1. Acceptance of Terms
By accessing or using mechanicaldesignnexus.com (the "Platform"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform. Mechanical Design Nexus ("MDN", "we", "us") is a student-led engineering community at Makerere University CEDAT.
2. Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. By registering, you represent and warrant that the information you provide is accurate, complete, and current.
3. Accounts & Security
- You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials.
- Notify us immediately at mec.designnexus@gmail.com of any unauthorized access.
- You may not share accounts, impersonate others, or create accounts using automated means.
4. Acceptable Use
You agree not to:
- Violate any applicable law, regulation, or third-party right.
- Post content that is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, discriminatory, or obscene.
- Upload malware, viruses, or any code intended to disrupt the Platform.
- Reverse engineer, scrape, or attempt to extract source code beyond what our API permits.
- Use the Platform to send unsolicited commercial communications (spam).
- Submit content you do not own or have permission to share.
Additional community rules are described in our Code of Conduct.
5. User-Generated Content
5.1 Your ownership
You retain ownership of the designs, articles, comments, and other content you submit ("User Content").
5.2 Licence to MDN
By submitting User Content, you grant MDN a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, display, reproduce, adapt for technical purposes (thumbnails, previews), and promote that content within the Platform and official MDN channels. You may revoke this licence by deleting the content, subject to reasonable retention periods for backups and legal compliance.
5.3 Responsibility
You are solely responsible for your User Content and any consequences of submitting it. We do not endorse and are not responsible for User Content.
6. Design Sessions & Attendance
Physical design sessions are held at Room 3034, CEDAT, Makerere University. Attendance may be tracked and used for leaderboard rankings, certificates, and internal reporting. We may cancel or reschedule sessions at our discretion; registered members will be notified.
7. Intellectual Property
All MDN branding, the gear logo, typography, original written content, and the codebase are the property of Mechanical Design Nexus unless otherwise indicated. You may not use our trademarks without prior written permission. Third-party software is licensed under its respective terms.
8. Fees
The core Platform is provided free of charge to MDN members. Specific premium features, workshops, or certifications may incur fees, which will be disclosed before purchase. All fees are non-refundable unless required by law.
9. Termination
We may suspend or terminate your account at any time for violation of these Terms, abuse of the Platform, or prolonged inactivity. You may delete your account at any time from your dashboard. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (IP, disclaimers, liability, governing law) will survive.
10. Disclaimers
The Platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the maximum extent permitted by law, MDN disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure.
11. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, MDN, its officers, and members shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits or data, arising out of or related to your use of the Platform. Our total aggregate liability shall not exceed UGX 500,000 or the amount you paid us in the preceding 12 months, whichever is greater.
12. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless MDN and Makerere University from any claims, damages, or expenses arising out of your User Content, your use of the Platform, or your violation of these Terms.
13. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Uganda. Disputes shall be resolved in the courts of Kampala, Uganda. If you are accessing the Platform from another jurisdiction, you are responsible for compliance with local law.
14. Changes to Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be announced via email and in-app notice at least 14 days before taking effect. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.
15. Contact
Mechanical Design Nexus
Room 3034, CEDAT, Makerere University
Kampala, Uganda
Email: mec.designnexus@gmail.com