Terms and Conditions

  1. PSIref
  2. Terms and Conditions

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE OF WEB SITE

This web site, PSIref.com (the "PSIref Platform" or “PSIref”), is operated by Paradigm Shift Innovations, LLC ("PSI"). PSIref is an openly available online indexing platform dedicated to the discovery, dissemination, and discussion of scholarly literature. PSI provides access to publicly available metadata for scientific literature content ("Content") via the PSIref Platform and otherwise (collectively, the “PSIref Service”), under certain terms and conditions as set forth below.

ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS THROUGH USE

By using the PSIref Platform, you signify your agreement to all terms, conditions, and notices contained or referenced herein (the "Terms of Use"). PSI reserves the right, in its discretion, to update or revise the Terms of Use. Please check the Terms of Use periodically for changes. Your use of the PSIref platform subsequent to the posting of any change(s) to the Terms of Use will be deemed your acceptance of such change(s).

RESTRICTION ON USE OF THE COMMENTS & FORUM

PSIref may from time to time offer an online forum, live chat and comments for "Community Discussions" (the "Forum") where users of the PSIref platform may discuss matters pertaining to the Content and/or the PSIref Service. Your participation in Comments or the Forum is entirely voluntary. As participation may occur in real time and therefore you or others may post something to comments or the Forum that has not been edited, censored or otherwise controlled by PSI. Notwithstanding the foregoing, PSI reserves the right to monitor messages on Comments and the Forum and to remove messages which PSI in its sole discretion determines to be undesirable, inciting violence, harmful, offensive or otherwise in violation of these Terms of Use. PSI is not responsible nor liable for any failure or delay in removing such messages, or for the removal of any messages it deems inappropriate for any reason at its sole discretion. The following additional rules apply to the Forums:

  1. You may not post or transmit any message which is libelous, defamatory or which discloses private or personal matters concerning any person or entity. You may not post or transmit any message, file, image or program which is indecent, obscene or pornographic.
  2. You may not post or transmit any message that would violate the rights of others, including but not limited to the unauthorized use, publication or disclosure of copyrighted materials, trade secrets or other confidential or proprietary information.
  3. You may not post anything that uses trademarks or service marks in an infringing fashion.
  4. You may not interfere with another user's use or the functionality of the Forum.
  5. You may not post or transmit any message which is abusive, inciting violence, harassing, harmful, hateful, anti-semitic, racist or threatening.
  6. You may not post or transmit any messages pertaining to charity requests, petitions for signatures, requesting donations, relating to pyramid schemes, or pertaining to the manipulation of the PSIref Service.
  7. You may not post or transmit any advertising or any other solicitation of other users of the Forum for goods or services other than the PSIref Service.
  8. You may not use the Forum to conduct or solicit the performance of any illegal activity or other activity which infringes the rights of others.

You also agree that you will not harvest or collect information about users of the Forum or use such information for the purpose of transmitting or facilitating transmission of unsolicited bulk electronic e-mail or communications. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you further agree that you will not knowingly solicit or collect personal information from a child 18 years old or younger.

LINKS AND THIRD-PARTY SITES

The PSIref Service may provide third-party search facilities, such as Google searches, and thereby produce third party advertisements and/or third-party search results. The PSIref Services and/or Content may otherwise link to third-party sites on the Internet that are not operated or controlled by PSI ("Third-Party Site(s)"). PSI is not responsible for the content of Third-Party Sites. Products and services on Third-Party Sites are the sole responsibility of each individual vendor or operator of such Third-Party Site. The inclusion and/or availability of such links to Third-Party Sites does not imply endorsement of such Third-Party Sites or any content, information, material, products, or services provided on such Third-Party Sites, nor does it imply any association with the operators of such Third-Party Sites. Third-Party Sites may contain information or material that some people may find inappropriate or offensive. You will need to make your own independent judgment regarding your interaction with Third-Party Sites. PSI makes no representations or warranties whatsoever concerning:

  1. the information, software or other material appearing on, or accessible through, any Third-Party Site (including without limitation, any advertisement for products or services on any Third-Party Site).
  2. the performance or operation of any Third-Party Site (including, without limitation, any transactions initiated or conducted through any Third-Party Site, any taxes associated therewith and any use by third parties of user credit card information).
  3. any products or services advertised or sold on or through any Third-Party Site (including, without limitation, the quality, safety and legality of such products or services or the sale thereof).
  4. the sellers of any products or services advertised or sold on or through any Third-Party Site; or
  5. the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality, decency, or any other aspect of the content of such Third-Party Sites.

If you decide to access any of the Third-Party Sites, you do so entirely at your own risk. If you are accessing a Third-Party Site through a link via the PSIref Service, you are advised to read any terms of use and privacy policy of such Third-Party Site before you use such Third-Party Site.

PROPRIETARY RIGHTS AND RESTRICTIONS

You acknowledge and agree that all Content and materials available on the PSIref Site and/or available through the PSIref Service are protected by one or more of intellectual property rights: copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents, trade secrets, and/or other proprietary rights, and that their use is restricted by the terms of this Agreement and applicable statutory and common laws.

PSI, PSIref.com, and PSIref product and service names are trademarks and/or service marks of Paradigm Shift Innovations, LLC. (the "PSI Marks") and are owned exclusively by Paradigm Shift Innivations, LLC. You will not display or use the PSI Marks, in any manner that would constitute infringement of PSI 's rights, without PSI 's prior permission.

Except as expressly authorized by PSI, you agree not to sell, resell, exploit for any commercial purposes, license, rent, modify, distribute, copy, reproduce, duplicate, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, publish, adapt, edit, or create derivative works from any portion of any Content, including but not limited to video, images, sounds, and text appearing on or via the PSIref Service. Systematic retrieval of data or Content from the PSIref Service to create or compile, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, library, database or directory without prior written permission from PSI is prohibited. The use of Content or materials appearing on or via the PSIref Service for any purpose not expressly permitted in these Terms of Use is prohibited.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

THE PSIREF SERVICE AND DOCUMENTATION ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, PSI FURTHER DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE PSIREF SERVICE AND DOCUMENTATION REMAINS WITH YOU. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL PSI OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR OTHER DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, OR OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS) ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT OR THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE PRODUCT, EVEN IF PSI HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES/JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. PSI CONTENT POLICIES PSI enables users of Content to submit Content to the PSIref Service in accordance with the Agency Options set forth below. Under no circumstances shall the following be submitted to the PSIref Service:

  1. Content or material which was created by a person other than you, or subject to copyright by a person other than you, without that person's express written authorization.
  2. Content or material which includes, in whole or in part, audio, video, text, or images that are subject to copyright by another person unless such inclusion is subject to applicable laws concerning fair use or is otherwise expressly authorized by the copyright holder.
  3. Content or material that is subject to any third-party contractual provisions or limitations, including but not limited to license restrictions.
  4. Content or material which displays the trademarks of another person without that person's authorization, subject to applicable laws concerning fair use.
  5. Content or material that is pornographic, obscene, or of an adult or sexual nature.
  6. Content or material that is grossly offensive to the online community, including but not limited to, racism, anti-semitism and hatred.
  7. Content or material that:
    • Promotes, supports, or incites violence or unlawful acts.
    • Promotes, supports, or incites individuals and/or groups which engage in violence or unlawful acts, including but not limited to Antifa groups and persons affiliated with Antifa, the KKK and white supremacist groups and or persons affiliated with these groups; and/or
    • Promotes or supports entities and/or persons designated by either the Canadian or United States government as terrorists or terrorist organizations.
  8. Content or material that exploits children under the age of 18 or posts or discloses any personally identifying information about any person at any age, including but not limited to personally identifying information about children under the age of 18.
  9. Content or material promoting or providing instructional information about illegal activities, promoting harm or injury to any group, individual or cruelty to animals including, but not limited to:
    • Disseminating personal information about another individual for malevolent purposes, including libel, slander, "doxxing", defamation or violation of an individual's right to privacy.
    • Content or material that infringes or encroaches on the rights of others, including, but not limited to, infringement of privacy, publicity rights, and harm to reputation.
  10. Any Content or material that contains links to another website where any of the above-described prohibited Content or material is accessible.
  11. Any other Content or material that PSI in its sole, unfettered, and arbitrary discretion, determines is undesirable on the PSI Service.

PSI has the sole discretion to decide whether Content or material is permitted on the PSIref Service, and any materials submitted to the PSIref Service may be, but is not necessarily, examined by PSI before it is made available on the PSIref Service. You acknowledge that PSI has the absolute right (but not the obligation) to prohibit, refuse, delete, move and edit Content and material for any reason, in any manner, at any time, without notice to you.

You should also know that in visiting the PSIref Site or viewing Content or otherwise, you may be exposed to materials which you consider to be offensive or inappropriate and you assume the risk and sole responsibility for your exposure to any such Content or material.

To report content that violates our policies, please email moderation@psiref.com

COMPLAINT PROCEDURE

To report Content you believe violates PSI's policies, please email moderation@PSIref.com. Please use the word "Complaint" in the subject line, and include the following information in your email:

  1. Your name, email address and, if you are a registered user, your user ID.
  2. The basis of your complaint (provide as much detail as possible).
  3. If your complaint concerns the activities of other users/visitors on the PSIref Site, identify the specific type of inappropriate or offensive behavior engaged in and, insofar as possible, the identity of the offending person.
  4. If your complaint concerns particular Content, please provide the URL for the content that is the subject of your complaint, last update timestamps of the content page where the alleged violative Content appears, and the reason for your Complaint.

A customer service representative will endeavor to respond to your email and if, in PSI's determination, your complaint is a valid one, PSI will take appropriate actions in its sole discretion, and has no responsibility to at any time report to you as to the status or outcome of its investigation or any actions PSI has taken as a result.