Collections Data Sharing and Data Use Agreements

Background:

The institutions providing collections data to the Paleontology Portal are willing to make their data available for scientific research and for public information and education. Data providers may participate in several data sharing arrangements at different levels (thematic, community, national, global). Data sharing should take place within a framework of due attribution.

Therefore, collections data are provided in the Paleontology Portal on the basis of the following agreements:

1. Data Sharing Agreements
   • Collections data accessible via the Paleontology Portal are available to all users via the Internet within the framework of the Paleontology Portal Data Use Agreement and with the terms and conditions that the data provider has identified in its metadata.
   • The Paleontology Portal does not assert any intellectual property rights in the data made available through its network.
   • The data provider warrants that they are the owners of the data or that they have made the necessary agreements with the owners of the data to make the data available through the Paleontology Portal network.
   • The data provider makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the data they serve are accurate.
   • Responsibility for shielding sensitive data resides with the data provider.
   • The data provider includes a stable and unique identifier in their data records.
   • The Paleontology Portal is not responsible for data content or the use of the data.
   • The Paleontology Portal is not liable or responsible, nor are its employees or contractors, for the data contents; or for any loss, damage, claim, cost or expense however it may arise, from an inability to use the Paleontology Portal network.
2. Data Use Agreements
   • The quality and completeness of data accessed through the Paleontology Portal cannot be guaranteed. Users employ these data at their own risk, and are encouraged to personally verify data before using them as a basis for analysis or publication.
   • Users must comply with additional terms and conditions of use set by the data provider. Where these exist they will be available through the metadata associated with the data.
   • In order to make attribution of use for owners of the data possible, the identifier of ownership of data must be retained with every data record.
   • Users must publicly acknowledge, in conjunction with the use of the data, the data providers whose paleontology collections data they have used. Individual data providers may specify additional guidelines for attribution.
   • Users shall respect restrictions of access to sensitive data.
3. Definitions
   • Collections Data: Primary data on specimens held in a paleontology collection.
   • Metadata: Data describing the attributes of collections data.
   • Data: Collections data and metadata.
   • Data sharing: The process of and agreements for making data freely and universally available on the Internet.
   • Data provider: A custodian of data making it available to the Paleontology Portal. This may or may not be the data owner.
   • User: Anyone who uses the Internet to access data through the Paleontology Portal.
   • Owner of data: The legal entity possessing the rights resulting from the act of creating a digital record. The record may be a product derived from another, possibly non-digital product, which may affect the right.
   • Sensitive data: Any data that the data provider does not want to make available, e.g. precise localities of rare fossil specimens.

This document (draft status as of 10/12/2004) is based heavily on the GBIF Interim Data Sharing Agreement, and the GBIF Interim Data Use Agreement.