EBRAINS Knowledge Graph Data Platform
Terms and Conditions for Service

Access to this EBRAINS Knowledge Graph Data Platform ("Platform") is provided to you under these terms and conditions for service and any amendments or supplements to them (collectively referred to as the "Terms & Conditions") that may be posted on the Platform from time to time. Your use of the Platform, or any other services or content provided through the Platform, shall be deemed to constitute your consent to be legally bound by the Terms & Conditions, which shall be enforceable in the same way as if you had signed the Terms & Conditions.

If you do not accept the Terms & Conditions you are not permitted to access or use the Platform to search, to submit, to post, or to download any materials found there-in.

Besides the law applicable to these Terms & Conditions, this Platform and data available on this Platform are also subject to European legislations and regulations as well as to the ethical principles of Horizon 2020, the EU Framework programme for research and innovation ( https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/).

1. Put at Disposal and Operation of Platform

   The Platform is put at disposal and operated by EBRAINS AISBL as the Coordinator of the HBP (" Coordinator").

2. Scope of the Terms & Conditions

   These Terms & Conditions govern all use of the Platform and all content, services and products available at or through the Platform, provided by:

   • kg.ebrains.eu
   • content hosted on object.cscs.ch linked from the above sites
3. Definition of Terms

   The following definitions include terms used in European legislations and regulations and introduce new ones, specific to this Platform.

   • Approved Use means the access to and use of Data Sets according to the license specified by with the Data Set Custodian. In the event that no license is clearly specified, not right to access or use is granted.
   • Beneficiary  means any party to the EBRAINS Agreements.
   • Consortium  means the group that consists of all the parties being part of the EBRAINS Agreements but does not include the European Commission (" EC").
   • Contributors.  Individuals and/or institutions that produce and make available Data Sets on the Platform to the Data Users.
   • Coordinator  means the intermediary between the Consortium and the EC as stated in the EBRAINS Agreements.
   • Data Set.  Digital data, either raw or derived, including but not limited to research and scientific data as well as metadata provided to the Platform by Contributors. Data Set may contain software and algorithms.
   • Data Set Custodian.  Party designated in the accompanying metadata of the Data Sets as the primary contact for each Data Set.
   • Data Set Identifier.  A unique data identifier number created by the information system for each Data Set and to be included with each Data Set for the purpose of tracking and ongoing identification of the same.
   • Data Subject.  A natural or legal person whose personal data (i.e. all information relating to an identified or identifiable person) is processed.
   • Data User.  Individual and/or institution to which access to Data Sets on the Platform is granted, subject to the acceptance of the Terms & Conditions by such individuals and/or the institutions, and which are the Beneficiaries, the EC, EU Institutions and other EU bodies as well as the EU Member States.
   • EBRAINS  European Brain Research INfrastructureS, is a collection of infrastructures addressing current and future challenges in brain research and brain-inspired sciences. EBRAINS integrated ICT tools and services help the research community collect, analyse, share, integrate and model data about the brain with the aim of better understanding the functioning of the human brain and its diseases. The EBRAINS portal, delivered by EBRAINS AISBL, Brussels, Belgium, is the entry-point for discovery and use of the services. Current EBRAINS services are delivered by the EU Human Brain Project and is open for inclusion of other infrastructures relevant for neuroscience.
   • HBP  is the Human Brain Project under the FET Integrated Project (FP7 Grant Agreement no. 604102, i.e. its ramp-up phase), and any following continuation of the project under Horizon 2020.
   • EBRAINS Agreements  mean the agreements concluded in respect of the EBRAINS, such as FP7 Grant Agreement no. 604102, the Consortium Agreement under the FP7 Grant Agreement no. 604102, the Framework Partnership Agreement no. 650003, and their subsequent agreements.
   • Personal Data  is defined as any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural or legal person, including institutions. An identifiable person is a person who can be identified, directly or indirectly, by reference to an identification number or factors specific to his or her physical, physiological, mental, economic, cultural or social identity. Personal Data does not include publicly available information that has not been combined with non-public Personal Data, nor does it include information that has been anonymized.
4. Access to Platform

   The Platform intends to provide functionality designed to enable and enhance collaboration and open science in the field of EBRAINS. All this research shall, as far as possible, be monitored to ensure the ethical use of data and responsible research and innovation with active roles for scientists, philosophers, ethicists, policy makers and members of society.

   Access to the Platform is reserved to Data Users for activities falling under the Approved Use only.

   Beneficiaries must also comply with the EBRAINS Agreements in their use of the Platform.

5. Login Credentials

   For some uses of the Platform, you may be prompted to create a user name and password or to use an existing HBP Identity account. You must keep your password secret and not give it to anyone else or let them use your account. You must inform us immediately if you suspect any unauthorized use of or access to your password or account.

   The Coordinator and the Beneficiaries that participated in the specific action related to the Platform will not be responsible if you suffer any harm or loss because you do not keep your password secret.

6. Contributor's Confirmations and Liabilities

   By submitting a Data Set for posting on the Platform, Data Custodian’s confirm that they:

   • are entitled to post and make available Data Sets for dissemination and use according to these Terms & Conditions;
   • make available the Data Sets on the Platform to any and all Data Users for the Approved Use and without limitation of time and place;
   • will maintain the Data Sets on the Platform for access and use according to these Terms & Conditions in the event of their resignation from the EBRAINS's Consortium;
   • provide Data Sets that comply with ethical, scientific and/or industrial best practices and institutional guidelines;
   • respect the general rule that Personal Data regarding patients, subjects or participants in clinical trials or other research should not be posted and are not available on the Platform. If this is not possible, Personal Data shall be anonymized to the greatest extent possible in light of the objectives of the Platform;
   • do not upload, make available and/or disseminate data, including Data Sets, on the Platform containing viruses, worms, spyware, malware or any other similar malicious programs;
   • allow the EC or Beneficiaries to use any materials, documents or information contained in the Data Sets for its communication and publicizing activities, provided that this use does not compromise the legitimate interests of the Contributor
   • do not submit any information or materials with the Data Sets that infringe or is capable of infringing third party rights, are libellous, obscene, threatening or otherwise unlawful;
   • agree to be audited for ethical compliance by subproject 12 of the HBP (cf. www.humanbrainproject.eu/ethics-and-society); and
   • are solely and entirely responsible and liable for their Data Sets.

   The Coordinator may at its discretion review compliance of the Contributors with these confirmations and liabilities. Non-compliant Data Sets may be removed from the Platform.

7. Terms on Use of Data Sets
   1. Rights of Access and Rights of Use

      Use of (including access to) the Data Sets by the Data Users is restricted to the Approved Use.  All datasets in the platform have explicit licensing conditions attached.  Data Users must follow the license attached to Data Set, including but not limited to, restrictions on commercial use, requirements for attribution or share-alike.  Data Sets are provided for use by Data Users only.  Any rights sub-license excluded, if not expressly allowed under license terms of Data Set.
      
      Software and algorithms contained in Data Sets are made available pursuant to the terms of their respective license agreements.

   2. Other Limitations of Use

      The following additional limitations apply to the use of the Data Sets by the Data Users:

      • Data Users may receive access to de-identified or aggregated Data Sets and in such cases, they will not attempt to establish the identity of, or attempt to contact any of the Data Subjects;
      • Data Users may not carry out any calculations, operations or transactions that may interrupt, destroy or restrict the functionality of the operation of the Platform or of any program, computer or means of telecommunications;
      • Data Users may not use the Data Sets for high risk activities such as the operation of nuclear facilities, air traffic control, or life support systems, where the use or failure of the Services could lead to death, personal injury, or environmental damage.
      • Data Users commit to require from anyone of their team who utilizes the Data Sets, or anyone with whom they share the Data Sets, to accept and comply with these Terms & Conditions; and
      • Data Users commit to comply with any additional rules and regulations imposed by their institutions and their institutional review board in accessing and using the Data Sets.
   3. Citation policy

      Citations are essential for encouraging researchers to release their datasets, models and software through the Platform or other scientific sharing platforms. Your citation may help them to get their next job or next grant and will ultimately encourage researchers to produce and release more useful open data and open source. Make science more reproducible and more efficient.

      Users which use content or services from the Platform to advance a scientific publication must follow the following citation policy:

      • For a dataset or model which is released under a Creative Commons license which includes "Attribution":
        Cite the dataset / model as defined in the provided citation instructions (“Cite dataset / model”) and - if available - also cite the primary publication listed

        or

        in cases where neither citation instructions nor a primary publication are provided, and only in such cases, the names of the contributors should be cited (Data / model provided by Contributor 1, Contributor 2, ..., and Contributor N).
      • For software, please cite as defined in the software's respective citation policy. If you can't identify a clear citation policy for the software in question, use the open source repository as the citation link.
      • For EBRAINS services which were key in attaining your results, please consider citing the corresponding software which the service relies on, including but not limited to:
        • EBRAINS Knowledge Graph, "https://kg.ebrains.eu"

      Failure to cite datasets, models, or software used in another publication or presentation would constitute scientific misconduct. Failure to cite datasets, models, or software used in a scientific publication must be corrected by an Erratum and correction of the given article if it was discovered post-publication.

8. Report of Misuse

   Any and all Data Users commit to report any use or disclosure of the Data Sets non-compliant with these Terms & Conditions of which they become aware as soon as possible, but at the latest within 15 days of becoming aware of such use or disclosure.

   Reports/disclosures should be submitted to the HBP Point of Registration at: www.hbp-pore.eu.

   Non-compliant Data Sets may be removed from the Platform.

9. Personal Data Policy

   The following privacy rules apply to any form of processing (including but not limited to collection, use and disclosure) of Personal Data through the Platform.

   This Personal Data Policy applies exclusively to this Platform and hence not to any other websites the Platform may refer to.

   1. Your consent

      By using the Platform, you acknowledge and consent that:

      • You provide only Personal Data as far as required and necessary (e.g. login credentials);
      • As far as you submit Personal Data of third parties (e.g. in Data Sets) to the Platform that you have informed them about the use of their Personal Data and that you are entitled, according to the applicable data protection regulation, to do so;
      • Personal Data provided by you may be disclosed for the use and the maintenance of the Platform to Data Users worldwide as long as they have implemented privacy and security practices consistent with this Terms and Conditions and with the EU General Data Protection Regulation; and
      • You will process Personal Data only for the use and the maintenance of the Platform as long as you have implemented privacy and security practices consistent with this Personal Data Policy.
   2. Passive Collection of Personal Data

      While you use the Platform, Personal Data may be recorded passively (i.e. without you actively providing them to us), e.g. through use of your Internet Protocol ( "IP") addresses and cookies ( "Passive Collection").

      1. Internet Protocol

         An IP address is a number which is allocated to your device by your internet service provider in order to enable you to access the Internet. Data is saved automatically when you browse the Platform, whereby it is possible that information indirectly related to your person is collected and combined with your person.

         This information is used to enhance your experience in using the Platform and is not shared with external parties except as aggregated statistics. In the case of aggregated statistics, no personal information or behavioral data is visible.

      2. Cookies

         To make this site work properly, we sometimes place small data files called cookies on your device.

         A cookie is a small text file that the Platform saves on your device when you visit the Platform. It enables the Platform to remember your actions and preferences (such as login, language, font size and other display preferences) over a period of time, so you do not have to keep re-entering them whenever you come back to the Platform.

         We may use cookies to remember:

         • if you have agreed (or not) to our use of cookies on the Platform; and
         • your display preferences, such as contrast color settings or font size.

         Furthermore, please note that we use Matomo hosted by the Human Brain Project as well as Google Tag Manager to monitor the traffic to our website.

         Enabling these cookies is not strictly necessary for the Platform to work but it will provide you with a better browsing experience. You can delete or block these cookies, but if you do that some features of the Platform may not work as intended.

         The cookie-related information is not used to identify you personally. These cookies are not used for any purpose other than those described here.

         You can control and/or delete cookies as you wish. For details, see www.aboutcookies.org. You can delete all cookies that are already on your device and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed. If you do this, however, you may have to manually adjust some preferences every time you visit the Platform and some services and functionalities may not work.

      3. Control on Personal Data

         You will always be able to check any of your Personal Data. This means that you can always (i) obtain information about your Personal Data on the Platform; (ii) request us to correct or update your Personal Data and (iii) request us to delete or block your Personal Data.

         Where we disclose Personal Data to domestic or international service providers (commissioned data processing) for the purpose of maintenance of the Platform, the service providers are not deemed third parties and are bound by contract to comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation and this Personal Data Policy.

         We will take appropriate measures to protect Personal Data from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, unauthorized disclosure, changes, deletion or destruction. Nevertheless, please note that the Internet and with that the Platform is never entirely secure or error-free. When sending your Personal Data electronically via the Platform, a secured internet connection (SSL) will be used for the transmission to your device. It is, however, your responsibility to take corresponding safeguard measures in the use of password etc.

10. Copyright

    The content, organization, graphics, design, compilation, magnetic translation, digital conversion and other matters related to the Platform are protected under applicable copyrights, trademarks and other proprietary (including but not limited to intellectual property) rights.

    Subject to statutory allowances, extracts of material from the site may be accessed, downloaded and printed within the Approved Use only.

11. Confidentiality

    Data Sets uploaded to the Platform and tagged for release in the curation workflow are considered non-confidential unless they have an embargo term explicitly set in their metadata in all cases. Even when the Data Set is embargoed, the Platform reserves the right to display metadata as non-confidential information to all Platform Users.

12. Termination and Liability

    The Data Sets, and any part thereof, as well as the Platform are provided for the Approved Use only.

    The Platform and the Data Sets are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. Please note that the Platform and the Data Sets may contain bugs, viruses, errors, problems or other limitations. To the extent permitted by law, the Coordinator and the Beneficiaries that participated in the specific action related to the Platform exclude any warranties (whether expressed or implied) for the Platform and the Data Sets. This includes, but is not limited to the disclaimer of any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose of the Platform or of any Data Set.

    Data Sets may contain advice, opinions, statements or other information by various authors or entities. Reliance upon any such advice, opinion, statement or other information is at your own risk.

    The Coordinator and the Beneficiaries that participated in the specific action related to the Platform disclaims, to the extent permitted by law, all liability and responsibility arising from any use of the Platform or the Data Sets. In particular, but not as a limitation thereof, the Coordinator is and the Beneficiaries that participated in the specific action related to the Platform are not liable for any damages (including damages for loss of business, loss of profits, litigation, or the like), whether based on breach of contract, breach of warranty, tort (including negligence), product liability or otherwise, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. The acknowledgment of exclusion of liability is an essential condition for the Coordinator and the Beneficiaries that participated in the specific action related to the Platform granting access to the Platform and to the Data Sets. This Platform and its services and/or information are provided to Data Users with these limitations only.

    The Coordinator reserves the right to discontinue at any time, temporarily or permanently, your ability to access the Platform as well as to upload Data Sets and/or access them with or without notice, at its sole discretion and for any reason whatsoever.

13. Applicable Law and Jurisdiction

    The substantive laws of Belgium, excluding any conflict of law rules, shall apply to any dispute arising out of the access and use of EBRAINS pursuant to these Terms of Use. The ordinary courts of Brussels (Belgium), shall have exclusive jurisdiction, subject to appeal, if any.

    Law and jurisdiction applicable to the Contributors, the Data Users and the Beneficiaries pursuant to the EBRAINS Agreements are expressly reserved.

14. Contact Us

    In case you have any queries, comments or concerns about these Terms & Conditions, please contact:

    support@ebrains.eu

15. Imprint

    This Platform is put at disposal and operated by:

    EBRAINS AISBL

    BE - 1170 Brussels