Terms of Use

The Research Data Repository (“Repository”) DATATHEK is offered by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Austrian Academy of Sciences; OeAW), to make available research results related to OeAW and to provide archiving infrastructure for and access to digital research data. The Repository offers the following “Services”, according to FAIR principles: Archiving, Web-Publication, Metadata-Assignment and -Dissemination (OAI-PMH), Digital Object Identifier, API, Linked open data, Integration of ROR, GND

The use of the Repository, both the submitting as a “Depositor” and the access and/or downloading as “User” of data, is subject to the following terms, which are accepted by using the Services:

General Terms:

  1. The Repository is an open dissemination research data repository for the preservation and making available of research content, in any case for non-military purposes only.

  2. The Repository offers the following different access modes:

    a. Open content: available to the general public. The default licence of use of these data is the Creative Commons licence CC-BY 4.0 (International).

    b. Embargoed access: Restricted content that is not available to the general public or only after a specific period has passed. Special access rules apply.

  3. Unless specified otherwise, the Repository metadata may be freely reused under the CC0 waiver.

  4. The Repository accepts no liability for any damage or loss resulting from acts or omissions by Depositors, Users or third parties.

  5. The Depositors and Users agree to adhere to the OeAWI Guidelines for Good Scientific Practice ( https://oeawi.at/en/guidelines/ ).

  6. The Repository reserves the right, without notice, at its sole discretion and without liability, to alter, delete or block access to content that it deems to be inappropriate or improper. It also may restrict or remove access where it considers that use of the Repository interferes with its operations or violates these Terms of Use or applicable laws.

  7. The Repository operates on a best-effort basis. It does not guarantee faultless functioning of its Services or permanent availability. In case of failures, in particular because of force majeure or manipulation by third parties the Repository is not liable. The Repository does not assume any liability for the usability of the data for the purposes intended by the User.

  8. The Repository may deny access for technical, organisational or other reasons. It reserves the right to temporarily suspend Services for purposes of maintenance, technical changes or similar reasons.

  9. These Terms of Use are subject to amendments by the Repository at any time and without notice, other than through posting the updated Terms of Use on the Repository website. The changes will also be posted for information purposes on the Repository website.

  10. The provisions of Austrian law apply to these Terms of Use. Place of jurisdiction is Vienna to the extent that mandatory legal provisions are not superseded.

  11. The validity of these Terms of Use shall be unconditional from the validity of any of its provisions. The invalid provision(s) shall be deemed as replaced by such provisions that most closely reflect the intention of the parties subject to the limitations imposed by the law and whose purpose most closely corresponds to that of the invalid provision(s).

Additional Terms for Users:

  1. Access to the Repository, and all content, is provided on an “as-is” basis. Users of content shall respect applicable license conditions. Download and use of content from the Repository does not transfer or grant any intellectual property rights in the respective content to the User.
  2. Users are exclusively responsible for their use of content, and shall indemnify and hold the Repository free and harmless in connection with their download and/or use. Hosting and making content available through the Repository does not represent any approval or endorsement of such content by the Repository.
  3. Military use is prohibited.

Additional Terms for Depositors:

  1. Depositors may only be researchers, who register to the Repository, meet the required criteria (i.a. possession of a valid ORCID identifier), and are approved by the Repository at its sole discretion after the registration.
  2. Research data may be uploaded only after the Depositor’s acceptance by the Repository.
  3. The Depositor gives the Repository the right to distribute the data including metadata on Depositor’s behalf. The Depositor grants the Repository an unlimited non-exclusive licence to use the submitted data to provide the Services. The Repository has the right to modify the format and/or functionality of the data and metadata if this is necessary for the preservation, dissemination or reuse of data. Furthermore, the Depositor agrees that the Repository may produce copies of the submitted data for purposes of security, back-up, preservation, and dissemination.
  4. The Depositor undertakes to provide all necessary information and metadata for the data as stipulated by the Repository. The Repository has the right to translate and modify metadata to increase the findability and reusability of the data.
  5. The Depositor warrants that the use and dissemination of data by the Repository does not infringe copyright, privacy or other rights of third parties and complies with all relevant applicable laws.
  6. The Depositor confirms to hold all exploitation rights to the submitted data and metadata and to freely dispose of them.
  7. The Depositor is exclusively responsible for the submitted data and indemnifies and holds the Repository free and harmless in connection with Depositor’s use of the Services and claims of third parties regarding Depositor’s data and metadata.
  8. The Depositor ensures that the submitted data is suitable for (open) dissemination, and that it complies with these Terms of Use and applicable laws, including, but not limited to, privacy, data protection and intellectual property rights and does not breach any existing agreements.
  9. The Repository is primarily intended for the archiving and dissemination of anonymised data. The Depositor ensures that research data originally containing (sensitive) personal data is either anonym, anonymised, or fully consent cleared. In case the Depositor submits personal data, the Terms on Data Processing below are agreed upon and apply. However, Depositors considering the Repository for the archiving and dissemination of personal data are advised to use bespoke specialised service providers for sharing their data rather than the Repository that is an open dissemination research service.
  10. The Repository is not obliged to check whether the archiving, preservation, dissemination and/or use of data and metadata violates the rights of third parties. Specifically, the Repository is not responsible for the content of the data and metadata, the legality of the dissemination of the data and metadata or the access to the data and metadata. The Depositor will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Repository from any and all claims, damages and liabilities of third parties in that respect. For that said purpose, the Depositor agrees that during or after the submission of data and metadata to the Repository, the data may undergo a curation process by the Repository. The Depositor agrees to collaborate with the Repository in order to verify basic levels of quality and consistency of the data.
  11. The Repository accepts no liability in the event that data are lost in whole or in part. This does not apply in the case of intentional conduct.
  12. The Repository protects any personal information it collects from the Depositors as required by data protection legislation. The Privacy Policy describes what personal data is collected and how it is processed.

Additional Terms on Data Processing:

Additional terms in case personal data is processed by the Repository on behalf of the Depositor. In this case the Repository is considered processor within the meaning of Art 4 (8) General Data Protection Regulation[1] (“GDPR”).

  1. These terms govern the obligations of the parties regarding data protection arising from the Services provided to the Depositor by the Repository. It applies to all activities that are related to the Services and in which employees of the Repository or third parties commissioned by the Repository process personal data of the Depositor.
  2. The Repository will process personal data submitted by the Depositor to the Repository. The data processing has the sole purpose of providing the Services. The processor may process data only in the context of the Services for and according to the instructions of the Depositor or as agreed upon in these Terms of Use.
  3. The Repository will inform the Depositor, if it believes that an instruction violates applicable law. In this case, the Repository may suspend the implementation of the instruction until it has been confirmed or amended by the Depositor.
  4. The Repository undertakes to take technical and organizational measures to adequately protect the data that meet the requirements of the GDPR, in particular to comply with Art 32 GDPR (see Annex 1).
  5. Insofar as this is possible, the Repository assists the Depositor in the fulfillment of requests and claims of data subjects (Art 12 to 23 GDPR) and supports the Depositor to comply with the obligations set out in Art 32 to 36 GDPR. In case of a claim by a data subject according to Art 82 GDPR, the Repository undertakes to assist the Depositor in defending the claim to the best of its ability. For these support and assistance Services, the Repository is entitled to demand a reasonable fee from the Depositor.
  6. The Repository is entitled to engage another processor (hereinafter referred to as "subprocessor") without prior written authorization of the Depositor. In any case, the Repository is obliged to inform the Depositor about the subprocessors as listed in Annex 2 and the Depositor may raise a reasonable objection within a week of notification. If the Repository engages a subprocessor for carrying out specific processing activities on behalf of the Repository, the same data protection obligations as set out in these Terms on Data Processing shall be imposed on that subprocessor by way of a contract, in particular providing sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures in such a manner that the processing will meet the requirements of the GDPR. Where that subprocessor fails to fulfil its data protection obligations, the Repository shall remain liable to the Depositor for the performance of the subprocessor's obligations.
  7. The Repository shall keep all confidential data confidential that has been entrusted or made accessible by the Depositor and shall use these data only for the lawful performance of its Services. The Repository further warrants that all its employees and any subprocessors who have access to the confidential data will have signed a confidentiality agreement with at least equivalent content to this provision and will sign such prior to contact with the confidential data. The confidentiality obligations continue to exist even after the termination of the Services.
  8. The Repository shall delete all data after the end of the provision of Services relating to processing. The exceptions to this are data backlogs in backup systems until their regular and secure deletion, as well as data that must be stored in order to fulfill legal obligations.
  9. The Repository shall notify the Depositor without undue delay upon becoming aware of a data breach affecting the Depositor’s data and undertakes to take the necessary measures to mitigate possible adverse consequences for the data subjects concerned.
  10. To the extent necessary, the Depositor is entitled to audit the Repository’s compliance with the data protection regulations and the contractual obligations, in particular the technical and organizational measures taken by the Repository and to carry out inspections before starting the data processing and at regular intervals.