Terms of Use

Last updated: [November 13, 2023]

These terms of use (“Terms“) apply to your (“you”, “your” or “attendee”) use of and access to Elevate Toronto (“Elevate”, “we”, “us”, “our”) website at elevatefestival.ca (the “Site“), the festival mobile application made available by a third party vendor (the “App”), and the online registration, attendance and/or participation at the annual Elevate Festival (“Festival”) hosted by us (all of the above collectively the “Services”). 

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY AS THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES. THESE TERMS AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, REMEDIES, AND OBLIGATIONS. BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SERVICES, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, THEN YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO USE OUR SERVICES.

If you are registering or purchasing tickets on behalf of another person, it is your obligation to make sure that the person attending is aware of these Terms and accepts them. By completing and submitting the registration online and purchasing tickets you are representing and warranting that you have made the person attending aware of these Terms and that they have accepted these Terms.

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time without incurring any liability or obligation. See below under the heading “Modification of The Terms” for more information.

ELEVATE TORONTO

These Terms are between you and Elevate Toronto, a not-for-profit organization, with an office located at 234 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5K 1B2. 

WHAT WE DO

We are organizers of an annual technology and innovation festival known as “Elevate Festival”.

PART A – ELEVATE FESTIVAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Tickets And Pricing

You will find details of attendee ticket (“ticket(s)” or “Elevate Festival Pass”) pricing for the Festival on our Site. Ticket prices for the Festival are correct and current at the time of publication. All fees are stated in Canadian dollars and are exclusive of all applicable federal and provincial taxes. Payments are processed through a third-party payment processing service with which we have a contractual relationship. We expressly disclaim any liability arising out of your use of the third party’s payment processing services.

We reserve the right to change the ticket prices at any time without any notice but any changes will not affect tickets that have already been purchased.

A valid ticket entitles you to entry to the Festival as an attendee but does not include any requirements associated with travel to or from the Festival or any other accommodation or hospitality costs incurred.

All tickets must be assigned to an attendee. This includes name, job title (if applicable), and company/business name (if applicable). If you have secured a complimentary ticket but have already bought a ticket, you are not eligible for a refund.

Discounts

We may from time to time offer certain discounted ticket promotions or promotional codes to encourage attendance at the Festival. We are not obligated to offer any discounts or promotional codes for the Festival and reserve the right to change or withdraw a discount offer or promotional code at any time at our sole discretion.

Age Limitation

All attendees must be eighteen (18) years of age or older to attend Festival and all related events, unless otherwise stated. Some events may require attendees to be nineteen (19) years of age or older.

Delivery Policy

Once a successful purchase transaction has been completed on the Site, you will need to download the APP from the Apple App Store or Google Play to retrieve your tickets. The Elevate Festival Passes act as a receipt for the transaction and can be used to redeem entry at the Festival.

Tickets 

Once you have purchased your Elevate Festival Pass, you are not eligible for a refund. 

If you wish to change the name on your Elevate Festival Pass, you will be able to do so until September 23, 2024 at 5:00 PM (EST) which will be facilitated free of charge, after which date you will be unable to transfer your ticket. 

Your ticket remains the property of Elevate, which may be withdrawn, and admission refused at any time upon a refund of the printed registration price.

The tickets (including any subsidized tickets) purchased are for your own personal use, or that of your business only, and may not be resold under any circumstances including, but not limited to, use as part of any promotion or competition undertaken without the express prior permission and cooperation of Elevate. Where there has been any resale or attempted resale of any tickets (or any other breach of this term), Elevate reserves the right to cancel the relevant tickets with immediate effect. 

Elevate reserves the right to refuse any order for tickets you place with us. We may, in our sole discretion, limit or cancel quantities of tickets purchased per person, per household or per order. These restrictions may include orders placed by or under the same attendee account, the same credit card, and/or orders that use the same billing and/or shipping address. In the event that we make a change to or cancel an order, we may attempt to notify you by contacting the e-mail provided at the time the order was made.  We reserve the right to limit or cancel any ticket purchase made by any person or body whom we reasonably believe to be associated with any ticket broker, resellers, or distributors. 

You agree to provide current, complete, and accurate purchase and account information for registration and ticket purchases. You agree to promptly update your information, including your email address and credit card numbers and expiration dates, so that we can complete your transactions and contact you as needed.

Elevate will not be liable for any tickets that are lost or stolen.

It is strictly forbidden for any company, organization, or attendee to attempt to host or organize any event in conjunction with, contiguous to, or purporting to be related to Elevate (or any of its affiliates) without the express prior permission and cooperation of Elevate. 

If you have been selected to volunteer at the event but have already bought a ticket, you are not eligible for a refund.

Event Cancellation, Postponement & Substitution Policy

Elevate is not responsible for any loss, liability, or damage as a result of a substitution, alteration, cancellation or postponement of the Festival, or an event within the Festival. However, in the unlikely event of cancellation of the Festival, or an event within the Festival, the liability of Elevate is limited to the share of paid registration fees that remains after credit card and payment processing fees have been incurred and deducted.

COVID-19. The Festival is an in-person event but we understand that this may change due to the on-going changes and demands related to COVID-19. We value your safety and peace of mind while attending the Festival. In the event that the Festival is affected by COVID-19 and/or any variants, we will use our best efforts to work collaboratively with our partners and sponsors, to provide a safe alternative for you to attend the Festival.  

Safety Measures. There is an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 and any variants in any public space where people are present. COVID-19 (including any variants) is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death. By attending the Festival, you voluntarily assume all risks and liability related to any possible exposure to COVID-19 and its variants. Elevate and its partners and sponsors, and each of our directors, officers, employees, volunteers, and agents are not liable for your exposure to COVID-19 and its variants.

Force Majeure. Elevate shall assume no liability whatsoever in the circumstances that an event is cancelled, rescheduled, altered, or postponed due to a fortuitous event, Act of God, unforeseen occurrence, or any other event that renders performance of an event impracticable, illegal, or impossible. For purposes of this clause, a fortuitous event shall include, but not be limited to pandemic, endemic, governmental orders, war, fire, labour strike, extreme weather, or another emergency. 

Substitution Policy. Please note that while schedules of events, presenters and topics are confirmed at the time of publishing, circumstances beyond the control of Elevate may necessitate changes in schedules, and substitutions, alterations, or cancellations of schedules of events, presenters and/or topics. As such, Elevate, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to alter, remove or modify the advertised presenters, scheduling of events and/or topics if necessary without any notice or any liability to you whatsoever. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any substitutions, alterations, postponement, or changes will be updated on our Site as soon as possible.

Festival Mobile Application 

Elevate uses the App, which is provided by a third-party provider, Bizzabo, for the purpose of the Festival.  After purchasing the tickets on our Site, you must download the App from the Apple App Store or Google Play to retrieve your Elevate Festival Pass and to access other services provided by the App for the purpose of the Festival. You will complete a profile on the App, which may be discoverable and visible in the APP to Elevate, other attendees, presenters, sponsors, and partners. 

App Messaging. We may permit you to send messages and other communications to us or to other users via the App (“Messages”). You are solely responsible for your Messages and the consequences of sending them, and expressly release us and agree to hold us harmless, from all and any liability arising from your Messages. You consent to the use, store, and reproduce your Messages for the limited purpose of facilitating them to your chosen recipients. You represent and warrant that your Messages will not infringe any intellectual property rights or third-party rights of others. You acknowledge and agree that our Code of Conduct (see below heading under “Code of Conduct”) shall also apply to Messages that you send. You may not use your username, display name, or profile bio to engage in any practice prohibited by these Terms.

Use of App. To attend the Festival, you consent to the use of the App. You do so entirely at your own risk. You should review all of Bizzabo’s policies, procedures and terms and conditions, including but not limited to its Privacy Policy prior to deciding to use or access the App: https://www.bizzabo.com/. If you do not agree with any Bizzabo’s policies, procedures, terms, and conditions, you must not use or access the App. Please contact Elevate to determine an alternative method of retrieving your tickets.

Your Contribution

We may permit your sharing and publishing of your content related to the Festival (such as workshop or other public contributions to the Festival) subject to these Terms and our Privacy Policy (“Contribution”) and you grant us a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual right to use your Contribution in relation to the Festival. You understand that you are responsible for your Contribution and it may be publicly available and you agree to waive any moral rights in your Contribution. We have discretion whether to publish your Contribution and we reserve the right without further notice to you, to monitor, censor, edit, remove, and/or delete any and all of your Contribution at any time which we believe to be in violation of these Terms or Code of Conduct. We reserve the right to access, read, preserve and disclose any your Contribution or any other information that we obtain in connection with the Festival as we reasonably believe is necessary to: (i) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, subpoena or governmental request; (ii) enforce these Terms, including investigation of potential violations of it; (iii) detect, prevent or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues; (iv) respond to your user support requests; or (v) protect the rights, property or safety of us, our sponsors, partners, presenters, employees, staff, attendees, or the public.

Festival Materials and Views of Presenters

Materials shared or distributed at or in connection with the Festival are intended for information purposes only and should not be relied upon by you or others. Elevate and its sponsors, partners, and each of our directors, officers, employees, volunteers, and agents do not provide any guarantees, conditions, or warranties that the materials are complete or accurate and do not accept any responsibility or liability for reliance by you or any person on any aspect of the Festival and/or any information provided at the Festival.

You acknowledge and agree that views expressed by presenters at or in connection with the Festival are their own and Elevate does not accept any responsibility or liability for any advice given or views expressed during or in connection with the Festival.

Photography, Videography, And Audio Recording 

By attending the Festival, you acknowledge and agree that the Festival (or any part of it) may be photographed or recorded by us or our partners or sponsors. You agree to permit us, our sponsors, partners or any third party licensed by us, to use, distribute, broadcast, or otherwise globally disseminate your likeness, name, voice, and words in perpetuity in television, radio, film, newspapers, magazines, and other media now available and hereafter developed, both before, during and any time after the Festival, and in any form, without any further approval from you or any payment to you. This grant includes, but is not limited to, the right to edit the media, the right to use the media (alone or together with other information), and the right to allow others to use or distribute the media.

If you do not agree to be filmed or recorded, you should advise Elevate by email: [email protected] prior to the Festival. Elevate will use reasonable efforts to not film or record you, but cannot guarantee you will not be filmed or recorded at the Festival, which is a public event. Notwithstanding the above, Elevate and its partners and sponsors will not be held accountable for any liability to you if you are recorded or filmed at the Festival. 

Insurance

You are responsible for arranging your own appropriate insurance coverage in connection with your attendance at the Festival. 

Visa, Travel, Accommodation And Other Expenses 

Elevate will not be liable for the granting of any visas that are required to attend the Festival. It is your sole responsibility to take any visa requirements into consideration. You may request a visa invitation letter once you have purchased a ticket to Festival by completing our request form.

In the event that an attendee’s visa is not granted, please submit proof to [email protected] to request a refund of your Festival ticket.

Elevate is not liable or responsible for any costs incurred by you attending the Festival, which includes but is not limited to travel, accommodation, hospitality, and any other expenses. You are solely responsible for your own travel, accommodation, hospitality, and any other expenses required for you to attend the Festival. 

Ticket/Registration Contact

For inquiries about tickets or registration, please contact [email protected].

Code Of Conduct

Elevate believes in building a community where global ideas may thrive and opportunity for collaboration and education are enlivened. We believe that diversity is a tremendous source of strength and that our communities, workplaces, and governments are made stronger by including the voices of everyone. We do not believe in “polite accommodation,” but rather creating an environment that reflects the diversity of our community in regard to: age, sexual orientation, race, language, economic position, ability, religion, etc. We believe that all persons have the right to respect, as well as fair and equitable treatment from others. Elevate does not tolerate violence, mistreatment, or harassment — verbal, physical, sexual, or otherwise — towards staff, volunteers, sponsors, guests, presenters, partners, or other attendees at any of our festivals or events. Should the comfort or safety of any of our staff, volunteers, guests, or partners be in question, immediate action will be taken. 

Elevate expects all staff, volunteers, guests, presenters, sponsors, and partners to conduct themselves in a professional and appropriate manner at all times. If an individual is found to:

  • violate these rules of conduct; 
  • behave in a manner that could disrupt, hinder; 
  • cause a nuisance to the Festival or to the enjoyment of any other person, partner, or sponsor; or 
  • represent a security, health and safety risk to the Festival or any other person, partner, or sponsor, 

Elevate, in its sole discretion, may sanction, refuse admittance to or remove the individual from the Festival, without a refund, and appropriate legal action may be filed.

Elevate, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to sell or refuse admission to the Festival or any events related to the Festival for any behaviour which it deems unacceptable, or for breach of these Terms.

Service Animals

Please note there are no pets or animals permitted at the Festival, except service animals.

PART B – ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

No Unlawful or Prohibited Use

You agree that you will not, without Elevate’s prior written permission, use the Services or the materials published or otherwise accessible through the Services including but not limited to Festival materials, articles, blogs, opinions, photographs, images, illustrations, information, content, reports, data, databases, graphics, interfaces, web pages, videos, text, and files (“Content”) for purposes other than your own personal non-commercial use and benefit. 

Except as expressly provided in these Terms, any reproduction, retransmission, distribution, sale, republication, modification, translation of or creation of derivative works based on the Services or the Content, in whole or in part, and any decompilation, disassembly, reverse engineering or other exploitation of the Services, without prior written permission, is strictly prohibited.

By using the Services and Content, you further agree that:

  1. You will not send, upload, collect, transmit, store, use, post, publish, or otherwise communicate any data, or other materials or content that:
    1. you know or have reason to believe contains any computer viruses, worms, malicious code, or any software intended to damage or alter a computer system or data;
    2. you do not have the lawful right to send, upload, collect, transmit, store, use, publish or otherwise communicate;
    3. is false, intentionally misleading or impersonates any other person;
    4. is harmful, discriminatory, criminal or that violates our Code of Conduct in any way whatsoever;
    5. violates any applicable laws, or infringes, violates, or otherwise misappropriates the intellectual property or other rights of any third party (including any moral right, privacy right or right of publicity); 
    6. is mass solicitation material without intent or purpose, such as spam; or
    7. encourages any conduct that may violate any applicable laws or would give rise to civil or criminal liability; 
  2. You will not use the Services and Content for any purpose that is unlawful;
  3. You will comply with all applicable laws including the laws of the area in which you are present while using the Services and Content; and 
  4. You will not use the Services and Content other than as permitted by these Terms.

Errors, Inaccuracies, and Omissions

Occasionally there may be Content available or accessible through the Services that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies or omissions that may relate to the Festival, product/ticket descriptions, pricing, promotions, offers, transit times and availability. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions, and to change or update information or cancel orders if any information made available through our Services is inaccurate at any time without prior notice (including after you have submitted your order).

Intellectual Property Ownership

Elevate alone (and our sponsors, partners, and third-party licensors, where applicable) shall own all rights, title, and interest, including all related intellectual property rights, in and to the Content and to the Services and any Contribution, suggestions, ideas, enhancement requests, feedback, recommendations or other information provided by you or any other party relating to the Services and Content. 

These Terms do not constitute a sale and do not convey to you any rights of ownership in or related to the Content and Services, or any intellectual property rights owned by Elevate. Elevate name, logo, and the product names associated with the Content and Services are trademarks of Elevate, our partners, sponsors or other third parties, where applicable, and no right or license is granted to use them.

​

Third Party Links and Tools

The Site and App may contain links to third party sites or tools. Such links are not under our control and we are not responsible for and make no representations, warranties or conditions concerning the content of any such third-party sites or tools. You acknowledge that the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, investigation, or verification by us of the linked site or tool. We shall have no liability whatsoever arising from or relating to your use of any third-party links and tools.

When you access such linked sites or tools, you are doing so at your own risk and you are subject to the privacy policy, terms of use and any other agreement associated with or specific to that site or tool.

No Advice

The Services and Content provided to you is for informational and demonstrative purposes only and may not be relied upon as professional, legal, or other advice. You are responsible for obtaining appropriate advice from external sources prior to acting upon any Content available, obtained or accessed through our Services. 

Privacy 

From time to time, you may provide us with personal information through your communications and through the use of the Services. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. 

Personal Information Shared with Elevate’s Sponsors and Partners

The Festival is being sponsored. We collect the following personal information upon your registration for the Festival, which includes but is not limited to: first and last name, email address, job title, company, city, country etc. and share such information with all our sponsors and partners for direct marketing, research, and business analytics only with your consent. 

Termination

We reserve the right, without notice and in our sole discretion, to terminate your use of the Services and Content, and to block or prevent future access to and use of the Services and Content if you violate any of the Terms. Upon termination, the Terms shall continue to apply.

In the event of a breach of these Terms, any tickets purchased will be rendered null and void. Elevate reserves their right to take such legal action, including a claim for damages, as may be appropriate.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES AND CONTENT IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICES AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” ONLY, WITH NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS WHATSOEVER. IN NO EVENT WILL ELEVATE, OUR SPONSORS, PARTNERS, LICENSORS AND EACH OF OUR DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL,  PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF OR ACCESS TO SERVICES OR YOUR RELIANCE ON THE CONTENT IN THE COURSE OF PROVIDING YOU SERVICES OR LINKS OR TOOLS FROM THE SITE AND APP OR VIOLATION BY YOU OF THESE TERMS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF A FUNDAMENTAL TERM, FUNDAMENTAL BREACH, OR OTHERWISE. 

TO THE EXTENT THAT THE FOREGOING LIMITATION IS NOT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH OR UNDER THESE TERMS, OR YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO MAKE USE OF, THE SERVICES AND CONTENT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF ONE TICKET PURCHASE PRICE AFTER CREDIT CARD AND PAYMENT PROCESSING FEES HAVE BEEN INCURRED AND IN CANADIAN CURRENCY. FOR GREATER CERTAINTY, THE EXISTENCE OF ONE OR MORE CLAIMS UNDER THESE TERMS WILL NOT INCREASE THIS MAXIMUM LIABILITY AMOUNT. 

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify Elevate, our sponsors, partners, licensors and each of our directors, officers, volunteers, employees, and agents and hold them harmless from any and all claims, liabilities, costs, damages, losses, and expenses, including legal fees and costs, arising out of or in connection with (i) any violation or breach of these Terms or any applicable law or regulation; (ii) use or misuse of the Services and Content; and (iii) your violation of any rights of any third party. 

Modification to the Services

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion to change or update, suspend, or terminate the Services (including without limitation, the availability of any feature, database, or Content) at any time. We may also impose limits on certain features and Services and Content or restrict your access to parts or all of the Services without notice or liability.

Modification to the Terms

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace any of these Terms. If we change these Terms, we will provide notice to you by posting the revised Terms on our Site and by indicating at the top of this page the date these Terms were last updated. Such changes will be effective when the revised Terms are posted to our Site. 

You should check the Terms frequently for any revisions, and especially before your use of our Services. By continuing to access or use our Services after those revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the new Terms, in whole or in part, please stop using our Services. 

Entire Agreement

The Terms (including any referenced documents such as the Elevate Privacy Policy) constitute the entire agreement between you and Elevate and governs your use of the Services and Content, superseding any prior version of these Terms between you and us. 

Assignment

You may not assign your rights under these Terms without prior written approval of Elevate.

Waiver and Severability of Terms

The failure of Elevate to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of the Terms is found by a court of competent jurisdiction or arbitrator to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court or arbitrator should endeavour to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Terms remain in full force and effect.

Governing Law

The Terms are governed by the laws of Ontario, Canada and these laws apply to your use of the Services and Content, notwithstanding your domicile, residency, or physical location. Any dispute between you and Elevate which cannot be resolved will be referred to the court of Ontario, Canada and to no other place.  You agree to be bound by the laws of these jurisdictions.

Contacting Us

For more information about these Terms, please contact events@elevate.ca.