scholars.forum

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Terms of use

Effective date: 17 February 2026

Counsellor Comma by John Harris

Summary

What is scholars.forum?
A platform where academic scholars create public profiles, upload CVs and publications, connect with colleagues and use search and recommendation features.
Who can join?
Institutionally-affiliated scholars who can form a contract in their country and who confirm they have rights to the materials they upload.
What you keep vs. what you give us
You keep copyright in what you upload. By posting it you allow scholars.forum to host, display, index and use it to run and improve the site. You can still download content for personal, non-commercial use.
Rules
Don’t post illegal, infringing, false or private information about others. Don’t scrape or harvest other users’ data.
If someone claims your upload infringes their rights: We follow an EU notice‑and‑takedown process; you’ll get a chance to respond. Repeat infringers may be suspended.
Privacy
We collect and process personal data as described in our Privacy Policy; you have GDPR rights (access, rectification, deletion, portability, objection). See our Privacy Policy for details and how to contact our DPO.
Changes & contact
We may update the Terms with notice; keep your contact details up to date. Questions? Contact support@scholars.forum.

Introduction

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your use of the website, mobile apps and related services operated by scholars.forum (“we”, “us”, “our”) which enable academic scholars to create web profiles, upload CVs and publications, link identifiers (e.g., ORCID), and connect with other researchers. By using the Services you accept these Terms. This document is binding on you as a user.

Definitions

Services
the website, apps, APIs, and features provided by scholars.forum.
Member Content
any profile text, CVs, publications, images, links, comments or other content you upload or submit.
Controller / Processor as used for data protection: see Privacy Policy.

Eligibility

You must be able to form a binding contract in your jurisdiction and be at least the age required by local law to use the Services. You represent that information you provide is lawful and that you have rights to upload any Member Content.

Account registration & security

You must provide accurate information and keep it up to date. You are responsible for account security and all activity under your account. Notify us promptly of unauthorized use. We may permit sign-on via third-party identity services (e.g., ORCID, institutional SSO) and will access only the data you authorize.

Member Content — responsibilities & warranties

You retain ownership of the rights in Member Content you submit. By submitting Member Content you warrant you have the necessary rights and consents, and that content does not violate third-party rights or applicable law. You must not post false academic credentials, defamatory, illegal, or infringing content.

Licenses

User → Site license: By posting Member Content you grant [SiteName] a worldwide, non-exclusive, transferable license to use, host, copy, display, distribute, adapt, and otherwise process the Member Content to provide and improve the Services (including indexing, search, and AI-assisted features). You may revoke certain permissions where technically feasible, but copies cached or distributed may persist as described in these Terms.

Site → User license: We grant you a limited, non-exclusive license to access and use the Services and content for personal and non-commercial scholarly purposes except where content is explicitly licensed otherwise.

Acceptable use & prohibited activities

You agree not to:

  • Upload content that infringes IP rights, violates privacy or is unlawful.
  • Use scraping, data harvesting, automated bots or bypass rate limits to collect other users’ data.
  • Use the Services to train third-party AI models or create benchmark datasets without our written permission.
  • Attempt to circumvent our security or reverse-engineer the Services.

We may remove content, suspend or terminate accounts for violations and will cooperate with law enforcement as required.

We operate a notice‑and‑takedown process consistent with the EU E‑Commerce Directive, the Digital Services Act (DSA) and applicable member‑state law. When we receive a valid infringement notice we may remove or disable access to the content and will notify both the reporter and the content uploader, including information about options to challenge the removal consistent with the DSA. Repeat infringers may be suspended or terminated.

Privacy & data protection

Our Privacy Policy explains how we process personal data and your rights under EU law (GDPR). By using the Services you agree to that Policy. We are committed to data protection principles including lawfulness, purpose limitation, data minimization, and security.

Disclaimers

Services and Member Content are provided “as is” without warranties. We do not verify credentials or research claims posted by users unless explicitly stated.

Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages or for loss of data, reputation, or profits arising from use of the Services.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold scholars.forum harmless from claims arising from your breach of these Terms, your Member Content, or violation of law.

Termination & suspension

We may suspend or terminate accounts for breach, unlawful activity, or for legal reasons. You may close your account; account closure does not automatically delete cached copies or content shared via third‑party services as described in our Privacy Policy.

Changes to the Services or Terms

We may modify Services or Terms. Material changes will be notified reasonably (e.g., email, notice on site). Continued use after notice indicates acceptance. For EU consumers, statutory consumer protections apply and cannot be waived.

Governing law, jurisdiction & consumer rights

These Terms are governed by the laws of [EU Member State of incorporation] except where mandatory consumer protection rules of the consumer’s habitual residence provide otherwise. For disputes with consumers in the EU, you may rely on statutory jurisdiction/consumer protections. Alternative dispute resolution or local requirements may apply.

Special academic notes

Users are responsible for accuracy of scholarly metadata. Linking ORCID/institutional identifiers requires your authorization and data will be displayed according to the identifiers’ permissions. We may analyze Member Content for indexing, recommendations, and search.

Contact

General support: <support@scholars.forum>
Legal/takedown: <support@scholars.forum>
Data protection/DPO: <support@scholars.forum>