Yale Dataverse Terms of Use

Acceptance of Terms

The following terms and conditions govern all use of the Yale Dataverse application (the “Site”) and the services available on or at the Site (the Site and the services taken together, the “Service”) by you and any third parties who use your account. Use of the Service is offered subject to acceptance of and compliance with all of the terms and conditions contained herein (these “Terms of Use”), which may be updated from time to time. Additionally, these Terms of Use govern and include all Application Program Interfaces (“APIs”) whose full or partial purpose is to provide access to the Yale Dataverse and its Services and materials, including APIs offered by Yale Dataverse and third-party API applications created to access the Dataverse network from third-party websites (collectively referred to as “Dataverse API”). By clicking “I accept” and/or by your use of the Service, you agree and accept all the terms in these Terms of Use.

Modification of Terms

Yale Dataverse reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace any of the terms in these Terms of Use at any time without prior notice to Users. It is your responsibility to check the Terms of Use periodically for changes. Your continued use of the Service following the posting of any changes to the Agreement constitutes acceptance of those changes.

Definitions

Account – A User-controlled means of access to Yale Dataverse that is protected by a User-created login username and password, with which Users can obtain access to Yale Dataverse’s uploading and downloading functionalities.

Administrator – The User who created, controls and is the main organizer, curator, and manager of a particular Dataverse.

Author – The person(s) from whom the data within the Dataset originated; the person(s) who conducted the research that led to the creation of the Dataset. This person can but need not be the same as the Depositor.

Content – Any information, data, text, software, scripts, graphics, and interactive features found on the Yale Dataverse application.

Curation – The actions of any User on the Yale Dataverse application that organize, shape, or otherwise edit the state, status, configuration, or content of any Datasets or Dataverses.

Curator – A User who is granted permissions to organize, shape, or otherwise edit the state, status, configuration, or content of specific Datasets or Dataverses. This person can but need not be the same as the Depositor.

Data usage license agreement – The license agreement between a Depositor and a downloader governing the limits and restrictions (or lack thereof) of how the downloaded User Submissions can be used.

Dataset – A study, experiment, set of observations, or publication that is uploaded by a User. A Dataset can comprise a single file or multiple files.

Dataverse – A virtual container with which to store research data studies (including Datasets and other Dataverses) that can be customized and managed by its owner.

Depositor – The User who uploads a collection of data files as a Dataset to a Dataverse on the application.

Download Data – Information collected whenever a Dataset is downloaded, including but not limited to User account name, time of download, and downloaded file name.

Guest – Any individual or entity who does not own or control a registered Account on Yale Dataverse.

Metadata – Accompanying information, either in a separate file or otherwise included in the Dataset materials, about a particular Dataset or Dataverse, including but not limited to Author’s name, publishing date, title of data contents, description of contents, and other such related information.

Publish – A function available for User Submissions by which Users can make their Dataverse and/or their Dataset containing data files publicly available and publicly searchable on the Yale Dataverse application search engine and third-party search engines (e.g., Google Search or Bing Search).

Registration Information – Information required to register for an Account, including but not limited to name, email, institution, position, and phone number.

Restricted User Submissions – Any User Submissions that are published with a customized data usage license agreement that the Depositor drafts and/or designates for the Submission.

Service – The Yale Dataverse application and all of the available services, functions, and capabilities afforded on the application.

Site – The Yale Dataverse application and server.

Spamming – Any unauthorized or unsolicited advertising, junk or bulk e-mail, messages, comments, or other communications directly or indirectly stemming from use of the Yale Dataverse application, including but not limited to comments posted to Author’s Dataset pages and messages or other communications sent to User’s email addresses, accounts, or other means of contact.

Unpublished Dataset – An uploaded Dataset that has not yet been made available to the public and is viewable only to the Depositor or other users to whom the Depositor has granted access.

Unrestricted User Submissions – Any User Submissions that are published with a default CC0 default public domain dedication waiver agreement.

Use of Service – Any access to, use of, or other action involving the Yale Dataverse application’s functions, services, resources, and repository of Datasets, including but not limited to any uploading, posting, submitting, storing, searching for, downloading, distributing, facilitating distributions, and otherwise utilizing any Content found on the Yale Dataverse application.

User - Any individual or entity who owns and/or controls a registered Account on Yale Dataverse.

User Submissions – Uploaded Dataverses and Datasets.

User Uploads – Any uploaded, submitted, disclosed, distributed, or otherwise posted content by a User, including but not limited to new Dataverses, new Datasets, Metadata information, custom data usage license agreements, descriptive information for Dataset download pages, user guides, and other contributions either originating from the User or originating from a third-party author who gave permission to the User to disseminate on the Yale Dataverse application.

Yale Dataverse – The repository application server as a whole, including all Services, Content, and related features, but not including any separate Dataverse sites created using Yale Dataverse’s source code and managed by independent outside parties who are unaffiliated with Yale Dataverse.

General Rules of Conduct

In using the Service, you represent that:

You have read and understand the Site’s Community Norms (https://dataverse.org/best-practices/dataverse-community-norms); and
You have read and understand the Yale University Library Privacy and Data Use Policy which shall apply to this Site (https://web.library.yale.edu/data-use).

You shall abide by all applicable local, state, national and international laws and regulations in your Use of the Service, and your Use of Service shall not:

Infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of publicity or other right of any other person or entity;
Be unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, deceptive, fraudulent, invasive of another’s privacy, or otherwise offensive or unlawful;
Engage in Spamming or contribute to activities that constitute Spamming;
Cause, introduce into the Service, or otherwise use software viruses or any other computer codes, files, or programs that are designed or intended to disrupt, damage, limit or interfere with the proper function of any software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment, or that are designed or intended to damage or obtain unauthorized access to any system, data files or other information of Yale Dataverse or any third party;
Impose an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on Yale Dataverse’s (or its third party providers’) infrastructure (to be determined by Yale Dataverse in its sole discretion);
Interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Service or any activities conducted on the Service;
Re-identify any subjects from the amalgamation of the information available from all of the materials (across Datasets or Dataverses); or
Bypass any measures Yale Dataverse may use to prevent or restrict access to the Service (or other accounts, computer systems or networks connected to the Service).

Conduct Requirements

As both a registered User and an unregistered Guest, you are able to download publicly available Content from Yale Dataverse. As a condition to your gaining full Use of Service, you are required to register for and be logged into an Account on Yale Dataverse. You shall provide Yale Dataverse with accurate and complete Registration Information and regularly update such information to maintain its completeness and accuracy. Failure to do so may result in immediate termination of your Account. Yale Dataverse reserves the right to refuse registration of or cancel an Account in its sole discretion.

You are solely responsible for activity that occurs on your Account and shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Account password. You shall never use another User’s account without the other User’s express permission. You will immediately notify Yale Dataverse in writing of any unauthorized use of your Account, or other Account-related security breach of which you are aware or suspect.

In having an Account on the Service, you acknowledge that:

Your Account details (including first name, last name, email address, and username) are searchable by other Users;
Your Account details may be recorded when you download Datasets, and that information can then be viewed by the owner of the User Upload; and
Your first name, last name, and affiliation will be displayed on the Service in connection with your User Uploads.

In your access to, use of, or obtaining of an authentication key with the purpose of accessing or using, the Dataverse API (whether through Dataverse’s own API application software or through a third-party application), you acknowledge that you have fully read and accepted the Dataverse API Terms of Use below.

User Uploads

Services

The Service provides you with the ability to post User Uploads and display, organize, accept and distribute User Uploads by creating a Dataverse. The Service provides you with the ability to post User Uploads to other Dataverses administered by other Users. The Service also allows you to share Datasets and Dataverses with other Users by searching for their first name, last name, email address, or username.

The Service also gives each Administrator the ability to change Dataset access/download restrictions by designating User Uploads as Restricted User Submissions. Datasets are by default Unpublished Datasets, but Administrators can modify the access restrictions and Publish or deaccession any User Uploads at any time. Depending on the permissions granted by the Administrator of the Dataverse in question, Depositors may also change Dataset access/download restrictions by designating User Uploads as Restricted User Submissions.

Yale Dataverse has no obligation to monitor the Site, Service, Content, or User Uploads. Yale Dataverse may remove any User Upload at any time for any reason (including, but not limited to, upon receipt of claims or allegations from third parties or authorities relating to such User Upload), or for no reason at all.

You acknowledge and agree that Yale Dataverse does not endorse, take responsibility for, or make any representations or warranties for any User Uploads, and will not be liable for 1) User Upload content, format, Metadata, or lack thereof; 2) representations or warranties made by the User about the User Uploads; and 3) any loss of or damage to User Uploads, either in whole or in part, from whatever cause.

Restrictions

In contributing Content to the site, you must ensure that the Content complies with the Terms of Use. If your User Upload does not comply with the Terms of Use, Yale Dataverse has the right in its sole discretion to take down your User Upload. Yale Dataverse does not review User Uploads before they are made available on the Site, or before they are Published. Therefore, you will be held legally and financially responsible for all damages if Content you contribute violates anything in these Terms of Use.

By posting User Uploads to your Dataverse or other dataverses, or by allowing others to do so, you make the following representations and warranties to Yale Dataverse:

User Uploads do not infringe upon the copyrights or other intellectual property rights, including, but not limited to patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of publicity or other right of any third party;
User Uploads do not violate any laws; in the event you become aware of any issues after submitting a User Upload, you will promptly notify Yale Dataverse and the relevant Dataverse Administrator(s) of any confidentiality, privacy or data protection, licensing, or intellectual property issues regarding the User Uploads;
User Uploads do not contain software viruses or any other computer codes, files, or programs that are designed or intended to disrupt, damage, limit or interfere with the proper function of any software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment or to damage or obtain unauthorized access to any system, data files, or other information of Yale Dataverse or any third party;
User Uploads have been given all relevant, obligatory, and applicable approvals for posting such materials with the content included and in the format uploaded, including but not limited to approvals from the Institutional Review Board and third parties with whom Users have relevant contractual obligations; and
User Uploads must be void of all identifiable information, such that re-identification of any subjects from the amalgamation of the information available from any of the materials (across Datasets and Dataverses) uploaded under any one Author and/or User should not be possible. Identifiable information that User Uploads cannot contain includes, but is not limited to, social security numbers; credit card numbers; medical record numbers; health plan numbers; other account numbers of individuals; or biometric identifiers (fingerprints, retina, voice print, DNA, etc.). The only exceptions for when identifiable information is allowed are when:

the information has been previously released to the public;
the information describes public figures, where the data relates to their public roles or other non-sensitive subjects;
all identified subjects have given explicit informed consent allowing the public release of the information in the Dataset;
all identified subjects are deceased and no federal statute explicitly restricts the release of the data (this exception is only for federal records where data is created by a U.S. federal government agency or under a federal contract); or
the information has been approved for release by the University Privacy Office.

Licenses and Permissions to Yale Dataverse

You grant to Yale Dataverse all necessary permissions and required licenses to make the Content you submit or deposit available for archiving, preservation and access, within the Site. This includes, without restriction, permission to:

Re-disseminate copies of the Content in a variety of distribution formats according to the standard terms of use of Yale Dataverse;
Promote and advertise the Content in any publicity (in any form) for the Yale Dataverse;
Describe, catalog, and document the User Submissions;
Store, translate, copy or re-format the Content in any way to ensure its future preservation and accessibility, and improve usability and/or protect respondent confidentiality; and
Incorporate Metadata or documentation in the Content into public access catalogues.

You also grant to Yale Dataverse all necessary permissions, waivers and required licenses to share any Published Content’s metadata you submit or deposit with DataCite (http://datacite.org).

You represent and warrant that you are lawfully entitled and have full authority to license to Yale Dataverse the Content you submit or deposit in the ways described in these Terms of Use, and you further represent and warrant that you are not under any obligation or restriction created by law, contract or otherwise that would prevent you from entering into and fully abiding by these Terms of Use.

None of the above supersedes any prior contractual obligations with third parties that require any information to be kept confidential. Nothing in these Terms of Use obligates you to disclose information to Yale Dataverse if such information is otherwise confidential, proprietary or subject to other third-party restrictions. Unless specified for specific collections, Yale Dataverse does not approve User Uploads before they are posted; therefore, you are solely responsible for the User Submissions you post on or through the Service and all possible confidentiality or other privacy issues that may arise from your posting any User Uploads.

User Submission Data Usage License Agreement

You acknowledge that Yale Dataverse’s default data usage license agreement for all uploaded materials is a Creative Commons Zero (“CC0”) Public Domain Dedication Waiver. For more information, please visit Creative Commons Zero Full Legal Text (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode).

Users also have the option of drafting a custom data usage license agreement. By choosing to draft a custom data usage license agreement for a particular Dataset, Users represent that:

They have written themselves or have permission to use the language of the data usage license agreement they choose;
The data usage license agreement covers all restrictions and protections they wish to retain and will not rely on the Site to provide any further protections or restrictions;
They are solely responsible for ensuring the data usage license agreement is legally sound and that the Site is not responsible for anything included; and
Nothing in the data usage license agreement conflicts with, supersedes, or limits any prior contractual obligations on the part of the User, any third parties, downloaders, or the Site.

Downloading User Submissions

The Site represents that it will use all reasonable efforts to maintain open access to Datasets for users to download, subject to Depositors’ restrictions and any applicable legal restrictions. The Site collects and stores Download Data from each download for all Users (both registered and Guest), which can then be downloaded and accessed by the Depositor. Downloaders must be registered Users of the Site or Guests that agree to the CC0 waiver or a custom data usage license agreement for a Dataset in order to take advantage of the Site’s Services, including downloading any materials or Datasets.

Downloaders represent that, in downloading any material from the Site, they:

Have read and understood the Site’s Community Norms (https://dataverse.org/best-practices/dataverse-community-norms);
Will abide by the applicable data usage license agreement attached to the Dataset;
Acknowledge that their account information (for Users) or temporary site identification information (for Guests) may be recorded upon download, which can then be viewed by the owner of the User Upload; and
Have done their due diligence in ensuring that they do not download and use any Datasets or other materials where prohibited by applicable law.

Dataverse API Terms of Use

In accessing and downloading content from Yale Dataverse using a Dataverse API, you acknowledge and agree that:

Yale Dataverse does not endorse, manage, oversee, control, take responsibility for, or make any representations or warranties for any Dataverse APIs, including third-party Dataverse API applications;
Yale Dataverse is not responsible for a) any User-uploaded content, format, Metadata, or lack thereof; b) representations or warranties made by the User about the User-uploaded content; and/or c) any limitations or restrictions placed on any User-uploaded content by the User, and will not be held liable with respect to the above (i) for any direct damages, or (ii) for any lost profits or special, indirect, incidental, punitive, or consequential damages of any kind whatsoever;
Yale Dataverse will not be liable or held responsible for any losses or damages to you, your affiliates/affiliated institutions, your service/API application, or anything else related to you, caused either in whole or in part by your access to and/or use of a Dataverse API application;
Yale Dataverse does not oversee, manage, or have any control over, and is therefore not responsible for, any content, services, materials, and information provided by the Dataverse API application;
Yale Dataverse makes no warranties and/or representations as to the timeliness, accuracy, completeness, reliability, correctness, availability, security, lack of defects/errors, lack of viruses/other harmful components, or overall quality of any content, materials, documents, files, and other information either uploaded or downloaded on Yale Dataverse by you or any third party; and
Yale Dataverse makes no warranties and/or representations as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness, availability, security, and overall quality of anything found on Yale Dataverse as accessed through the Dataverse API.

In using the Dataverse APIs, you shall not:

Attempt to conceal or otherwise misrepresent your identity or your application’s identity when using or requesting authorization to use the Dataverse APIs;
Use the Dataverse APIs in any manner or for any purpose that violates any law or regulation, any right of any person, including but not limited to intellectual property rights, rights of privacy, or rights of data use and distribution, etc.;
Use an unreasonable amount of bandwidth. Yale Dataverse reserves the right to decide what is unreasonable and may, at any time, restrict your access and use of the materials and services on Yale Dataverse through a Dataverse API if it deems your bandwidth use is unreasonable;
Use Dataverse APIs in a manner that may impair the functionality, stability, or operation of Yale Dataverse servers or adversely impact the behavior of other users or applications using the Dataverse APIs;
Use the Dataverse APIs for or in connection with any malicious programs or code including, but not limited to, adware or spyware;
Sell, lease, or sublicense Datasets or other information found or downloaded from the Dataverse servers; and
Sell, lease, or sublicense Dataverse’s API application software, or access thereto or derive revenues, directly or indirectly, from the use or provision of Dataverse’s API application software.

Termination

Yale Dataverse may terminate any User’s access to all or any part of the Service at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. If you wish to terminate your Account, you may notify Yale Dataverse dataverseadmin@yale.edu .

All provisions of these Terms of Use which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

WARRANTIES

THE SERVICE (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ALL CONTENT AND USER UPLOADS) IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ANY WARRANTIES IMPLIED BY ANY COURSE OF PERFORMANCE OR USAGE OF TRADE, ALL OF WHICH ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, YALE DATAVERSE DOES NOT WARRANT THAT: (A) THE CONTENT OR USER UPLOADS ARE TIMELY, ACCURATE, COMPLETE, RELIABLE OR CORRECT IN THEIR POSTED FORMS ON THE SERVICE; (B) THE SERVICE WILL BE SECURE ; (C) THE SERVICE WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME OR LOCATION; (D) ANY DEFECTS OR ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED; (E) THE SITE, CONTENT OR ANY USER UPLOADS ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS; OR (F) THE RESULTS OF USING THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS. YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE AND ANY CONTENT IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

IN NO EVENT SHALL YALE UNIVERSITY AND ITS AFFILIATES, OR THEIR DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, PARTNERS, OR SUPPLIERS, BE LIABLE UNDER CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, NEGLIGENCE OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY CONTENT OR USER SUBMISSIONS (I) FOR ANY DIRECT DAMAGES, OR (II) FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER.

Indemnification

You will indemnify and hold Yale University harmless from and against any and all loss, cost, expense, liability, or damage, including, without limitation, all reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs, arising from (i) your use or misuse of the Service; (ii) your access to the Site; (iii) your violation of these Terms of Use; or (iv) infringement by you, or any third party using your Account, of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity. Such losses, costs, expenses, damages, or liabilities shall include, without limitation, all actual, general, special, and consequential damages.

Dispute Resolution

You agree that you must bring any cause of action arising out of or related to the Service must commence within one (1) year after the cause of action arose; otherwise, such cause of action is permanently barred.

These Terms of Use shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of Connecticut (excluding the conflict of laws rules thereof). All disputes under these Terms of Use will be resolved in the applicable state or federal courts of Connecticut. You consent to the jurisdiction of such courts and waive any jurisdictional or venue defenses otherwise available.

Integration and Severability

These Terms of Service represent the entire agreement between you and Yale Dataverse with respect to the Service and use of this Site and supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals (whether oral, written or electronic) between you and Yale Dataverse with respect to this Site (but excluding the use of any third-party software, widgets, and applications that may be subject to a separate end-user license agreement). If any provision of the Terms of Use is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the Terms of Use will otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable.

Miscellaneous

Yale University may assign, transfer or delegate any of its rights and obligations hereunder without consent. No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship is created as a result of these Terms of Use and neither party has any authority of any kind to bind the other in any respect outside the specified terms of these Terms of Use. In any action or proceeding to enforce rights under the Terms of Use, the prevailing party will be entitled to recover costs and attorneys’ fees.

These Terms of Use incorporate portions originally developed by the Institute for Quantitative Social Science (IQSS) at Harvard University and Yale University. It is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Last updated May 15, 2024.