Illinois Natural History Survey - University of Illinois

Terms of Use

 

Purpose of this document

Use of Illinois Plants and any information used from or contributed to the site is subject to these Terms of Use (Terms).  We alter these terms at any time without prior notice by posting the modified Terms on this site. Your use of this site constitutes your binding acceptance of these terms, including any modifications.

Disclaimers

Illinois Plants compiles and displays information from numerous sources.  We are not responsible for the validity of any of that information.  In fact, we guarantee that there are numerous informational errors present on the site.  It is the responsibility of the data user to responsibly interpret information presented on the site.  Illinois Plants is not liable nor responsible for the content of data that are displayed on the site or for any loss, damage, claim, cost, or expense from an inability to use the site. Illinois Plants disclaims all liability for and makes no express or implied warranties with respect to any aspect of the site or data displayed therein.

 

 Privacy Policy

By using Illinois Plants, you agree that Illinois Plants may collect, and use information that you provide. Illinois Plants does not sell or disclose any user data to any third parties. Generic reports, such as unique user visits, are created regularly to demonstrate our viability. See http://www.vpaa.uillinois.edu/policies/web_privacy.cfm for full disclosure of our privacy policy.

 

Sensitive Data

Illinois Plants is not responsible for the accidental release of sensitive information.  Illinois Plants attempts to repress information on the exact localities of sensitive plant species or locations; however, Illinois Plants claims no responsibility for any breach of this policy.  This includes, but is not limited to, situations in which sensitive species lists change over time, situations in which data donors request the suppression of particular records, and situations in which computer or coding errors result in the release of information.  In short, we will attempt to accommodate requests to suppress sensitive information, but we cannot be held responsible for any breach of that information. If a data source is required to withhold sensitive data from the public, it is the data source’s sole responsibility to withhold that data from the Illinois Plants.

 

Copyrights

Illinois Plants promotes open-access to data sharing and data use for research and non-commercial purposes.  Our goal is to make data (consisting of occurrence records, images, and other information) on the plants of Illinois available to a wide audience who may use those data for any non-commercial purpose.  We encourage data donors to submit data without limitation on use other than attribution.  Illinois Plants displays and coordinates several types of data, and different data sources are protected under different copyright licenses.  Illinois Plants will clearly attribute the source of data in all cases.  By submitting data to Illinois Plants you are certifying that you have sole ownership of that data, that those data do not violate any other copyright, and that your data do not contain any depictions of lewd or illegal acts.  You agree to hold harmless and indemnify Illinois Plants for all claims and liabilities arising from any violation(s) of property rights, privacy rights and copyright rights that relate to the data / images that are uploaded to Illinois Plants.

 Occurrence records:  Occurrence records displayed on Illinois Plants are protected under a Creative Commons CC BY license (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), except in cases where these records are already public domain and not protected under US copyright law.  This license allows use of data as long as the data source is clearly attributed. 

Plant trait and taxonomic information:  Plant trait and taxonomic information are treated as factual data and are not protected under US copyright law. 

 Photographs and other plant images:  Photographs and other plant images displayed on Illinois Plants are primarily handled by external sources (donor databases), such as the PhytoImages website (see contribute photos).  In these cases, the copyright of the original images follow the rules of the external source.  Illinois Plants will display thumbnail images of this material, and all images displayed directly through Illinois Plants are subject to a Creative Commons CC BY NC SA license (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) that allows use of the image for non-commercial purposes only with the condition that third-party users of the image have not placed any additional restrictions on use of the image.  When images are already declared public domain, Illinois Plants will assert no further rights on those images.  By submitting images to Illinois Plants, both individuals and donor databases agree to abide by these copyright restrictions, and if no designation is clearly stated for an image, it will be assumed that the displayed image is protected under the CC BY NC SA license.