Association OYA — Conservation for the Next Generation!

Oya is a small Swiss association working on plant conservation for the next generation. These Terms set out the simple ground rules for using our site — what you can do here, what we ask you not to do, and what each of us is responsible for. They are written in plain English; the underlying law is Swiss.

In short: by using oyatees.org you agree to these Terms. You can read and share our content for personal, non-commercial purposes. Please don’t try to break the site, scrape it, or use our name and logo for your own fundraising. Donation functionality is not yet live on this site — when it is, these Terms will be updated to cover it. If a dispute ever arises, Swiss law applies and the courts of Geneva have jurisdiction, subject to any mandatory consumer-protection rules in your country.

These Terms apply to oyatees.org, to any sub-domain, micro-site, or campaign page we run, to any mobile or digital application we publish, and to any other site or service we operate that links to them (together, the “site”). They do not replace any other agreement you may have with Oya. If you are using the site on behalf of an organisation, you are confirming that you have the authority to accept these Terms for that organisation, and that the organisation agrees to stand behind your use of the site and to indemnify Oya for any breach.

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be highlighted on the site, and the “Last updated” date at the foot of this page tells you when they were most recently revised. Updates take effect when they are posted and, where the law of your country requires it, after we have given you prior notice. If you keep using the site after a change, you are accepting the new version. If you don’t agree with a change, please stop using the site.

Oya is a non-profit association governed by Articles 60 and following of the Swiss Civil Code, with its registered seat in Geneva, Switzerland. Our mission is to provide a platform for global plant conservation for the benefit of future generations. Oya is registered with the Geneva tax authority (Administration fiscale cantonale, AFC) under reference number 080.124.424, and has been recognised as tax-exempt since 12 July 2019 (ref. CN-DAR 019050246). In these Terms we refer to ourselves as “Oya,” “we,” “us,” or “our.”

We control and operate the site from Switzerland. We make no claim that the content is appropriate or available for use in places where it would be unlawful, and access from any such place is not permitted. If you choose to use the site from elsewhere, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for following the laws that apply to you locally.

The official language of these Terms is English. Any translation we make available is for convenience only; in case of any discrepancy, the English text prevails.

The site is intended for people who are at least 16 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into binding agreements where they live. By using the site, you confirm that this is true of you. If you are under 16, please use the site only with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian.

We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable right to access and use the site for lawful, informational, and (when the functionality is launched) donation-related purposes. You may read our content, share links to publicly accessible pages, and write to us. That is the spirit of what is on offer.

When you are on the site, you agree not to (and not to help anyone else):

• use the site in any way that breaks Swiss law or any other law that applies to you;
• interfere with the operation, security, or integrity of the site, or of any system or infrastructure behind it;
• try to gain unauthorised access to any part of the site, to any related system, or to any account;
• introduce viruses, worms, trojans, malware, or any other harmful code;
• use robots, spiders, scrapers, or other automated tools to access the site, except for legitimate search-engine indexing that respects our robots.txt;
• collect or harvest information about other users, or send unsolicited communications;
• reproduce, modify, distribute, sell, lease, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, publish, or create derivative works from any of our content, except where these Terms or Swiss copyright law expressly allow it (in particular Article 19 of the Swiss Federal Act on Copyright and Related Rights, “CopA”);
• use the Oya name, logo, visual identity, or trademarks for any commercial or fundraising purpose without our prior written consent; or
• misrepresent your identity or pretend to be affiliated with Oya when you are not.

All the content published on the site — text, graphics, logos, photographs, illustrations, designs, sound files, video files, the “OYA” word mark, and any associated visual identity (together, the “Content”) — belongs to Oya or to its licensors and is protected by Swiss copyright law and by the international treaties Switzerland is party to.

Within these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable licence to view and use the Content for your personal, non-commercial information, and to share links to publicly accessible pages of the site. Anything else — reproduction, public communication, modification, translation, adaptation, or commercial use — needs our prior written consent.

Names, logos, and product designs on the site that belong to third parties (for example, partner artists, payment service providers, or suppliers) remain the property of those owners and appear with permission or in accordance with applicable law.

We do not currently host user-generated content on the site. If you nevertheless send us comments, suggestions, ideas, photographs, or other materials — by email, through a form, or in any other way — you agree that the submission is made on a non-confidential and royalty-free basis, and that Oya may use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, and distribute it, in whole or in part, in any form, medium, or technology, in connection with our charitable mission, without payment to you. You also confirm that you own or have the right to share what you send, and that our use of it as described above will not infringe anyone’s rights.

If what you send contains personal information about other people, please make sure you have the authority to share it.

Oya does not currently process donations through this site. When donation functionality is launched, these Terms will be updated to identify the donation platform and payment service providers we use (currently expected to be PayPal and TWINT) and to describe the related processing.

When donations do go live, the following will apply. Donations made through the site will be voluntary and will be processed by independent third-party payment service providers. By donating, you will also be agreeing to the terms and conditions of the relevant payment provider, alongside these Terms.

All donation amounts will be denominated in Swiss francs (CHF) unless another currency is expressly indicated. Donations will be non-refundable, except where Swiss law requires otherwise or where you can show that a donation was made in error. Refund requests can be sent to info@oyatees.org within 30 days of the transaction and will be reviewed case-by-case.

Oya is exempt from cantonal and federal taxation in Switzerland (AFC ref. CN-DAR 019050246, 12 July 2019). Donations made by donors who are tax-resident in the Canton of Geneva are generally tax-deductible within the limits set by Article 9(2)(i) of the Federal Act on the Harmonisation of Direct Taxes (LHID) and Article 37 of the Geneva Cantonal Tax Act (LIPP). Tax deductibility for donors in other Swiss cantons or in other countries depends on local rules — please consult your tax adviser.

Tax-deduction receipts can be requested from info@oyatees.org and will be issued in the name of the donor recorded by the payment provider. We do not provide goods or services in exchange for donations, and donations do not create any contractual relationship beyond the donation itself, nor any membership rights in the association.

The site is built using the GoDaddy Website Builder and is hosted by GoDaddy.com, LLC. It may also include links to third-party websites, social-media platforms, articles, videos, or other resources. We do not control, endorse, or take responsibility for any third-party content, product, or service. Your interactions with any third party are governed by that third party’s own terms and privacy policy. We encourage you to read those before engaging.

The site and everything on it is provided “as is” and “as available,” without representations or warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, to the maximum extent permitted by Swiss law. In plain terms, we cannot promise that the site will always be available, on time, secure, or free of errors; that the content is complete, accurate, up-to-date, or fit for any particular purpose; that any defect will be fixed within a specific time; or that the site is free of viruses or other harmful components.

Information on the site is provided for general information only. It is not legal, financial, tax, or professional advice — please do not act, or refrain from acting, on the basis of what you read here without seeking proper professional advice.

To the maximum extent permitted by Article 100 of the Swiss Code of Obligations and any other mandatory provision of Swiss law, neither Oya nor our officers, members, volunteers, employees, or advisers will be liable for:

• any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of profit, loss of data, loss of goodwill, or business interruption;
• damage caused by interruption of, or unavailability of, the site or of any third-party service we rely on;
• damage caused by viruses, malware, or other harmful components transmitted through the site despite the security measures we have in place; or
• damage resulting from your reliance on any information published on the site.
• Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for damage caused intentionally or by gross negligence, for death or personal injury, or for any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under mandatory Swiss law or under the mandatory consumer-protection law of your place of residence.

You agree to indemnify Oya and hold us harmless from and against any claim, demand, loss, liability, damage, or cost (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in connection with your breach of these Terms, your misuse of the site, or your violation of any applicable law or any right of a third party.

Your use of the site is also covered by our Privacy Policy, which is part of these Terms by reference and which explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. By using the site, you confirm that you have read the Privacy Policy.

We may, at our sole discretion, suspend, terminate, or restrict your access to all or part of the site at any time and without prior notice, if we believe that you have broken these Terms or any applicable law, or if we think it is necessary to protect the site, Oya, or any third party.

The sections of these Terms that by their nature should outlast termination — including those on Words, images, and the things we make; If you send us something; What we don’t promise; The limits of our responsibility; If something goes wrong because of you; and Applicable law and where disputes go — will survive termination.

Severability. If any part of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the rest stays in force, and the invalid part will be replaced by a valid provision that comes as close as possible to the original intent.

No waiver. If we don’t enforce a right or provision of these Terms straight away, we are not giving it up.

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any other notice or policy expressly published on the site, are the complete agreement between you and Oya in relation to your use of the site, and replace any earlier or contemporaneous agreement, communication, or understanding on the subject.

These Terms, and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with them, are governed by Swiss substantive law, to the exclusion of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) of 11 April 1980 and of any conflict-of-laws rules that would lead to the application of another law.

Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms or the use of the site falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the ordinary courts of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland, subject to appeal to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.

If you are a consumer resident in the European Union, the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction whose mandatory consumer-protection rules cannot be derogated from by agreement, the choice of law and forum above does not deprive you of the protection of mandatory provisions of the law of your country of habitual residence. EU consumers may also use the European Commission’s online dispute-resolution platform at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr where it is available.

We do not require, and these Terms do not impose, mandatory binding arbitration. Mediation through a recognised Swiss mediation service may be proposed by either of us as a voluntary first step before going to court.

These Terms apply to oyatees.org and to any sub-domain, micro-site, campaign page, or mobile or digital application that we operate from time to time and that links to them. If we launch another site or application that has its own specific terms, those terms will be made available on that site or application and will prevail over these Terms in case of conflict, but only in relation to that site or application.

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our activities, in technology, or in the law. The “Last updated” date at the foot of these Terms will tell you when they were most recently revised. Material changes will be highlighted on the site. Earlier versions are kept on file by Oya and can be requested by writing to info@oyatees.org.

Questions about these Terms, or anything else? Write to us at info@oyatees.org. We are a small team in Geneva and we read everything that comes in.

D. Hill

c/o Association OYA — Conservation for the Next Generation

Geneva, Switzerland · AFC reference 080.124.424

Email: info@oyatees.org · Website: www.oyatees.org

Last updated: 11 May 2026