PLOS Terms of Use

Last updated: February 8, 2023

These Terms of Use are a contract between you and Public Library of Science (“PLOS”). PLOS operates www.PLOS.org and other websites (“PLOS Sites”) through which it strives to make the world’s scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. By using the PLOS Sites and any products or services accessible from the PLOS Sites (including the PLOS API, as defined below) you agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions (“Terms of Use”). If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, do not visit or use the PLOS Sites.

LICENSE TO USE ARTICLES AND RELATED CONTENT

Unless otherwise indicated, articles and accompanying materials published by PLOS on the PLOS Sites, including peer reviews, are licensed by the respective authors for use and distribution by you subject to citation of the original source in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license or other comparable license that allows free and unrestricted use (such as Creative Commons 1.0 Universal (CC0) or Open Governmental License).

OWNERSHIP OF CONTENT

The copyright in the material contained on the PLOS Sites belongs to PLOS or its licensors. The trademarks and other elements appearing on the PLOS Sites are protected by California, US, and international copyright, trade dress, patent, and trademark laws, international conventions and other relevant and applicable laws.

USE OF PLOS’ ONLINE TOOLS AND SERVICES

PLOS provides access on its websites to certain software tools and functionality (“Services”) for the purposes of allowing and facilitating the submission or posting of research outputs and results in various forms including articles in whole or part, manuscripts, and comments on and reviews of such content, and the like. By using our website(s) and/or Services, you agree to not interfere with or otherwise disrupt any of the Services, the operation or proper functioning of the Services, or any person’s use of or access to the Services. This includes but is not limited to employing trojan horses, viruses, and other malware, breaches of or tampering with the Services, or attempts to probe, scan, or test for vulnerabilities in the Services or PLOS’ websites or our computer systems, networks, usage rules, or any of our security components, authentication measures or any other protection measures applicable to our websites or the Services, or the content or any part thereof.

PLOS API

PLOS provides certain application programming interfaces for the PLOS Sites (the “PLOS API”). You agree not to make any unauthorized use of the PLOS API or interfere with the functionality or proper working of the PLOS API. Through your use of the PLOS API, you agree not to, at PLOS’ sole discretion, use an unreasonable amount of bandwidth or unreasonably burden PLOS’ servers. The PLOS API is provided “as is” without any support or warranty of any kind. PLOS makes no guarantees that the PLOS API will be available. PLOS reserves the right to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the PLOS API with or without notice at any time. You agree that PLOS shall not be liable to your or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the PLOS API. You can find out more about the PLOS API here.

OWNERSHIP OF SITES

Unless otherwise indicated, the PLOS Sites are the property of PLOS. You acknowledge and agree that the PLOS Sites, and any necessary software used in connection with the PLOS Sites, may contain proprietary and confidential information that is protected by applicable laws governing intellectual property, proprietary rights and the like. All PLOS Sites code and specifications are subject to their stated or implied licenses.

PRIVACY

For information on how we treat personally identifiable information, please read our Privacy Policy, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

GENERAL PRACTICES REGARDING USE

PLOS reserves the right to limit, suspend or terminate your access and use of the PLOS Sites at any time without notice.

ARTICLE AND CONTENT SUBMISSION

By submitting peer reviews, articles for publication, or other content for posting on the PLOS Sites, you agree to (i) comply with these Terms of Use and any PLOS guidelines and policies made available to you on a PLOS Site, (ii) have the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license applied to material you submit, and (iii) provide any information required by PLOS during or as part of the submission process. You are responsible for all content that you submit for posting or publication on the PLOS Sites.

YOUR CONTENT

To the extent you submit content such as comments, peer reviews, manuscripts and other research outputs on a PLOS Site, you grant PLOS a royalty-free, non-exclusive, irrevocable right to publish, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, store, translate, create derivative works from and otherwise use your content (in whole or part) and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, manner, format, or medium, whether now known or hereafter developed, throughout the world and in any language, for the entire duration of any such right and to permit/sublicense others to do any or all of the foregoing. To the extent permitted by law, you waive all moral rights in your review. To the extent that you are unable to waive any such moral rights, you agree not to assert the same.

PLOS will determine in its sole discretion whether to publish your content and we reserve the right not to publish anything that does not meet our standards, guidelines or policies.

IMPERMISSIBLE ACTS

As a condition to your use of the PLOS Sites, you agree not to:

Upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any information, materials or other content that is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or offensive; or that infringes another’s rights, including any intellectual property rights
Impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity; or obtain, collect, store or modify personal information about other users
Upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes” or any other form of solicitation
Modify, adapt or hack the PLOS Sites or falsely imply that some other site is associated with the PLOS Sites or PLOS
Use the PLOS Sites or PLOS API for any illegal or unauthorized purpose. You must not, in the use of the PLOS Sites or PLOS API, violate any laws in your jurisdiction (including but not limited to copyright laws)

VIOLATION OF THESE TERMS OF USE

You acknowledge that PLOS has no obligation to pre-screen or monitor your access to or use of the PLOS Sites or PLOS API or any information, materials or other content provided or made available through the PLOS Sites or PLOS API, but has the right to do so. You hereby agree that PLOS may, in the exercise of PLOS’ sole discretion, remove or delete any entries, information, materials or other content that violates these Terms of Use or that is otherwise objectionable.

MODIFICATIONS TO THE PLOS SITES AND TERMS OF USE

PLOS reserves the right to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the PLOS Sites (or any part thereof) with or without notice at any time. You agree that PLOS shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the PLOS Sites or PLOS API. PLOS reserves the right to change these Terms of Use by posting changes on this page of the PLOS Sites. By using the PLOS Sites or PLOS API, you agree to be bound by any such revisions and should therefore periodically visit this page to determine the then-current Terms of Use to which you are bound.

LINKS

The PLOS Sites may provide links to other web sites or resources. You acknowledge and agree that PLOS is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and that PLOS does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. Your business dealings with any third-parties through the PLOS Sites, including payment and delivery of related goods or services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such third party. You further acknowledge and agree that PLOS shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such site or resource.

NOTIFICATION OF CLAIMS OF INFRINGEMENT

If you believe that a creative work that you or an entity you represent owns has been used on a PLOS website in violation of copyright laws, and you want to request that the material be taken down, please contact PLOS’s designated agent:

Attn: Legal
Public Library of Science
1875 Mission Street
Suite 103 #188 San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: (415) 624-1200
Email: copyright@plos.org

You can also go to https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/licenses-and-copyright for further information.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

YOUR USE OF THE PLOS SITES, PLOS API OR ANY WEB SITE TO WHICH THEY LINK IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE PLOS SITES, PLOS API AND THEIR CONTENT ARE PROVIDED FOR USE ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. PLOS MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE PLOS SITES, PLOS API OR THEIR CONTENTS AND HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT RELATING TO THE PLOS SITES, THEIR CONTENT, PLOS API OR ANY WEB SITE TO WHICH THEY ARE LINKED.

NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM PLOS OR THROUGH OR FROM THE PLOS SITES OR PLOS API SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE TERMS OF USE.

INDEMNIFICATION, LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

You agree to indemnify and hold PLOS, and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, co-branders or other partners and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorney fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the PLOS Sites, PLOS API, your violation of these Terms of Use, your violation of any rights of another, or any breach of the foregoing representations, warranties and covenants. You are solely responsible for your actions when using the PLOS Sites, including, but not limited to, costs incurred for Internet access. PLOS reserves the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate with our defense of these claims.

IN NO EVENT SHALL PLOS OR ITS EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS OR CONTRACTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY NATURE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF INCOME OR PROFIT, LOSS OF OR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY, LOSS OF GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, CLAIMS OF THIRD PARTIES, OR ANY OTHER LOSS, COST, CLAIM OR EXPENSE OF ANY KIND OR CHARACTER ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THE PLOS SITES, THE PLOS API, THEIR CONTENT OR ANY WEB SITE WITH WHICH THEY ARE LINKED.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL USE

Recognizing the global nature of the Internet, you agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct. Specifically, you agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside.

GENERAL TERMS

These Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between you and PLOS and govern your use of the PLOS Sites, superseding any prior agreements between you and PLOS (including, but not limited to, any prior versions of the Terms of Use) and any prior representations by PLOS. These Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflicts of law principles. The failure of PLOS to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of the Terms of Use is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Terms of Use remain in full force and effect. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action brought against PLOS and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, co-branders or other partners and employees, arising out of or related to use of the PLOS Sites or the Terms of Use must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. The section titles in the Terms of Use are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.