The User warrants to The Ivors Academy that it will not use the Website, the Material or any part thereof for any purpose that is in contravention of any applicable law or regulation or in a manner that will infringe the copyright, trademarks, service marks or other intellectual property rights of third parties or violate the privacy, publicity or other personal rights of others or in any defamatory, obscene, threatening, abusive or hateful manner. The User shall indemnify The Ivors Academy, its employees and agents, harmless against all claims, liability, losses, damages and expenses including, without limitation, legal fees and costs arising out of or incurred as a result of any claims made, or litigation brought, against The Ivors Academy, its employees and agents, as a result of the use by the User of the Website, the Material or any part thereof for whatever purpose, to the fullest extent permitted by law.  

14. Limitation of liability 

The Ivors Academy hereby disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to the Material and any goods or services supplied in relation to the Website, whether express or implied or statutory (including all implied warranties and conditions of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose). In no event shall The Ivors Academy be liable for any indirect, punitive, special, incidental, or consequential damages whatsoever even if The Ivors Academy has been advised of the possibility of damages including, without limitation, damages for loss of use, data or profits arising out of or in any way connected with the use or performance of the Website, interruptions or delays to the Website, the provision of or failure to provide services, or for any information, Material, goods and services obtained through the Website or otherwise arising out of the use of the Website, whether based on contract, tort or otherwise to the fullest extent permitted by law.  

15. Third party websites 

The Website contains links to websites operated by parties other than The Ivors Academy. Such links are provided for the User’s convenience only. The Ivors Academy does not control such websites, and is not responsible for their content. The Ivors Academy inclusion of links to such websites does not imply any endorsement of the material on such websites or any association with their operators. The User is solely responsible for evaluating the accuracy and completeness of any information contained on the third party websites, and also the value and integrity of any goods and services offered by such websites.  

16. Privacy and Data Protection 

We do not store credit card details nor do we share customer details with any third parties.  

17. Viruses 
 
Whilst The Ivors Academy makes all reasonable attempts to exclude viruses from the website it cannot ensure such exclusion and no liability is accepted for damage caused through the downloading of viruses. Therefore, you are recommended to take all appropriate safeguards before downloading information from the Website.  

18. Online Transactions 

The Ivors Academy reserves the right to vary event registration fees and the prices of any goods or services listed without notice. All event registrations and orders for goods or services are subject to availability and The Ivors Academy reserves the right to refuse to accept any registration and to refuse to supply any goods or services to any individual.  

19. Encryption 

Although the Website uses encryption security software in areas where online payment details are accepted, the security of information and payments transmitted via the Internet cannot be guaranteed. Any loss incurred or sustained by any User who transmits information by means of e-mail or other Internet links shall be borne solely and exclusively by such User and in no event shall any such loss in whole or part be borne by The Ivors Academy or its agents.  

20. Force majeure 

The Ivors Academy shall not be held to be in breach of its obligations hereunder nor liable to the User for any loss or damage which may be suffered by another party due to any cause beyond its reasonable control including without limitation any act of God, fire, storm, flood, lightening, disease, strike, trade dispute, act of terrorism, any act or omission of government or regulatory bodies or communications operators.  

21. General 

1. If any provisions of these terms and conditions are held to be invalid or unenforceable, the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not be affected.  
2. These terms and conditions constitute the entire agreement between The Ivors Academy and the User and supercede all other (prior or contemporaneous) communications and proposals, whether electronic or written, between the User and The Ivors Academy.  
3. Any failure of The Ivors Academy to exercise or enforce any of its rights under these terms and conditions shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any such rights or operate so as to bar the subsequent exercise or enforcement or any such rights.  
4. We amend these terms from time to time. Every time you wish to use our site, please check these terms to ensure you understand the terms that apply at that time. These terms were most recently updated in August 2025. 
5. We may update and change our site from time to time to reflect changes to our products, our users’ needs and our business priorities.  

22. Jurisdiction 

The terms and conditions and the use by the User of the Website shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales and the parties hereto submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts in all disputes arising out of or relating to the Website and/or any transactions made on the Website, or these terms and conditions.